Originally Posted by cyccommute

Go read the petition. I brought up safety issues but the petition is about shaming retailers that use predatory practices that “waste the money of the mostly poor and working class people who buy them.” Bike shops that sell higher end bikes…and $300 is a higher end bike compared to Big Box store bikes…want their customers to have a bike that will remain in good working order long enough for the rider to actually get value out of them. The customer may even come back to either get the bike worked on or to buy a better bike when circumstances warrant that.

Frankly, many local bike shop will tell you way buying a bicycle from a Big Box store is a bad idea. Yes, they are trying to sell something but unlike the impersonal and uncaring Big Box store, they want the customer to be satisfied and to come back. They depend on it! Most local bike shops won’t fix Big Box store bikes because they know they will be cheating the customer if they try and they depend on their reputation more than HelMart does.

Big Box stores don’t care. They know that once the bike leaves the store, they will never have to deal with it again.