Originally Posted by
corvuscorvax
It's one thing for my LBS to take exception if I avail myself of their expertise and then buy online. That's uncool. But if I don't need my LBS's expertise, tools, service, or anything else, then exactly what is the problem with buying online?
I buy lots of stuff online, and I buy different kinds of stuff at my LBS. I buy things like pedals online, because I know what I want and it is cheaper and more convenient to purchase online than to shlep over to the LBS to put the part on order, then shlep back again a week later to pick it up. But if I need help with a spoke length calculation for a wheel build, I buy the parts at the LBS.
Somehow I still have a great relationship with my LBS. (Perhaps the custom Ti rig I picked up a few years ago bought me a little slack...)
Any LBS that hates you for ever buying online isn't a retail establishment, they're a stalker girlfriend.
the ti rig probably helps. it just really sucks when people bring in stuff they get off the internet and tell you how great a deal they got, and then gripe when you charge them $5 or $10 to put it on. they EXPECT you to put it on for free. it's that attitude that sucks.