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Another Rivendell thread (2010)

Old 09-07-10, 02:50 PM
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Another Rivendell thread (2010)

This has come up before, but I find this attitude really irritating about Rivendell:

https://www.rivbike.com/products/show...anguage/23-047

Basically, it's another - "Hey, we know we jacked the price of this item way up, but since we showed you, you should pay it!"

If this logic (information = money) extends to other sites, I would owe at least half my yearly salary to Harris Cyclery by now. Especially since Harris has a TON of articles for practical, mechanical skills and a lot less emphasis on opinion - which Rivendell has in spades.

I've never seen Harris even attempting to rationalize high prices on their site.

Maybe that explains why I've purchased hundreds of dollars worth of items at Harris and not a thing from Rivendell.
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Old 09-07-10, 03:54 PM
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Maybe it's me, but I don't understand your rant based off the link.
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Old 09-07-10, 04:22 PM
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Originally Posted by knobster
Maybe it's me, but I don't understand your rant based off the link.
Probably relating to this:
Originally Posted by linked Rivendell page
All for $15, which is $2 less than the cover price, but not quite as low as Amazon. But who told you about it? Buy from the introducer!
What strikes me as more than a little odd is that the item in question is a book that appears to have no relevance to Rivendell's core business (i.e., cycling) whatsoever.

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Old 09-07-10, 04:23 PM
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So what? You have a computer buy from Amazon.
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Old 09-08-10, 10:00 AM
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Riv routinely sells books that are "off topic". They're just books that they think are worth reading and use their medium (website) to tell others about them. In a way I can see where the OP is coming from, but then again no one is forcing you to do buisness with them.
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Old 09-08-10, 11:25 AM
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Originally Posted by ChrisO
Riv routinely sells books that are "off topic". They're just books that they think are worth reading and use their medium (website) to tell others about them. In a way I can see where the OP is coming from, but then again no one is forcing you to do buisness with them.
Agree.

Also, I think "But who told you about it? Buy from the introducer!" is meant to be slightly humorous.
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Old 09-08-10, 12:41 PM
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They got to meet Payroll like any Business .. maybe another country will be cheaper , but you live in this one..
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Old 09-08-10, 02:48 PM
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Seeing as they're selling the book at two dollars below the cover price, how is this jacking up the price?
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Old 09-08-10, 09:30 PM
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I've bought a crapload of stuff, including two bikes, from Rivendell going back five or six years. Some of it is tough to get anywhere else (I tried for three months to find a locally available equivalent of my Atlantis, but the shops didn't have any interest in helping me). They've always been great to deal with, and everything I've bought has been exactly as described.
I've talked with Grant several times, interviewed him once for a newspaper story, and his ideas and opinions work really well for me (I'm in my 60s, a cyclist for more than 40 years, and I care a lot more about being comfortable in the saddle than I do about saving 27 grams or going 1mph faster). The retro stuff, what little of it I've ordered, canvas bags and whatnot, works better and lasts longer than its modern plastic equivalents.
At bottom, though, seems to me it's a matter of supporting the (relatively) little guy rather than the big-box retailer. I'll happily pay a little more to keep Riv in business, just like I buy tubes and patch kits from the small shop down the street from my office rather than getting them from the REI I pass on the way home. And if Grant wanders away from the point sometimes...well, hooray. I've been a cyclist for decades, but I'm not JUST a cyclist, and if he prints an opinion I happen not to agree with, I don't have to read it.
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Old 09-08-10, 10:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Velo Dog
I've bought a crapload of stuff, including two bikes, from Rivendell going back five or six years. Some of it is tough to get anywhere else (I tried for three months to find a locally available equivalent of my Atlantis, but the shops didn't have any interest in helping me). They've always been great to deal with, and everything I've bought has been exactly as described.
I've talked with Grant several times, interviewed him once for a newspaper story, and his ideas and opinions work really well for me (I'm in my 60s, a cyclist for more than 40 years, and I care a lot more about being comfortable in the saddle than I do about saving 27 grams or going 1mph faster). The retro stuff, what little of it I've ordered, canvas bags and whatnot, works better and lasts longer than its modern plastic equivalents.
At bottom, though, seems to me it's a matter of supporting the (relatively) little guy rather than the big-box retailer. I'll happily pay a little more to keep Riv in business, just like I buy tubes and patch kits from the small shop down the street from my office rather than getting them from the REI I pass on the way home. And if Grant wanders away from the point sometimes...well, hooray. I've been a cyclist for decades, but I'm not JUST a cyclist, and if he prints an opinion I happen not to agree with, I don't have to read it.

Just smile and nod when Grant goes off point..
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Old 09-09-10, 07:24 AM
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All the above and the fact that they are making the effort to produce a steel fork to replace the CF forks that always seem to accompany the Ti bikes I'm looking into make Rivendell worth their weight in gold to me at least.
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Old 09-09-10, 09:08 AM
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It's just a joke. They're selling the books for the price they can sell it for (they do have to make a profit, after all), but it's still below the price you'd pay if you went to your local bookstore, which isn't a bad deal. And depending on where you live, you might not even need to pay sales tax.

And for what it's worth, this is a good book, for those who are interested in the topic.
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Old 09-09-10, 09:16 AM
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Originally Posted by TurbineBlade
This has come up before, but I find this attitude really irritating about Rivendell:

https://www.rivbike.com/products/show...anguage/23-047

Basically, it's another - "Hey, we know we jacked the price of this item way up, but since we showed you, you should pay it!"

If this logic (information = money) extends to other sites, I would owe at least half my yearly salary to Harris Cyclery by now. Especially since Harris has a TON of articles for practical, mechanical skills and a lot less emphasis on opinion - which Rivendell has in spades.

I've never seen Harris even attempting to rationalize high prices on their site.

Maybe that explains why I've purchased hundreds of dollars worth of items at Harris and not a thing from Rivendell.
Yawn.

Amazon gets kickbacks that allow them to sell books for less. Nor did they "jack up" the price.

Stupid rant.
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Old 09-10-10, 03:56 AM
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Some good points really - I can't argue with it. I check Rivendell's site regularly if that tells you anything, so maybe I should ease up a bit.

Yawn.

Amazon gets kickbacks that allow them to sell books for less. Nor did they "jack up" the price.

Stupid rant.
It's hard to feign disinterest or weariness with a "yawn" when you actually had to use the energy to respond to a nerdy bike forum post -- wouldn't you say?
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Old 09-10-10, 10:41 AM
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Originally Posted by TurbineBlade
It's hard to feign disinterest or weariness with a "yawn" when you actually had to use the energy to respond to a nerdy bike forum post -- wouldn't you say?
I was expecting a good rant but got this one instead (yawn!).

Rivendell said what they said consciously and deliberately. Their situation isn't really different than the LBS or independent bookseller: they can't compete on price against business like Amazon, Walmart, etc.

If they provide extra value (and selectively recommending books has some value), then charging a bit more isn't unreasonable. I suspect Grant isn't anywhere as near as rich as Bezos.
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