The Chainlink

A bike shop charging more than MSRP?

Today I went into a certain high-volume bike shop on Wells to buy a replacement chain for my winter bike. I do that pretty much every 2 years and go for a SRAM 850. Previous times I paid in the upper teens.

The clerk hands me the chain, which has a price tag of $25 on it. I mention that I think that is much higher than I used to pay. He says "let me check" and looks at his computer for a while. He comes back and says "The MSRP is $18. You can have it for that". I pay $18 and leave with a new chain.

Question: is it normal that bike shops price their items 39 percent over MSRP? I have no problem paying MSRP for parts, but this sounded like they were trying to overcharge me. By a lot.

Have you ever experienced something similar?

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on July 16, 2013 at 8:33pm

Before you get all riled up, remember the poster. Eldorado is tCL's resident troll. He is not worth responding to.

notoriousDUG said:

So let me get this straight, you go into a shop that pays rent on its space as well as insurance and utilities just to be open.  Take a look at the merchandise that they paid to have there for people to look at.  Take up the time of of the staff they pay to be there because you need their knowledge/opinion and then, after taking all of that from them you go and buy it from some internet store who can offer a cheaper price because they do not have a retail space you can check out product at or staff you can ask real questions of?

Which leads into an interesting question; why do people think it is ok to do shit like this to bike shops?  Seriously, I want to ask all of you that question; after several years of working in shops I really want to know why it is people do things at bike shops they never would at another business.

Would you walk into a restaurant, ask how they make their food and then leave to go home and make it yourself?

Would you go to a car mechanic and ask if you could use their tools to perform a repair in their parking lot?

Would you stop in a restaurant to sample dishes, buy nothing and then go home and order delivery?

Would you go to a car mechanic, buy the parts you needed and then demand they put them on for free?

Seriously, why does everyone think that bike shops should just give stuff away to them?

Other industries use crazy mark ups over MSRP on stuff as well, auto shops being just one of them but I don't see this kind of complaining there.

El Dorado said

This is why I usually look at the part in the store and ask the sales people questions. However, I then usually tell them I forgot my wallet and go home to order it on Amazon. I dislike Chicago bike shops and their employees quite a bit. This charging above MRP is pretty typical.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on July 16, 2013 at 8:39pm

Can you explain exactly what the behaviour is that has earned your designation of "Troll?"
Maybe there's a teaching moment in here...

Duppie 13.5185km said:

Before you get all riled up, remember the poster. Eldorado is tCL's resident troll. He is not worth responding to.

notoriousDUG said:

So let me get this straight, you go into a shop that pays rent on its space as well as insurance and utilities just to be open.  Take a look at the merchandise that they paid to have there for people to look at.  Take up the time of of the staff they pay to be there because you need their knowledge/opinion and then, after taking all of that from them you go and buy it from some internet store who can offer a cheaper price because they do not have a retail space you can check out product at or staff you can ask real questions of?

Which leads into an interesting question; why do people think it is ok to do shit like this to bike shops?  Seriously, I want to ask all of you that question; after several years of working in shops I really want to know why it is people do things at bike shops they never would at another business.

Would you walk into a restaurant, ask how they make their food and then leave to go home and make it yourself?

Would you go to a car mechanic and ask if you could use their tools to perform a repair in their parking lot?

Would you stop in a restaurant to sample dishes, buy nothing and then go home and order delivery?

Would you go to a car mechanic, buy the parts you needed and then demand they put them on for free?

Seriously, why does everyone think that bike shops should just give stuff away to them?

Other industries use crazy mark ups over MSRP on stuff as well, auto shops being just one of them but I don't see this kind of complaining there.

El Dorado said

This is why I usually look at the part in the store and ask the sales people questions. However, I then usually tell them I forgot my wallet and go home to order it on Amazon. I dislike Chicago bike shops and their employees quite a bit. This charging above MRP is pretty typical.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on July 16, 2013 at 8:39pm

So.. the consensus here-- not illegal, right?

Permalink Reply by Duppie on July 16, 2013 at 8:43pm

I'd say so. To me it was a learning moment and I appreciate some of the bike shop folks chiming in with their views. I do not recall this happening to me before, so it reinforces the "Buyer Beware" approach.

h' 1.0 said:

So.. the consensus here-- not illegal, right?

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on July 16, 2013 at 8:45pm

Got it.  Next up: Why did you choose to do business with that store in the first place?

Permalink Reply by Duppie on July 16, 2013 at 8:58pm

Because it was on my route home, and I was too short on time to ride the extra 1/2 mile or so to my favorite LBS.

Anything else you'd like to know?

h' 1.0 said:

Got it.  Next up: Why did you choose to do business with that store in the first place?

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on July 16, 2013 at 9:17pm

Yes, thanks. I'd like to know what the Chicago home real estate market is going to do over the next 5 years or so.



Duppie 13.5185km said:

Anything else you'd like to know?

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on July 17, 2013 at 2:18am

I never fault anyone for doing their own work.  I am usually more than willing to help give people the knowledge to do so provided they buy their parts from me.  Buy parts online and I may be less willing to help you fix yourt own bike...

Evan said:

I personally don't mind paying over MSRP at the LBS. I view it as a method of support for the my LBS. I want to help keep them around. I don't buy everything from them because my LBS's don't carry a lot of what I want. If they don't have really quite what I want well then I'm going online. 

Most LBS's cater to the bulk of their clientele because it just makes business sense. For sure, in the SW suburbs, it is the recreational rider.

One concern I have is that I am a gear-head; I like to do my own work. I am not trying take that business away from the bike shop, for me, it is part of the fun. No one faults gear-heads for working on their own cars but I sometimes feel like there is an attitude against the folks that want to do their own builds, repairs and upgrades on bikes. It seems that when I tell folks at the bike shop I am doing my own work they start talking down to me and I think that is actually to their detriment. 


notoriousDUG said:

Which leads into an interesting question; why do people think it is ok to do shit like this to bike shops?  

Would you go to a car mechanic, buy the parts you needed and then demand they put them on for free?

Seriously, why does everyone think that bike shops should just give stuff away to them?

Other industries use crazy mark ups over MSRP on stuff as well, auto shops being just one of them but I don't see this kind of complaining there.

 

Permalink Reply by Bez on July 17, 2013 at 3:41am

What El Dorado is describing is called "showrooming" and is certainly not unique to bike shops.  It's cited as part of the reason that Borders and Circuit City went belly up, Barnes & Noble and Best Buy are having trouble, and government entities are clamoring for sales tax to be applied online.

I'm kind of torn on this practice.  It's not all that different from going to a shop (focusing on bike shops here), talking to an associate about a chain or wheel and then going to other stores to check the prices there.  This used to be called "shopping around" and was considered responsible consumerism. Since we can now do that research more quickly with apps, the practice is being demonized.  Personally, if I'm doing that, I try to do it on the DL and I don't specifically go in looking to screw the shop.  I'm looking to get the most value for my money.

I have no problem asking the shop wrench for advice on doing the work myself.  Normally, though, I will have the parts in my hand (to actually purchase from the shop) and I'll only bug them if they don't look too busy or if they approach me.  For example, I recently put bar ends on, removed the grips, and wrapped my flat bars in gel tape.  The wrench saw me with the tape in hand and gave me a bunch of unsolicited advice.  The job came out fantastic because of that.  I'll be dropping off coffee this weekend for them.

I would never dream of asking to use the shop tools, and have actually declined offers to do so.  My dad was (still is, I suppose) an auto mechanic with his own shop.  People used to do this shit to him all the time and it pissed him off to the point where he started charging a rental fee of around 50% of replacement cost to use his tools.  He had a bunch of tools stolen over the years, one by one.

Finally, I was under the impression that El Dorado, while not specifically a troll, likes to post things to stir the pot.

notoriousDUG said:

So let me get this straight, you go into a shop that pays rent on its space as well as insurance and utilities just to be open.  Take a look at the merchandise that they paid to have there for people to look at.  Take up the time of of the staff they pay to be there because you need their knowledge/opinion and then, after taking all of that from them you go and buy it from some internet store who can offer a cheaper price because they do not have a retail space you can check out product at or staff you can ask real questions of?

Which leads into an interesting question; why do people think it is ok to do shit like this to bike shops?  Seriously, I want to ask all of you that question; after several years of working in shops I really want to know why it is people do things at bike shops they never would at another business.

Would you walk into a restaurant, ask how they make their food and then leave to go home and make it yourself?

Would you go to a car mechanic and ask if you could use their tools to perform a repair in their parking lot?

Would you stop in a restaurant to sample dishes, buy nothing and then go home and order delivery?

Would you go to a car mechanic, buy the parts you needed and then demand they put them on for free?

Seriously, why does everyone think that bike shops should just give stuff away to them?

Other industries use crazy mark ups over MSRP on stuff as well, auto shops being just one of them but I don't see this kind of complaining there.

El Dorado said

This is why I usually look at the part in the store and ask the sales people questions. However, I then usually tell them I forgot my wallet and go home to order it on Amazon. I dislike Chicago bike shops and their employees quite a bit. This charging above MRP is pretty typical.

Permalink Reply by El Dorado on July 17, 2013 at 9:18am

I know of no other industry where parts or goods are higher than the MRSP. This includes auto repair shops! My understanding is that actual bikes are not huge profit makers. So they jack you on parts & accessaries. "Tune ups" and other repairs are huge money makers as well.  

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on July 17, 2013 at 9:18am

Well, it doesn't look like e-commerce is going away any time soon.

Is there something shops can do to adapt to the probability that a good percentage of cyclists are going to buy online instead, and make it work for them somehow?

Dann B (5.25 mi/8.75 mi) said:

What El Dorado is describing is called "showrooming" and is certainly not unique to bike shops.  It's cited as part of the reason that Borders and Circuit City went belly up, Barnes & Noble and Best Buy are having trouble, and government entities are clamoring for sales tax to be applied online.

I'm kind of torn on this practice.  It's not all that different from going to a shop (focusing on bike shops here), talking to an associate about a chain or wheel and then going to other stores to check the prices there.  This used to be called "shopping around" and was considered responsible consumerism. Since we can now do that research more quickly with apps, the practice is being demonized.  Personally, if I'm doing that, I try to do it on the DL and I don't specifically go in looking to screw the shop.  I'm looking to get the most value for my money.

Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on July 17, 2013 at 9:22am

I think that the issue that people have with the charges is that they need to be upfront and straight forward.    If I need to have something repaired, great.  Charge me for the repair work.  But if it is something simple like a lock bracket or a light or a seat, don't charge me a price premium and then say that you are giving me "free installation".  Its not free installation, its part of the price.   I even have less of a problem if you say the price is X and that price includes installation.  And I will pay more for a product if the customer service at a shop is better.  



El Dorado said:

I know of no other industry where parts or goods are higher than the MRSP. This includes auto repair shops! My understanding is that actual bikes are not huge profit makers. So they jack you on parts & accessaries. "Tune ups" and other repairs are huge money makers as well.  

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