Special discount for bike industry employees -- fact or fiction
12-09-08, 02:35 PM
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Special discount for bike industry employees -- fact or fiction
Here's what I heard:
A salesperson working at say, Performance or any other LBS, can get a professional discount on a road bike from pretty much any bike company, Trek, Cannondale, Specialized....
Excuse my ignorance (or naivety) if I ask if this is true?
A salesperson working at say, Performance or any other LBS, can get a professional discount on a road bike from pretty much any bike company, Trek, Cannondale, Specialized....
Excuse my ignorance (or naivety) if I ask if this is true?
12-09-08, 03:03 PM
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I see no reason why a salesperson at a shop that sells Trek as possibly their only major brand would get a discount on a Cannondale or a Specialized, etc.
12-09-08, 03:04 PM
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Can't speak for all bike manufactures, but for some, yes that's true.
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12-09-08, 03:04 PM
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12-09-08, 03:19 PM
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I can buy a bike from any manufacturer that we carry for 10-20% below wholesale (aka: Employee Purchase, or "EP"). The only time companies offer such discounts to non-carrying shop employees (that I know of) is if they are hoping to be carried by that shop.
12-09-08, 03:27 PM
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There are different types of discounts.
From the shop you work for cost + 10%.
From another shop cost + 10% for something you don't sell (obviously).
From the distributor cost if you don't sell the brand.
From the distributor Pro Deal which can be cost or below cost.
From the distributor Employee Purchase below cost by as much as 20% on bikes much lower on clothing.
From the distributor Pro or Employee purchase with a hook-up from another shop.
Remember IT ALL DEPENDS!
Bottom line is bike industry guys don't pay MSRP.
From the shop you work for cost + 10%.
From another shop cost + 10% for something you don't sell (obviously).
From the distributor cost if you don't sell the brand.
From the distributor Pro Deal which can be cost or below cost.
From the distributor Employee Purchase below cost by as much as 20% on bikes much lower on clothing.
From the distributor Pro or Employee purchase with a hook-up from another shop.
Remember IT ALL DEPENDS!
Bottom line is bike industry guys don't pay MSRP.
12-09-08, 03:32 PM
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There are different types of discounts.
From the shop you work for cost + 10%.
From another shop cost + 10% for something you don't sell (obviously).
From the distributor cost if you don't sell the brand.
From the distributor Pro Deal which can be cost or below cost.
From the distributor Employee Purchase below cost by as much as 20% on bikes much lower on clothing.
From the distributor Pro or Employee purchase with a hook-up from another shop.
Remember IT ALL DEPENDS!
Bottom line is bike industry guys don't pay MSRP.
From the shop you work for cost + 10%.
From another shop cost + 10% for something you don't sell (obviously).
From the distributor cost if you don't sell the brand.
From the distributor Pro Deal which can be cost or below cost.
From the distributor Employee Purchase below cost by as much as 20% on bikes much lower on clothing.
From the distributor Pro or Employee purchase with a hook-up from another shop.
Remember IT ALL DEPENDS!
Bottom line is bike industry guys don't pay MSRP.
Thanks for the detailed response, btw.
(I'll now ditch my career to go pump tires for Performance
)Distributor cost is what I'm looking at: how much off MSRP is that? Or does it depend
And if so, on what?
Last edited by henrythenavigat; 12-09-08 at 03:33 PM. Reason: typo
12-09-08, 03:32 PM
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There are different types of discounts.
From the shop you work for cost + 10%.
From another shop cost + 10% for something you don't sell (obviously).
From the distributor cost if you don't sell the brand.
From the distributor Pro Deal which can be cost or below cost.
From the distributor Employee Purchase below cost by as much as 20% on bikes much lower on clothing.
From the distributor Pro or Employee purchase with a hook-up from another shop.
Remember IT ALL DEPENDS!
Bottom line is bike industry guys don't pay MSRP.
From the shop you work for cost + 10%.
From another shop cost + 10% for something you don't sell (obviously).
From the distributor cost if you don't sell the brand.
From the distributor Pro Deal which can be cost or below cost.
From the distributor Employee Purchase below cost by as much as 20% on bikes much lower on clothing.
From the distributor Pro or Employee purchase with a hook-up from another shop.
Remember IT ALL DEPENDS!
Bottom line is bike industry guys don't pay MSRP.
12-09-08, 03:35 PM
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On a bike, wholesale is going to be anywhere from half to 80% of MSRP. So, say a Fuji that retails for $3000 actually wholesales for $1800. Employee Purchase is 20% off of that, so $1440.
12-09-08, 03:36 PM
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There are different types of discounts.
From the shop you work for cost + 10%.
From another shop cost + 10% for something you don't sell (obviously).
From the distributor cost if you don't sell the brand.
From the distributor Pro Deal which can be cost or below cost.
From the distributor Employee Purchase below cost by as much as 20% on bikes much lower on clothing.
From the distributor Pro or Employee purchase with a hook-up from another shop.
Remember IT ALL DEPENDS!
Bottom line is bike industry guys don't pay MSRP.
From the shop you work for cost + 10%.
From another shop cost + 10% for something you don't sell (obviously).
From the distributor cost if you don't sell the brand.
From the distributor Pro Deal which can be cost or below cost.
From the distributor Employee Purchase below cost by as much as 20% on bikes much lower on clothing.
From the distributor Pro or Employee purchase with a hook-up from another shop.
Remember IT ALL DEPENDS!
Bottom line is bike industry guys don't pay MSRP.
12-09-08, 03:41 PM
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Here we are talking about a hypothetical guy who works at an LBS (that doesn't carry brand C) and he's looking to get a C frame or full bike. What I understand is that the price he gets is "cost" meaning wholesale from the distributor. And means anywhere from 50 to 80% off.
Is that right?
12-09-08, 03:44 PM
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There's no way anyone gets true manufacturer cost pricing, though. Even the highest end mass produced bikes can't possibly carry a standard cost that's more than a few hundred bucks. There are still profits to be made.
12-09-08, 03:47 PM
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By the way many brands will offer EP to you even if only slightly related to cycling if you ask nicely.
Last edited by Vireo; 12-09-08 at 03:59 PM.
12-09-08, 03:48 PM
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On a bike or bike frame.
Here we are talking about a hypothetical guy who works at an LBS (that doesn't carry brand C) and he's looking to get a C frame or full bike. What I understand is that the price he gets is "cost" meaning wholesale from the distributor. And means anywhere from 50 to 80% off.
Is that right?
Here we are talking about a hypothetical guy who works at an LBS (that doesn't carry brand C) and he's looking to get a C frame or full bike. What I understand is that the price he gets is "cost" meaning wholesale from the distributor. And means anywhere from 50 to 80% off.
Is that right?
12-09-08, 03:50 PM
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Frames, yes. Shimano has to have their cut, though. They're selling to manufacturers at a profit. The manufacturer is putting it on a bike and selling it at a profit.
12-09-08, 03:53 PM
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That IS true to a degree, yes. We've had reps come into the shop trying to get us to carry Brand X. During the course of it, I'll ask a question or express interest in the bike. The rep will often offer to get me a bike at his cost in hopes that I'll convince the owner to carry that brand.
12-09-08, 03:56 PM
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There are even deeper discounts on some bike brands under special programs that I would rather not print. But a $4000-4500 MSRP frames can be bought for $1100. Which means distributor/manufacturer still makes a profit on that.
Last edited by Vireo; 12-09-08 at 04:01 PM.
12-09-08, 04:02 PM
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Is posting on BF enough to get me EP?...
12-09-08, 04:13 PM
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Totally depends on the companies involved. If you don't sell a line then some companies will not offer any discount (usually the larger ones) while others will hook you up no problem in hopes that getting some bikes in the area will still net them some sales in the long run.
I was working at a shop selling a couple of the most popular brands out there but I wanted a bike from a smaller mid size company that specializes in mountain bikes (sorry, but not going to get specific). There wasn't a dealer in the entire state so I called them up and they were more then happy to hook me up with a deal on their frame. Probably would have been a different story had they had a dealer down the street from us though.
It's a great perk for working at the shop, but really, the pay is pretty dismal so keep it's really the only way we could afford to ride anything decent in many cases.
I was working at a shop selling a couple of the most popular brands out there but I wanted a bike from a smaller mid size company that specializes in mountain bikes (sorry, but not going to get specific). There wasn't a dealer in the entire state so I called them up and they were more then happy to hook me up with a deal on their frame. Probably would have been a different story had they had a dealer down the street from us though.
It's a great perk for working at the shop, but really, the pay is pretty dismal so keep it's really the only way we could afford to ride anything decent in many cases.
