Originally Posted by
Burton
In the long run I suspect that lots of people deal over the Internet simply because they don`t have to or want to interact with anyone to do it. I`ve heard a few comments about attitudes of personnel in some of the local shops. From the point of view of someone that works at a number of shops - there are lots of times that I have to bite my tongue because of some of the attitudes of some customers. Just look at some of the posts that go on in this forum!
I guess I'm not typical then. I actually *try* to think of things I can buy at the LBS, just to give me a valid excuse to hang out there for a while. I could have gotten my Brooks B72 for a little less online, but I wanted to give the LBS some business because of all the times I hang out there without a valid excuse
I bought my dynamo lights there, even though they order from Peter White same as I can, and charge the same prices Peter does (I guess he charges wholesale to bike shops). I could read the descriptions just the same as the guys at the LBS, but I want to benefit from their direct experience in terms of putting lighting systems on customer bikes, not to mention their own experience with lighting (and the owner is a randonneur). They know I like the best value for the buck and don't want the fanciest stuff just because it's fancy, and the set me up with a reasonably priced system that fit all my requirements. If I had done it on my own I would have gotten something different probably, and wouldn't have been as happy with it.
I recently had him check some stuff on my bike and he made some minor adjustments, while we were standing there talking (no other customers). He didn't charge me; he said he didn't do enough. So I grabbed a shop t-shirt and bought it.
To me, the benefits of being in good with the LBS is worth paying the (sometimes higher) prices. I don't want to lose my shop. That already happened to me once; I don't want to lose another.