Originally Posted by
nivekdodge 
Why are these bikes less expensive then?
Originally Posted by
Sam N
Have you been reading the rest of the thread?
- They don't come fully assembled, lubed, etc.
- There isn't any service included (tune-ups, warranty, etc.)
- The frames are not as fancy
- There's no LBS overhead to pay for
While all of those except for warranty may be true, the biggest factor, which has no effect on tangible value is marketing expense. For a mainstream bike, 25% to 40% of the price is marketing. I believe the average is ~30%.
Direct sellers usually have marketing expense in the single digits ~6-9%. So figure that with all other things equal, a $2000 lbs "name brand" bike should only cost ~$1500. Take into account lower profit margins, distribution and assembly cost and the price easily lowers to ~$1200. That's with zero performance difference.
While a free tune up "costs" the lbs something, it should be more than offset by sales generated by the visit. After all , it's the best time to get someone back in the store for incidental purchases.