silex

Crankset Double Shimano Ultegra 6750 170mm 50/34t - $400.00
Cassette Shimano Ultegra 6700 11-25 10spd - $100.00

Market price online for these seems to be $150-200 for the crankset and $40-50 for the cassette. There are separate charges for labor costs on the quote, so this is just the price I'm being charged for the components. I'm happy to support a local business but this seems like an excessive discrepancy. What am I missing?

WizardOfBoz

The MSRP on the crank is 335 or so, and the cassette is 93 bucks, near as I can tell. So their price is 60 over list. For something that's widely available. And, as you pointed out, they're available for 170 and 43.

If you can do the installation, I'd buy direct. Hell, even if you can't, but a book on bike repair and all the tools you'll need and you'll still be dollars ahead. My goodness, you could buy the parts online, and buy a very good Park chain tool, and a torque wrench (I buy used off ebay) and you'd still be dollars ahead.

If you have the time, call them and ask them if they don't like ordering and want you to order the parts. If they say no, ask them why they're charge 10% over LIST.

dedhed

Shimano Ultegra 6750 Compact 10sp Chainset | Chain Reaction Cycles

Shimano Ultegra 6700 Cassette + Chain Bundle | Chain Reaction Cycles

silex

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping I was looking up the wrong parts online and these were actually fair prices, but it sounds like they're actually charging more than twice the market value of the components.

I haven't paid anything yet but left my bike with them. I kind of like the idea of buying my own tools to do the install myself and buying things direct. Should I stealthily go grab my bike when they're not looking? What do I do if they they've already ordered the parts and demand payment?

exmechanic89

If you've decided to do it yourself I would just call them and tell them you've changed your mind and want to pick up your bike. They might be a bit annoyed but shouldnt have a problem with it.

gecho

If you are from Canada that would explain it. Bike stuff is stupid expensive here, supply chain here totally screws local shops.

ZenForest

You are not missing anything.

This is standard fleecing by Old School Brick & Mortar business that can't adapt to an Internet Business Model, and attempts to fleece unknowing folks by charging 2x or more for parts, and then really jabbing you on the labor

Sooner or later they will all be out of business.

Nothing to do with the Bike Industry........it's standard across many verticals these days.

I love smoking Pipe Tobacco for example. Check out a tin of your favorite tobacco at the Local Shop vs. the modern day on line supplier and get ready to pay 4x more for the exact same tobacco (that's less fresh

But you get all the same forum peeps clamoring at you to support the local shop, as if it's your responsibility to pay 4x more so that dude can have a cool job ??

2x/3x/4x more adds up to too much over time for me to keep "SUPPORTING" these local shops.

The Internet is your friend

linberl

Have you talked to the shop about the pricing? I've found when there is a huge discrepancy between online and b&m pricing, that the shop will make a reasonable adjustment if you ask them. Sometimes they won't, maybe they order so little from a vendor that they pay a lot for the item, but it never hurts to ask. Let them know you prefer to support your LBS but not at twice the price. You have nothing to lose by asking.

rubiksoval

An online order for your parts, a chainwhip, a cassette tool, a crank bolt tool and a 5mm allen wrench, then about 20 minutes on youtube to learn to install.

The three hundred plus dollars you save can be applied to some other new bike bling.

rubiksoval

I haven't done this because I just buy online, but I wonder how a shop would react to asking them to just buy from the online vendor and you pay them that cost (plus a little markup) and the cost of installation.

They really have no excuse for the "my pricing is higher" unless they're for some reason barred from purchasing where every other consumer could purchase.

JonathanGennick 

I imagine the situation is similar in the world of auto repair. It's just that there is a much lower percentage of people who can do their own automotive work.

Lazyass

This is why I no longer do business with local bike shops. Why support someone who bends you over? The only shop I will walk into is Performance Bike. They have the 6750 cranks for $219.99 and 6700 cassette for $49.99.

Jeremy_S

I have to agree. People give PBS a lot of hell but they're a local store and employ local people albeit not at a huge wage but better than no wage. I buy just about all of my parts from pb unless ribble is having a big sale on tires and I have time to wait. My local independent shops have excellent service, good techs who I use for a couple of things I don't have the tools for and their bicycle prices are typically ranging from competition to excellent but parts prices are just through the roof.

kevindsingleton 

They may buy most of their parts through a distributor that would look at this as traitorous. Indeed, they may even be under contract to use a particular distributor, and this might be a direct violation of their agreement.

WizardOfBoz

Go into the shop, ask to see the bike. If they've already done the work you're kind of screwed. If not, tell them you decided not to do the work and walk out with the bike. But once you have your bike, do not give it back. If they've already ordered the parts, tell them to cancel. If they want to charge you a restocking fee, then you've got to negotiate a bit, but if they say 30% of price, tell them you'll give them 10% of market (internet prices) and for that money they are buying your negative reviews on-line, at your bike club, and at work.

But first ask to see the bike and make sure you have it in hand when you cancel. Best if you have a friend with you - they can take the bike out to the car while you tell the store people you are cancelling the work.

Z953

I wanted to upgrade my new Allez Sport from a mixed "Sora" groupset to a complete 105 so I asked the owner of the LBS that I bought my bike from if he could give me quote on a complete set. He said, "...go on the internet, I can't compete with the prices that you'll find on eBay or one of the popular bike sites. The quotes that I get from Shimano make no sense, spend a little time on the internet and save yourself a lot of money. I'm sorry...".


You know it's bad when the shop owner tells you to go to the internet... I guess the owner of the shop that I purchased my bike from is open about what he can do for me as opposed to the shop that you went to who are willing to gouge you without batting an eyelash.

indyfabz

Wonder how many acts of mass violence BF has averted.

Phil_gretz

Is there a part of the story that you're not telling? Either you authorized them to proceed based on the estimate, or you did not. Where exactly did you leave things? Words matter here...

indyfabz

Sounds like he left them in the shop.


Seriously....Now I am interested in this thread.

exmechanic89

^See how simple it is, OP? Bike shops are just there to rip you off and there's no reason to ever go to one as you can buy everything cheaper online. Same for Tobacco shops, apparenty.

unterhausen

the online shops are selling OEM parts, so they get them at a price that allows them to sell at below the wholesale cost that the shops have to pay. It's grotesquely unfair, but individual component sales are such a small part of Shimano and Campagnolo's business that they don't care to fix it. That's not failing to adapt to the internet world, that's just reality for a bike shop. What do you want them to do, tell you to go get the internet shop to put on the part?

I am a fairly skilled mechanic, and I am pretty sure my LBS has saved me more money than the increased costs due to the unfair world they have to live with. So if you want to permanently sour your relationship with them, go ahead and retrieve the bike. It's not going to be worth it in my experience.

silex

Thanks all for the entertaining suggestions. To bring this full circle: I called the bike shop and they agreed to adjust the component prices to within 10% of market value. They said that "their system just gives MSRP," but this isn't true since they're charging $400 for the crankset which isn't it's MSRP.

I'm pretty sure if I hadn't brought this up they would have charged the full $400 (and $100 for the cassette). While on principle I should have probably walked in there and picked up my bike, in practice if they can do within 10% of market there's no argument that I could just buy the tools myself anymore.

Now I'm slightly concerned the work on the bike will suffer as a result of the awkward "haggling," but I guess I'll just have to look over it pretty carefully before handing them my credit card...

silex

Obviously, I wanted them to be upfront that for whatever reason if I order through them I am charged $300+ more than the fair market value of the components (not including any labor charges). I would then be in a position to decide as a customer if the convenience of them ordering for me (rather than me ordering the parts and bringing them in) is worth $300+.

I think most informed customers would then choose to order the parts themselves and bring them in for the bike shop to install, or (as others have suggested) just buy the tools to install the components themselves. When it takes 5 seconds to search for prices on Amazon or Google Shopping (or any of the other search engines) I really don't think there's any excuse for such a mispricing.

Honestly, if I were were paying exactly the same amount of money, and the $300+ was listed as "labor," I would have much less of a problem with the transaction. I think it's deceptive to make profits this way.

Cyclist0108

I'm not particularly mechanically competent, but I can turn an allen wrench. One day I broke a spoke on my mountain bike, took it in to be repaired, and got talked into over $500 parts and labor worth of "maintenance". They did replace the spoke, but the wheel was so badly out of true I had to re-do it myself.

I try to do most things myself now, and buy the tools on line as I go along. It gives you a sense of empowerment (to use a PC term I despise), and I have found when you do walk into a shop for help with something genuinely hard, mechanics seem to have more respect for you. I thought they would resent DIY-ers, but my guess is the good ones at least appreciate a challenging mechanical problem and a customer who (from their perspective) knows enough to recognize their talents.

Wileyone 

So buy from the UK... Most Canadians and Americans do. Prices are cheaper and shipping is free depending on Dollar amount.