Consumer Warning!!

scotty72

That is perhaps the reason that, despite the boom in bicycle sales in recent years, there are dozens of lbs that have fallen by the wayside. In fact, suburban bike shops in every suburb are now a thing of the past, they are bigger and far apart.

However, some shops that have a reputation (at least in the circles I ride) for being pretty pricey have survived (and presumably florished) because of their reputation for good service.

I think that more customers than you think appreciate, and will pay, for service - WHERE THE PAYMENT IS WARRANTED.

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www.bikenorth.org.au

2006 Scott Speedstar S10

Hitchy

My mate runs an LBS.....anyone who comes in with a $99 Big W or Kmart bike wanting it fixed after it fell apart....gets charged an 'idiot tax' on top of the service. Buy a $99 bike by all means....ride it till it dies, then chuck it away...a decent service will cost you more than the bike!

Hitchy

No... no they won't & don't. As I've stated, my mate owns an LBS, I've worked there on & off for years....the problem is price. Take tyres for instance, obviously I can get mine at cost.....which is 20% more than PBK will have 'em on my doorstep for....The LBS CAN'T compete against that....if you wanna understand why LBS's are failing, it's beacuse they simply can't compete in the lower end of the market with 'mall retailers' & further up the chain with PBK.....remember the LBS has to cahrge & pay GST on every item...provided my PBK order is under $1000, I don't have to pay Duty or GST on anything....there's a 10% saving straight away

scotty72

Exactly,

But the higher end of the market knows (or should) know better - we are more likely to screw ourselves with bling than getting caught with cheap crap.

Trying to 'trick' us that selling us a tube has a service component is treating us like dickheads.

Perhaps you could advertise a grab it and run price and a fitted price. I'm sure many people would be happy to pay for fitting. My wide would were I not around (in fact she was one of the last of that dying breed who would drive around looking for a petrol station where they actually came out and charged you extra to fill it for you - until they finally died out - now she makes me do it)

But, trying to chase the K-Mart crowd? People go to K-Mart to buy crap because they are tight-arses.

Scotty

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www.bikenorth.org.au

2006 Scott Speedstar S10

scotty72

Then he's stupid to compete with that.

He needs to compete on something PBK can't. Friendliness, fitting, convienience, whatever - offer people a coffee when they walk through the door.

You're right, he's never going to sell a tyre cheaper than PBK - so sell something else.


My other half is a dentist. Part of her business is in private practice. Very competitive business. She has to sell more than fixing teeth (others will do it far cheaper than she is willing to). She sells comfort, reassuramce and sits down with a coffee to chat about teeth. That is, she takes her time, does things very carefully makes the patient feel at home. As a consequence, she sees fewer patients (so has fewer opportunities to bill). However, she is selling something that few others are willing to provide (care and comfort) and she now has a long waiting list. She charges much more but people are willing to pay for a trip to the dentist that doesn't make them crap their pants.

Some people wont pay. Never will. They would prefer spend their cash at the TAB. Would rather say - just pull it - or will put up with the agony and then bitch about the public hospital waiting lists. Bottom line, she ignores them. Doesn't sell to them. Doesn't see the point in chasing them or complaining that they wont pay up. They just wont.

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www.bikenorth.org.au

2006 Scott Speedstar S10

sogood

That's not always true. It's can also be a value judgement and status issue. For the same Bonds undies, some people would buy it at a higher price at David Jones/Myers and would not even consider walking into a K-Mart store for some savings. There are tight-arses, big spenders, but the great majority are value shoppers.

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

scotty72

I'm talking about those who buy cheap crap knowing it is inferior. Not buing exactly the same item cheaper.

Scott

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www.bikenorth.org.au

2006 Scott Speedstar S10

sogood

Not sure about that. Last year I bought my son a kiddie bike at one of the major LBSs in the city. Due to time pressure, I had to rush in for the purchase and didn't get a chance to shop around. As it turned out, it was not much different to those sold at K-Mart at a significantly lower price. It was heavy and basic. The only thing different is the brand label and a bit of self-assembly required by the K-Mart product. And as much as we like to think K-Mart bikes are crap (some cycling snobbery here), the fact of the matter is that there have been plenty of people who have successfully used similar standard bikes on long tours.

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

kakman

kiddie bikes are fine to just buy cheap - there's bugger all difference between kiddie KMart and Kiddie LBS.

This week I also bought my 4yo a bike from BigW for $68 bucks. Can't believe they can make them for this. It will be fine until he gets old enough for my 9yo's Giant. I don't feel guilty at all that I bought a Cervelo in the same week

/k

kakman

um, yes actually.

I'm not quite following you here - now you seem to be attacking me because I bought it from my LBS.

As I stated, I could have saved around $600 due to some very advantageous circumstances. However, I weighed that up against the hassle of warranty (even though I doubt it will be an issue) and the lack of the personal touch. I wanted to be fitted properly and wanted to be able to talk to them (I'm building up from a frame - not buying a complete bike)

In the past 3 years I have bought 3 bikes (not counting a kiddie bike) - 1 for me, 1 for the wife and 1 for my daughter - all from the SAME LBS. This is because they treated me well and I liked the service. It was NOT the cheapest store but it was the one with whom I was most impressed. Sadly they didn't stock the (new) brand I wanted so I had to find a new shop. I can be the loyalist customer you've ever seen, but my loyalty needs to be earned.

/k

scotty72

I don't buy the argument that because your kids are young, you can sacrifice quality and safety.

Unlinke many, I don't want my kid riding a time bomb. So we bought her a high quality children's road bike. Paid towards $1000 for it. For that, we got 105 level components, a quality frame, she was measured and the bike adjusted.

I value my kid

Scotty

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www.bikenorth.org.au

2006 Scott Speedstar S10

kakman

Hope you're not suggesting I don't value my kids.

As you haven't seen the bike you can't really comment on its safety or quality. If you feel more comfortable spending $1000 that's great but it doesn't necessarily mean the cheaper bikes are any less safe. I love buying stuff for the kids but I'm wary of the "you have to spend this $### to be safe" sales pitch. As with adult bikes, your quality frame probably came from the same factory as my consumer frame. I'd rather spend the extra money on a decent helmet.

My 4 yo is currently riding his bike around the house - that's *inside* the house. The bike he has is way better than I would have expected and is the equal to the bikes the LBS were selling for about 3 times the amount. I'm not saying it's components are as good as a $1000 high end kiddie bike, but he ain't going to know the difference between 105 and pressed steel back pedal brakes. I certainly don't see it as a time bomb - at the end of the day they still have to conform to the Aussie standards.

If the only safe kids bikes were the $1000 ones, there'd be very few kids riding bikes.

/k

scotty72

There is a difference between a kids bike and a toddler bike.

I mean, if you're gonna have a 8 - 12 year old jumping around or racing around the neighbourhood then yes, I think K-Mart bike is a form of infanticide.

I toddler ridong around the house ain't gonna put those pressures and strains on it.

I've seen the next door neighbour's (a 12 y.o girl) Toy-R-Us bike fold up from under her after she tried to stop with brakes that failed, causing her to hit a wall. I looked at the wreck. Very shoddy bike indeed.

So if you're talking about a rough kid or an average teen (esp boy), then K-Mart can equal child abuse.

If that happened to a Trek, Giant, Avanti or other well known brand with a Kid bike, I'd be very, very surprised.

Scotty

Scotty

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www.bikenorth.org.au

2006 Scott Speedstar S10

sogood

Buying quality bikes for kids can be very expensive. At their growth rate, you'd have to change frame/stem every 12 months if not 6 months.

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac