Originally Posted by
shipwreck
The owner of the bike shop in my home town once grabbed some gloves out of my hand and started tearing off the msrp price, which was 15 dollars less than he had just told me. While he scraped it off, he offered them to me for only 10 over msrp. That was not even the thing that made me absolutely swear never to go in again. Not gonna support the local shop.
Wow! I wouldn't support that shop either. I guess it's always best to be an informed consumer. I usually know the prices of things that I'm interested in before going to the shop, if the price is similar and I need the item, I'll go ahead and buy it at the shop...and my shop will usually give me 10% off or some other special.
I forget not everyone lives in a bigger city/town and might only have one or two shops to choose from. I have 5 within 10-20 miles from me. I have one that I go to primarily, but I do spread the love around.
I'm also a fan of visiting bike shops when I'm on vacation - I usually try to buy a cap or a tshirt to show my support.