Sourcing Shimano Parts in Canada

Posted by: Couch_Surfer

Posted by: Xorrox

All I want is to do is go on a website, find what I need, confirm price, ship/pickup and lead time and order it, all without wasting any time on phone calls with people that don't know what they are talking about or are going to lie to me because they don't actually know.

100% agree.

La Bicycletta seems to have put their inventory online. Was able to order some replacement brake pads for my gravel bike sent to me via Cdn Post (there was an option to save 13$ and go pick up at store).

More bike shops should be doing this. I don't want to drive down to a store for stuff like wear and tear replacement parts like brake pads, cables, housing, derailleur jockey wheels etc...

Yeah, I just found that out as I was looking for a Rockshox digital shock pump 2 weeks ago; bought it from them because they had it available online!  Simple, quick, easy...local pick up in West Van so no shipping.  Will look at what they have online further.

Posted by: Xorrox

My other dig at the local bike shop was not with the supply chain issues they are experiencing (which I totally understand), it is with the absolute crap communication and organization I've experienced. I was told my stuff was on order by one employee, kept phoning (roughly once a week) to ask if they had any ETA, kept getting the we don't know and then, about 5 weeks later got a response of "You ordered what? We can't find your order but we can order that if you want." Re-ordered and this time they said they were in stock at the local distributor and should be in in a couple days, called again in a couple days, still not there "should be in after the weekend". That was roughly at month ago. I've stopped calling but have not got a call back from them yet. Guess I have to try again one more time to see if it actually showed up. Will not deal with this shop again after this. All I want is to do is go on a website, find what I need, confirm price, ship/pickup and lead time and order it, all without wasting any time on phone calls with people that don't know what they are talking about or are going to lie to me because they don't actually know. Also, at least if everything is online I can use screen shots and confirmation emails as a record of the transaction in case there are any issues.

I've had the same experience again and again and again and again with LBS's. I have made an honest attempt to buy stuff locally, but the results have been disappointing something like 75% of the time.

Just one example that exemplifies the situation. My GF needed brake pads for her bike [2 year old SRAM brakes] so I sent her to the LBS with old pads in hand while I completed other maintenance on her bike. Local pads would cost 50% more, but it seemed like a reasonable way to give the shop business and get her rolling ASAP. She calls to tell me the salesperson has informed her it's not possible to get pads for these brakes and the only option is buying new brakes. I tell her that's crazy and to get the salesperson to look again. She gets the same story. So I told her to come home. We had the correct pads orders from Jenson in 5 mins and delivered 3 days later for significantly less money. Of course we ordered 4 sets of pads so we didn't have to deal with the LBS next time.

I can tell stories like this ^^ all day. At first I thought I just hit on one bad apple, but I tried different shops and different people at various shops. I had so many more disappointing experiences than acceptable ones I've given up.

I use Velofix for the few maintenance tasks I can't handle myself. I buy all my parts online.

Posted by: velocipedestrian

You guys don't have an equivalent to Youshop in Canukistan?

That seems like such an obvious end run that Shimano or SRAM would cotton on to it and put a stop to it. But you know, if Canadians could order stuff in Canada for similar prices then folks wouldn’t be trying to go around them and buy overseas or out of country now would they. Where is the extra cost? Extra middle men? More markup?

Posted by: [email protected]

I guess you could use a forwarding service like https://www.mailboxde.com/ but you'd pay 19% German VAT and 2X shipping. That's before your package has left Germany. On arrival in Canada technically you'd still have to pay GST and the CP admin fee. Not sure it would still make sense.

That might actually still be worth it in some cases - I may give it a try and see if I can make it work and how it works out.   It looks as if Germany only has 16% VAT which appears to be among the lowest in Europe and local shipping on smaller items is only 3.95Euro. However, the actual forwarded shipping cost will likely eat up any savings unless its a fairly 'value dense' shipment which might make sense when building up a new bike with a new drivetrain and brakes for example.  I ran the approximate math on my derailleur cable housing and it doesn't really make sense for such a small order.

Posted by: Xorrox

I just wasted 3 hours trying to find some (one) place that I can order a 50m box / roll of Shimano SP41 derailleur cable housing and 2-3 packs of 10 of the sealed nylon endcaps. I can't find any online retailer in North America that has stock on both and does not have ridiculous costs to ship to North Vancouver, Canada.

If I log into Bike Discount.de they have have them both (at the usual killer German pricing) but will no longer ship to North America.  If Shimano was going to enforce this embargo, they could at least have fixed their f****d up supply chain here in Canada first.   Why has no one in North America started an online store that actually has a full catalog like the German ones?  Even the big boys in the US such as Jenson USA barely have half of what is available on the German sites and most of what they do have is out of stock (they do have my housing but not the sealed nylon ends).  Every time I try to order something from a local bike shop all I get are run arounds, delays, frustration at trying find someone who even wants to help me or just general excuses.

(On a similar vein, I could start a whole thread about the number of times I've had to call one local shop to just get a set of Sapim spokes and nipples for a wheel I want to rebuild - I know there are supply chain issues but the level of disorganization and poor communication is just mind boggling to me - once I finally get my order I guess I'll move on to yet another shop to try in the future).

Anyway, that's the end of my rant.  I really wish someone in Canada would step up their game and fill this hole.  TBS?  Dunbar?  Comor? MEC?  They all have an online presence but their online catalogs and the amount of stuff they actually stock all currently suck. At present I hold out the most hope for TBSBikeParts but its got a long long way to go before it rivals Jenson USA let alone its German counterparts.

I know that we all like our particular parts, and finding stock of what we want is understandably difficult right now. Are there no other endcaps you can substitute that Jenson has in stock? You only need to spend an additional $50 on top of your roll of housing to get free 3-day (normally) shipping. I understand the Shimano frustration, but I think a little flexibility might be in order to keep the frustration in check.

Posted by: Vikb

Just one example that exemplifies the situation. My GF needed brake pads for her bike [2 year old SRAM brakes] so I sent her to the LBS with old pads in hand while I completed other maintenance on her bike. Local pads would cost 50% more, but it seemed like a reasonable way to give the shop business and get her rolling ASAP. She calls to tell me the salesperson has informed her it's not possible to get pads for these brakes and the only option is buying new brakes. I tell her that's crazy and to get the salesperson to look again. She gets the same story. So I told her to come home. We had the correct pads orders from Jenson in 5 mins and delivered 3 days later for significantly less money.

I've had the same experience trying to get a new shifter for my late 90s road bike. The shop had originally told me "No problem, we can get that sorted for you in a couple of days." I took my bike in, and then heard nothing for a week. I finally called to see what was up and was told "Sorry, can't get 7speed shifters anymore. Do you want us to get rid of your bike?" Found what I needed on Jenson and had it in hand, and installed, in less than a week. That was the beginning of me buying parts online and doing most of my own service.

Posted by: Endur-Bro

^19.99 Euro. Prices goes up by amount and size of the order. 

Remember when you believed CRC was cheaper than Germany 😂 

Also shipping parts within the Euro Zone will have one paying the 18% VAT on goods. 

Also some people must be getting fat when one could buy a full set of Shimano brakes from Germany for the cost of one brake in Canada.

german vat is at 16% right now, due to covid, will go up to 19% again in 2020. foreigners always pay the vat in the country they order from. there is no general EU vat.

I see. My error. Us Canadians get the Euro pricing minus VAT. We may be required to pay 5% GST + $10 service charge via customs upon delivery. 

___________________________

A few years back I went into a LBS wanting order a XT cassette and XTR chain. No stock. Guy proceeds to open L2P book and quotes me the $99.99 book price on the chain. Let’s me know that ordering was just done yesterday so they wouldn’t be ordering for another week. 

I went home and ordered from CRC instead, savings were that the chain was free. And it showed up in my mail pretty much when the bike shop might have received it. 

_____________________________

Pro Tip: when ordering online always request that company ships with their national carrier. That way it’s processed via CBSA and Canada Post and you don’t get hit with excessive “Brokerage Fees” Eg UK=Royal Mail Germany=DHL USPS= Freedom Ville 

______________________________

Anyone else notice that over the past few years Canadian Distributors are trying to utilize Direct 2 Consumer sales? 

That’s where the fat is! NEW DIRECT TO KEYSTONE SALES STRATEGY. BUY NOW OR FOREVER BE PRICED OUT! 

All of the markup. None of the service  🥰

I think the issue here isn't price. I understand I am paying for the convenience of a set of fork seals in-hand in 5 minutes after I go into the shop. The issue is customer service. 

Shop guys, I know you're busy. I've been a shop guy for many years before so I'm sympathetic. I know the supply chain is nuts right now. But, forgetting to order stuff, or forgetting to call in case there are major changes is not OK and it's not the fault of market chaos. That's just poor organization and poor attention to detail.

One local shop to me I trust to order stuff. The rest, I don't buy if it's not in hand.

Another pro tip. 

Even if you get something shipped by a carrier with horrible tax collection (DHL) submit a request to the CBSA for review. Just got a $150 back in over charged taxes from a Cotic frame.  May take a couple months but it’s worth it.

Posted by: Xorrox

Posted by: Couch_Surfer

Posted by: Xorrox

All I want is to do is go on a website, find what I need, confirm price, ship/pickup and lead time and order it, all without wasting any time on phone calls with people that don't know what they are talking about or are going to lie to me because they don't actually know.

100% agree.

La Bicycletta seems to have put their inventory online. Was able to order some replacement brake pads for my gravel bike sent to me via Cdn Post (there was an option to save 13$ and go pick up at store).

More bike shops should be doing this. I don't want to drive down to a store for stuff like wear and tear replacement parts like brake pads, cables, housing, derailleur jockey wheels etc...

Yeah, I just found that out as I was looking for a Rockshox digital shock pump 2 weeks ago; bought it from them because they had it available online!  Simple, quick, easy...local pick up in West Van so no shipping.  Will look at what they have online further.

Careful. My first order with them was great, they had what I needed in stock and shipping was reasonable and quick. Second time I ordered some shimano parts, the lead time was supposed to be 7-10 days. After 36 days I cancelled my order. Customer service never reached out to me once to let me know what the delay was.

This was in July/Aug this year

So the question that keeps going through my mind is: Why has no one in Canada set up a legit online bike store along the lines of Jenson USA or Universal Cycles?

Are Canadian distributors pricing too high to be competitive or other terms too restrictive? Too small a market or too short a season?  There is no one currently in the industry with proper mix of e-commerce and general business experience to make it work?  It just seems like the right person could fill a niche that is just waiting to be filled at this point.

If I was a little younger, I would be tempted to try this myself, but I suspect it would take at least 5-10 years to really start seeing a payoff for all the hard work that would need to go into getting it off the ground.  It would be so much easier for someone already in the industry and already dipping their toes in the e-commerce market to properly take this to the next level (I already mentioned some of these earlier posts).

"Are Canadian distributors pricing too high to be competitive or other terms too restrictive? Too small a market or too short a season?"

Yes ;) Plus we live in a society where people would prefer to give money to whatever.de, or Ali Baba or (whatever it's called) in order to save a few bucks. Since I moved to Canada I pretty well gave up on on-line ordering. It's ironically too much of a pain in the ass (shit expensive slow postage, no shipping to one's doorstep, pissing about trying to avoid extra fees etc etc....). It's amazing how convenient just walking into a store and buying something can be! And I'm talking about everything, not just bike stuff.

Posted by: trumpstinyhands

"Are Canadian distributors pricing too high to be competitive or other terms too restrictive? Too small a market or too short a season?"

Yes ;) Plus we live in a society where people would prefer to give money to whatever.de, or Ali Baba or (whatever it's called) in order to save a few bucks. Since I moved to Canada I pretty well gave up on on-line ordering. It's ironically too much of a pain in the ass (shit expensive slow postage, no shipping to one's doorstep, pissing about trying to avoid extra fees etc etc....). It's amazing how convenient just walking into a store and buying something can be! And I'm talking about everything, not just bike stuff.

I realize you work in the industry, but to rehash, I can order things and have delivered faster and for cheaper, FROM FUCKING GERMANY, than for someone in a shop who three times out of ten will forget to order it in the first place.

Regardless, this industry has destroyed the local shop with their stiffer 28.99mm spindles and how many fucking tire and axle sizes.  (Remember when NSMB & PB said 28.99 is stiffer?  Pepperidge farm fucking remembers)