When I needed a new valve assembly for my dishwasher (4.5 years old - so basically time for a new one right?) I walked up the street to the local appliance repair shop/store with the dead one and they ordered me the correct replacement. It cost me a $10 premium, which in this case was 20%, over ordering it on the internet (approximately as I'm assuming I'd have paid GST/PST but no duties) and it arrived in about the same amount of time as if I'd ordered it myself.
I'm big on shopping local, to begin with, but aside from the fact that some % of my purchase is going back into my local community, I thought that was a pretty good value for taking advantage of their expertise.
I think a lot of the time this debate comes down to the perception of people who are trying to make a career in bikes as less-than. If I had a can of beer for every time someone used a variation of the line "it's just a bicycle" to explain to me why a service was too expensive in a shop I worked at I could host everyone commenting on this piece for a friendly tête-à-tête and there'd be plenty of leftovers.
Nov. 14, 2018, 11:31 a.m. - Andrew Major
When I needed a new valve assembly for my dishwasher (4.5 years old - so basically time for a new one right?) I walked up the street to the local appliance repair shop/store with the dead one and they ordered me the correct replacement. It cost me a $10 premium, which in this case was 20%, over ordering it on the internet (approximately as I'm assuming I'd have paid GST/PST but no duties) and it arrived in about the same amount of time as if I'd ordered it myself. I'm big on shopping local, to begin with, but aside from the fact that some % of my purchase is going back into my local community, I thought that was a pretty good value for taking advantage of their expertise. I think a lot of the time this debate comes down to the perception of people who are trying to make a career in bikes as less-than. If I had a can of beer for every time someone used a variation of the line "it's just a bicycle" to explain to me why a service was too expensive in a shop I worked at I could host everyone commenting on this piece for a friendly tête-à-tête and there'd be plenty of leftovers.