Have bike, will travel
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Lake Geneva, WI
Posts: 12,284
Bikes: Ridley Helium SLX, Canyon Endurance SL, De Rosa Professional, Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra, Schwinn Paramount (1 painted, 1 chrome), Peugeot PX10, Serotta Nova X, Simoncini Cyclocross Special, Raleigh Roker, Pedal Force CG2 and CX2
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Originally Posted by
Squeeze
So Raleigh corporate makes the sale and takes the profit, and their dealers have to assemble bikes that they made no money on?
I've been suspicious of this whole deal since I first clicked the link in some other thread at this forum (it has been widely discussed) and was asked for personal information before seeing any bikes or prices.
It sounds like a data harvesting operation to me. Sell bikes at dealer cost (my guess) to maybe 10 or 20% of people who create an account, but gain data for future marketing and to sell to other marketers for everyone who is curious enough about prices to go through the registration process at their site.
If the parent company is already selling bikes at dealer cost and lets a few slip out the door directly to customers in exchange for thousands of marketing contacts, what's the harm?
Nothing, I guess, except the local dealers must be highly upset...IF my assumptions are correct, which they very well may not be.
Just some random thoughts here. I have nothing against Raleigh (I own one), and I'm glad to see people getting good deals, but the whole thing just smells fishy to me, somehow.
I'm not sure how the local Raleigh dealer benefits, if they do at all.
Many companies target the internet buyer as a separate market from the retail buyer. I have many bikes, none have been purchased at retail. I almost never like the selection at retail in any event.
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When I ride my bike I feel free and happy and strong. I'm liberated from the usual nonsense of day to day life. Solid, dependable, silent, my bike is my horse, my fighter jet, my island, my friend. Together we will conquer that hill and thereafter the world.
Last edited by Barrettscv; 03-09-17 at 04:27 PM.