Business is tough for many LBS today with more and more internet savvy customers, it takes a lot for many of them to stay in business and it does require a lot of know-how, creativity and dedication to start and maintain a successful venture in this industry. Having said that, I have came across LBS with attitude, inexperienced staff and outrageous prices, but this is not unique to small bike retailers, many hardware stores for example fit the same description.
My experience of buying over the internet vs LBS varies and can be illustrated by the following examples:
- Apparel: it's hard to beat the prices of Nashbar, Performance and the like however last spring, I returned two jerseys because of size problem and was glad to pay nearly twice as much for a great gore-tex at an lbs that fit perfectly + the lbs let me try a dozen models/sizes and would have rather not sold me anything unless I was completly happy. This is a great place where I have been before and will return.
- Parts: tough as it may sound, I often found that things like cable,housing and small hardware were often same or even cheaper at some LBS. Components though tend not to be, but then again you will find many LBS who will install a cassette at no charge and the part's price is very comparable.
- Bikes: yes, I did buy a couple of years ago a new mountain bike over the internet and I think it was an excellent deal that I am still seeing unmatched at any lbs but again if I had to put a $ value on the time I spent researching and checking size etc, + time required for assembly and adjustments which was fine for me but an lbs would have done, this only will lead me to an LBS first before I decide to make a similar purchase on the net in the future. Bike has been perfect for the casual trail rider I am, any hardeous use IMO would have definitely justified an LBS purchase.
When it comes to purchasing a road bike, I think LBS can easily differenciate themselves once customers understand the cost of riding a bike that does not fit correctly, how much are we ready to pay for this ? $100, $200, more ? Now, let's look at the differences between LBS and internet prices, hmm...
Other thing I have noticed is the number of liability disclaimers internet retailers place on their listings, something LBS pay a hefty insurance premium for, while this "may not seem to matter" for a lot of us, liability insurance must be factored in the pricing of not only bikes but maintenance and repairs.
While competition is healthy, I think it is important to understand what we are getting in exchange of every dollar we spend and unfortunately a small retailer may not always have the opportunity to make us feel this on a single experience but rather overtime, which I think is what many of us tend not to understand.
More and more LBS feature their own web site with information on their products and services, I think this gives them a real edge as stats show that >90% of us start shopping on the internet prior to purchasing durables.
So to conclude it is up to us to make informed decisions while buying and also understand how we want to see our favorite sports' needs fulfilled in the future.
Oh and BTW: Walmart, KMart, Target etc. are not to be compared with lbs and even reputable internet retailers. I wan’t elaborate as enough as been said on this and other forums about the (inferior) quality of the bike products they sell.
Last edited by Cycliste; 02-15-05 at 11:43 AM.