Let me elaborate. I have three bikes. One is a Bridgestone XO-2 I bought off Craigslist. I wanted one for years and was fortunate to find one in my size. The only way I'd get a bike with that geometry and 559 wheels new would be to go custom.

My other two bikes(a Gunnar Sport and a Surly Pacer) are semi-custom. By that, I mean I bought the frame and fork from the LBS and had them build with components of my choice. The Gunnar got way expensive that way, but the price of the Surly build was competitive with the other bikes on the LBS's floor.

It seems that the majority of posters, when they buy new, buy a complete bike from one of the big makers. Did your LBS mention the option of building up a bike from the frameset?

I would think people who are willing to pay to build from a frameset already know about that option...

I am perhaps a year away from convincing myself that I NEED one more bike. With a very versatile stable right now, my LBS is constantly whispering in my ear to build one up. Of course, they are recommending a top of the line frame, and at that price point a custom build is similar cost (to me) as an off the shelf top end bike. Very tempting. Not very tempting for the low to mid range bikes.