Help me understand my LBS.
 

I've been going to the same LBS for quite some time now. They are right around the corner from my house and even though the owner isn't the most personable guy the employees are always friendly and helpful. They are always busy because of their beach cruiser sales and probably do more business than other stores in the area which are twice the size.

Since I'm always tinkering with my bikes and needing small parts or cables they've received plenty of my business over the years. Their markup for parts seemed fairly standard when I first started going to them, but over the last couple years it seems like prices make a jump upward each month. With the small items I could justify the cost since I was not having to pay $8 shipping on a $4 part and then turn around and wait for the item to arrive at my door.

When I recently decided to put some funding into my 'everything' bike and upgrade a few of the decades old parts the markup on what we discussed putting on the bike was 30+% over the asking price of other retailers (even over not-so-local bike shops the next city over).

Part of my is trying to justify the extra cost I am paying in my head thinking these guys are just trying to make a living. I know the basics of retail and know that every square foot of that place costs them money in some fashion. Another part of me wants to let them know that their price jumps each month are getting a little haywire and that it might be time for me to find another LBS since their markups are getting out of hand.

Has anyone else run into this? What would/did you do?

I don't expect them to change on account of me, but I am sure that I am not the only person who has noticed this or has begun to pass on their pricing for items and just buying the same thing for a lot cheaper somewhere else.

I buy from my LBS where it makes sense. Personally I don't mind paying a little more to support the local guy, especially when he's helpful like my LBS is.

Trouble is there are deals so much better online. When I had my chain and cassette replaced the LBS charged me £34.99 for the cassette and £19.99 for the chain. Online they were as cheap as £16.99 and £14.99. The only reason I went to the LBS for that is because I had a long ride approaching and didn't want my first attempt at changing the cassette to be shortly before such a long trip.

I just bought some brake pads online. Online price £5.99, LBS price £14.99. I can't justify paying that kind of markup to the LBS.

You have to make that call yourself. How much markup is acceptable? And if the employees are very friendly, maybe you could explain to them that you don't have mounds of cash laying around to buy parts with, and you'd be more than happy for them to install something that you bought online.

Truth be told if I'm buying stuff much cheaper online I might as well use the savings to buy the tools to install them myself as well and leave the LBS for the stuff I can't do myself.

I hardly ever buy anything from bike shops because they never have what I'm looking for. And if they do it's 2x or more as much as online. Most of them won't match prices either.

This, exactly.
I have several bikes that still have 27" wheels that I don't WANT to convert to 700c. Out of 5 LBS's, only 1 had a 27x1-1/8, NONE had any 27x1. So my local choices were mostly 27x1-1/4, and mostly CST's.
Of course, "I can order that for you.." Yeah, and then mark it up by 50% ??? Or more ???
No thanks, I'll have it shipped directly to my house.

We have two LBS's in town, when I go in them, one has young guys working there with attitude issues, the other gives me the impression that I am annoying them. When Performance Bike recently opened up in town, all the employees are much friendlier, they have more reasonable prices, and have more in-stock items. Some of their bike mechanics are questionable, others know their stuff.

I will buy from the LBS if the staff is helpful, and their prices are reasonable, not outrageous.

It's just business, for you and for them.
They will charge as much as they reasonably can to meet profit requirements. If they charge too much then you and others will buy somewhere else forcing them to adjust pricing downwards by accepting lower profit margins or cutting costs.
Great to support your LBS but if you feel they are hosing you it is in some ways doing them a service to bring that to their attention by letting overpriced items sit in inventory. That is the very best kind of pricing feedback a business can get.

Shop where you want to. I buy things online and at the LBS depending on what I need, how much it costs, and how long I have to wait. While its great to support local business', it won't do much good for anyone if you can't afford to.

Prices are just recommendations- you can ALWAYS negotiate. Meeting in the middle supports them and gets you the parts you need locally.

Something involving fitting, sizing, (frames, shoes) or needing advice - I pay LBS prices.
Parts, cabling, tires, brake pads, etc. - online.
IMHO, once I've crossed that line seeking assistance, I think it's kinda crappy to leave the store, go home and fire up the computer.

most bike shops follow a rigid schedule of markups. Maybe they managed to hook up with a higher-cost distributor.

I'm curious, do shops use anybody other than QBP?

I'd suggest at least seeing if the shop you prefer is willing to negotiate prices. Especially on a little larger purchase you might check prices online and see if they're willing to come close to a price match.

I agree, if I want help with something then unless the prices are truly silly I'll buy from the LBS. Although there isn't a specific price for their expertise I agree it's crappy to take up their time and then buy it online.

Fact#1: your local bike shop (a brick and mortar physical establishment with overhead) cannot compete with online price slashers who have the upper hand by dealing in volume.
Fact#2: your local bike shop usually makes more money on *servicing bikes than selling parts or bicycles. *Service = mechanic (a person with the aptitude to fix a mechanism).
Fact#3: There are a lot of self proclaimed mechanics or 'certified' mechanics who really don't know crap. They work at a lot of LBS's and cost less than really knowledgeable mechanics.
Fact#4: The really knowledgeable mechanics or cycling artisans who know how to fix your bike and work the magick (oooh... aren't I new-age) are very few and far between because those mechanics either:

• have a S.O. who is a professional who can pay the bills so they can afford to be an idealistic bike mechanic
• live at poverty level in a commune
• work in IT or some other far more lucrative career and only work Saturdays at the LBS to feed the soul which has been compromised elsewhere in a Charlie Christian kinda way for their 'career'.

Basically the internet=monetary savings on parts where as the LBS=service (or a flesh and blood you can blame if your s*** doesn't work as expected).

Let the LBS know you like shopping there, then drop the prices of other shops' gear before you buy. Let them know that as much as you like shopping there, you need to keep the budget manageable. If they can come within a reasonable amount (for me that's within 10% of the price at Performance or elsewhere) buy from them. If they can't, tell them sorry, I like you guys, but I really can't afford the mark-up.

When I bought my Raleigh, I went into my favorite LBS and told them what another shop was asking for a bike that was actually in the shop. The LBS I usually go to would have to order it. They couldn't match the price of the bigger shop, but did get within 10% of it, so they got my business. That 10% bought me excellent service, free adjustments, and a lot of smiling faces whenever I go in! Before you change shops permanently, remember what the little increase is getting you.

While they may have to keep prices reasonable to keep business, I don't expect to spend the same at my LBS that I would on line or at Performance. I will however pay a bit more for the service and to support local jobs.

What exactly is a "cycling artisan"?

I love the term "cycling artisan". I don't really know what it means but I love it!!

Virtually every cycling related purchase I've made in the last 10 years has been from an online source. Of course I build my own wheels and do my own routine maintenance. If I get really stuck on an issue I have a friend of mine who was a mechanic for the 1980+84 Olympic cycling teams...his 1980 gig didn't pan out too well. Russia/Afghanistan and the boycott. We sure showed them didn't we Jimmy. But, I digress, sorry.

My experience w/lbs' was always so negative once I began to learn a few things, amass some tools and ask some questions that I just stopped doing business w/them. It's the elitist, crappy, hipper-than-thou attitude that chaps my behind. Got a Park TS-2 truing stand/base, repair stand, tool collection and have never looked back. I've got a list of 6 or 7 online stores that either don't charge shipping or have a price point at which they ship for free. And I'm always looking for closeouts and bulk items.

All well and good but in many ways it doesn't matter why the LBS is more expensive. As cyclists we only have so much money to go around and if the premium the LBS charges isn't worth that extra service you get then we won't buy stuff there.

For work I can't do myself (which for now is a lot of stuff) I'll take the increased prices on the chin because if I buy the wrong thing online the cost of buying another one can rapidly wipe out any savings I might make and if I break something else the cost of having it fixed does likewise. If I know what I'm doing or have adequate confidence that I can do it then I'll consider the LBS price and other prices and go from there. If something is £14.99 from the LBS and £13.99 online then for the sake of the extra £1 I'd rather give the local guy the business. If it's £34.99 from the LBS and £16.99 online it becomes harder to justify.

I feel that I owe some bit of a debt to my LBS. They've helped me out for free so many times that I don't feel like I'm getting ripped off if I pay a little more for parts. But ya, if I need something on the more expensive side, like wheels, I stick to the internet. :/

I like my LBS but don't see too much of them as I have a large cache of cables and housing and pretty much a complete set of bicycle tools. I did buy my cargo bike from them, a Surly Big Dummy, which was not something I could have gotten over the net very easily. I could have built it up myself but at the end of the day it probably would have cost more doing it that way and certainly been a lot of work. A lot of people like the Big Dummy so I've sent them some business. My road bikes are Alex Moultons and there simply aren't any dealers here so I can't even buy tubes or tires locally. I just stock up on those things. It's not like I won't use them. The LBS does have one mechanic that I like and he is very competent and appreciates the Moultons. I'm glad they've got him, when he isn't around I come back when he is.

An exceptional bike mechanic who's work transcends just the functional aspects of his/her craft. At least that how I interpret it. ;)

Can't argue with that, the odd free tweak here and there and the odd word of advice is worth tolerating a slight premium. Oddly a lot of the time my LBS has matched internet prices for larger stuff - I bought my bike stand from them without hesitation when they slightly undercut the online price I found (that I hadn't even mentioned).