Who supplies the LBSs......interesting (to me at least :) )

[vickster]

My LBS is expensive for parts and accessories. For most things like bartape, they charge a fiver on top of their fitting fee for items not bought from them. Seems fair enough and well worth it, if can get a deal or want parts they don't stock they list their prices on the website so no surprises

Gets expensive for groupsets where I think they charge £100 more or something if bringing own parts

 

[gavintc]

Buy them yourself and get you LBS to fit them.

I wanted to replace a few things on my bike and I also wanted a couple of other jobs doing that I didn't want to do so I approached my local Specialized Concept store and they couldn't get the parts as cheap as me so I got them and they fitted them at the same time they did another job on the bike for me.

This is exactly what I have done in the past.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

This is exactly what I have done in the past.

I think this is the way most LBS will go if they have any sense, there are plenty of people who cant fit their own parts but are capable of ordering stuff from the internet. There will always be the ones that dont want to do it but they will soon disappear.

 

[nickyboy]

My LBS is expensive for parts and accessories. For most things like bartape, they charge a fiver on top of their fitting fee for items not bought from them. Seems fair enough and well worth it, if can get a deal or want parts they don't stock they list their prices on the website so no surprises

Gets expensive for groupsets where I think they charge £100 more or something if bringing own parts

Can't see that pricing model lasting forever. So you buy the groupset, they charge the labour for fitting it plus £100?

I understand their thinking; they don't get the margin on the sale of the groupset. But all they will do is push customers towards someone else who just charges the going rate for fitting the groupset.

 

[bpsmith]

So this rubbish about the LBS not making much profit, and they can't match the online prices, is complete tosh then?

If they are making £100 profit on a groupset normally then that's bonkers!

 

[Citius]

So this rubbish about the LBS not making much profit, and they can't match the online prices, is complete tosh then?

If they are making £100 profit on a groupset normally then that's bonkers!

Where does it say LBSs are making £100 profit on a groupset?

 

[bpsmith]

Where does it say LBSs are making £100 profit on a groupset?

Vickster's post above and replied to by nickyboy also. Do keep up.

 

[Citius]

Vickster's post above and replied to by nickyboy also. Do keep up.

I am keeping up fella - not sure if you are though. Perhaps read it again?

 

[bpsmith]

I am keeping up fella - not sure if you are though. Perhaps read it again?

In the shop in question, Vickster says that they charge an extra £5 on bartape, and the like, on top of their usual fitting fee if bought elsewhere. Similarly an extra £100 on groupsets. If that isn't what they normally make profit, then why are they charging that additional then. Not rocket science?

 

[outlash]

Take into account where we are in the grand scheme of things. To the Japanese, the UK is a rainy little island in the North Atlantic where they speak american. We're a tiny market to Shimano compared to say, the US so for them to have more than one distributor in a country that's smaller than the size of some US states would for them, be pointless.

 

[Hill Wimp]

Buy them yourself and get you LBS to fit them.

I wanted to replace a few things on my bike and I also wanted a couple of other jobs doing that I didn't want to do so I approached my local Specialized Concept store and they couldn't get the parts as cheap as me so I got them and they fitted them at the same time they did another job on the bike for me.

I do this with my LBS and they are very accepting of it. They still do a great job and give great advice on products and bikes they either don't stock or cannot sell to me as they are not part of my companies RTW scheme. The owner openly says he want people cycling, wants his customers to get the right kit for them and believes good customer service is what keeps his business going and constantly turning a healthy profit.

He is one of the lucky ones i know.

 

[vickster]

Eh?! They also have to pay the staff to fit it and provide the premises (two shops in London high street locations won't come cheap) etc

And as @Citius points out they won't get the volume discounts of wiggle or wherever I buying the stuff

I'm sure they do ok, given they've been in business since 1860

 

[Citius]

In the shop in question, Vickster says that they charge an extra £5 on bartape, and the like, on top of their usual fitting fee if bought elsewhere. Similarly an extra £100 on groupsets. If that isn't what they normally make profit, then why are they charging that additional then. Not rocket science?

It definitely isn't rocket science, which makes your conclusion all the more bizarre. We're talking about a surcharge here. It doesn't follow that they are levying the equivalent of their profit margin on a lost sale. I don't know why you've made that assumption.

 

[Citius]

Take into account where we are in the grand scheme of things. To the Japanese, the UK is a rainy little island in the North Atlantic where they speak american. We're a tiny market to Shimano compared to say, the US so for them to have more than one distributor in a country that's smaller than the size of some US states would for them, be pointless.

Shimano only has one distributor in the USA as well - although it's a subsidiary, rather than an agent.

 

[outlash]

So it's probable that they have regional distributors, given the distances involved that wouldn't surprise me.