Mountain Biking - Stumpjumper best price?

the LBS is selling the 05 Stumpjumper on sale for $1050, or $1199 with disc brakes (msrp $1300 and 1500, respectively). i'm new the mtb scene and am looking for my first bike, and i'm pretty set on the hardtail stumpy. is this a good price or is there typically some bargaining that can be done to bring the price down?

what is the typical negotiating action? I've been told I should never pay full price for a bike - since the markup is pretty high.

thanks in advance for your responses.

Great price. $250-300 off retail. No question that it's a good price on a nice bike.

$1199 is the standard price for a Stumpjumper disc, at least that's what I saw for all the LBSs that carry Specialized around here.

$1199 is the standard price for a Stumpjumper disc, at least that's what I saw for all the LBSs that carry Specialized around here.

hypothetically speaking, if you were in the market for a Stumpjumper Disc, would you simply jump on this $1199 price or would you try to negotiate a better deal? i heard the markup is pretty big on these higher end bikes, so a good amount of that may be going into their pockets. i don't have any problem with them making a profit and a living selling bikes, but i'd also like to get a good deal on the bike because i have to be able to eat too! :rolleyes:

There's no harm in asking. Just don't expect them to budge. My friend bought a Stumpjumper disc for $1,300 here recently. It also depends on how much you value your reputation. You don't want to be known as the cheap ass who tried to fanagle a couple of more pennies out of the shop because when it comes time to buy a component or upgrade, they'll remember you. It's a give and take relationship sometimes. Try to bargain too much on an already good deal and you might be paying full price for everything from them in the future. You might be able to squeeze a few more bucks out of them, but you can rest well if you pay $1,200 and know that you didn't get ripped off. Here's a suggestion. Ask them if they offer discounts on accessories with a bike purchase. Accessories are even higher margin than bikes and shops are more likely to give you 10-20% off when you buy a bike. Now go get that bike before someone else does!

I don't know if you can expect them to budge on the price. Supergo was willing to take off more or less $50-60 when I was looking at a yellow Stumpjumper disc a couple of months ago. They said Specialized tells them how low they can go, and they get in trouble if they're caught going any lower. I don't know if the same applies to smaller LBSs, but apparently that's one of the complaints of most Specialized dealers hence Performance/Supergo not carrying Specialized from now on.

I've heard of people buying the bike at MSRP prices so I would be happy if I can walk out the door with it for $1200 or so.

Like the previous poster said, I bet they would be happier to give you discounts on accessories instead. Good luck!

They said Specialized tells them how low they can go, and they get in trouble if they're caught going any lower.

Yup. Thats how it goes. I work at a shop that deals spesh.