Internet making a kill of bike shops.

[gettocard]

Ok I’m building my new bike and i’ve asked my bike shop to give me a quote for a Dura Ace group. For those not familiar a group on a bike is everything mechanical that does not come with the frame,which means sprocket,chain,derailleurs,cranks etc. Dura Ace is the top of the line Shimano group. My bike shop guy told me “2200 euro,1800 after discount”, which all brought me to a massive amount of WTF in my head as the same group can be found online for 1300 euro. They poor guy stood there looking at me with teary eyes and said “ I know the internet prices....”. So,I desperately want to have a good relationship with my bike shop and give the guys my business but holy hell,that is simply outrageous. Went back home,logged online and if I’m not in a rush I may wait another couple of months and get an even better deal...
Moral of the story : is internet really killing the “personal touch” you establish with street shops ? This guy is great,he always tune ups my bikes for free,even I haven’t bought a bike from him for years until two weeks ago..

[pickettt]

When I was racing MTBs as a pro, my sponsor was a MAJOR internet retailer. They also had a couple of retail stores, so I'm familiar with both sides. I can say that this is not a bike shop vs. internet issue, but rather a retail vs. internet issue. A lot of brick and mortar businesses have failed to see, or failed to react to internet sales. The old days of a 50% profit are gone. Shops need to accept the smaller margins and concentrate on making service their main business, while retailing merchandise as best as they can.

[JasoninDenver]

Yeah, I face the same dilemma everytime I take my bike in for service. My preferred shop is a mid sized chain shop and can offer decent prices. However, eventhough their cost for these parts must be the same as some internet retailers through QBP (the predominant bike parts distributor), some large parts are exorbitantly overpriced, even with my loyal customer discount.

I have developed a rule where I will buy parts that I prefer them to install or those parts I want to see first through them. Freewheel hubs, chains and rings, I have no problem buying online. The shop guys know I never use internet prices against them when I need their help. They appreciate it and I always get excellent service.

[Abdullah71601]

It’s killing a lot specialty businesses. It’s getting hard to find stereo shops and computer guys who have expertise in the best equipment. A B&M store, with all its overheads, struggles against the mega distribution logistics of internet sales.

[locutus49]

The internet is changing the face of buying anything, and brick and mortar stores are dying, they simply cannot compete. I prefer to buy from our local stores and will pay a small premium to do so.

[tkerrmd]

Ya it’s said and my shop owner is a good friend of mine

Best they can do is match prices and make money on labor

They also give a 20% discount to racers


Trek Madone with DI2 my main bike

[gettocard]

Originally Posted by tkerrmd

Ya it’s said and my shop owner is a good friend of mine

Best they can do is match prices and make money on labor

They also give a 20% discount to racers


Trek Madone with DI2 my main bike

Flare R,never ride without it

I get 20% off aswell but not a racer,obviously they have a tight margin in shimano groups..

[swils8610]

It’s not just bike shops. It’s retail in general. Online vs Brick and mortar.


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[SemperFi]

Originally Posted by locutus49

The internet is changing the face of buying anything, and brick and mortar stores are dying, they simply cannot compete. I prefer to buy from our local stores and will pay a small premium to do so.

Originally Posted by swils8610

It’s not just bike shops. It’s retail in general. Online vs Brick and mortar.


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Exactly right. I recently had an eye exam and after some research picked out a new pair of frames that I liked. Optician price was $300 while online price for the frames was $139. It’s no wonder that brick and mortars can’t compete.

[swils8610]

It’s a tough situation. Brick and mortar provide the service end of things often...when it comes to the merchandise end the internet kicks in. I’m all for brick and mortar and great service...but when the price savings become significant online it blurs the line. I few friends of mine run brick and mortar shops...it drives them crazy when they spend time with a customer showing or demoing a product and the costumer leaves and they buy it online cheaper. Of if the brick and mortars will not service or assist the customer if they did this to them. I’m not taking stance either way. It’s a changing world and market place now.


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[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by swils8610

It’s a tough situation. Brick and mortar provide the service end of things often...when it comes to the merchandise end the internet kicks in. I’m all for brick and mortar and great service...but when the price savings become significant online it blurs the line. I few friends of mine run brick and mortar shops...it drives them crazy when they spend time with a customer showing or demoing a product and the costumer leaves and they buy it online cheaper. Of if the brick and mortars will not service or assist the customer if they did this to them. I’m not taking stance either way. It’s a changing world and market place now.


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Service is the cure, I think. The down side of online sales is the remedy for an issue is always to ship it off. Finding a way to be the service pro that makes certain everything is always awesome would go a long way towards keeping customers.

[antbkny]

I think for a brick and mortar store to be successful in today’s day and age,they must adapt to the times and focus on making money other ways. Labor and internet sales with amazing customer service could be the right formula.

[rudestew]

Yep nothing you can’t get off the internet cheaper , but most wouldn’t be able to set a bike up and the same could be said for car parts and fitting them I suppose . In years to come people will laugh at the fact we physically shopped I can remember saying to my wife I’m never going to put my bank details on that computer thing lol

[SMD]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/b...uy-amazon.html


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[bayerische]

Short answer. Yes.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by locutus49

The internet is changing the face of buying anything, and brick and mortar stores are dying, they simply cannot compete. I prefer to buy from our local stores and will pay a small premium to do so.

Agreed, and besides the prices the selection and online comparisons with actual user reviews has made me an almost exclusively internet shopper for the longest time. I rarely purchase anything besides groceries in a brick and mortar store. Your actual location also can typically limit what’s possible if you don’t live near a real big city where the internet does not have these limitations.

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by swils8610

It’s a tough situation. Brick and mortar provide the service end of things often...when it comes to the merchandise end the internet kicks in. I’m all for brick and mortar and great service...but when the price savings become significant online it blurs the line. I few friends of mine run brick and mortar shops...it drives them crazy when they spend time with a customer showing or demoing a product and the costumer leaves and they buy it online cheaper. Of if the brick and mortars will not service or assist the customer if they did this to them. I’m not taking stance either way. It’s a changing world and market place now.


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Generally, I don't feel for retailers who haven't adjusted their business model to compete.......but this is the lowest form of consumer there is.

[rdmlondon]

Originally Posted by pickettt

Generally, I don't feel for retailers who haven't adjusted their business model to compete.......but this is the lowest form of consumer there is.

Trouble is they can't compete.

They have rent and business rates, don't (if a small shop etc) have economies of scale, pay their share of tax and VAT and also have to make a living.

These Internet behemoths pay little to no tax, route the VAT to another lower cost jurisdiction (all the while taking full advantage of the host infrastructure and legal system to protect them), have distribution centres in the middle of nowhere and employ staff through 'service companies' on the absolute minimum with no benefits.

Amazon workers in Scotland, paid a pittance, were even camping in a forest to save on the bus fare to and from work.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a7467657.html

Mom and Pop stores can't compete with this new way of business.

It's a shame, not all progress is all good. Seems as we advance in some areas we are turning back the clock in others.

And yes, I like a bargain same as the next guy.

[achenator]

Worked at bike shops in the early 90's. Back then it was mail order catalogs and magazine ads. Tough to compete when our cost was maybe 10% less than what the mail order guys were selling it for.

[Dan Pierce]

Last year I found the best deal for an Ultegra groupset online and paid my LBS to install. On smaller purchases I'll try to give my local shop the biz regardless of price, especially tires, tubes, and such.
dP

[Baco Noir]

My LBS no longer stocks bikes but will order them for you. He stocks parts that wear out and a few accessories and has moved, over the last 5 years, to become a “service” shop. He’ll order the parts for you or install the ones you bring in. Buy a bike online? He’s happy to adjust everything and get you on the road. It works. He doesn’t waste retail space with stuff that’s not going to sell.

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by achenator

Worked at bike shops in the early 90's. Back then it was mail order catalogs and magazine ads. Tough to compete when our cost was maybe 10% less than what the mail order guys were selling it for.

Kind of my point; That was the early 90s, this is 2018. The writing on the wall has been there for nearly 25 years.....and retail has sat on an obsolete business model.

[SDRider]

As consumers we are helping to kill the local businesses. You can try to justify your purchases any way you want but if you want the ability to touch and feel these things you are buying or need the expertise of the people who can fix them then you have to support them. If you don’t you will lose that and I think that is a greater loss.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by SDRider

As consumers we are helping to kill the local businesses. You can try to justify your purchases any way you want but if you want the ability to touch and feel these things you are buying or need the expertise of the people who can fix them then you have to support them. If you don’t you will lose that and I think that is a greater loss.

Although that’s true, the ability of being able to order from a greater variety, much better options, and the actual user reviews on the internet far out weigh whatever the local brick and mortar can provide which is generally pretty limited.

Not to mention the convince of doing this all from home. Not just that you don’t have to go out, the fact that you can do it whenever and as often and as much time as you care to spend researching something.

[Dyim]

Similar to Rolex AD and online grey dealer? Except AD is the supplier to grey.

[bayerische]

While I'm not into bikes anymore... But some Brick & Mortar shops almost ridiculed me when I built my bike years ago.

I wanted High-End components, and when I walked in to ask about, say SRAM XO setup (was the top of the line then) they didn't have it in stock, and asked "why would YOU need that kind of setup?" You will do just as well with this one... Bla bla bla...

Online? No one ask these kinds of questions. Frankly I can't understand why someone would ask his/her customer "why do you want the best/most expensive?"

I would gladly sell the most expensive stuff.

So I bought my SRAM XO and most other stuff online from the UK.

[Blansky]

Places like Amazon aren’t all roses although I use them for a lot of stuff.

I ordered some LED tail lights for my Jeep and the only way to get them was 2 third party sellers. The one side arrived first and was the wrong connector, and not wanting to get caught up in a back and forth shipping nightmare, I just ordered the set from a big name Jeep place and return the Amazon stuff.

When the second Amazon light arrived it was actually the right one but since I’d just ordered the set from the new place, I shipped them back to both the Amazon third party sellers.

Problem was I had to pay return shipping and a restocking fee and when all was said and done, it cost me $40 for a order that initialed totaled $105. And that was with Amazon prime.

Luckily the big name Jeep place sent the correct lights, but that taught me that Amazon third party sellers may not be a way to go in the future.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Places like Amazon aren’t all roses although I use them for a lot of stuff.

I ordered some LED lights for my Jeep and the only way to get the was 2 third party sellers. The one arrived first and was the wrong connector, and not wanting to get caught up in a back and forth shipping nightmare, I just ordered the set from a big name Jeep place and return the Amazon stuff.

When the second Amazon light arrived it was actually the right one but since I’d just ordered the set from the new place, I shipped them back to both the Amazon third party sellers.

Problem was I had to pay return shipping and a restocking fee and when all was said and done, it cost me $40 for a order that initialed totaled $105. And that was with Amazon prime.

Luckily the big name Jeep place sent the correct lights, but that taught me that Amazon third party sellers may not be a way to go in the future.

I’m always hesitant to use their third party resellers and I often avoid them whenever possible.

However Amazon is a very small portion of the internet. In fact they represent a very small portion of my overall internet purchases.

[Raypep]

Shimano in and by itself it hurting the dealers.

If I need ANY shimano part (besides chain) I will get it online and get my shop to install it. SRAM does not act the same way.

Regarding "is it killing the personal touch," slightly considering I know that I won't be getting the best price going into the shop. They aren't losing that much money though. Service is where most dealers rake in all of the money. Even if you get all these parts cheap, most people don't know how to install them, including myself. I'm also incredibly anal on who touches my race bike.

-R

[offrdmania]

When I was in college, there was a local bike shop that adapted by advertising that they will install any item purchased through them for free. They also stated that if they have to price match internet prices then the install would cost extra but they would still be happy to sell you the part or order it for you.
The shop is still there today and is thriving. People understand great customer service and the value of putting your hands on something before you buy.