Originally Posted by
bathedinshadow
Call me stupid (or don't), but why does paying in cash give you more bargaining power?
As well, "if you don't buy it, someone else will." How is that a factor when the shop is having to order the bikes anyway? If I buy it, isn't that one more person buying a bike? I really am asking - not being snarky.
Credit card transaction fee?
I think you should ask for a discount but there is no guarantee in getting it, given that other shops are asking the same or more. You might think that it is like bargaining over a car, but I don't think your LBS employees behave like car sales people, nor they might get the same incentives like car dealers get from automobile manufacturers.
And I don't think the hotel room example is quite the same. I imagine you might not get it for $30 if it is on a weekend in a popular locale; more appropriate if you were shopping in the winter.