So I'm new to road bikes, and haven't made a actual bike purchase in quite awhile.

So I've always wondered about this. I know my buddy has gotten a great deal by paying cash, but maybe that lbs was hurting. And maybe it was an older model, I'm not quite sure to be honest. But is there any room on new 12 models or am I just asking to burn bridges at the shop?

I actually enjoy negotiating, it especially when purchasing a car, but I sort of get the feeling that it's taboo at a shop. Am I wrong?

unless the business is dealing under the table, cash actually costs money for a business to process at the bank.

they cant say yes if you dont ask.

cash is your best bet

Offering cash knocked the price down another $200 for me

It's like buying a stereo. Put together a package of stuff and bargain. AS my Grandfather taught me, "If you don't ask, you cannot get." He was talking about women but it works universally.

I generally try to buy $100 or more worth of stuff 2 or 3 times a year. That way, when they see me coming they know they'll have a sale. I always ask "Is that the best you can do on this big purchase?" It's usually good for at least 10%.

Try bundling. Especially if you are new to the sport and need things like a helmet, shoes, gloves, shorts, etc.

Or you can do what I do and start volunteering at the shop and get employee prices on stuff.

Nothing new to add, but bundling and cash are king. I'm sure the "cash" sales are not reported to uncle sam. If you go in for a new seat (say it's a 25% markup) and helmet (maybe a 15% markup), you can usually get 5-10% off the bundle deal..

I got lucky buying a relatively nice carbon road bike (Specialized ROubaix) in a college town where it had sat on the shelf for 2 years. Price dropped 20% just because I asked and made a serious offer.

i bought 2 bikes this year and got $400 knocked off of each of them. one of them wasnt even in stock, they had to order it but they didnt want me to go anywhere else to buy the same thing. when i bought my felt, i asked if he would price match a ionos helmet i saw online for $150, he didnt have the color i wanted so he gave me the aeon for $150 instead, and he threw in the specialized rib cages i was going to buy for free. so i saved around $600 just by asking. i went back for my 1 month check up and had him install a 105 5600 crank for $125. its hard to order it that cheap online much less have it installed for free. a lot of stuff has wiggle room on the price, dont be affraid to ask. just dont try to negotiate on piddly stuff like Gu or bar tape.

possibly the dumbest **** ive heard on the 41...since when does it cost anybody anything to process cash? waiting........waiting......if you pay in cash...chances are the small business won't report the sale at all...this is why you get the better deal...they write off the inventory at the end of the year and pocket the profit of the cash sale completely....this is why cash gets you the deals over credit....TAXES...tard

I only say this because I'm interested in picking up a Cannondale.

My buddy is looking to purchase a Cannondale as well, and I'm new to the sport. So I'm hoping that my need for shoes, a helmet, pedals, the cash incentive, and us buying 2 CAAD 10 bikes, that both the shop and I can walk out of there feeling good.

May be true for some businesses.

Certainly not true for all.

Depends on bank, type of accounts, number of accounts held by business, average balance on accounts, history, yada, yada, yada.

Basically, it depends.

Further, cash means no merchant charges on debit or credit card transaction for the shop.

Just a heads up, I happen to be in banking. And if there is a fee to make cash deposits (most institutions don't charge) it would be far less then the typical 2-3% to process a credit card transaction. And as someone pointed out, if I were to not report a sale and had cash, I'd probably spend it rather than deposit it into the bank.

That aside, I really hope that a two bike sale will get us a little deal.

i got a 2011 cervelo r3 rival with 15% off from my LBS with tiny bit of haggling and its a popular frame size of 58cm. Because, I asked so I got a discount.

If you deposit more than $5000.00 per month in cash you are charged an analysis fee.

We weren't able to find a bank that didn't charge this fee for our businesses (we deposit much more than $5000).

That being the case our analysis fees are 10% of our credit/debit fees so cash is still preferred.

For the OP, I am friends with my lbs owner and I never ask for discounts. In a non-friend situation I feel it's ok to ask for a discount but think that outright pressuring for one is gauche...

Or you may just want to ask yourself "How hurtin' are these guys?" Bike shops are not a high margin business. If you have a good one and you want them to stick around, you might just ask yourself how much that 10% is going to mean to you in the long run, versus the 10% on every deal they do. My shop gives me free tune ups, they rebuilt my rear wheel 3 times for free, and generally have been great to deal with. Everytime someone in my family tries to buy a bike at Target I drive them over myself to make sure the place that really knows bikes stays in business.

After being told several times that the margins on bikes are quite small, I just wait for sales.

Paid $1500 under MSRP for my Specialized Roubaix Expert (Test bike, so it'd been ridden some)
Paid $1100 under MSRP for my Specialized Stumpjumper Expert (new)

Both were purchased once the new model year was starting to hit the floors, and both were marked down significantly. Haggling got me $200 worth of those discounts in each case.

Moral of the story, finding the big sale is much more important than the haggle. For the stumpjumper, I visited 12 bike shops over a weekend to find the best deal I could. Prices on the Stumpjumper varied by $800 between the stores that had their "all 2011 bikes must go!" pricing out. A couple were still charging MSRP.

Find the best price around the state/country and then give the LBS the opportunity to match it. That way you get a discount, the LBS get the sale, and some of the money stays local and helps the economy in your town.

None. I trust the guy, he is a roadie, he does excellent work and his profit margins are too low as it is. I want to support him and his excellent staff in any way I can. The price asked is the price paid.

Good advice.
There are bigger bike shops that move greater volume and have more competitors in their urban market; therefore offer cheaper prices. A local bike shop with less competition and less volume usually won't offer the lower price up front. Ask them to match and consider the distance, bicycle servicing, and if you actually like the shop.

Demonstrate interest and willingness to pull the trigger if the price is right, if the salesperson can feel a possible sale pending, they may take a walk to the back to speak with the shop manager and give you the deal you ask. You don't know if you don't try.

In case you are not old enough to know this, the IRS does not have a sense of humor. None. And you also need to know that there is a paper trail for a shop buying bikes. Bottom line, this is not a real good idea.

If you are buying two bikes (I think that's what you said) and a lot of accessories, I'd be more inclined to discount the accessories. Discounts on 2012's, I would not do. However, I am not in a small shop by any means. We sold over 600 bikes over the Labor Day weekend but they were all on sale which meant about a half million in sales. Monday was ridiculous. We were doing almost $650 a minute in sales. So, today, I might be inclined to help you with accessories. A shop with no customers might be willing to cave.

if they sell a bike cash and they don't want to report it Uncle Sam isn't going to come down with guns blazing over it, they typically won't even know, unless you somehow miraculously are in business for 10 years with invoices from your dealers for bikes that accumulate to be more than your yearly income then that will throw up a red flag. seeing how the number of people who are going to buy a 3k bike cash are limited, then i would say you have a better chance at saving them and yourself some money if you pay cash and it stays off the books. they save on fees and taxes. you save on markup and taxes. I have yet to buy anything expensive at the LBS and not been able to say..."if i pay cash can you cover the tax" which typically means...let me get it for that exact price and you put that cash in the pocket...kthnxbai

haha i forgot to add "no offense" would that make it better?

You have been such a pleasant addition to the forum. Not.