amen

You don't really understand much about business do you? The shop has various operating costs but whether or not they can make a sale at a given price only has to do with that costs they incur specifically during that transaction. The time it takes for someone to serve me and the wholesale cost of the item, the extra air conditioning that me entering and exiting the store requires, etc. Perhaps they couldn't stay open if they sold everything at the markup I consider reasonable but they have a choice with customers for whom they have only convenience to offer. They can make a small amount of money selling me something at a discount or they can make none if they insist on charging me more than I am willing to pay for parts they have to order. Knowing the wholesale price would only streamline the process.

You have a right to haggle about wherever the **** you want. The seller likewise has a right to stick to their original price. People bother to haggle with bike shops because like car dealers, pawn shops and unlike grocery stores and bars they are usually open to haggling. On more than one occasion after telling a shop how much I could afford to pay and being told that they couldn't do that. The owner or employee has seen me with the item purchased elsewhere, asked how much and then whined about how they could have gotten it for me for that much if I had just come by. Clearly then haggling is expected and knowing wholesale would make the whole process smoother for both parties.

I wouldn't say haggling is out of the question, but there's always tact involved. A strong repeat customer who has purchased a bike compared to a guy just passing through town are worlds apart. The former will no doubt get VIP treatment and maybe even an unspoken discount if his purchases are in a great enough volume. At my current shop, we just ordered over a dozen trainers for a local club at a significant discount, and because the transaction went so smoothly and they are willing to pay for shipping we were happy to oblige. A small amount of bargaining was part of the deal and both parties are made happy.

lol seems to me - why haggle just buy your stuff online - lol i don't think anyone wants to see you in their store

You were hesitant BECAUSE you had to order it, and therefore made no investment in stocking it and had even less to offer him over ordering it himself? Seems kind of backwards.

i would much rather give some one a deal on a part i have in stock compared to something i have to order. ask most shops and im sure they'll agree. if i had the part instock chances are that i ordered it along with more parts and the shipping was spread out over several parts instead of just one part.

i understand your reasoning as you try to understand what goes on in the mind of a bicycle shop employee/owner but thats the way things are.

when i worked at a shop, what really bothered me were the customers who were under the impression that the kid who was working on the sale floor (me) was the one who had the authority to lower the price on the bicycles.

are you kidding, sir?

Wow, you're really naive. Just how do you think the shop is heated when you're not in there nickel and diming for prestige fashion parts?

Do you run a business, are you still in school, or do you work for someone else? I'm willing to bet you don't run your own business and never have.

You were going to order it by itself? Most shops I know of special orders just wait for the next order to go out.

thats the thing.. he said he could get it online in about 4 days... at this price.. blah blah blah...
most customers what something when they want it.. its the american way.
if i were to order from that supplier i would only order that one stem because we just finished placing a huge order with them a week prior to when he came in. if i were to wait to order the stem with other parts it would probably be about 3 weeks before it got ordered.

ive come to the conclusion that if you know exactly what you want then there is no reason to hit up a shop if the price you are willing to pay is way below what they would normally sell it for. many times if the price you are "willing" to pay is within 10 to 15 percent of what the shop is selling it for they'll give you a deal but if you come in with prices a few points over cost they'll tell you to get the hell out.

Wholesale cost + 100% = retail cost. This being the general formula for all of retail and their suppliers. The price generally doubles at every step along the food chain from sourcing raw materials to manufacturing right up to the store. This maintains so that each company gets to make a profit and live to sell another day and keep it's employees. I don't mind haggling but I'm not going to demand that some shop somewhere match a webtailer's price. If the shop has a lower overhead, you may have a better shot at a deal. If you are a regular, same thing. I'd laugh if someone came into my buddy's shop with a price list from a website. Apples and Oranges... I wonder how much many folks end up paying factoring in interest on their credit cards.

Not to mention the service level I'll get from a shop is soooooo worth the extra one pays.

That cost is constant whether they sell to me or not. By failing to treat different costs differently you make poor business decisions.

Clearly you're not in business and never have been.

Try buying diamonds, if you want to complain about markup.

Actually dutret is making an excellent point.

indeed ... there are set/relatively stable cost and insanely fluctuating costs
I can totally see the prices of Sugino 75's going through the roof. Supply AND DEMAND right?
Those crazy anodized ones at Interbike this year must be off the hook price wise.

I love economic discussions on bike forums!

Except that it undermines the whole business model of retail and doesn't take into account operating expenses overall.

black anodized 75's $140 on QB?...eeeaazy right now, WITHOUT a chainring. Not a great deal at all for 'wholesale' IMO.

the Grand mighty (champagne/gold) is going for $182


oh...funniest thread title in a while

true, a bike shop could let everyone name their price on everything and make the transaction if and only if that price exceeds a certain minimun threshold. they would do more volume and that might make up for the money they lose on people who would be willing to pay retail if they had to.

there is a bike shop like that, it's called ebay. and there's no way we could match their selection.

plus we'd have a lot less time to help out the people who are willing to pay a premium for our "expert" advice. and in general, they tip better.

Part of the shop experience is the encyclopedic knowledge and rumor mongering that one finds at a good shop. You can't sit and have a beer with your favorite ebay seller.

well originally wasn't the whole debate about mods deleting the info/prices of bike goods at wholesale? compared to other enthusiasts (i.e. cars, motorcycles) wholesale prices of stuff is not deleted in their forums, and is not as secretive. that was the whole original point (i think) dutret was arguing which i agree with.

i also don't think that if the wholesale prices were known, every bike shop customer would expect to pay wholesale price + $10. i'd bet that most people in SSFG are online shoppers or buying most their bike parts online.

AS for Mods deleting wholesale prices... I say..that doesn't seem kosher. Unless a retailer owns the forum now.

Not really. The shop could've made a little extra money by selling him what he wanted at the price he wants. Instead they made none. Their operating costs stayed the same. Not serving him was a poor business decision on their part, but well within their rights. The retail model is only in trouble if everyone starts doing what he is, but I doubt he's going to start a trend. If the choice is between an extra ten bucks toward your bottom line of nothing what do you choose?

Wholesale prices for any and everything can be had with a quick google search or at most an email.