It probably depends on how much you're spending. Margins on most consumer bicycles are not very high. Most bike shops throw in free maintenance and free this-or-that with purchase, etc. I think my Giant dealer sold me my Roam last year for $600 when the MSRP on the Giant website was $610 or something. It's not much of a discount, and I didn't ask for more. The shop does a lot of charity work in the community and offers lifetime adjustments when you buy the bike, plus the first complete tune-up for free. I do that stuff myself, but that's normally a $65 service to a walk-in customer that he's giving away with each new bike, whether it's a $3k cyclocross bike or a $300 Giant Cypress. You may find that your dealer can or is willing to work with you on pricing, or he can't or won't. I guess you'd just need to ask. Each bike shop is a completely independent business, and there are probably different pricing structures they pay for bikes based on sales volume, etc. As with any other type of business, I imagine there are a lot of layers to the cake that most of us are not aware of when we walk in and see a price tag.