prj71

My bike shop does the same. Except even with the 10% discount...Amazon is still cheaper.

And if someone can't figure out how to install a water bottle cage...Maybe they shouldn't even be riding a bike.

Kapusta

That would cut the number of cyclists roughly in half.

prj71

Camilo

You evidently think that everyone has a set of allen wrenches and knows how to use them? Install a bottle cage is easy in theory, but having installed and removed dozens and dozens over my lifetime, they can actually be tricky to to get a hex key in place and avoid stripping the bolt head and / or cross threading. Subtle errors that unless you've actually made the mistake at some point, you might not even be aware of.

There's a lot of people I know personally that have little or no experience with hand tools and have no desire to. All they want is a bike that works and someone to fix it when it doesn't.

I'm speaking as someone who grew up fixing things - and messing them up! Of the last 10 or 12 bikes that have come through our household, only two of them have been purchased as complete bikes; I build them up and maintain them myself. But use of basic hand tools is not a qualification to enjoy riding a bike.

But I won't retread my dislike of Amazon except to say it's dismaying to me that people always look to them first instead of many other equally viable online options.

bbbean 

I buy from my LBS. I like Specialized gear, but I like having an LBS more, so I'm running Giant wheels and continental tires this season instead of the Roval/Specialized combo I ran the past few seasons.

livedarklions

I know perfectly well how to install a cage, I also found it nice service when the store I bought the bike from installed that along with the other accessories I bought. Being able to wheel my fully set-up bike out the door without having so much as touch an allen wrench is a small but significant perk of buying at a good shop.

livedarklions

I agree--it really isn't a high-pressure sales environment like going to a car salesman or a mattress store (do they still have those?). The good stores listen to you and make suggestions accordingly, the bad ones are more prone to ignoring customers.

PeteHski

The problem with local bike shops in the UK is that they are mostly useless, staffed by minimum wage kids who would struggle to mount a bottle cage without ranting the hex head or threads. I'm talking about the shops selling big mainstream brands here. So I wouldn't see it as any kind of loss. If I was in the market for another Specialized bike I would probably buy it direct anyway. I've bought my last 3 bikes direct online. 2 Canyons and 1 Giant. I did previously buy 2 bikes from the LBS (Specialized and Santa Cruz) and their customer service was rubbish. More importantly their workshop service was appalling. I've tried maybe a dozen bike shops over the years and they never fail to disappoint! Some of the smaller shops are okay, but they tend not to get tied in with mainstream brands. Their business is more in servicing, custom builds and fitting. So it's easy enough to get your bike serviced as they don't care where you bought it from. When Canyon first came onto the scene, there were shops refusing to service them. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Rolla

And I'm sure Jeff Bezos personally appreciates your patronage and loyal support every bit as much as your local businesses do.

And maybe it doesn't have anything to do with whether they can do it themselves or not. Bike shops are about service, relationships, community, and all that stuff you'd just as soon trade for a fistful of dimes, as is your prerogative. But last time I helped a first-timer choose and install a matching bottle cage on her new bike, she seemed to appreciate it.

Koyote

This.

My fave shop knows me, knows my preferences, knows that I like my bikes well-maintained. Hence, they sometimes go ahead and do things without asking me, make decisions for me without a phone call, and do things that they know I can do for myself. And I have been pleased by this every single time.

Darth Lefty 

Is this the very final place this is happening? Except maybe car dealerships.

PeteHski

Again I can only speak for the UK, but franchised car dealerships over here are full of s***. Moving over to Tesla direct sales was literally a breath of fresh air. No more hard sell BS, up-selling of the latest paint protection rip-off, gap insurance, finance, etc, etc.

Darth Lefty 

Yes, Tesla has stovepiped the BS too

Camilo

It's pretty common to be able to do all your car shopping online. Some even offer home delivery. Certainly common to not have to go into a dealership except to pick up the car.

SpeedyBlueBiker

It seems to work for Canyon bikes. Their bikes are sold entirely over the internet.

mtn drew

I just spoke to my local bike shop and they told me, all Bike Masters shops has just been acquired by Specialized... I don't know if that matters though...

Koyote

Hey, why not? I've bought a couple new cars without test driving them. The faster I can get out of a car dealership, the better.

Mojo31

Car dealerships aren’t bad. You just have to learn how to deal with them.

The last 5 cars I bought were bought without stepping into the selling dealership except to sign paperwork and drive off. The last one was bought from an out-of-state dealership, and they brought it to my house, a 300 mile trip each way. Signed the papers at my kitchen bar. The tech guy from the dealership went over the car in my garage.

Koyote

Agreed.

Coincidentally, we bought a new car a few days ago -- first one in over ten years. I called the dealer to put in a down payment so they'd hold the vehicle, then we went to sign papers and pick it up a week later. We did spend a little time at the dealer, but only because they agreed to install a trailer hitch (which I brought along) for me at no charge. All in all, pretty painless.

In the past, I've sometimes gotten in and out in twenty minutes or so, but it takes some prep: I tell them (on phone) exactly what I want and don't want (e.g., don't try to sell me an extended warranty), ask them to have the car gassed and ready before I arrive, etc. It also helps if you are just writing a check for the whole thing rather than financing -- but with interest rates so low, I haven't done that since 2006.

Mojo31

It’s easy to tell the finance guy that the answer to all his add one is “No.”

Vintage Schwinn

Mojo31 and Koyote are correct about car dealerships. You must be somewhat knowledgeable about the tactics employed in the car bidnez before you step on to a lot, if you are to get fair treatment and a square deal from the majority of them. Why is this so, even from car dealers that normally are ethical and fair to all customers? It is because car dealerships can for whatever reason or circumstance go from boom time sales to nearly flat busted where vehicles aren't moving off the lot............the floor plan gets mighty mighty expensive. A major whammy is when service dept business is off too. This happens when the economy tanks and unemployment is high. The worst period for new car dealers was the unprecedented time when double digit unemployment, double digit interest rates, and double digit inflation existed simultaneously at the start of the 1980's ('80, '81..).
Car dealerships will do whatever is necessary to survive. They do not hesitate to go from the most ethical and lowest priced volume dealer, to the cheating devil..........the best dealerships will do this when they have to, because there is no other way for sizeable dealerships to navigate through extended slow periods. They then bring in the normally undesireable and unethical Herb Tarleks as sales managers and similar sleazy lot lizards that will get the sales totals up while significantly tarnishing the dealers' reputation. You've gotta stay in auto dealership business first to have a dealership reputation to worry about. Car dealerships do routinely resort to this when they have to, and then once things get back to better times, they will get rid of Herb & the sleazoids and back to an ethical, customer friendly, lowest price volume dealer without any tricks or other nonsense. This is just more or less the way it is with large dealerships & within dealership groups. The overhead and floorplan can be so burdensome during such times that this is the only viable path for large automobile dealerships to survive extended slow periods. Beware because during such times, the car dealerships, will tell service customers that additional repair work is needed when no such additional repair work is needed, then when the smart, educated, savy service customer says we did that last year at xx,xxx miles, or the factory owners manual says that isn't scheduled to be necessary until the 95,000 to 110,000 mile mark......then the Dealership service advisor says, oh yeah, sorry about that I made a mistake, I was thinking it was Mr Reggie Smith's 2019 Honda and not Mr. Eddie Smith's 2019 Honda. It crosses all brands and all import, domestic and their premium brands. I know a particular Honda store that is notorious for this. I know another smaller Honda store that I cant recall them resorting to any of this funny business in decades.
Typically, car dealerships are much more transparent today with transactions than they were 35 years ago, as anyone has access to accurate dealer cost, holdback, the spread of available margin on a particular model etc. You can get accurate info at your fingertips on the web... Most new car dealers want to be well respected and have a good reputation with the buying public, thus they don't generally go the Herb Tarlek route unless they get in a serious bind... They don't hesitate to go that route when they're choking on the floor plan and the service dept revenue is down too. I don't think any other industry can be so unrespectable and pond scum low as when new car automobile dealerships must resort to this for a period to get by. Autodealerships can be like nothing else that you have seen or imagined!
Be careful not to lump Bicycle Dealers with Automobile Dealers. Most probably have a well deserved good reputation, and I highly doubt that the worst bicycle dealer that you could possibly find would be any less respectable than a slightly above average new car dealership. If you did find someone ranked much worse than that, they likely wouldn't remain an ongoing bicycle store for very much longer.

downhillmaster

Good stuff. It’s not always about figuring things out though.
I use my LBS for almost all my accessories and repairs. Some I can do myself, most I cannot.
Either way, it works for me.
I also know how to cut my grass, wash my vehicles, and do all kinds of other repairs and maintenance around my home but I prefer to pay someone else to do it.
I’m sure you do all of those things yourself so I hope that doesn’t offend you…

PeteHski

Yep, avoiding any form of physical contact with the dealership is the way to deal with them. So the next step for the manufacturer is simply to cut out the dealer entirely because they are not adding any real value to the sale. It would be different if your local dealer gave some amazing customer service that was actually worth paying for, but they don't around here. Quite the opposite, they are just a pita to have to deal with. I see the same thing with many bike shops.

downhillmaster

You would be surprised at the level of service provided daily at any reputable new car dealership. Especially at highline brands such as Lexus, Benz, Volvo, Infiniti, etc…
I know firsthand as I have spent some time in the business.
At those same brands, buying a new or pre-owned vehicle is usually a good experience and pretty much depends on the actions of the customer. Walk into a dealership with an attitude and without having done any research at all on what you want or need and you may get roughed up and deservedly so. Just like most other retail environments.
On the other hand, if you have done a minimal amount of research and can describe what you need you will usually get good service and it will simply come down to pricing which isn’t that mysterious if you have done your homework.
Service at dealerships is a bit different and definitely leaves a bit to be desired but even there you would be surprised at what a reputable dealership will do for a loyal customer.
There is an old saying in the car business and it is pretty spot on. Buyers are liars.
Right or wrong, if you walk into any retail business with a lack of knowledge and a huge sense of distaste/distrust, you are asking for a poor experience.

PeteHski

Yeah I would be very surprised based on my own experiences with such brands as Porsche, BMW, Volvo. Maybe there are more "reputable" new car dealerships in the US.

I like how you say that you need to "do your homework" to get good service and pricing. That's another thing I prefer about Tesla's sales model - fixed price, no 18th Century haggling required. Can you tell I'm not missing those dealerships?