Fifty Plus (50+) - No More Nashbar

I have just concluded my business relationship with Bike Nashbar. This is a real shame, because I've been buying stuff from them since the 70's, at least 30 years. I must have spent thousands with this mailorder company, and for good reason, as they usually have some very good prices on stuff, as well as some very good products (such as their winter tights that come in a "tall" size, and their knockoff of the San Marco Regal saddle that is almost as comfortable as the real thing).

But they would not ship my last order because I was having it sent to my mail drop. I live in Vancouver, Canada, but I have stuff sent to a parcel drop in Blaine, WA, just across the border. This lets me ship stuff at US shipping rates, which are much, much lower than the rates in Canada. As well, it's cheaper and faster for me to clear the stuff thru customs, rather than pay extra for UPS's broker, plus the border fees, etc.

Nashbar no longer sends stuff to parcel companies, UPS stores, or motels. This is understandable, since there's a parcel forwarding scam that is being perpetrated on mailorder companies. But my parcel drop does not do any forwarding, and I have been a customer of Nashbar for about 30 years. But they will make no exceptions. It has to be a residential address. So I just told them to cancel the order, and that as a result I would cease to do any further business with them. You would think they would make an exception in the case of a longterm customer? No, Nashbar has turned into the typical corporation...

Luis

Ever since Nashbar, Performance, and Bikecology were sold out to some large corporation, the products and services were never the same as the good ol' days.

Welcome to Big Business.
If they make a exception for you why not me too? And then if me why not the next guy and so on and so on. It has to start somewhere. I know it blows but it is business to them.
Find a resident and have it shipped there?

I think I would have done the same as you in the same circumstance. Soul less large corporatns who do not really care about the customer and change their policy for what is really no good reason do not deserve our business.

How much would their prices have to go up if they staffed large enough to look into every "exception". You have to examine why you shop there, and what they get out of the deal, not just what you get.

It's unfortunate, but business has to protect itself these days..........they do need to make a profit to survive.

Have you investigated whether or not other online bike parts shops will accomodate you shipping preference.

okay, whew, they're not out of business. They'll ship to me, so I probably won't be joining your boycott. Although I sometimes balance out whether it's worth buying from them or amazon.com if i get free 2-day shipping from amazon.

Have a look at these guys, they ship world wide and fast, some of their stuff have free shipping to Canada and USA. www.ribblecycles.co.uk (http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk), I have seen groupset for half the price they are at any of the stores in the USA.

I can see how that would be a deal breaker in your situation. Part of the blame does go to the soulless, eficient corporate business model, but the scam artists they are reacting to must take the lion's share of the blame.

My biggest problem with Nashbar is that I don't see the great bargains that I saw there for years, at least not nearly as often. I used to be able to find ridiculously low prices on some of the obscure items I needed. It still happens occasionally, but not nearly as often as in years past. Likewise, Performance prices have increased to the point that I rarely shop there anymore except for shorts and the rare great deal I find there.

Welcome to Big Business.
If they make a exception for you why not me too? And then if me why not the next guy and so on and so on. It has to start somewhere. I know it blows but it is business to them.
Find a resident and have it shipped there?
They should make an exception for anybody that has been a customer in good standing for at least one year. It is completely understandable that they would have new policies to combat fraud, but penalizing past customers is a poor business practice.

Have a look at these guys, they ship world wide and fast, some of their stuff have free shipping to Canada and USA. www.ribblecycles.co.uk (http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk), I have seen groupset for half the price they are at any of the stores in the USA.

+1

I've switched all my business over to Ribble.

This calls for a prompt government takeover of the bicycle industry.

This calls for a prompt world government takeover of the global bicycle industry.

Fixed it!:lol:


Nashbar is good sometimes for cheap tandem/recumbent KMC chains. But not always.

Nashbar hasn't had the best price on anything that I've looked at for a couple of years. When I'm in madman shopping mode these days, I don't even check there any more.

Tell me why Canadian postal rates are so @#$#@$ high?

The other thing about Nashbar is you get a mailer with some great stuff splashed all over it and then go to the web site and maybe size XXXXL or XXXXS is all that is available. Giant waste of time.

I used to have a similar problem with some companies, when I had a PO box at a mail station.

I just changed the PO Box designation to 'Suite' and all went well... The Mail Station knew exactly how to handle it...

Maybe create a 'new' nashbar account (different email addy...) and have the ship address look like a real addy

"Mr. CrankyOld Geezer
123 fugetaboutit Rd, Suite 1434
Blaine, WA, 11111"

unless they have blacklisted known mail service centers... it might get thru their filter...

OP. Like you I live in the GVRD. I get anything American shipped to The Letter Carrier at 145 Tyee drive in Point Roberts. Nashbar has no complaints about. I recently bought a helmet from them.

http://www.thelettercarrier.com

However, if you purchase from ribble, there is no need to drive to the border, and with orders that are smaller than a frame you will pay zero taxes, zero brokerage fees. I routinely get packages that show up with no extra fess. The price point compared to America is excellent.

Have a look at these guys, they ship world wide and fast, some of their stuff have free shipping to Canada and USA. www.ribblecycles.co.uk (http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk), I have seen groupset for half the price they are at any of the stores in the USA.

somebody getting screwed...

when I first went to ribble, the prices I saw seemed not all that great just for generic Mailorder stuff... default to the GBP currency listing...
ie (Direct from their site...):
GBP
Shimano R400 Tiagra Brake Levers
* Shimano R400 Tiagra Brake Levers Weight: 258g.
Aero brake levers with anodised silver levers and black rubber hoods. Tiagra quality.
* RRP £36.99 Save 46.07%
* RIBBLE PRICE £19.95
* Save 15% off baskets over £50.00 and pay only
* £16.96 a saving of 54.15%

same listing using their US Dollar currency setting....

SHIMBRLR250000000000 - Shimano R400 Tiagra Brake Levers
Shimano R400 Tiagra Brake Levers
* Shimano R400 Tiagra Brake Levers Weight: 258g.
Aero brake levers with anodised silver levers and black rubber hoods. Tiagra quality.
* RRP $48.16 Save 46.06%
* RIBBLE PRICE $25.98
* Save 15% off baskets over $76.50 and pay only
* $22.08 a saving of 54.16%

so the Brits are gettin scrod...
is that because they have to pay a VAT? and ribble doesn't have to fork over VAT for overseas purchases?
what about US Duty?
free shipping? is this stuff smuggled in with nukelar waste, chinese goods or Commonweath Games Souvenirs or sometin ???

very fishy... doesn;t sound like its gonna last

They should make an exception for anybody that has been a customer in good standing for at least one year. It is completely understandable that they would have new policies to combat fraud, but penalizing past customers is a poor business practice.

Several things are play here. One is the majority of orders are done on-line so Nashbar doesn't have the staff they used to. Second, the people on the phoen may not even be Nashbar employees but work for a tremote telemarketing company that do order fulfillment for many companies. Third, they probably don't have the date the customer started with them - it's getting more difficult all the time to track customers.

My latest go-to is Tree Fort Bikes.

They price match everybody - and service has been very good so far.

is that because they have to pay a VAT? and ribble doesn't have to fork over VAT for overseas purchases?
what about US Duty?


Correct. Overseas buyers save %17.5 over a domestic buyer. For you Americans, domestic being local to the UK.

Since the OP is Canadian, I'll address both: Canada usually pays no duties or taxes on mail order boxes from ribble. Buy a wheelset, a frame or a bike (anything biggish) and yes, they'll take the time to process the $$$$ (HST and $5 brokerage for the OP). As for America, I would guess the same or worst. Worst being they charge duties for every little parcel.

Thanx for the suggestions. I've switched a lot of my business to Bike Tires Direct (which ships to my parcel drop, no problem, and with free shipping on orders over $100 (3 tires) plus you get a credit on the order that comes off the next order. So you keep ordering from them to recover all these points...

I've also been ordering from ProBike Kit in Jolly Olde, shipped direct to my house. Yes, no VAT is added when the order is shipped out of the country, plus they take 10% off the order plus right now it's free shipping to Canada. Some of the stuff does get picked up by customs, though. The last order was a Team Sky jersey ($60) and a San Marco Regal titanium saddle (a deal at $107, which is what Bike Tires Direct was charging for their steel-frame Regal). Order came out to about $167, total duty/taxes was just over $25, but I didn't have to drive down to Blaine (I usually do weekend rides in the US anyway, so it's not really going out of my way).

Shipping charges are high in Canada because Canadians are - well, Canadian. They get gouged and they are not inclined to complain too much. Well, they do sometimes, but not like freedom-loving Yanks. Also, I think the shipping companies are spreading their costs. Canada is a country of vast distances, so the people living in the population centers ("centres" in Canadian) tend to subsidize those living in the boonies. There's a real metro/rural divide forming in Canada - one of the manifestations of this was the recent vote in Parliament about ending the "long-gun registry," which the minority Conservative govt just barely lost (we still have a very costly and inefficient gun registry for hunting rifles/shotguns). The very anti-gun left-leaning NDP got their rural MP's (members of parliament) to join the Liberals in voting against ending the registry, defeating the motion. So now the Conservatives will target the rural NDP ridings in the next election. Sorry about all the politics (though I'm sure there are some political junkies out there. Canadians tend to be political junkies! The political system up here is quite interesting right now).

My latest go-to is Tree Fort Bikes.


Avoid if you are Canadian (or American)

Example:

Deda Pista bars. Found local in a shop to me for a whopping $150 plus taxes. I use this as the mail order "pistadex".

http://www.treefortbikes.com/#navbar=pro___333222355021___602

$79.64 | Order Total (including shipping in US $)

Ok ribble:

$56.37 | Order Total (including shipping in CDN $)

Now PBK:

$ 47.34 | Order Total (including shipping in CDN $)

Why avoid? Tree Fort only price matches with American mail order sites. Useless to Canadians in many ways.

Yes, prices in Canadian bike shops are an interesting feature of living in the Great White North that Americans just would not believe. Quite often the argument is made that you should not buy mail order in order to support the local business. But talk about gouging! The example of the pista bars is just the tip of the iceberg. The price differential between Canadian shop and US mail order prices goes well outside the bounds of "paying for the extra service you are getting."

The main fault lies with the few distributors in Canada, mostly Quebec-based, which charge pretty much what the market will bear, not really competing, but using their "competitors'" pricing to justify their own. The lowest prices usually are found at Mountain Equipment Co-op, with some items selling for less than at REI, its US-based counterpart (although many manufacturers will not sell to them due to Canada's weak anti-trust laws) and at shops like Bicicleta or Campione, which work with their own import company, I think. I do believe that "the rents" are being extracted at the distribution level in Canada. Prices will only fall when enough Canadian cyclists start shopping at foreign mail order companies. And I'm doing my part; it's either MEC or mail order.

Luis

Oh, and the other problem with many Canadian shops is their arrogance. One shop I particularly dislike is Simon's in downtown Vancouver. The guy at the desk is so darned arrogant; it doesn't matter that you've had close to 40 years of cycling and wrenching experience, he always has to prove he's the alpha male of bike knowledge, even when he's wrong! I consider the mail order discount I get is recompense for not having to put up with guys like this!

Luis

+1 to Campione. I can get my Miche parts there for a very reasonable price - such as cogs and chains - reasonable being I'll buy there since it almost the same price as ribble and I can have it TODAY. Quite like that store just for the atmosphere. I didn't raise my eyebrow once at the prices in there.

Yes, prices in Canadian bike shops are an interesting feature of living in the Great White North that Americans just would not believe. Quite often the argument is made that you should not buy mail order in order to support the local business. But talk about gouging!

The main fault lies with the few distributors in Canada, mostly Quebec-based, which charge pretty much what the market will bear, not really competing, but using their "competitors'" pricing to justify their own. The lowest prices usually are found at Mountain Equipment Co-op, with some items selling for less than at REI, its US-based counterpart (although many manufacturers will not sell to them due to Canada's weak anti-trust laws) and at shops like Bicicleta or Campione, which work with their own import company, I think. I do believe that "the rents" are being extracted at the distribution level in Canada. Prices will only fall when enough Canadian cyclists start shopping at foreign mail order companies. And I'm doing my part; it's either MEC or mail order.

Luis


You got that straight.......a Shimano Dura Ace 9 speed (7700) is C$83.26 at Ribble, $162.99 @ cyclepath.ca

To the OP - I'm surprised at Nashbar's position, especially with a long-term customer unless they're willing to offer some alternative shipping mode. I deal with a scuba shop in Tx that is very adept at shipping stuff to Canada (via UPS express no less), the shipping cost is low enough that it's not worth my time to drive to Ogdensburg and I usually get my purchases the following business day - no brokerage charges, just HST (which the border folks are happy to collect too)

I have just concluded my business relationship with Bike Nashbar. This is a real shame, because I've been buying stuff from them since the 70's, at least 30 years. I must have spent thousands with this mailorder company, and for good reason, as they usually have some very good prices on stuff, as well as some very good products (such as their winter tights that come in a "tall" size, and their knockoff of the San Marco Regal saddle that is almost as comfortable as the real thing).

But they would not ship my last order because I was having it sent to my mail drop. I live in Vancouver, Canada, but I have stuff sent to a parcel drop in Blaine, WA, just across the border. This lets me ship stuff at US shipping rates, which are much, much lower than the rates in Canada. As well, it's cheaper and faster for me to clear the stuff thru customs, rather than pay extra for UPS's broker, plus the border fees, etc.

Nashbar no longer sends stuff to parcel companies, UPS stores, or motels. This is understandable, since there's a parcel forwarding scam that is being perpetrated on mailorder companies. But my parcel drop does not do any forwarding, and I have been a customer of Nashbar for about 30 years. But they will make no exceptions. It has to be a residential address. So I just told them to cancel the order, and that as a result I would cease to do any further business with them. You would think they would make an exception in the case of a longterm customer? No, Nashbar has turned into the typical corporation...

Luis

It's too bad, yes. In the Classic and Vintage forum there's a thread about Facilitators, some who volunteer to help you send/recieve items when it's not possible to recieve the shipment (or deal with a CL seller who insists on local pickup) yourself. It's worth a try.

Tree Fort has to be watched carefully. I lately priced a set of Allroads. Tree Fort site price was $72 (!!!!!). They did an automatic price match with Rivendell, bringing it down to $68. But Google Shopping showed Tree Fort at about $45!

I can't give you the end of the story because my wife decided she did not want a bar of that shape, and besides I found a Wald steel bar at a different LBS for about $15. She held it and decided she'd use her old MTB bars ... Lady got what she wanted!

But once I found their lowest price for Paselas (which was also THE lowest price!), and asked them if I dropped by (next town over!) would they give me that price, and they did! With installation if I bought their tubes, too!

I believe Performance still ships to business addresses (at least they'll still ship to mine). I also do a fair amount of business with The Yellow Jersey (http://www.yellowjersey.org/index.html) - they're still owned/operated by passionate cyclists rather than myopic margin-driven bean-counters.

Hmmmm. Interesting situation. I agree with the observation that since big companies took them over, Nashbar and Performance are just not the same. (Never did business with Bikecology) Who owns Nashbar now? Does Arnie Nashbar even have anything to do the company anymore?

I still get their catalogs, and I do buy some small items, such as brake pads, from them. But, for the bigger items, it's off to my LBS.

Remember when Nashbar experimented with retail stores? They had one in Needham, in an industrial area, right near the legendary "You Do It Electronics". On long weekends, the place looked like a russian grocery store. Cleaned out of pretty much everything. The staff: Some good, some not so.

I placed a fairly massive order to Ribble earlier this year (lots of Assos stuff). Great price, great shipping, and oh, btw, on the box was a statement that the local PO should collect a big chunk of cash from me for excise tax. But, the local PO never saw the Memo! Tax on clothing, but no tax on equipment.

Maybe you could find a bicycling friend in Blaine, WA and have it shipped to that guy's house instead of a mail drop.

Who owns Nashbar now?

Nashbar is owned by Performance Bicycle. Performance Bike is owned by a private equity firm, North Castle Partners. (See here (http://www.lazardmm.com/news/news_detail.cfm?CAMPAIGN_ID=1066).)

Rumor has it that Dorel, owner of Cycle Sport Group (read: Cannondale, GT, Schwinn, Mongoose), is in talks to acquire Performance Bicycle. (See here (http://www.competitivecyclist.com/road-bikes/whats-new/pronunciation-guide.378.html).)

Nashbar is owned by Performance Bicycle. Performance Bike is owned by a private equity firm, North Castle Partners. (See here (http://www.lazardmm.com/news/news_detail.cfm?CAMPAIGN_ID=1066).)

Rumor has it that Dorel, owner of Cycle Sport Group (read: Cannondale, GT, Schwinn, Mongoose), is in talks to acquire Performance Bicycle. (See here (http://www.competitivecyclist.com/road-bikes/whats-new/pronunciation-guide.378.html).)
Well, do you suppose if the whole thing passes into Canadian ownership, the cross border shipping issues will get resolved?

Well, do you suppose if the whole thing passes into Canadian ownership, the cross border shipping issues will get resolved?

Ha! I hadn't thought of that.

Remember when Nashbar experimented with retail stores? They had one in Needham, in an industrial area, right near the legendary "You Do It Electronics". On long weekends, the place looked like a russian grocery store. Cleaned out of pretty much everything. The staff: Some good, some not so.
In the '80's and early '90's, Nashbar had an outlet store attached to their warehouse in Youngstown, Ohio. I made that 50 mile drive frequently (just ask my wife). They had a large bargain table filled with returns and miscellaneous goodies at ridiculously low prices. But even better...customers could place an order from the current catalog, hand it to the guy at the counter, and wait while he walked back into the warehouse to fill it. No waiting - no postage - no hassle.

It was great while it lasted, but it all ended when Performance took over.

In the '80's and early '90's, Nashbar had an outlet store attached to their warehouse in Youngstown, Ohio. I made that 50 mile drive frequently (just ask my wife). They had a large bargain table filled with returns and miscellaneous goodies at ridiculously low prices. But even better...customers could place an order from the current catalog, hand it to the guy at the counter, and wait while he walked back into the warehouse to fill it. No waiting - no postage - no hassle.

It was great while it lasted, but it all ended when Performance took over.

It was (most probably) all about profit margin. I should know . . . that's (for better or worse) MY (soulless corporate) world.

...then go to the web site and maybe size XXXXL or XXXXS is all that is available. Giant waste of time.

Hey, back off on dissin' the XXXXL..next time you see something that size, in stock, give me a shout! I like my bike and my twinkies...usually in that order.

In the '80's and early '90's, Nashbar had an outlet store attached to their warehouse in Youngstown, Ohio. I made that 50 mile drive frequently (just ask my wife). They had a large bargain table filled with returns and miscellaneous goodies at ridiculously low prices. But even better...customers could place an order from the current catalog, hand it to the guy at the counter, and wait while he walked back into the warehouse to fill it. No waiting - no postage - no hassle.

It was great while it lasted, but it all ended when Performance took over.

They used to have a retail store here in DC and some other places. Absoluely great prices! They occassionally sold high end frames (Pinarello, Masi, Tommasetti, etc.) at bargain prices. Tubes often were 3 for $2.

They used to have a retail store here in DC and some other places. Absoluely great prices! They occassionally sold high end frames (Pinarello, Masi, Tommasetti, etc.) at bargain prices. Tubes often were 3 for $2.

Yeah, they had lots of juicy steel frames hanging from the ceiling in Youngstown too.

I remember buying the old fuzzy polypro jerseys for $5 - I think they were returns, but I didn't find any defects.

Good times.

Does Arnie Nashbar even have anything to do the company anymore? .

Last I heard Arnie Nashbar retired to FL with all the money he received from the Performance buy-out and unfortunately suffered a severe stroke shortly thereafter. Not sure of his where-abouts now.

Back in 70's Nashbar and Bikecology were bitter rivals. I worked at Bikecology mail-order in Santa Monica from '76 to early '80. One day Arnie walked into the Bikecology offices unannounced. I had no idea who he was, but when he asked me what I did there I told him I handled all the frame ordering and sales. He then told me he was Arnie Nashbar and offered me a job at Nashbar (called Bike Warehouse back then) on the spot.

I politely turned him down and buzzed Alan (Goldsmith, owner of Bikecology at the time) and told him he had a visitor. Wish I could have heard that conversation when Arnie went up to Allen's office! Arnie left the building a short time later, looking not very pleased!

I still see Allen at Interbike occasionally (not for a couple of years though), but haven't seen Arnie since that day.

Rick / OCRR

My latest go-to is Tree Fort Bikes.

They price match everybody - and service has been very good so far.

+1

I worked at Bikecology mail-order in Santa Monica from '76 to early '80.

I didn't know you worked at Bikecology. The Bikecology in Santa Monica used to be my LBS when I lived in Westwood ('81 to '83).

Nashbar's still around? I bought probably a few thousand dollars' worth of stuff from them in the '70s and '80s, but I haven't even thought about them in years. I haven't really felt the same about them since they dropped the old line-drawing catalogs in favor of photographs.

Nashbar's still around? I bought probably a few thousand dollars' worth of stuff from them in the '70s and '80s, but I haven't even thought about them in years. I haven't really felt the same about them since they dropped the old line-drawing catalogs in favor of photographs.

Seirra designs is the only catalog I get which still uses those line-drawings; they're fantastic. I'll order from them when thre's a good deal just to keep those catalogs coming. Interesting what odd sorts of things are sold for other sports and markets. The pages are also excellent for lighting the wood stove.

Nashbar is owned by Performance Bicycle. Performance Bike is owned by a private equity firm, North Castle Partners. (See here (http://www.lazardmm.com/news/news_detail.cfm?CAMPAIGN_ID=1066).)

Rumor has it that Dorel, owner of Cycle Sport Group (read: Cannondale, GT, Schwinn, Mongoose), is in talks to acquire Performance Bicycle. (See here (http://www.competitivecyclist.com/road-bikes/whats-new/pronunciation-guide.378.html).)

Good information. Thanks, TSL.

I discontinued doing business with Nashbar after their credit card data base was breached, and my credit card accrued numerous unauthorized purchases.
After I straightened out that credit card fiasco, I get an apology letter from Nashbar a few months later, along with a 30 percent discount coupon that's only good for 30 days.

Also, I'm not sure who's in charge of Nashbar's marketing strategy, but I feel that their 2010 "Fall into Savings" catalog cover showing an MTB cyclist doing a face plant onto a rock is in bad taste.

I didn't know you worked at Bikecology. The Bikecology in Santa Monica used to be my LBS when I lived in Westwood ('81 to '83).

Then you probably knew Manny Diaz, who was the manager at the Santa Monica store and Rob Taylor who was the top mechanic? I used to ride the Santa Monica mountains with those guys, plus I rode with Manny's girl-friend Meryl Bisberg, who was the Bikecology purchasing agent at the time; since we both had Sunday's off.

Fun times, and since I was in my 20's then, a whole different outlook on the sport of cycling and life in general!

Now, Sherman, where did you put that "Way Back" machine?

Rick / OCRR

Nashbar no longer sends stuff to parcel companies, UPS stores, or motels.

Oh?
I have been having everything shipped to a UPS Store for the past ten years.
I just received a Nashbar order two weeks ago.
If you use the address the UPS Store provides you, it has *your* name, not the store name in it.

I started using the UPS Store because I got damned tired of coming home to find a note saying
"We tried to deliver but need a signature", or the opposite problem of finding a $2000 item left
sitting on the porch all day.

Something is not kosher here. It's not a matter of making an exception. Nashbar made an offer in their catalog and your accepted. You paid for it, you get to set the terms. Your the customer and your always right. Always.