Originally Posted by
Damien09
I throw plently of work at my lbs.I just dont buy stuff thats way marked up. And if i tried some on and they wrent to much more than online it wouldnt bother me to buy them.but i have seen tires and other stuff x2 online price or other bike shops price. Lots of times on stuff they are a good price just not allways. And his lbs is gonna hate him for trying on a pair of shoes and deciding not to buy them? If i remeber shoping around isn't a bad thing. so to say they wont like someone for deciding not to buy something at your store once is pretty harsh?
It tends to be customers that come in and tire kick but never buy anything, that gets you noticed. It's a good practice to not be that guy. Remember that bike shops make most of their money on accessories and clothing, not bikes or service (although they do make something on labor), and going the online route really eats into their ability to keep the doors open. It's good form to leave the lbs out of your online transaction, because even if you don't do it often, a lot of people do, and you can't think they don't notice.