Buying a bike from Evans?

[Brandane]

It's been a quiet day.... So I decided to see how much a new middle of the road hybrid might cost.
I quite like the Trek Fx range, so looked at the Fx3. Nice bike, and comes in at £700. I'm not at all serious about wanting a new bike just now but one or two things struck me about the buying experience from Evans that would really annoy me if I WAS in the market for a new bike.

First of all, a £4.99 click and collect charge. WTF is that all about? Having paid your hard earned £700 for a bike, they then expect you to pay another £4.99 for the privilege of actually going and picking it up from the shop? OK, it's not a lot of money and I know that it's actually a hidden charge for building the bike rather than delivering a box of parts to your door (which also costs £4.99), but if I was buying any other retail item I wouldn't expect to have to pay to have it assembled into the advertised product (before anyone mentions IKEA).

Then they tell you that 0% finance is available, but then at checkout announce that finance will cost "from" £52.50. That is 7.5% of the purchase price, Evans, FFS!
Principles matter to me, it comes with having reached the grumpy old man stage of life. Those charges would have me scurrying off and looking elsewhere.

 

[vickster]

That’s Mike Ashley for you. Sports Direct delivery or C&C is also £4.99. Probably HoF too.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Mike "Remember the bottom line" Ashley tells you all.

 

[Brandane]

That’s Mike Ashley for you. Sports Direct delivery or C&C is also £4.99. Probably HoF too.

Mike "Remember the bottom line" Ashley tells you all.

Ah yes; I had forgotten who they were owned by. Must remember that the next time I'm tempted to walk through the door of one of their shops. Use them for a heat in the winter, but do not buy anything. Like I said; principles .

 

[Slick]

I would rather freeze.

 

[TissoT]

Knowing Mike Ashley is the Owner I wouldn't give them Penney.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

OTOH those decent staff who have worked in sector for a while will then suffer. It's not their fault they were bought by him. And he does have a reputation for revitalising ailing brands like Evans undoubtedly was.
Or we can boycott and put 'em out of business.

 

[Cycleops]

I’ve got nothing but praise for Evans and Mike Ashley. They’re about the only retailer that will send me stuff down here, to be fair they did this even before he took over. I don’t have to pay VAT and if it’s a decent order it’s cheaper than shopping in the U.K., even with the freight costs by DHL. I usually get it in five days To my door.

 

[GoodLifeSpud]

I wouldn't ever buy a bike from them again, but some of their staff (if you learn the right ones to ask) are helpful and knowledgeable. The bike I bought was a Jamis fixie. Thinking it was simple and not much could go wrong. 4 trips in 3 months for them to fix the bottom bracket/crank set proved me very wrong.

 

[Jenkins]

It's been a quiet day.... So I decided to see how much a new middle of the road hybrid might cost.
I quite like the Trek Fx range, so looked at the Fx3. Nice bike, and comes in at £700. I'm not at all serious about wanting a new bike just now but one or two things struck me about the buying experience from Evans that would really annoy me if I WAS in the market for a new bike.

First of all, a £4.99 click and collect charge. WTF is that all about? Having paid your hard earned £700 for a bike, they then expect you to pay another £4.99 for the privilege of actually going and picking it up from the shop? OK, it's not a lot of money and I know that it's actually a hidden charge for building the bike rather than delivering a box of parts to your door (which also costs £4.99), but if I was buying any other retail item I wouldn't expect to have to pay to have it assembled into the advertised product (before anyone mentions IKEA).

Then they tell you that 0% finance is available, but then at checkout announce that finance will cost "from" £52.50. That is 7.5% of the purchase price, Evans, FFS!
Principles matter to me, it comes with having reached the grumpy old man stage of life. Those charges would have me scurrying off and looking elsewhere.

You also have to pay the click & collect charge even if the particular store has that item ready in stock. I needed some cone spanners from them and just checked the stock level in my local store and rode up and picked the items off the display rack. On the bright side, if you spend over £100 on a click & collect order you do get a £10 voucher for future purchases

 

[united4ever]

If you are buying a £700 bike surely you could negotiate a five pound discount if the collection fee bothered you. I had a £700 cycle to work voucher and my bike with a few bits came to about £720...when I pointed it out he just said he could make it £700. Maybe I just got lucky but I would be stunned if you threatened to cancel your purchase that they couldn't work it out. But maybe Mike Ashley has got them all at it.

 

[Brandane]

If you are buying a £700 bike surely you could negotiate a five pound discount if the collection fee bothered you. I had a £700 cycle to work voucher and my bike with a few bits came to about £720...when I pointed it out he just said he could make it £700. Maybe I just got lucky but I would be stunned if you threatened to cancel your purchase that they couldn't work it out. But maybe Mike Ashley has got them all at it.

But you can't negotiate with a page on a website, so you would need to phone or visit the shop to negotiate. Personally I would rather just go elsewhere, assuming the bike was available elsewhere - and they usually are.

 

[Jimidh]

I have had two very different experiences with Evans.

bought a Trek MTB for my son a few years back and they were excellent and couldn’t fault them from first going in to look at the bike through to purchase and handover.

Last year i went in with my wife to buy a Specialized Diverge - she had done her research and knew what she wanted. Guy wasn’t interested in her opinion and kept trying to push one of their own brand bikes even going as far as telling her they didn’t make a Diverge in her size.

we left and walked up to Edinburgh Bike Co-op and half an hour later had purchased said non existent toy sized Diverge.

 

[chr15b]

Evans are really good for negotiating with, I think the front line sales staff have some flexibility that other retailers don't without engaging a superior. I had an issue getting boots before, they offered me another (better) pair at a discounted price and I asked them to round it down to the nearest tenner - they done it without hesitation.

 

[Drago]

You don't like it, don't buy it. I'd always go to a store anyway, on the basis I'd never spend money on a bike I hadn't ridden beforehand.