Shop Hours WTF

And this is a fair argument. Nothing wrong with that.

I find it weird when people combine that philosophy with the one of "why can't I get bro pricing when I come in every 2 months for a set of tires".

I still get good pricing on stuff and rarely shop at an lbs. The shops I deal with know that I shop extensively online, but they still appreciate the business I give them. Basically you either sell to me at a good price or you get nothing. I'll find a deal somewhere, no worries there.

the idea that I have to buy a ton of stuff at full retail before I get a deal is ridiculous.

the idea that I have to buy a ton of stuff at full retail before I get a deal is ridiculous.

You don't.

The other example I gave earlier was with Nuetec Tu-bliss moto tubeless kits. I told the guy I could easily sell those kits by word of mouth in return for a discount on product. He gave me 2 full kits and multiple spares for free.

they must have worked great

…and I am not really looking for a killer deal on anything, I just want to pay a fair price. Most shops have stuff sticker priced far above the actual fair price. Then everyone feels good when they get a deal off the sticker price. It makes value selection really hard when you don't know what the real price will be once your "bro" discount is applies (or not).

See, that's the thing. Why isn't 100% markup on [HTML_REMOVED]$400 (or so) parts totally fair?

It seems from this thread that the bike industry is definitely missing the boat on something, given how many people feel disenfranchised by the IBD system. I have to think more about what that is; though, the most successful shops are the ones that do good service work and don't let people walk all over them in terms of price.

That being said, it sounds like there are a lot of chiselers with ridiculous senses of entitlement on here. None of the shop guys stand to really gain anything (other than Mr. Perras, given that he's now an OWNER tehe) from people not chiseling; the bike industry guys in here seem like we just want people to know beforehand how to ACTUALLY get good deals at a shop.

i read most of the posts and ….

i used to shop for the best prices just to save a few bucks. sometimes i would ask if there's a deal and often prefer to pay cash and told them that. got small deals here and there but never anything to write home about.

now though as i get older i find i'm a huge fan of customer service. i'm all about customer service now and it could be because i work in a similar field and like to think i provide good/great customer service. i don't care if they act like my best friend when walk in the shop and then as i leave they give me the fuky you you cheap assihole. however i still do ask for a deal if it's a fairly large purchase (over 200).

originally the bike i wanted was significantly cheaper (almost $500) at a store that i've had horrible service at. infact after offering to pay cash it was lowered another $100 plus the savings of the tax. that's pretty sizeable as i'm poor/cheap. it was hard to turn down that much cash but when i looked back at the not once but twice shitty service i had i just couldn't bring myself to want to give them that kind of money.

i ended up going with my second choice of bike which was also more expensive and the owner would not give me a deal for cash. why did i do that? i dunno but i don't regret it. and my experience dealing with the shop to date sorting out my bike has been great. not a great experience w/ the bike manufacturer as i previously mentioned (shipping) but still happy to have bought from the shop.

to date there's 2 shops that i feel very very loyal to. and it all started not with deals but with just plain old good friendly service.

they must have worked great

lol… I wasn't running the tubeless kit in the front! Jerk!

See, that's the thing. Why isn't 100% markup on [HTML_REMOVED]$400 (or so) parts totally fair?

It seems from this thread that the bike industry is definitely missing the boat on something, given how many people feel disenfranchised by the IBD system. I have to think more about what that is; though, the most successful shops are the ones that do good service work and don't let people walk all over them in terms of price.

That being said, it sounds like there are a lot of chiselers with ridiculous senses of entitlement on here. None of the shop guys stand to really gain anything (other than Mr. Perras, given that he's now an OWNER tehe) from people not chiseling; the bike industry guys in here seem like we just want people to know beforehand how to ACTUALLY get good deals at a shop.

I just want to point out that every retail place I've ever worked the mark up was
over 100%. Unless you're doing volume (like 7-11, or McDonald's) you need the
mark up to survive. If many of you haven't noticed, the price of property is very high
in Vancouver/Victoria…that means rent is high too. If you want good service, then
you need to hire good people, good people don't come cheap.

I remember the days of buying a surfboard and I was stoked to get a bar of wax and
some stickers.

the bike industry guys in here seem like we just want people to know beforehand how to ACTUALLY get good deals at a shop.

and the non-industry people (that would be the ones that are spending the money) just want people to know beforehand how a shop can get me to spend it there instead of all the other options.

I didn't realize the bike industry was so lucrative that they could pick and choose their customers to. That must be nice.

the bike industry guys in here seem like we just want people to know beforehand how to ACTUALLY get good deals at a shop.

Fair enough, although it seems your example with suits would indicate that one shouldn't even bother to ever try to get a discount, just pay full retail.

Fair enough. That being said, a case of beer is cheap, and will be repaid tenfold in bro-points in most any shop

It's a two way street, bike shop wants MY business first and then I want their service second, that's why it is only I who has the luxury of the two to choose where to shop ;) So, until I've had some really nice service, how can you expect me to bring beer?

And if you are saying that by bringing beer I'll get lower prices every next time I show up… then why not cut the crap and you charge me lower prices + the price of beer (:lol:)?

I can see bringing the mechanic a cold one if I know he'll be working on my bike and it's hot summer, but the motivation is not to get a good deal but to show my appreciation (only if service is good!).

I once had a guy ask me for a discount on a (cheap) bike after he'd told me he was a dentist. I told him that "no, sorry, margins on inexpensive bikes aren't high enough to give people deals but we do good after sales service yada yada yada…"

What I really wanted to say was "do you give out deals to people who ask for them in your dental office?"

Apples and oranges, most of his patients will have insurance. Why would they care for a deal? And YES, those who pay cash can always ask for a discount and YES again, you would get one.

From what I hear in this thread from the "industry" people, I as a customer have to bend over backwards to "deserve" a small discount. Geeshhh… oh how dare I even ask??? Wow.

Apples and oranges, most of his patients will have insurance. Why would they care for a deal? And YES, those who pay cash can always ask for a discount and YES again, you would get one.

actually good point. ICBC windshield prices are at a fixed point, yet go and buy a windshield without insurance and the price is almost as cheap as the deductable….go figure.(this was for a Dodge Neon, so maybe they just give those windshields away)

as a side note, people shop around for there extented health insurance that pays for their dental work

would you pay full sticker for a car, motorcycle, atv? nope

heck we got a discount when we bought new flooring for our house. In fact I got a discount when I bought a suit when I got married.

would you pay full sticker for a car, motorcycle, atv? nope

heck we got a discount when we bought new flooring for our house. In fact I got a discount when I bought a suit when I got married.

Which does raise an interesting point. We are not a haggling society, so obviously the dealers raise the price because they then gain the upper hand. I for one was happy that car manufacturers are offering fixed pricing on vehicles. If they are willing to lower the price, then all they have done is admitted that they were asking too much to begin with.

car manufacturers are offering fixed pricing on vehicles. If they are willing to lower the price, then all they have done is admitted that they were asking too much to begin with.

Did they really lower the price? Are you actually getting a better deal? Do they truly hold firm on that no haggle price? (I've never bought or researched from one of the car companies that do this)

Or are they just throwing all the BS out the window and holding strong with a marketing campaign built around telling people it's the bottom price?

i know this is irrelevant but i feel like sharing this story a few years ago at one of the mentioned bike shops. i suppose it might be relevant in terms of "bro" attitude.

my buddy was going for a midweek ride and called me while i was at work. he said he stopped in the shop and they were getting rid of their brakes (lever and caliper only) for x-dollars. i said holy shit what a steal. he asked if i wanted him to pick me up a pair but i said no i'll think about it and if i decide i'll go at lunch time. he said no probs they still have 4 sets left.

i went there at lunch time (2 hours after getting the call) and asked if they had any deals on brakes. the guy looked me up and down then said "we sure do bud. i have one set of juicy 7's left going for a sweet 3 hundred and something dollars." :eek2:

so i told them that i don't want to spend that much and asked about the lower end juicys (same one my friend got) to which he replied, sorry sold out. fair enough as it was a crazy deal.

unfortunately a couple days later on this board a member posts up that they just came back from the shop and got a killer deal on the same juicys as friend for the same x-dollars and that there were 3 sets left (4 set remaining when my bud left and now nsmb person buys one there's 3 left…hmmm??).

now what was that all about? a bro deal attitude?