So my girlfriend has been looking at bikes lately and she found one she absolutely loves. Unfortunately she's probably a 46cm. We used competitive cyclists calculator to get a rough idea of her size (45-46cm). She's been on a couple other 50cm bikes and it seems a bit too big for her and the next size down for the bike she likes is a 46cm.

So the question I have is, the bike shop she called said they can get the bike in her size for her but that she'd need to leave a deposit. Now as soon as she told me that I thought what if it doesn't even fit her or is just plain uncomfortable? She didn't ask if it's a refundable deposit either. If it's non-refundable then she's either out a big hunk of money or she's stuck with a bike that she's going to hate. She said that she thinks they want a 50% deposit.

I've never had to order a bike before from a bike shop, so is this a normal practice? I'm thinking about going in and talking with them in person. I think they might be taking advantage of the fact that she's a female...

It's not as if she's not a serious buyer is, she's would be more than willing to pay MSRP, put down a non-refundable deposit, she even said she'd buy it even if it didn't fit perfectly. She's absolutely in love with the bike, she's even gone as far as painting her nails the same color, lol. But, I know she'd walk away if I told her it was a bad idea. Another question is...would you haggle with them to get it under MSRP? They said they wouldn't go any lower unless we could find someone selling it for cheaper and they would price match. Would you try to get them to throw in a couple things or do a small package for her instead?

Thanks!