I used to buy into the "support the lbs" arguments until the wonderful shop I patronized pulled up stakes and moved another 30 minutes away (by car) from its current location.

bah.

Buy what you need where you need to based on your mechanical knoledge, price, and shipping.

I want to support my LBS, but they seem to make it difficult. "I'm in the market for an SR1000, Road Warrior 1000, or Specialized Sequoia Elite." They don't have any in stock...they don't want to order if I'm not going to buy...they have similar bikes but none my size. When the salesman points me at a bike that is a LARGE and I'm clearly needing a SMALL he says "I think it will fit you just fine. And it's a leftover 2004 so you're getting a great deal at that price."

You gotta be kidding me. On top of that, everything lists at full MSRP. So now I'm stuck. They don't have any of 3 bikes I would take but I'm supposed to order one at full MSRP from them if I want it? C'mon...that's just silly. Lastly, they can't get the color I want because the manufacturer is out of stock...but *I* can find what I want online.

I don't mean to be negative about it at all, but when you try hard to "do the right thing" and keep the LBS strong, it would be nice if they'd work with you a little. After inquiring about 3 different bikes they don't have they should say "You know what, we'll get that bike for you any way you want it and break even if we have to because we know that we've established a relationship." The margin on service is higher, anyway, and isn't that what they want me to come back for?

What's the maximum amount of money you would risk buying on internet. I would never buy a Colnago C50 on e-Bay. I could buy a good stem or a saddle. My maximum would be around 400 $

AU$3700.

The most I have spent on eBay was about $1800CAD. The most on-line in a single purchase was about $5000, but that was with a retailer I trusted. Overall I am not bothered by on-line vs. local retailers in terms of being ripped off, as long as I use my credit card. Now paying cash, that can be a problem. Retailer screws you, and you have few practical means of settling the issue.

I have been ripped off once when shopping on-line, and in a few cases I had problems with the order. Each time was settled to my satisfaction. If all else failed I would threaten to report the incident to Visa... never had to act on that yet. Merchants live in fear of losing access to a major credit card, they don't want you reporting them for fraudulent charges.