Road Cycling - My LBS majorly trying to cheap me out?

Once again, another component upgrade thread by me...

I went to my LBS to double check the price estimates I had for the 105/Ultegra group and I was in for a HUGE shock.

The prices my LBS offered on each of the parts were almost twice as much as I had researched.

For example, a 105 crankset that is listed as $150 CDN on a Canadian bike shop website, my LBS said was $260!! The total I had calculted was $700 for parts upgrade but with the LBS prices it came to $1200...

What the &%$# is the deal with that. I insisted that there must be something wrong with their catalouge (outdated?). Here is the bull**** thay laid on me:

1) the price you had researched were all Internet clear outs. You will not be able to get them else where.

WRONG! I have checked dozens of sites which have had corresponding prices.

2) they have no warranty, that's why they are so cheap.

WRONG! They come in retail boxes.

3) Canada gets a huge duty tarrif of Japanese made products, while USA doesn't...

WRONG! Canadian websites have cheaper prices still

Even if point number three is correct then I could just drive to the US (30 minutes) and get them right? I said that and the guy said:

No if you bring it across the border you gotta claim at which point then they will put the same amount of duty on it. And if you try to smuggle it you'll get in huge trouble.

I am really turned off by my LBS now. They offer a somewhat friendly service, but this is rediculus.
I think Velicipedio and other Canaidan riders here can confirm that my LBS is bull****ting. It's obvious.

I just wanna know why? Don't they know I will just take my business elsewhere, even though it is an hour drive away?

Well...

I'd have to say that $260 for a 105 crankset is way out of whack. $150 sounds a lot more realistic. I'm planning to upgrade some of the components on my 'cross bike, and not even Ultegra came in that high! In fact, I'd say that $260 is twice what the crankset should cost.

Why is your LBS jerking around? There are some possibilities:

[list=1]
There's some confusion, and someone misunderstood you, or you misunderstood them. Go back and make absolutely sure about this. It might just be a simple misunderstanding.
They see you're a novice, and figure they can squeeze you.
They don't really want your business, anyway, and would just like you to go away.
This is a badly run business.
[/list=1]

You might want to point out to the LBS that there is a free-trade agreement between Canada and the US. Although customs can, technically, impose a duty on Asian-manufactured components imported through the US, this very, very rarely happens. I've ordered bicycle components online and all I've had to pay was PST/GST and a $5 customs handling fee.

I suspect that, if you go to the 'states and buy your components, and declare their value at the border, you will only be charged PST/GST. Of course, you could arrange to have the copmponents waiting for you at a shop on the US side, drive down to the US for a weekend trip and hastily attach the new components to your bike with the intention of doing the real job later, then drive back over the border with your bike, outfitted with the new components. I doubt anyone at customs would notice that you'd made the switch.

"They don't really want your business, anyway, and would just like you to go away."


lol, that got me laughing

1) what shop was it
2) maybe they jsut over charge and u need to negotiate if they wont than take urr business elsewhere.

This is a no-brainer. Don't shop at that bike shop. Order from the internet or go to another shop.

Originally posted by mike
This is a no-brainer. Don't shop at that bike shop. Order from the internet or go to another shop.


tru dat

I doubt the guy was confused by what I was saying. I had the very specific part names list along with the average American price on a piece of paper.

I'm guessing it maybe Velo's second point, that they see I'm a novice trying to squeeze me. That would work if I wasn't the kind of guy that has been researching my purchase for at least a month before.

Yep, no brainer, off-course I'm not give them any business especially after the bull-**** they tried to feed to me. I just wanted to know why they would do that to me. They got a lot of my money (on accessories mostly), it felt good knowing there were a bunch of folks nearby to help me out with bike stuff. From the first day I knew they weren't very knowledgable, but still...

thats why i got a job in a bike shop.. i just get everything at cost more or less

Bike shops will most certainly be more expensive than internet companies. There is a big debate about "Shop vs. Net".
Net stores sell in big volume all over the world. They can and do sell closer to cost than a bike shop can.

The Bike shop, you pay for access to items you can really touch and try out. etc, etc etc.
I'll write more later, gotta help the g/f out right now

Maybe it's a 'snob shop.' No, I'm not trying to revive the Bike Snob discussion!

But if a store--any kind of store--is trendy and is trying to attract and keep trendy yuppies who want to flaunt their wealth, then they will often charge much more for the item than a shop with just a basic clientele.

The guy who owns the most expensive bike and components for the sake of owning the most expensive bike and components can then hang out at the coffee shop with the other rich posers and gripe/brag about his new top-of-the-line shocks that just cost him $1000 or whatever.

These shops can charge twice as much for the same stuff, because 1. Their customers believe "If you have to ask the price you can't afford it but I can afford anything" and don't compare prices, and 2. their customers believe "You get what you pay for" so whatever costs them the most must be the best. :p

If snob appeal is the store's stock-in-trade, you definitely need to find a different shop...unless you want to impress your buddies with how much you paid for your new components.

There is no way the shop can justify the kind of mark up he is charging. IF he was paying Full Retail Price in US dollars and then adding the 30% CDN difference, it Still wouldn't come to the price he is quoting.

Wholesale, CDN, should be somewhere around $100. so $150. or less should be the fair price for the 105's.

or maybe the Local Bike store, that you went to has notice the Dollar $ signed in your forehead, $260.00 for a 105 Cranks, whoa that way to expensive, when i Get that kind of pricing and I know basically what the going prices here in Toronto, and the Clerk would give me a ridiculous price, I would say"Hey I am not buying your store, I am only buying the crank set, now give me the real price of that Item" , and will all be happy

at the shop i pay $109 at cost for the 105 crankset. i Think we sell it for 150 or 160

I was just in a LBS yesterday and saw a set of double ring 105 cranks in a box in their case... the same cranks that came on my Giant TCR2. The price they had on them was $179, which seemed REALLY high for 105's (I don't know, I haven't been shopping). This shop has a habit of pricing everything $10 above suggested retail, then giving people $10 off to "make them think they are getting a good deal".

I have purchased 4 bikes from them because, on bikes, they charge full retail BUT they give you unlimited adjustmements and basic servicing for life, including wheel truing, and if you have a problem and you got the bike from them, they stop what they are doing and put it on the rack and fix it immediately. Their service is outstanding.

I just bought a new, in the box with the seals, and everything ULTEGRA triple crank AND bottom bracket for $132USD including shipping.

I put it on my self then took it to the LBS and gave them $10 bucks to "tweak it in".

I used to try to give all my buying to the LBS, but I just can't and they know it.

I'll pay for services rendered....but no more than that.

http://www.labicicletta.com/components.html - $149.00 CDN.

If the price disparity is so large then perhaps the shops should start ordering their stock from the online shops. Let the distributors sort the mess out with the manufacturers.