Shocked by peoples reluctance to spend relatively small amounts on a bike.

[Cyclopathic]

Someone wanted me to do some work on their bike but it was obvious that they thought I was ripping them off. It was a nice example of a Raleigh Pioneer. It needed a new back wheel (cassette type) New rear brake blocks (Annoying calliper peg type) The front was jammed and needed freeing and the gears needed indexing. These were what I considered essential to getting it rideable. I also advised that they should have all cables replaced as they were rusty in places and have a new chain fitted.
When I told them it would be about £80 for this (and that was being kind I thought) they looked at one another (for it was a couple) and mumbled to each other about how it was supposed to have been a cheap bike to get to work on.
I asked how much they paid for the bike. £25 was the answer and they even seemed pissed off at that because of the back wheel situation. Even though I tried to explain to them that a Raleigh Pioneer in good condition having been serviced and supplied with a brand new back wheel for a little over £100 was quite good really they still seemed to think that it was too much.

What is wrong with people. They are going to save the price of the bike in bus fairs within a couple of months. If you spend £25 on a bike then that's what you get. The days of buying a bike that's in perfect nick for £25 have gone. I get the feeling that they wouldn't baulk at the silly prices garages charge for car repairs or the stupid prices of bus and train fairs but bikes should be dirt cheap and bike mechanics willing to work for nothing. If it's that easy then do it yourself.
Rant over. Kindly sympathetic comments welcome. Harsh, get over it comments may make me cry.

 

[yello]

People generally do not appreciate that a person's time costs money. Or that trades people have to earn a living.

My wife, an upholsterer, gets that sort of thing too. Asked to quote to recover a sofa, the response has been 'but we could buy a new one for that'. Which is true. If you want a cheap sofa!

Something that amuses/amazes me is the ignoring of postage costs. Some will haggle over a price only to spend a fortune on postage. No surprise then that ebay traders sell cheap and make money back on postage.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Do you work in a bike shop or are you a freelancer? I would have thought £80 for that work was reasonable

 

[fossyant]

My wife is a keen dress maker and often gets asked why she doesn't do it as a business. Answer is people won't pay.

Got my mates MTB in the garage. He dropped it round to sort. Basically needs now brakes and discs. Advised him it will be about 100. Needless to say the bike is still in my garage awaiting repair and the money. He knows its a quality bike 2k ish with XT and XTR.

 

[hopless500]

Someone wanted me to do some work on their bike but it was obvious that they thought I was ripping them off. It was a nice example of a Raleigh Pioneer. It needed a new back wheel (cassette type) New rear brake blocks (Annoying calliper peg type) The front was jammed and needed freeing and the gears needed indexing. These were what I considered essential to getting it rideable. I also advised that they should have all cables replaced as they were rusty in places and have a new chain fitted.
When I told them it would be about £80 for this (and that was being kind I thought) they looked at one another (for it was a couple) and mumbled to each other about how it was supposed to have been a cheap bike to get to work on.
I asked how much they paid for the bike. £25 was the answer and they even seemed ****ed off at that because of the back wheel situation. Even though I tried to explain to them that a Raleigh Pioneer in good condition having been serviced and supplied with a brand new back wheel for a little over £100 was quite good really they still seemed to think that it was too much.

What is wrong with people. They are going to save the price of the bike in bus fairs within a couple of months. If you spend £25 on a bike then that's what you get. The days of buying a bike that's in perfect nick for £25 have gone. I get the feeling that they wouldn't baulk at the silly prices garages charge for car repairs or the stupid prices of bus and train fairs but bikes should be dirt cheap and bike mechanics willing to work for nothing. If it's that easy then do it yourself.
Rant over. Kindly sympathetic comments welcome. Harsh, get over it comments may make me cry.

 

[Cyclopathic]

Do you work in a bike shop or are you a freelancer? I would have thought £80 for that work was reasonable

I'm freelance. Just getting started really and trying to build up a customer base. I think it was areasonable price. I certainly knocked a bit of the rrp for the back wheel. Such is the way of things that items are available at way below the rrp on line. Although I can't match many of these by a fair way I still have to knock some of just to sound reasonable.
Pricing jobs has been one of the most difficult thing about the whole thing. I'm happy to keep the prices fairly low as I establish myself but I do try to keep in line with what other shops charge for similar work. I just stay in line with the lower priced shops.
What really galled me was just as he was about to leave with his lovely, all working bike he looked at the back wheel and said, "Oh, didn't it have a reflector on the other wheel" His point was a fair one no doubt as I had indeed forgotten to swap the reflector over but after all I'd been through to keep his costs low it just struck me at the time as a bit petty. Needles to say I found it and put it on for him with good grace but still. Grrrr.
Which reminds me he had asked me about lights and so completely free and for nothing I fitted some that I have had lying around for ages that was never going to use. They weren't fantastic lights by a long way and I told him so but I said that they would do until he felt he could afford better ones. Honestly a bloody wheel reflector he notices. Sheesh.

 

[Cyclopathic]

My wife is a keen dress maker and often gets asked why she doesn't do it as a business. Answer is people won't pay.

Got my mates MTB in the garage. He dropped it round to sort. Basically needs now brakes and discs. Advised him it will be about 100. Needless to say the bike is still in my garage awaiting repair and the money. He knows its a quality bike 2k ish with XT and XTR.

That's effing insane? I bet if he had a car worth 2k that he wouldn't hesitate to spend £100 on a couple of tyres or brake pads and would have considered it a bargain. Why the eff do people think bikes are not worth paying for. I know they can be pricey in some cases but even then they are bloody cheap compared to all other forms of transport. And a lot more enjoyable.
I have to say though that this case of mine is not the usual scenario. Most people are just happy that their bike can be fixed and that they don't have to do it but there is the odd one or two that just will not accept that it costs money.

 

[fossyant]

It is insane. I spent a couple of hours checking the bike out then said what it would cost. He has gone very quiet despite reminders. Tempted to offer a couple of hundred for it as he bought it for 500 from a mate some years ago. If I was to buy it I would upgrade the wheels.

 

[carolonabike]

I used to make fused glass jewellery and on many occasions had to deal with people appalled at the cost of a pendant (£24 at the time). 'How much? I can get them on Ebay for a fiver'. Well yes, you can, because they are mass produced in China, mine are handmade in my studio (shed) at home.
Unfortunately a lot of people have lost sight of the true cost of labour.

 

[byegad]

Over the last 6 years I've spent as much as I spent on my last car (Which I had for 6 years.) on acquiring and servicing my three trikes. I don't think it's excessive as I love riding the trikes and don't like driving any more. But.. Tell someone who isn't a cyclist, let alone a recumbent triker, how much even the cheapest trike cost and they walk away shaking their heads!
Their loss IMHO.

 

[fossyant]

So what do you recon a full susser with rock shock psylo sl front and rock shock rear with a mix of XT and XTR is worth. Has no brakes though. About 10 years old but very little use.

 

[Tcr4x4]

I get this all the time as a photographer, and also in my job collecting garage waste.

People think you owe them something for doing work for them.. Its crazy. If someone does something for me, I pay them, simple as.

At work, we collect drums of used oil filters from cars. There must be 200+ filters per drum and we charge a fee to collect the drum and dispose of the filters.
We supply the drum, travel to the customer, give the relevant paperwork etc..

50% of my customers still moan like crazy when I ask them to pay. I then ask them how much they charge for an oil and filter change.. Most of the time its over £80.
So they have already made over the cost of collecting a drum with 1 oil change, times that by 200 oil changes and I think they are getting a bloody good deal.

 

[Hacienda71]

I think part of the problem is that people who don't cycle on a regular basis will think "I can get a new full suspension mountain bike with disc brakes for not much more than that from Argos or Sports Direct." They don't appreciate the difference between a BSO and a decent older bike. I bet thouusands of good 70's and 80's bikes with Reynolds frames are chucked on the local tips every year, despite the fact they are perfectly useable and could make really nice bikes again.

 

[cd365]

You should work in I.T., you can spend hours trying of get a virus off a PC to save their data that they haven't backed up but don't want to lose it, and then they offer you a four pack of beer or a cheap bottle of supermarket wine. I've stopped doing favours unless it is close family and friend and I price myself high for others so they will not bother me again.

 

[on the road]

Someone wanted me to do some work on their bike but it was obvious that they thought I was ripping them off. It was a nice example of a Raleigh Pioneer. It needed a new back wheel (cassette type) New rear brake blocks (Annoying calliper peg type) The front was jammed and needed freeing and the gears needed indexing. These were what I considered essential to getting it rideable. I also advised that they should have all cables replaced as they were rusty in places and have a new chain fitted.
When I told them it would be about £80 for this (and that was being kind I thought) they looked at one another (for it was a couple) and mumbled to each other about how it was supposed to have been a cheap bike to get to work on.
I asked how much they paid for the bike. £25 was the answer and they even seemed ****ed off at that because of the back wheel situation. Even though I tried to explain to them that a Raleigh Pioneer in good condition having been serviced and supplied with a brand new back wheel for a little over £100 was quite good really they still seemed to think that it was too much.

What is wrong with people. They are going to save the price of the bike in bus fairs within a couple of months. If you spend £25 on a bike then that's what you get. The days of buying a bike that's in perfect nick for £25 have gone. I get the feeling that they wouldn't baulk at the silly prices garages charge for car repairs or the stupid prices of bus and train fairs but bikes should be dirt cheap and bike mechanics willing to work for nothing. If it's that easy then do it yourself.
Rant over. Kindly sympathetic comments welcome. Harsh, get over it comments may make me cry.

I can see where you're coming from, but I can also understand their point of view. I'm a cheapskate myself, I refuse to pay labour charges so that's why I do my own repairs as much as possible, both on my bike and even on my car, I reckon I've saved a few hundreds of pounds worth of labour over the years both on the bike and on the car.