Originally Posted by
himespau
psimet (at least I think it was him, if it was someone else, I appologize) once said that all the manufacturers have ready made direct sell websites ready to go at the push of a button when one of their competitors does it so they're not left behind but currently they don't want to be the first one to alienate their dealers.
Yup that was me. They do.
Originally Posted by
achoo
The cycling market in the US *is* badly broken.
WItness the fact that the cheapest way to get tires (and many other parts) is to buy 'em online from the UK and get 'em shipped here.
Indeed. Broken. Badly. I had a discussion yesterday with a local dealer (shop) owner over Facebook. Went like this:
Me: "Hey - I found a new source for "X" tires. These guys are new. Guy founded "Y" and "Z" (big companies) and left because of the BS. Talked to him a lot at interbike. Now he's nailing "X" and bound to be the cheapest source in the US. With his low price and now a 7% annual discount for a $1k opening order and a 5% payment method discount...I just switched all my buying to them."
Him: "Holy crap!! That won't last. "X" will come in and squash them once all the other distributors start complaining to them."
Me: "I know. Sickening right? Anyway...I'm buying up everything I can."
Him: " I don't blame you. Anymore I can't find them for that price unless I buy them retail from Europe."
The thing that kills me is that then when I read my NBDA newsletter it is filled with brick laying luddites. ...don't have the time to type out the rest of this...sorry....just saying that the shop owners are just simply "lost" and have no clue what how to integrate anything modern into their business model. It is a model that is doomed to failure. It's just a matter of time.