what the f*ck? The most expensive thing on my whole damn x mas list was new ski pants that came in at $145....I almost think its like a unwritten rule that if its over like 30 bucks then shits getting wrapped and stuffed under the tree.
Hahahaha, the people writing these articles remind me very much of the Congress in the U.S... very disjointed from reality. When will mtbing learn to advertise really good deals? Oh that's right, because they don't get paid to do so.
Cause if you are then you already know that thing's are just wishes,, even better if you have kids ...those wishes are now just dreams !!!! Lmao ...wouldnt change it tho
I mean ya i do cause i don't rlly have anything i want besides money and im not gonna out right ask for $$ that's not how my family works. So ya... Ya i do
I remember when Chainrings were a $1 a tooth no matter what you bought. Now a 34t ring is 45+tax+shipping? Good thing I just got my RF N/W ring on ebay brand new for $30+$4 shipping. . . .
Word, might as well put some enve wheels and bars in there, &, hell if you can fit it a good stocking stuffer would be a Mercedes transporter shutting van!
Mate, LBSs make the bike community go, but businesses shouldn't survive on pity. Mechanical work, customer service and advice are where bike shops should win on, because most can't compete with online shops on price.
five-10, Do you think that a bike shop would survive off of mechanical work, customer service, and advice? That's a big negative. If you want your shop to be around then pay a little more and buy local.
Why should I care about some other business survival? I have my own business, I do not expect my customers to pay me out of pity. If there is need for LBS, they should figure it out how to compete. If they can't, well, tough luck. I am not a charity.
Yeah lets just go and spend more than we need to to keep some else business alive...
I suppose all you guys don't buy in super markets and travel all the extra miles to get meat from a butchers , then drive some more to get veggies , then drive some more to the pet store for dog food , then go to a tobbaconist for baccy while on the way to the news agents for a newspaper?
Cheap prices sell , simple , you cant expect people to pay more for some thing out of pity for a business surely ?
Nope you can't expect people to buy out of charity, but then when EVERYTHING is gonna be made offshore, there won't be an economy... There is a difference between local and boutique stuff. Profit profit profit that is all that's needed right ? well tough luck cause where headed for shit storm soon... By the way, bike shops get a lot of people into biking... LBS might not be ultra competitive compared to online dealers, but if you are a good customer you won't pay full price and that 15-20$ difference is worth it when you need their expertise to help you out. neg prop all you want if people would actually make the extra effort to buy locally prices would go down... but then again supply and demand seems very complicated to most so whatever... lets kill all the LBS out there and rely on big store to rape us for more profit!!!!! Got to love this stupid era we live in... money is all that matters, yet its the most worthless thing mankind ever created... go ride your damn bikes buy form your LBS and have fun that is all that matters in the end
No of course XD the economy is doing just fine ( remember when your country had its government closed much ?? )... I am not bashing online retailers, they have their place. But saying everything is based on price is not the way to go especially if we want our sport to grow. How many person do you think CRC introduced to cycling ? probably none. How many did my LBS did last season ? probably 40-60 people ( granted is not a lot but it is a very small shop ). see where I am going with this ? as a student I have all the reasons in the world to go and buy online yet, I almost never do. I'd rather get an SLX or X-7 at LBS than a X-9/XT online. and thanks for insulting me ! don't worry I wont hold a grudge you just don't know better I guess...Idiot
Axxe, just throwin in my 2cents ,,, lbs will never be able to compare online seller but what lbs do lack is interity, treating buyers like they are valued, not like we interupted ur social media session or something , lbs forget they NEED us not the otherway around , do thinhs for ur customers , ride party, loyalty discount or something. ..not saying I have all the answers but the bottom line is thos if you wanna treat me as a faceless customer than I have youtube, google &online retailers to replace you
I think what Axxe is trying to say is that it is a global economy and the bike industry needs to adjust. Gone are the days where a store owner just had to worry about the other shop down the street or even across town. Many shops are still stuck in the old way of doing business while other types of retailers have adjusted such as matching internet prices. Most of today's customers have knowledge of technology and can shop around simply by clicking the mouse, and while yes customer service plays a role in someone going to a LBS price also plays a part. As once a customer, racer, etc now small shop owner I can tell you we do not depend solely on the local area for our sales. And while there are items that we cannot compete with we do internet price match. We rather have the sale and make a little profit then loose the sale based on having to meet some specific margin. This also keeps the shop from being the place where to shop then go buy online.
Axxe and Dagigseat you obvioiusly need to find better bike shops. Lazy does not enter into the equation here. We have loyalty discounts, free labour on new bikes, customer appreciation events, spend a shitload of money and time running local races, DJ comps etc, treat the trailbuilders like gods, spend time on the trails ourselves, install purchased parts for free and warranty them for you when they break, call you when your forks been recalled, take pity with a cost deal when replacing that bike you drove into the garage, maintain trail status information bulletins..... I could go on. If you are a fully certified mechanic and do all your own work, warranty processing etc, ride trails that you build yourself, have all the riding buddies you are ever going to need, then maybe you can survive without an LBS. For most people, they're awfully convenient though and cycling will not thrive without one in your community. If that happens to enough communities then the industry will shrink to the point where your online prices are the same as what you would pay at a your local shop. I don't expect someone to pay an exorbitant extra price to buy local but I do get upset when folks walk into my shop with an online purchase they expect me to install if they haven't even bothered to ask me what price I could do it for.
I see where you going, bike shops do get a lot more people involved, but I can't always justify paying 20-30% more when there's sites with free shipping, and best of all you don't have to leave your couch lol. Mountain biking is already expensive enough
I try my hardest to support my lbs because I really likethe owner, one of the nicest people on the planet and he's done a lot for me and my gf and our bikes. BUT.... They make it hard when out of charity I take my dh bike in for a tune up because the owner is talking about how he's slow and needs work for his guys only to walk out a week later with a half assed job. Had them slap a new chain on there, they literally just put it on and didn't bother to cut down the length so my derailur was almost twisted up when in the smallest gear. Then they tell me you need a new rear derailur because it doesn't shift anymore. ... hmmmm that's odd it was working perfectly fine before the tune up minus the skipping a gear. That's why it's hard to support lbs because it's just like taking your car to the shop sometimes, you just know they're full o poop and just want to squeeze an extra dollar out of you.
I am sorry but your lbs doesn't seem like its on par with what it should be, The one where I go never complains about business even if its a slow year, and the work they do is spot on. Its too bad people compare their LBS with a car garage... in that case I understand why its not worth it to go. Luckily for me and all the cyclist in my area we have an excellent bike shop and its just not worth it to go elsewhere they give such a good discount on parts and have a really good service. Plus they take care of the cycling clubs and even go to Bromont nearly every weekend... you can't ask for a better bike shop !
I work at a local bike shop and have been turning wrenches for the past dozen years. In that time two of the shops I have worked for went out of business and not because of bad customer or mechanical service. The first one was a small mid range to high end mountain bike shop with a really busy service shop that was right on the way to the local trails. We had repairs stacked up to the ceiling, but repairs don't pay the bills like parts and accessories do. That was the first place that I heard a customer say "I can get that cheaper on the internet." and walk out. That place closed in 2007 with a lot of stock left over that could be bought cheaper on the internet. After that I went back to working for a big bike shop down town that had two locations town that sold mostly commuter and road stuff and very few mountain bikes. They closed one store in 2009, two years after MEC opened up three blocks away, and the other location closed the year after. Now I work for a small bike shop 15 km from town that is barely scraping by and we have a problem with people show rooming us. Guys will come in and ask lots of questions about a product or bike and take a picture of it with their phone and tell us that they are just going to check with with their wives about it and see us tomorrow. Most of the time I see them leave the shop and hop into a $50,000 full sized diesel truck and sit there for ten minutes or so and find exactly where they can get that part or bike cheaper. Soon there won't be any local bike shops left to go to. Anybody that says they don't care and their LBS must not care about good customer service or having a place around that can fix anything wrong with their bike at any time. The internet won't fix your bike and pretty soon I won't be able to either. Here is a link to an article that puts it into perspective quite well:
Good example on how a business does not adapt with times.
Online shopping is a fact. It is not going away. Pleading for support will do nothing. There is no shame in spending hard earned dollars wisely, and it is an insult to customers to expect them to do that. They all also work, and they all have similar challanges at their work, and they do not expect somebody else to pay for it.
If there is a demand for local bike shops, they should figure it out how to provide it. Looking at shops around, they seem to be open, and doing fine. Not for an enthusiast, most of the time, but that is a small fraction of customers. Enough of roadies around here stopping by for a $25 tube change.
My shop has adapted to the times. We will price match anything you can find on the internet, unless it goes below our cost price, to not loose a customer. We also post adds on local forums and PB to advertise sales and sale items at the lowest price we can. I'm not looking for your pity. Maybe the last time you got a flat changed in your local shop they charged you a premium price for the last five times you came in there asked their advice on a product for your bike and told them you could get it on the internet cheaper and left. We charge $15 to change a flat in my shop and will have you out the door in 15 minutes or less. If you have a problem with your local shop maybe you should find one with experienced mechanics who know what they're doing.
I have not had a need for a bike mechanic for many, many years. It is faster to do anything at home than to drive to a store even once.
If your shop has adapted, as you claim, you have nothing to complain about. But judging by your assumptions and attitude, they did not. Shop hand know-it-alls are the worst.
Got you going didn't I...you obviously are are a lawyer, 'er something fantastic. Keep up the good work. The other 99% of the people who are not experts like you can decide. Waste of my time. Bu-bye!
Times are changing, everything is becoming digital in a sense. Unfortunately we'll have to see whether or not the future has room for Local bike shops. This stands even for larger retail chains. Bestbuy, for example, can't compete with online electronic shops so in recent years they've slowly been losing business. The internet has ushered in a whole new age of buying, and if retailers can't adapt they'll surely die. Of course this kind of shopping is terrible for an economy and for your local scene, so I try to avoid it. But when shops (and I'm not speaking to LBS mind you) don't and won't change prices to match those from online retailers I'll be taking my business and money elsewhere when the finances get tight.
Axxe, the first thing you said is "why should I care about some other buisiness survival. I have my own business." Its very simple... If you do not support local economy, it will not grow. And the more money you spend on those local businesses the more likely that those locals will spend money with yours. If everyone buys online then no local economy is even possible, but luckily there are people who are not f*cking selfish retards like you who support the people who are also supporting you.
Buy local, because even tho it may cost more now, in the long term it costs everyone less.
@D-Owen: There is really no such thing as "local economy", and it is not anybody's duty to support it to their own detriment. It is not how our economy works.
It is a folly that spending more money than needed will create any long time benefit for society. It would not. We all will be better off if we save money and spend it on businesses, local or otherwise, that are competitive. Economics 101.
Personally, I compete with cut rate companies in China and India and Russia. I could whine to my customers that it is their patriotic duty to buy American. Or I could provide a better product and a better value. Guess what works better for everybody?
y'all are sadly mistaken if you think bike parts/sales keep the lights on at bike shops. shops literally make 70% of their money on service. car dealers work the same way.
source: work in a very profitable shop that does a boatload of service work every season and is doing very well. if your business plan is to sell merchandise as your main source of income in this industry you have a bad business plan or you are in the wrong industry
walmart and other big box stores buy product in large volumes so they can mark up stuff by 300-400%. bike stores like your local ma and pa operation only have the luxury of 100% mark at most, often times its even less. to argue otherwise is pretty darn silly. when a shop can charge 60$/hour shop time for service and if stuff goes smoothly you often get stuff done faster than what you are allotting for the time slot. (ie if a job should take on average 30 mins you charge 30$ even if you get it done sooner) when cycling gets the mass marketability of other comparable sports retailers will see more people who just ride and may not know exactly what to look for online.
Mark up on bikes in small stores is closer to 30%, and the 300-400% figure is nonsense, source please? The bike shop I worked in made the vast majority of money from servicing and small parts, and we barely ever sold a bike worth more than £500, DH bikes and high end trail bikes pretty much never sold and just collected dust. It's a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless, that bike shops (in the UK at least, and from what I saw, in Canada too) cannot compete with online retailers.
Can't really give a source as it was a packing slip picture a friend who worked at Walmart at the time sent me a picture of, wasnt bikes but you get the idea(pretty sure it was iPads or something like that) and yea bike even here are closer to 30% for higher end stuff. In the uk you have the problem that is crc and Evans, with2 day shipping and 365 returns you are silly other wise if you know what you are after or have an idea and it's no big deal if it doesn't work.
Yeah, it would be daft to go to a lbs if you're looking for a deal, unless you happen to spot the odd one. The mark up on other products and bikes is completely different too. With clothing for example you can be looking at much more than that, you can knock off 90% of normal clothing (not bike clothing) and still make a profit.
the problem isn't stocking stuffers for mountain bikers, it's stocking stuffers for normal people! all my biking friends would be easy to buy for, my parents or siblings? yea that's difficult
Pretty sure the title reads "under" $100, implying that many or most of these gifts do not cost $100. And since most are relatively small, they can also fit in a stocking. Pure craziness I tell you.
kootenaybikes ,,, I hear ya ...............check this out (this is why I feel the way I do) I brought a new bike feb on this year ,, so now it was august I wanted to go clipless ,, the store I brought the bike from doesn't support clipless & shoes ( owners personal preference says his customer base doesn't demand it ) ok no problem ,,go to the store where I brought me & my wifes bike 4 yrs prior ....pedals .....135.00 labor to install 40.00 shoes ( there comment to me ..ummm yea your feet are just to big but you maybe can get a custom pair made )..... not convince (mislead by them before) next shop pedals "on sale"92.00 labor 20.00 shoes 140.00 shimano .....so I said screw it i'll do it myself pedals 44.00 (pricepoint) labor ..a cold beer shoes106.00( eastern mountain sports}........................moral of the story .when local bike shop try to get rich off of 1 deal , it pushes folks the other direction ..........................make a sale or make me a customer ......ur choice
...fell for a strategic juxtaposition of their own product among others that are clearly not "stocking stuffers" nor priced anywhere near their own product, except for the scant few that you pointed out. In short, their marketing psychology and adeptly deployed strategy convinced me to but the socks. But please forgive my ill chosen attempt at a humorous observation above a typical flatulence joke. I did see the items you referenced and the reasonable prices but I must concede, your logic is inescapable. You have bested me. I will promptly getting my eyes checked.
Here's an idea for a stocking stuffer: go down to your local bike shop and pick up something they have in stock. Support your LBS, not an online megastore!
No it's not seraph; his point is that well run, well priced stores will do well and grow. Supporting a LBS only benefits that store. Don't kid yourself that local economies rely on money not finding it's way out. Economies rely on money finding it's way in from outside. That said, the idea of getting small things from an LBS is better, generally the prices do not differ much on smaller items anyway. But, people do not buy out of charity. If there was a biking equivalent of fair trade then people might buy conscientiously, but they're not going to pay more money just so the store owner can have their shop.
If more people cared about local businesses and the little guy trying to make a buck then the world would be a great place. In reality most people only care about getting the best deal and couldn't care less about your neighbor who is trying to make a living running a small local store. This saddens me.
If ifs and buts were candy and nuts. Don't be so naive. And I don't believe for a second that you extrapolate that viewpoint to any other aspect of your daily shopping life.
Nah seraph never goes to a big chain ever, he gets his sneakers from a small, locally produced source where they make them out of hopes and dreams. Get real seraph, don't be so naive as redrook said.
I shop local for as many things as I can. Groceries, books, automotive needs, pet supplies, etc. But realistically one cannot shop locally for every single need. So it requires 10% more effort to drive down to your LBS and pick up what you want instead of sitting on your fat ass and ordering it online. People should want their local businesses to stay in business.
I'm not fat, I order online because it's much cheaper and I can get exactly what I want because there is a bigger selection. I'm not going to support someones business out of the goodness of my heart. And my LBS is 15 miles away, same for many people, so factor travel into that too. Get off your high horse, get a grip and stop being so sanctimonious.
No you asshat, I have worked at small local bike stores for the past 10 years and I would like to see them stay in business. Is it wrong to defend stores that keep me employed?
*Store, not stores. You work at one store, therefore the fate of other stores means nothing. It also shows that your motivations are just as selfish and subjective as those of the people who buy online. You're the asshat (what are we, 8?) if you can't see the hypocrisy in that.
You're a moron. You think that I'm the only one who works at a small independent bike store? I feel for every employee and owner of an IBD, because online sales are killing us.
But you know what? It's fine. Order shit online. 90% of the time you order the wrong shit and we end up having to order the right stuff for you anyway.
90% percent of the time aye? And I'm a moron? Way to win over my custom there bud. And so, you're saying that people order online from you too? So you get their money either way? What's your complaint? Are you just wanting to see more people or something.
LOL! Seraph you're a total retard. You moan about people ordering online, then reveal that you do online ordering? And BS people order the wrong stuff. The fact that you've started insults and swearing shows that you're just in a indefensible position. I suggest you shut the f*ck up before you give away how much of an idiot you really are.
Haha love it seraph. With your last two comments any credibility you had just completely collapsed. And the fact you just started with juvenile insults (asshat? really?) shows you're just quite simple. In no way have you rebutted any of redrook's points, and all you've managed to do is expose yourself as a hypocrite and a simpleton. Absolutely love that a guy who does online orders is complaining about people ordering online. Just hilarious!
It's so funny when people can't even keep their bullshit consistent. And kick off comments with an insult before getting to their bullshit. Presumably if people are ordering from you online seraph, then they can't physically get to your shop. So if they didn't order from you, you wouldn't get their money at all and you'd go bust. So you've just revealed that far from being a proponent of personal service, you rely just as much on orders.
I wouldn't bother redrook, the guy obviously has no clue, made a stupid, ill-thought out comment to begin with and has now completely shot himself in the foot. I would just leave it, no doubt he won't but whatever.
Yeah, he's done enough damage to his argument without our help. Having worked for a lbs too (so I must be an expert on economics right? ) you do get the odd person who orders the wrong thing and has to come to a shop, but normally if you order the wrong thing then you just send it back and they send you the right thing. He's chatting garbage. "90%", lol
What happened to "Support your local bike shop". If you go to your LBS this time of year and ask for a deal; it is more than likely they will give it to ya.
If you dont reach that, you dont love me.
You tramp.
I suppose all you guys don't buy in super markets and travel all the extra miles to get meat from a butchers , then drive some more to get veggies , then drive some more to the pet store for dog food , then go to a tobbaconist for baccy while on the way to the news agents for a newspaper?
Cheap prices sell , simple , you cant expect people to pay more for some thing out of pity for a business surely ?
reviews.mtbr.com/the-angry-singlespeeder-dont-showroom-your-local-bike-shop
Online shopping is a fact. It is not going away. Pleading for support will do nothing. There is no shame in spending hard earned dollars wisely, and it is an insult to customers to expect them to do that. They all also work, and they all have similar challanges at their work, and they do not expect somebody else to pay for it.
If there is a demand for local bike shops, they should figure it out how to provide it. Looking at shops around, they seem to be open, and doing fine. Not for an enthusiast, most of the time, but that is a small fraction of customers. Enough of roadies around here stopping by for a $25 tube change.
Buy local, because even tho it may cost more now, in the long term it costs everyone less.
It is a folly that spending more money than needed will create any long time benefit for society. It would not. We all will be better off if we save money and spend it on businesses, local or otherwise, that are competitive. Economics 101.
Personally, I compete with cut rate companies in China and India and Russia. I could whine to my customers that it is their patriotic duty to buy American. Or I could provide a better product and a better value. Guess what works better for everybody?
source: work in a very profitable shop that does a boatload of service work every season and is doing very well. if your business plan is to sell merchandise as your main source of income in this industry you have a bad business plan or you are in the wrong industry
Do you stop buying from them because they are some big , evil company headed by Satan ?
But you know what? It's fine. Order shit online. 90% of the time you order the wrong shit and we end up having to order the right stuff for you anyway.