Down To Business - Paul Stevens' Take

Could it be. That finally mechanic labour rates in the cycling industry catch up with other industries? It always amazes me how people will not bat an eye at paying a auto mechanic $100 for labour for 45 minutes work yet will chisel a bike mechanic over a $20 cost of labour.

This. It astounds me how cheap bike shops labour rates are.

just to repeat, again….Shops have no control over that kind of thing. They are forced to buy from a distributor at a set price…your anger is misplaced.

I think, to be fair, people's angry tone is because they feel they're buying habits are being attacked and they need to justify them.

I agree with what you're saying. I think the bike industry in general needs a massive shake up. The intermediate distributor needs to be eliminated, as it seems to me this middleman expects to take a cut for seemingly offering no added value to the consumer. The value added by the distributor is, ironically, to the retailer, or lbs, as it avoids them having to keep excessive stock of every size and colour combination of certain parts. I think the problem is that the distributors fee for that service is passed on to the consumer, when it isn't the consumer that sees the benefit of said service. Does that make sense?

The large scale retailers, CRC, Jenson etc, have realised that, by taking the hit and stocking a wider range of products themselves, they can source their products through other channels and eliminate the distributor. Subsequently, they pass on these savings to the consumer, and the result is an increase in business and economy of scale.

Damn. I should have gone to business school…

There were some interesting comments being thrown around by some "industry insiders" during the time Race Face ditched Cycles Lambert and started selling to retailers direct regarding this.

I wonder if the author will ever see his words published here, considering NSMB is an eMagazine that directly contributes to the demise of bike magazine publishing.

You mean the author Paul Stevens, winner of NSMB Airprentice and a member of the NSMB Team?

just to repeat, again….Shops have no control over that kind of thing. They are forced to buy from a distributor at a set price…your anger is misplaced.

My anger has always been misplaced:rocker:

I walked into Different Bikes on Broadway, and mentioned I was looking for a new set of grips, but was hesitant to put money into the bike because I hoped to sell it.

He wanted to get rid of their unsellable crap, and did so by just giving me a free set he had hanging around.

I was quite happy with that, and the attitude it showed.

This is the sort of thing that will generate a repeat visit in the store. I think the big problem is that bike shops are retailers and service providers. Noone is attacking the service side of it, but the retail element is not keeping people's business, so the question is; can a bike shop get by as just a service centre?

I think, to be fair, people's angry tone is because they feel they're buying habits are being attacked and they need to justify them.

I agree with what you're saying. I think the bike industry in general needs a massive shake up. The intermediate distributor needs to be eliminated, as it seems to me this middleman expects to take a cut for seemingly offering no added value to the consumer. The value added by the distributor is, ironically, to the retailer, or lbs, as it avoids them having to keep excessive stock of every size and colour combination of certain parts. I think the problem is that the distributors fee for that service is passed on to the consumer, when it isn't the consumer that sees the benefit of said service. Does that make sense?

The large scale retailers, CRC, Jenson etc, have realised that, by taking the hit and stocking a wider range of products themselves, they can source their products through other channels and eliminate the distributor. Subsequently, they pass on these savings to the consumer, and the result is an increase in business and economy of scale.

Damn. I should have gone to business school…

There were some interesting comments being thrown around by some "industry insiders" during the time Race Face ditched Cycles Lambert and started selling to retailers direct regarding this.

This isn't anything new or surprising. This is just wholesale is it not? If someone was to complain that their local butcher should be supported, but everyone is shopping at Costco, wouldn't it be a very similar argument? And at the end of the day, what keeps a local butcher in business: The service, not the product (although the product is better).

This is the sort of thing that will generate a repeat visit in the store. I think the big problem is that bike shops are retailers and service providers. Noone is attacking the service side of it, but the retail element is not keeping people's business, so the question is; can a bike shop get by as just a service centre?

Sounds like Suspensionwerx business model. They even manage to sell the odd piece of suspension equipment.

Well said Paulo! Never bought anything on line.

When I read something like this, I think this person is paying much less than I am at the LBS for parts. I'll continue to do my buying online and my own wrenching

All this is, is evolution in the retail bike industry.
Everything evolves. Adapt or die!

Does the author pay full retail for his parts?

On a totally unrleated matter is anyone else seeing my post count show up as 4,294,967,280. No idea what is up with that.

same here. I've never been so proud in my life

4,294,967,281 now. It seems to be keeping track accurately.

Mishtar - you should maybe consider getting out more. ;)

It's a glitch that we have just decided to laugh at. If it bothers you we can fix it for you.

No it is ok just made me LOL. I think I may have an actual post count of 30 if I am lucky:)

Lambert and Norco should just start selling their parts online, at dealer cost. Mouhouhahahaha!!!!!

just to repeat, again….Shops have no control over that kind of thing. They are forced to buy from a distributor at a set price…your anger is misplaced.

How about products that are from Canadian companies? You can get a RockyMountain bike shipped from Jenson USA to Blaine Washington and save around $500. Depending on the model. Is that not a bike that is shipped from Canada to the US, so should it not be cheaper to just buy one up here in Canada?

This. It astounds me how cheap bike shops labour rates are.

Really? My Ford dealer charges $80 and hour and my local bike shop, or at least one of them charges $70. Not much of a difference considering how much more my vehicle is worth and the extra knowledge and equipment thay have paid for.

This. It astounds me how cheap bike shops labour rates are.

I just heard today a woman bitching about how much the labour on her car costs yet the part is so cheap, according to her.

Kind of funny when you think about it, a guy will shell out $1,000 on a fork then complain about the $30 the shop charges to install it in 30 minutes. If it was a car the labour would have been way higher.