Originally Posted by surreal

I ditched the bike shop i used to work at when the owner reduced our employee discount to levels that couldn't compete with online shopping. I ditched all the other bike shops long before that, because 99% of bike shops will sell you a cassette that sells for $65 all day online for $99. Even when you go in, explain that you'd like to support the local merchant/local economy, and ask them to match the price b/c, hey, they can get $15 in profit for the thing, or they can get zero, but they aren't going to get $50 from me just to order the thing. $15 seems like a good deal for the 30 seconds it takes to add a cassette to the next qbp order, but NO, these guys cling to the msrp, which is why they're suffering so. Even if you *do* bite the bullet and pay too much for your cassette, you'd better hope the thing's in stock. Otherwise, you'll need to wait 2 weeks for a thing that'd come in the post in 5 days, had you ordered it online for $35 less.

I know THAT's gonna get some ppl angry, but it really is simple math.

-rob