LBS Pricing?
 

Just wondering.....

I'm been thinking of a new Cervelo S1 (no comment needed on choice thank you). The LBSs in the area all sell them for the same price - $2200. Do bike manufacturers fix prices or something?....it's seems like there's some price collusion going on....no discounting or competition.

With that, would shops maybe be willing to compete on add ons, computers, pedals, etc? For example, I know I'm going to be adding clip-on aerobars. Are add-ons an area that can be negotiated. (e.g., "I'll buy from you @ $2200 but I want these bars included")

Anyway - before I start negotiating, I thought I'd learn more on how LBS pricing worked.

Well
 

I'm not gonna speculate too much, but I would assume that dealers carrying "marquee" brands like Cervelo sign an agreement to sell current year bikes at MSRP or MAP pricing. Especially early in the spring riding season, I would assume that none of them are too motivated to sell for below that anyway. I know when I was in the retail industry(not bikes), some manufacturers had us agree to sell items for MSRP and no less or we would lose our ability to resell their items. However, many bike shops often throw in the first tuneup or will throw in a freebee with purchase of the bike.

Maybe you could go into each shop and say something like "... I see the Cervelo is $2200 ..... Shop so-and-so also has it .... what can you do to convince me to buy it from you ...."

What do you expect, other than full MSRP pricing, plus sales tax? Every shop I've ever been to has full MSRP pricing. I haven't made a major purchase at a local shop since 1992.

SpeedPlay and Cervelo both are very strict about their pricing. Specialized too I guess. Trek actually isn't near as big of an *******.

Buy a cheaper bike.

The bike biz isn't the same as the car industry. If you don't want to buy the bike for the agreed price, the next person through the door might as well could. We're not desperate to get rid of stock unless it's VERY old.
If you're deciding between two shops, then choose the one that;
-Has the best service. If their repaired bikes are outside, check the decals on them. Which shop did they originally come from?
-What is their serivce plan? For instance, my shop's bikes are professionally assembled by two seperate builders, and come with a year of free service and a 60-day free tuneup.
-What deals will they give you on accompanying accessories? Shops will be more leneint with accessory prices than bikes.

And never discount the assembly. We get in bikes from neighboring shops for repair and always run into serious issues with the assembly. If your shop can't service or assemble your bike, why should you buy from them?

Well said.

@ the OP-take my word that bike shops and us shop employees aren't making bank because you are paying MSRP.

Some companies (Thule and Zipp come to mind) generally don't sell for less online because it makes stuff like warranties easier for them if the product was bought in a brick and mortar shop.

And demanding the aerobars isn't going to make you any friends no matter what shop you go to. 20% off is what I deem an acceptable request. Please be aware that we have to pay the rent and keep the lights on, not to mention keeping decent employees.

Just bear in mind that in all situations in life, being polite goes a long way.

backroads, do you work at shop?

Many companies have Standard MSRP and then absolute floor MSRP. Under dealer agreements, we are not allowed to sell below the floor price during the currently year.

I would have to agree with nitro on pricing practices. I have a shop that I have bought several bikes from and have never paid MSRP but depending on when I am buying the discount can vary from GREAT to average. I don't feel I am taking advantage of anyone either in the process. I just tell them what I am thinking of buying and ask them what is the best they can do on pricing. I don't typically test their price against anyone else either, they are one of two local Specialized dealers. I feel they give me the best deal they can at that time.

My team is spnsored by a bike store and the best deal I can get on a bike is 15%, and that's only one or two weeks per year, so you've got no chance.

When my wife bought a Mini Cooper a few years ago, there was no negotiation--you paid MSRP. They were--and still are--in very high demand.

Buy a popular bike, pay MSRP or very close to it. This shouldn't be a big surprise.

If you believe that, then it's good that I'm not in the bike business and you're not trying to buy a bike from me.

If I ran a shop and you came in asking for 20% off one of the most popular bikes on the road right now, I'm pretty sure I'd laugh.

Wow, the sponsoring shop for my former team did a LOT better than that, especially on the team buys.

Yeah, but we have a bike sponsor too ;)

I have bought 2 Cervelos in the fall and winter for $200-300 off but only because they hadn't sold yet and the new models were coming out soon. In the spring, they are not going to discount them at all I bet. They will probably give you a little discount on add-ons but probably not as much of a discount as if you bought on the internet.

So did we (Specialized), but our shop treated us very well too.

Thanks! That's a lot of good insight. I'm really not trying to be a dick to the shop owners - but I'd feel stupid if I paid full price when it was well known that discounts were common. It sounds like there's little wiggle room if any.

I'd actually hoped to buy one used but I've yet to see a 51cm Soloist Team or S1 out there. I guess folks tend to keep them (a good sign maybe). Two of the LBS are both very solid and have excellent reputations. I'll probably go with the one that'll do a full fit as part of the purchase.

They have wiggle room on closeout '08 models.
It's spring '09, the bike market's busiest time, no way they're going to blow out a popular bike.
Conversely, I rarely see any on the road, either.

imo, (and I know you didn't ask for it) there are way better bikes out there for the money.

Who do you think makes the best carbon frames? Best endurance geometry and best standard geometry?

S-

:fight:

No, I am actually quite interested to read MONGO!'s opinion.

S-

"Marque" is French for "brand," so what you just said was "I would assume that dealers carrying "brand" brands like Cervelo..."

Language Fail.

Don't embarrass yourself.....

Marquee - Adj.: superlative; headlining: a marquee basketball player.

In other words, we get to call an even bigger Language Fail on you for calling a "Language Fail" on a poster when it was not!!!

S-

Different word.

Marquee (mar kee') adjective
so well-known or well-publicized as to attract large audiences

On the 20%, I think the original reply was intended to say that "I'd ask for 20% off the aero bars", not "20% off the bike". Maybe I missed any clarification on that but that was my take on it.

Margins on higher end bikes are pretty low. Consider that it takes, probably, $65 income per employee per hour to run a profitable shop. I don't know rent in other areas but if I could have gotten that amount that would have been pretty good. To clarify, although I charged that rate, I didn't always collect it. Okay, I almost never collected it, except for tune-ups, wheel builds, and flat fixes. And bikes under ~$400.

To sell, fit (even a "free" fit), assemble, etc a high end bike may take 4-6 hours. The "free" tune-up, although good for the customer and the shop, will add to that time. Take margin off for extra work like swapping stems or cable housing or cassettes etc. Some of that work results in wasted/unusable parts, like bar tape, already-cut-housing, already cut cables, even a chain (if you change gearing significantly).

LBSs can sell bikes at a discount if they got it at a discount. Two ways that happens - manufacturer discounts, or employee discounts.

The best way to get a deal at an LBS is to buy a bike they want to get rid of - then they'll set a discount and you two can go from there. You can also inquire about getting blow out deals from the distributor, but I think this year won't have too many opportunities for that. I bought a $1200 bike for my brother through a now defunct shop. I was good friends with the owner, asked about any scratch and dent offers through his distributors with a certain level component group. He let me look (no time off his back), I found a bike for $300 with a scratched fork, crank, and frame. Since my brother commuted on his bike and we wanted to keep the frame the same (stealth), it was a good deal. I paid the dealer $500 for the bike (what I thought was a fair margin, and I insisted on that amount). The dealer combined shipping to get free shipping, and I did work on the bike myself. The dealer made $200 in about 30 minutes. We got a great deal on a bike kit. And although it's in there somewhere that the dealer has to assemble his bikes and this one didn't, he sort of did - I'd go into the guy's shop and do repairs, build bikes, etc for free, so I was sort of a guy working there. Sort of.

If you find an extremely busy store with an extremely busy employee with an extremely nice bike, chances are that that bike is in pristine condition (never ridden, assembled with no regard to schedule, etc). Ask about that bike. He got it at employee discount, doesn't care about margin, and may be able to get another beautiful bike for the price that you pay him for his. Usually the manager or a guy in charge of one part of the shop is a good candidate. The owner is too, but usually they'll still have "margin" on their heads, at least a little bit.

cdr

Hahaha true-I was referring to the aerobars.

And yes, I do work at a shop which luckily for me has a no haggle policy.

The only time we consider coming down on a bike is when it has sat collecting dust for a year and we need the space. If you don't mind getting a year old model, you can generally get a good price without too much negotiation this way.

Good luck finding a bike that suits your needs and a shop which you are happy and confident in :thumb:

Lol
 

LOL, so bored tonight that you need to troll through forums just to criticize peoples grammar? Based on your signature, you must be on the low end of the age group. :lol:

A lbs is a business, they have to make a profit, they are not your mother!