Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!
View Poll Results: To shop or not to shop
Go ahead, it's not your fault the shop went under
69
81.18%
I'd feel a bit funny but what the hell, a deal is a deal
1
1.18%
I wouldn't go in because I just don't think it's right
0
0%
Bunnys with pancakes and Cherry Pie
15
17.65%
Voters: 85. You may not vote on this poll

Ethical Question

Old 11-21-07, 06:31 AM
  #1  
Too Much Crazy
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: NY
Posts: 3,660

Bikes: Eriksen 29er, Gunnar Roadie, Niner RLT, Niner RIP 9

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 116 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 2 Posts
Ethical Question

There is an LBS in my area that is going out of business. Supposedly, their landlord riased the rent on them substantially and they can't make it. The owner is having a liquidation sale to get rid of current and old inventory. I usually do not shop there at all. I have picked up a few tubes, stans goo, etc in the past but never big ticket items. I ride with a bunch of their 'team' though and they called me to let me know about the sale.
Would you feel OK about going in now to swoop up whats left, like some Vulture swooping down for some LBS Carrion?

am I just overthinking it?
C Law is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 06:33 AM
  #2  
Studs Terkel
 
Johnny_Monkey's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Dubai, UAE
Posts: 8,724

Bikes: Pinarello Paris; Avanti Blade Comp; Tommasini X-Fire; Merckx San Remo 76.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
There is no ethical issue if the sale is open to members of the general public.
Johnny_Monkey is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 06:53 AM
  #3  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: South Florida
Posts: 726
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Evidently the owner/s have to move their inventory and don't care who buys it. You may be doing them a favor. Sounds like a win win to me.
bobn is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 07:11 AM
  #4  
Spelling Snob
 
Hobartlemagne's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Plano, Texas
Posts: 2,862

Bikes: Panasonic DX4000, Bianchi Pista

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 1 Post
No ethics about it- its economics. If it would make you feel any better you could pay me the difference between MSRP and the sale price.
__________________

The first rule of flats is You don't talk about flats!
Hobartlemagne is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 07:15 AM
  #5  
Too Much Crazy
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: NY
Posts: 3,660

Bikes: Eriksen 29er, Gunnar Roadie, Niner RLT, Niner RIP 9

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 116 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 2 Posts
Its a theoretical query only. Unfortunatley, I have all the bikes and supplies I need through next year
C Law is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 07:44 AM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
Retro Grouch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: St Peters, Missouri
Posts: 30,225

Bikes: Catrike 559 I own some others but they don't get ridden very much.

Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1572 Post(s)
Liked 642 Times in 363 Posts
Yeah, you're overthinking.

Ultimately, some bank is going to take the entire proceeds of the sale. The owner will pretty much be left with whatever he's left with and it won't change too much regardless. He's going to be plucked as clean as they can.

I don't feel too sorry for the bank either. They made a business decision and, I assume, have been collecting interest for all these years based upon their assessment of the degree of risk. Sometimes they guess right and make a pile, sometimes they guess wrong and have to take a loss.
Retro Grouch is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 07:49 AM
  #7  
the bike made me do it
 
oneredstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Paris, of the prairies
Posts: 528
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
unfortunately your local shop is going out of business, the damage has been done, so now you might as well take advantage and stock up on some cheap buys.
oneredstar is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 08:19 AM
  #8  
Who you callin' Senior?
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Northern NJ
Posts: 70

Bikes: Cannondale T2000; Peugeot UO8; Schwinn World Tour; Ibex Aprisa

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I would speak to the owner, tell him your sorry to hear that he is closing. Wish him the best of luck in whatever he is doing in the future. Then buy whatever you want.
halcpa is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 08:28 AM
  #9  
Senior Member
 
Marrock's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Used to be there, now I'm here.
Posts: 1,921
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
If you feel that bad about it you could always offer to help him pay his rent so he could stay open.
Marrock is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 08:56 AM
  #10  
Señor Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Southeast USA
Posts: 147
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
If anything, you'd probably be helping them out.
Bruce_B is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 09:11 AM
  #11  
Senior Member
 
geraldatwork's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 767

Bikes: 2005 Windsor Kennet, 1982 Raleigh Super Course

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
When businesses have liquidation sales the leftover prices of items tend to get lower as the sale progresses. Where at the end they are stuck with the junk stuff. So if you go there early you will find the better items and would be helping out the owner by purchasing his stuff. Like someone previouisly said a win win situation.
geraldatwork is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 09:27 AM
  #12  
Dubito ergo sum.
 
patc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada
Posts: 1,735

Bikes: Bessie.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
As a business owner: if something is being liquidated, the shop owner needs to get rid of the stuff, you're doing him/her a favor if you buy.

Is this LBS in a mall or mini mall? If so you may want to complain to he mall's management company. Several years ago the same happened to a great pet store we do business with - one of the few pet stores that actually cares about animals. So many people called the mall management to say something along the lines of, "I only shop at your mall because of that pet store..." that they got a deal on the rent and managed to stay open.
patc is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 09:35 AM
  #13  
Senior Member
 
Garfield Cat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 7,079

Bikes: Cervelo Prodigy

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 475 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 87 Times in 67 Posts
People who go into business know the risks. If a company cannot make a profit, then the company will not survive. The owners will cut their losses short and move on to something else.

A moral wrong is stealing. A liquidation sale is not stealing. Even though we often say the purchase was "a steal", it isn't stealing.
Garfield Cat is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 10:03 AM
  #14  
Been Around Awhile
 
I-Like-To-Bike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Burlington Iowa
Posts: 29,950

Bikes: Vaterland and Ragazzi

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12 Post(s)
Liked 1,517 Times in 1,031 Posts
Originally Posted by Curt Kurt
Would you feel OK about going in now to swoop up whats left, like some Vulture swooping down for some LBS Carrion?

am I just overthinking it?
Watch the first 5 minutes of the movie Miller's Crossing for a more thorough lesson in the application of "ethics."

BTW, the rest of the movie is darn good, too.

Last edited by I-Like-To-Bike; 11-21-07 at 10:20 AM.
I-Like-To-Bike is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 01:19 PM
  #15  
Really Old Senior Member
 
Bill Kapaun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Mid Willamette Valley, Orygun
Posts: 13,822

Bikes: 87 RockHopper,2008 Specialized Globe. Both upgraded to 9 speeds.

Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1774 Post(s)
Liked 1,230 Times in 851 Posts
They call YOU up and you don't know if it's "ethical"....
Obviously there are too many polls on BF!
Bill Kapaun is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 01:51 PM
  #16  
Hooligan
 
Abneycat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Base of the Rocky Mountains, Canada. Wonderous things!
Posts: 1,431

Bikes: 2010 Cannondale Hooligan 3

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by geraldatwork
When businesses have liquidation sales the leftover prices of items tend to get lower as the sale progresses. Where at the end they are stuck with the junk stuff. So if you go there early you will find the better items and would be helping out the owner by purchasing his stuff. Like someone previouisly said a win win situation.
Mmhm. If you don't buy it from the store at their sale price, then in the end the bank will hand off all of the remaining goods to a liquidation company who will take it off the banks hands for a *fraction* of what you would've paid, so the shop owners would be much more likely to be in trouble in the end. Buying it from the store personally during their closeout gives them a better chance of coming out of it all clean, or even with a small take away.

I don't think its immoral at all. Sad that the owners store would be closing down, but unless you can provide them with another solution to their problems, buying at that time would be helping them out, because liquidators won't give them any kindness.
Abneycat is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 03:06 PM
  #17  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Tariffville, CT
Posts: 15,401

Bikes: Tsunami road bikes, Dolan DF4 track

Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 383 Post(s)
Liked 179 Times in 101 Posts
Go shop there.

Don't worry about the lease thing - that's a standard line for any business that's closing down. "Lost our lease!". We used to joke about that - "what, they don't know where they put it?" until we were the one who "lost our lease".

If you feel bad for the shop owner/s, pay cash.

This is the time to pick up things like tools, expendables (tubes, tires, etc.), and new old stock (NOS) - cheap BMX bike, a beater bike for commuting, etc.

Healthy shops regularly look through closing-down-shops in order to get more workstands/truing stands, tubes, tools, second air compressor, a few boxes of tools, or whatever. A rival shop can also pay to have all the calls forwarded to them (they just pay the phone book bills). etc etc. It's like those nature documentaries where the lion kills the antelope. Once the antelope is down, everyone gets a piece of it, lions to flies. It's all recycled back into the system.

Around what town/area is it? And how long were they around? I need an old quill type 0.833" stem

cdr
__________________
"...during the Lance years, being fit became the No. 1 thing. Totally the only thing. It’s a big part of what we do, but fitness is not the only thing. There’s skills, there’s tactics … there’s all kinds of stuff..." Tim Johnson
carpediemracing is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 04:05 PM
  #18  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,268
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 118 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 50 Times in 25 Posts
I scored a really nice tool kit for $68.00, OTD, when I walked into a performance shop that was closing. Been doing my own wrenching ever since. I went there to get spare tubes. bk
bkaapcke is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 05:40 PM
  #19  
Laid back bent rider
 
unixpro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Burien, WA
Posts: 1,134

Bikes: Bacchetta Giro 20

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
As a former business owner, I can tell you that you're doing them a favor. They've already spent the money to buy the stuff and they're not going to be around for as long as it takes to move it normally. Even if they only recover a portion of their money, that's better than nothing. If you don't buy it, they'll end up getting rid of it some other way.
unixpro is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 06:06 PM
  #20  
Caustic Soccer Mom
 
apclassic9's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Millstone WV
Posts: 1,761
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
if no one BUYS the stuff, it will end up in the guy's garage & eventually on e-bay. No harm no fowl (t-day joke!)
__________________
As with mud, life, too, slides by.
apclassic9 is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 08:23 PM
  #21  
CRIKEY!!!!!!!
 
Cyclaholic's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: all the way down under
Posts: 4,276

Bikes: several

Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1589 Post(s)
Liked 687 Times in 365 Posts
Not only would I swoop like a vulture on carrion, I'd try to haggle the prices even lower knowing that he's desperate to get rid of the stuff..... if I'm going to swoop I may as well pick the carcass as clean as I can.
Cyclaholic is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 08:25 PM
  #22  
bac
Senior Member
 
bac's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 7,481

Bikes: Too many to list!

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
No ethical issues. Do it, and come back to report on your finds!!!

... Brad
bac is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 08:34 PM
  #23  
cab horn
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Toronto
Posts: 28,353

Bikes: 1987 Bianchi Campione

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 42 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 25 Times in 18 Posts
Originally Posted by Johnny_Monkey
There is no ethical issue if the sale is open to members of the general public.
+1
operator is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 08:40 PM
  #24  
Senior Member
 
Marrock's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Used to be there, now I'm here.
Posts: 1,921
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
How can you have ethical issues with reduced prices on bike stuff?
Marrock is offline  
Old 11-21-07, 09:12 PM
  #25  
Conquer Cancer rider
 
Boudicca's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Toronto
Posts: 6,039

Bikes: Fun bike, city bike, Bike Friday, Brompton (also fun bikes)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Go crazy. Buy.
__________________
Zero gallons to the mile
Boudicca is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.