Hey Chainlink, know what I think is lame?

When a website that claims to be promoting local cycling in the city of Chicago has a banner ad for a site which is one of the many internet discount outlets that make it hard for local bike shops.

Way to go Chainlink, bravo. Is the advertising dollar worth making things harder on the local shops here in Chicago?

Is this site about serving the local community or is it about being a profit center for it's owner?

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 7, 2012 at 12:07pm

Actually the ad in question has been taken down. The ads on this site are static and put their by Julie.

jon damaska said:

Google, Bing, Yahoo etc buy space on websites for placing ads. If you shop the discount bicycle websites, they place cookies in your files that remain there until you clear them out. As you move around the internet, the big 3 know and profile who you are through your IP and cookies- they strategically place these ads in the sponsored space they have bought. Chances are great you were shopping at the discount site sometime before going on Chainlink and they followed you there and were target marketing to you. This is why many people on Chainlink have never seen what you are referring to- because they haven't been shopping on the discount sites.

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Permalink Reply by Michael A on January 7, 2012 at 4:18pm

The ad was not taken down because of this thread, it was taken down on the first of the month.....

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on January 7, 2012 at 4:23pm

Did someone say the ad was taken down because of this thread?

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Permalink Reply by Zoetrope on January 7, 2012 at 4:28pm

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Permalink Reply by Ash L. on January 10, 2012 at 9:58pm

Not that the pot needed more stirring but a blog I peruse just posted about a new cellie app where you can scan barcodes on items at your LBS and Amazon will search their inventory to see if their prices undercut the brick and mortar. Seems pretty dastardly to me.

http://www.thebirdwheel.com/war-in-the-bicycle-economy

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on January 10, 2012 at 10:19pm

I'd be more concerned about the actual producer of the product than who is selling it.

I can see if a product is made by a company that supports the dastardly SOPA war-on-the-internet which is more important to me than whether the bricks and mortar are in Illinois or some nearby state like Wisconsin or Michigan.

It's simple with this Android App on my phone.

Just say no to companies that want to make you a slave.

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Permalink Reply by Zoetrope on January 10, 2012 at 10:22pm

Seems like a sweet app right there. Saw that the other day but I don't have iphone or android.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 10, 2012 at 11:30pm

Really? You think it is a 'sweet app' that enables you to walk into a shop that is making an effort to stock an item for you to see before purchase and then scan it and purchase it from a online retailer who is able to sell it cheaper because they do not have the overhead required to have a showroom for you to handle items?

Please tell me how you justify that?

Brendan said:

Seems like a sweet app right there. Saw that the other day but I don't have iphone or android.

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Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on January 10, 2012 at 11:31pm

Pretty sure he's talking about the SOPA app.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 10, 2012 at 11:32pm

It's just another way for online sellers to use a LBS as a showroom for their product. There is nothing more obnoxious than for a person to walk into a shop, examine a product that shop pays to stock for them to check out, and then use their phone to purchase it online.

If you want to handle something before you buy it spend the extra money and get it from a ship.

Ash L. said:

Not that the pot needed more stirring but a blog I peruse just posted about a new cellie app where you can scan barcodes on items at your LBS and Amazon will search their inventory to see if their prices undercut the brick and mortar. Seems pretty dastardly to me.

http://www.thebirdwheel.com/war-in-the-bicycle-economy