cydewaze

Today I decided that I'm sick of swapping my Speedplay Zeros over to my spare bike whenever I want to ride it, so I checked the Perf website for Chro-mo Zeros. The website says, "New lower price" and lists them at $125.99. Not a bad deal, however (as usual) they don't have any in stock.

So I swing by my LBS and check their price. $114.95.

So much for Perf's "new lower price".

Woohoo for not having to swap pedals anymore.

johnny99

Performance prices have gone up significantly since they bought Nashbar and Supergo. Their regular prices are no better than LBS prices. Sometimes they have good sales, but LBS have sales, too.

barba

factoring in shipping, the shops I frequent can often beat Perf/Nashbar on many items.

NRRider

Remember, Performance seems to always have at least a 10% off deal, plus with Team Performance it's another 10% off of that (sort of). So they really are cheaper, though not by much (when you factor in shipping).

Dubbayoo

Perf. price matching w/Team Perf == good.

barba

Dunno. I think that the Perf/SG/Nashbar merger has been bad for consumers. Both Perf and Nashbar have also recently made me mad with stupid stocking issues (I basically ended up paying $7 shipping on a $5 item when they canceled an out of stock item).

I am increasingly trying to shop local, as the price gap seems to have narrowed considerably on many items.

cydewaze

The heck with it... if it's within $10, I'll buy from the LBS and save the gas and time.

irablumberg

In this particular case, I believe that Speedplay exercises fairly tight control over its dealer's selling price. I have never seen big discounts on Speedplay products anywhere, web, LBS, etc.

Performance is still cheaper on many things, but I agree the prices have generally started creeping up. The best "bargains" are house brand stuff like cheap jerseys. Most LBS in my area don't have generic clothes and Performance house brand is much cheaper than big name brands.

On the other hand, when I wanted a Shimano R700 crank, Performance charged $270 and several ebay sellers had the same thing for only $200, so shopping the web and the LBS is definitely useful.

Ira

BikeWise1

This is greatly appreciated by folks like myself. Shopping locally benefits both the health of the community and the local tax base which is what keeps the roads nice and the police and fire dept's healthy.

And you are right about the prices. MO charges as much as the market will bear. Their margins are higher, but they don't support cycling like they could and certainly don't give back to the community other than in the towns where they may have a brick and mortar presence.

Last week a guy walked in with a PricePoint catalog, pointed to an XTR rear and said Can you meet this price"? I looked it up in my POS, and said "well, I'd have to raise my price $5, but I guess I could do it.... <Insert dumbfounded look from customer here>.

I go to the National Bike Summit to represent cycling in my community and state as well as to lobby for national programs that benefit cyclists. This will be my fifth year. None of the internet sellers ever bother to attend. None. Trek is there. Specialized is there. Kozo Shimano himself is there. All the advocacy organizations and many dealers from across the country are there. But no MO guys. If I were a consumer of cycling products, the fact that the internet sellers take my money happily, but don't "show up" in places they could make a difference for the cause of cycling would tick me off.

Just a thank you and some food for thought for when you have another opportunity to "vote with your dollars". Vote wisely.

DMF 

Not only price, but I've been disappointed in the quality of Performance house brands lately, especially cool-weather clothing. I went to my LBS for Louis Garneau and still got a better price.

The thing that LBS' lack over the big Perf. stores is, in many cases, stock. I prefer to touch product (and especially try on clothes) before I buy. My LBS, though, claims to be able to get anything I want on a couple days notice, so I'll give them a try. We'll see how it goes.

ElJamoquio

Excuse me for being out of the loop, but when did this happen?

johnny99

Don't remember the date, but it was a couple of years ago. They completely shut down Supergo. supergo.com now just has a link to performancebike.com and all Supergo retail stores converted to Performance retail stores. They were closing out all Suprgo branded merchandise for a while, but that appears to be all gone now.

I believe that Nashbar customer service was shut down and now Performance customer service handles all calls to Nashbar. Nashbar and Performance still have separate catalogs and different selections of merchandise, with Nashbar focusing on lower end and older stuff and Performance focusing on more mainstream stuff.

cydewaze

Don'tcha love how you have to join the club to get the old pre-club prices? Our local grocery stores are like this too. Once their "club card" came out, their prices went up 10-15% across the board, so you are paying more for pretty much everything and getting the old price when something is on club discount.

Great marketing, eh?

2manybikes

When your competition is drivng the price down, just buy the competition. Then the prices can go up.

krazygluon

somehow that 10% at nashbar always winds up covering shipping, so its up to the other discounts to make it worth buying from them for me.

Trsnrtr

I broke (bent) a Speedplay Frog cleat this afternoon and stopped by my LBS for a new pair. The price was $29.99 plus Illinois tax. I just checked Performance and the price for the G3 cleats are... <drum roll> $29.99 plus Illinois tax plus shipping. Hmmmm... buy cleats today, install tonight, ride tomorrow... or... order cleats, pay more, wait a week or so, assuming in stock. Sounds like a no brainer to me.

H1449-6

Which shop are you affiliated with/own? I may drive down from Columbus some time (I'm there nearly every week and once in a while have a free day) to see you.

oilman_15106

+1 and if they have a store in your state you get charged sales tax for your order. If you order from Nashbar you get charged tax too even though they no longer have any stores(I think). They can not get it straight that most clothing in PA does not have sales tax either. Think they are just skimming the tax they are charging. LBS is a better deal in most cases.

ElJamoquio

Yeah, but signing people up was way more fun than bagging.

Dubbayoo

I don't like that Perf's in-store prices are different than the website. Before I went in to pick up my bike the other day I saw all Forte carbon cages on sale online for $20. In the store only one was onsale and for $25.

v1k1ng1001

Shopping locally is almost always better in the long run, if you can find what you're looking for.

The problem for me is that, because of internet retail, you don't find much of a selection at your LBS anymore. In a larger city you can just keep calling around. In a mid-sized city, on the other hand, you're just kind of stuck special ordering at full msrp.

Having worked in a shop, I appreciate the tough position that they are in. It is risky to stock a lot of things that might not sell over the course of the season.

Supe

There's one bike shop here that focuses on Specialized and Avanti product. It's a boring shop and they don't appear interested in stocking anything else. I queried them on Crank Bros and Sidi product and going by the look on the dude's face, it was apparent he wasn't really interested in pursuing revenue through alternate products. It's much easier to stick to fewer lines and go with the mainstream buyer. It's sort of like the Model T Ford mentality... do you want that in black or in black? It's frustrating because there is a ton of potential at this shop.

The other shop (there's only two bike shops in town) has far more diverse product line and is the sort of shop that by its eye candy, is far more enticing (especially on the wallet) whether enthusiast or someone just looking at buying an entry level bike. Unfortunately, one of the kids working at the 2nd shop exudes an elitist attitude and I've heard management and sales/mechanics gossip about customers in a negative manner. They should STFU when in the sales environment.

Shop 1 probably has the better bike mechanics but has lost its way as as a premier bike shop in order to go after the mainstream - the competition has much better range but needs to lose the attitudes and ensure that shop staff are professional whenever they are in the store.

I am loathe to give either shops any business. I am at present looking at ordering a complete bike from an interstate 'LBS' with an online presence.

roadwarrior

Yes...and I'll just add that many of the manufacturers have really clamped down on "below cost" pricing. Some items are priced below what they cost for a shop to buy from the distributor or manufacturer. That is stopping...the manufacturers realize that their bread and butter is in the local shops...don't bite the hand that feeds you, so to speak.

roadwarrior

...and in our case, if we have to order it for you and you come in and pick it up, no shipping charge...

fmw

The manufacturers caused it by selling something to someone at a cost lower than what a distributor sells it for in the first place. They need to look in the mirror for the problem, not to the dealers.