Things are getting expensive nowadays

[knonist]

Went to my LBS in Cambridge for the followings:

Abus Varedo 47/300 £49.99
SKS 35mm mud guards £29.99
Avenir rear rack £29.99

At the end, I got 10% discount.....
So still paid £100 for these stuff...

in 2007, the a rear rack costed me £18.50!

Surely the inflation is not 33% in 2years!

Picked up a mint condition trek bike today for a couple of hundards pounds, took it the the LBS and they said no serviceing needed, but the extras would cost me 1/2 the bike value....(another pair of M+ 28mm to come.....)

 

[lukesdad]

While I like to support the lbs I still need to shop around coz I simply cant afford retail prices these days they re ridiculous.

 

[knonist]

While I like to support the lbs I still need to shop around coz I simply cant afford retail prices these days they re ridiculous.

Havent got much of a choice and I need these thing pretty fast, and I need to confirm they will fit....

how can a set of mud guards cost £30? it is only a bit of plastic...

 

[fossyant]

They can and do...market prices, and unfortunately, the poor state of sterling has increased prices significantly.

Unfortunately, if you neeed stuff fast, and need to use the LBS, you will pay a little over the odds. The LBS just doesn't have the buying power.

 

[beanzontoast]

The economics of it is contradictory in pure market forces terms. Looked at one way, if there's more demand for limited goods, the cost will rise. But is the supply of goods limited? There doesn't seem to be a shortage of bikes and parts that I'm aware of.

Plus, the demand hasn't risen suddenly. Manufacturers know what trends are and can raise production accordingly to keep supply (and hence sales) going. So if demand increases and supply increases, prices shouldn't skyrocket due to scarcity alone.

If the price hikes aren't down to scarcity, what's the cause? Exchange rate is one thing, increased manufacturing and distribution costs are another, but could it be that the manufacturers have increased prices to make more profit and LBS's are doing the same? Only the internet retailers seem to be keeping thier overheads and their prices down - the gap between their prices and the LBS prices seems to be widening fast.

 

[J4CKO]

I use Royles in Wilmslow, always friendly and helpful, they sometimes are a bit pricey but to be honest for a lot of things they are so close I can stand a few quid extra, plus I dont have to be around to have things delivered, they take anything back without a quibble (gloves last year that split) and the advice they give out is superb, paid £29.99 for a Hayes front disk, probably about a fiver over the odds but the mechanic spent 15 minutes giving me fitting tips, think he had finished for the day.

I do order stuff on Ebay, Wiggle and the like but I feel I should in part support the LBS so its there when I need it, not that I think Royles are in any danger judging by the number of two grand plus MTB's I have seen being sold by them.

Sometimes they will even haggle a bit.

 

[zimzum42]

It's likely that their rent and rates have jumped massively recently too....