Originally Posted by
livedarklions
To be clear, I don't disagree with you (mostly), but I think the newbie/enthusiast distinction is worth discussing, so I'm glad
Jughed brought it up. I disagree that this is just an issue of a particular salesperson, though, as I think the constant reference of relatively expensive bikes and kit as being "entry level" is an industry thing.
Sales people are generally going to push people to spend more, regardless of the product. "Let the buyer beware" applies to bike shops as much as anywhere else.
I'm a retired new car dealer mechanic. Some of what certain service advisors do to customers makes me sick to my stomach. They get paid commission, their job is to get as much money from the customer as possible. When one advisor starts out-selling the others, the others are encouraged to sell more and may be threatened with termination.
Of course, they're not all like that and I'm sure some bike shop people actually care and have morals. Some might just be ignorant and believe that a $5K bike is the minimum for a decent mtb.