Tiny Tim

I'm shopping for my first bike since 1973. I'm wondering if it's considered bad form to try to negotiate the price of a new bike at the LBS.

Northwestrider

I'm not concerned about form really. I did try it a couple of years ago, sadly it didn't work though ! Try it, you may save some coin, so that you can spend it on tires, mirror, etc.

Dave Cutter

Everything is always negotiable. And it's OK to ask for a lower or discounted price too. But generally to negotiate would imply a bargain with mutual benefits. Just asking for a lower price usually won't work too well. Because there just isn't as much profit... or lack of demand for the product that would ether allow... or cause a deep discount.

Often a service [of some kind] provider to the LBS could offer a discount on their service... in exchange for price discount.

Machka 

Some shops will consider a 10% discount if you also buy your helmet, panniers, shoes, etc. etc. there.

905

Ah, 1973.

Richard Nixon is inaugurated for his second term.
The Paris Peace Accords are signed.
Ohio becomes the first US state to post distance in metric on signs. (How's that going, Ohio?)



Pink Floyd, not satisfied that they have exhausted their creative potential with "Bike", releases The Dark Side of the Moon.
The Godfather wins the best picture Oscar.



Picasso dies.
Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.
Nixon tells the Associated Press "I am not a crook."
O.J. Simpson becomes the first running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a pro football season; he will offer a similar plea some years later.



IDEAL Toys debuts the Evel Knievel stunt-cycle, a best seller.



Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in the battle of the sexes.
The existence of a 18½-minute gap is revealed in The Dark Side of the Moon.
The Soviet Mars 5 space probe is launched; discovers life on Mars.
The DEA is founded as the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs is retired. The King is too busy to give a celebrity endorsement this time.



Tiny Tim goes a-wandering to a bike shop.

I once managed to get £50 knocked off a £350 bike, but I was a regular and I think they just wanted it off the shop floor. You might have the most luck with something "That is so last season."

catonec 

if you're buying a bike a model year or 2 old then yes you can probably get a little bit off the posted price.

buying a current model, maybe you can cut a deal for accessories or services.

MichaelW

Free stuff is cheaper than free money for the bike shop.

mapeiboy

You can save a lot of money if you buy the bike from one of european shops .

Dave Horne

I have a good relationship with my local bike store and expect to receive a discount of some kind. What I'll say goes something like this, what can you do about the price?

He knows in advance what he'll offer and he also knows that some customers expect a discount of some kind. Sometimes it's just rounding the price down to a number with a few zeros.

JanMM

Thanks for the history lesson!
I mis-remembered some of that stuff.

fietsbob 

You May do better in the fall and winter, than in high summer,

when shops have to work hard to keep stuff in Stock.

nfmisso

Tim; the initial price you pay is a very small part of the cost of ownership. First pick a shop that you like, visit all of them in your area. Then, as Frank says on American Pickers - BUNDLE - bike, accessories, patch kits, spare tubes, etc.

Murray Missile 

Buying a "left over" from the previous model year can save you quite a bit IF they have one your size, especially if it's an odd size. I got a killer deal on a pair of leftover TREK 820's for my wife and I years ago because one was the "Tall Mutant" frame, we also loaded up on accessories. They were tickled to see that monster roll out the door, that was 1997 and we still have them.

Camilo

The basic principles of all price negotiations is true for bicycles.

First, like others have said, everything's negotiable, it's not mean or unethical to ask for a better price in a business-like and pleasant way.

Second, negotiation should be based on alternatives that are preferable to you, depending on price. This means you need to know what the alternatives are and what you can get them for. It doesn't have to be strictly price, but alternatives that represent a (to you) better price/benefit. Extending this - the alternatives need to be something that you'd be satisfied going with if your price target isn't met, and you should have a point at which you just say: thanks for the consideration, but I think I'll go with something else. Maybe the original price is acceptable to you and you'll buy it even if they don't discount.

This is the real core of it. All the other stuff - model year, time of year, accessories, etc. apply to these two principles, adjusting your target price, the attractiveness of alternatives, and your timing and strategy. But they don't work unless you have #2 going for you.

Just MHO of course. Fortunately, my favorite LBS prices things at a discounted rate and is nearly always totally competitive with any other shop, local or online, considering shipping costs, not even taking into account the real value of just being able to buy something immediately and having stock to look at and touch.

Other shops that price things at "list" I always negotiate or ask what their bottom line price is. If it's discounted, I might buy. If not, I'll still buy if it's still the best alternative for me at that time and place.

VegasTriker

When it comes to buying a new bike, the reputation of the shop for selling you a bike that fits, assembling the bike correctly, and dealing with any problems you may have after the sale is more important than saving a few bucks on the bike. I'd check with a local bike club after you have made the rounds to local bike shops to see what they have to offer and what they charge. Of course you can buy a bike online and probably save a bunch but then YOU are responsible to see that it is properly assembled and YOU have to deal with any after sale problems.

fietsbob 

Negotiate a raise on the Job instead , bikes, in shops already are Very good for the money they charge.

achoo

Keep it simple: you're simply trying to come up with a mutually beneficial transaction.

A bike is worth whatever you are willing to pay for it. It's a business transaction. If a bike shop is insulted or otherwise put off by an attempt to negotiate price, they're not the kind of place you want to have a long-term business relationship with.

And just because you can't come to an agreement on price over a bike at a bike shop does not mean that bike shop is a bad place to do business with. That only means that one proposed transaction can't be done in a mutually beneficial way.