Bying over the net

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Roadster
I want to upgrade from my 8 speed Campaq Chorus groupset to a 9 speed groupset. Looked at prices on the internet and thought of ordering it from there. Now my question is, is it really cheaper to order over the internet as opposed to buying it from a cycle shop in South Africa? Never done something like this and is it safe? Which is a reputable site that I can use? BTW, I live in Pretoria, (SA).

I australia you can sometines get slugged with extra tax's, i'm not sure what the story is in SA

cheers!

You'll have to do some research. Phone all the bike shops you know and enquire about the price, then compare them to the online shops, including delivery costs. If you do buy your kit online, make sure that they have an exchange or replace guarantee, in case the components are defective.

One word of warning: When you make your online payment, make absolutely sure that you are doing it over a secure connection. If the site does not contain the IE SSL icon (see picture below), do not proceed with the transaction.
The icon appears in the Internet Explorer status bar in the bottom right-hand corner.

I have made a few (very few) bike related purchases over the internet. but unless the e-commerce vendor is practically giving it away, I go to the LBS.

why?

because the few extra dollars they charge pays their rent and buys their food. it also buys their knowledge, experience, friendship, and sponsorship of local races and teams. the LBS owner is not getting rich. he's trying to make a living doing what he (and you and I) love. he can't sell things for the same price as large warehouses because he doesn't buy the same volume from the manufacturer.

think about this...if everyone buys online, pretty soon there will be no local bike shops. each year more and more LBSs go under. do you have the knowledge, experience and tools to do ALL your own work? do you have the resources to find all the hard - to - find parts you need?

and NO, no one in my family owns a bike shop.

I'm with rv here. A good customer relationship with a local bike store is a great thing to have. It's like having your own F1 engineer and pit-crew at a very modest price.

In return for (well-deserved) customer loyalty, they give me 10% off everything, and they're always happy to give their experienced advice, minor mechanical tweaks, etc. for free. It also means I get my bike worked on by a professional, rather than me (a mechanical imbecile :p ) I wouldn't know where to start installing a groupset myself, nor would I have (or even know) the tools I'd need to do it. And even if I did try, it'd end up built worse than a Huffy K-Mart bike 😄

.. anyway, back to your original post ..

I wouldn't discount your local bike store's services and go groupset shopping on price alone; I'd also ask them how much it'd be *installed*. It's quite likely they'd cut you a deal on the labour if you order the components through them. Anything that requires any sort of mechanical skill to install I'd buy ONLY from a bike store and have it professionally fitted.

The only thing I've bought online has been cycling clothing from the UK, simply because it costs SO MUCH here in Australia. $100-$130 for a decent jersey, when you can get them for $40-50 from UK online vendors.

Gota shop around www.qbike.com
www.comparisonpricing.com

Thanx for al the advise. I don't make a habit of using the internet for purchases, and I do support my LBS quite a lot, but a groupset is not something that you can buy with the money out of your back pocket. I got a quote for a 9 speed Campaq groupset for R10 300.00 at my LBS and with a difference of +-R6500 it makes good sense to buy it from the dealer giving me the best prise. I will definately be doing some research before going to the next step.

When talking about loyalty to LBS bear in mind that we all live in different parts of the world. People in S-A pay up to double the prices europeans and americans pay. Then I find it ogic that for a big spend you look further then your town country. For the same price in stead of a groupset they can buy a groupset and a set of wheels elsewere.

Bear in mind the rip off rate(money) can be huge in some stores/countrys

The security thing above is nice but not really secure. It doesn't stop you from being scamed by a site or your merchandise never being shipped. That is why it is best to buy from real shops or sites that have been around a while with big selection.

Anyone can put up a site, get it secured and charge super low prices and scam people. It happens and will continue to happen. Tha tis th eproblem with VeriSign and all those certificate issuers. To me that is the scam.

Just recently 1000s of accout nnumbers were stolen from the systems of the credit card comapnies (Visa, Master Card, Amex, etc...) So it really makes no difference on the shop, when actuall hackers traget the source.

Also make sure you are buying a complte group. Many sites offer lower prices but do not offer you the hubs and/or headset. So make sure you know what you are buying.

Either way, buying from legit dealers will not be a problem at all.

However you living far away some dealers may not sell to you. Me personally I have gotetn scammed by South Africa buyers so I am very aware when I take in an order.