Quoted message said:An expert user usually doesn't need much advice about making a selection and most LBS's charge too
much money for expert user parts. This is a major reason why expert users buy online instead of
from a LBS. Performance Bike does very well with expert users in part because they price match
almost any online price. Alot of LBS's struggle because they are unwilling to update their sales
and marketing strategy.
This is very true, and if the only option I had for buying bikes and parts was one local shop then
20% off would sound great, heck on a $4000 race bike that's $800. Shops sell very few high end
bikes, I don't think it would cost them much to sacrifice some profit on a few of those sales. The
way I see it if you give your racers, say in our club, they race mountain/cyclocross a super deal
you will genrate more sales at retail. Our riders are also college students, they have a budget say
$2000, well they are still only going to spend $2000. They're not stupid, they know enough to shop
online and check ebay and the classifieds for bikes. If they can get a $3500 bike online for $2000
compared to getting a $2500 bike for $2000 that's a pretty easy decision for them. Where will they
send their friends when they need new bikes, where they got the best deal. They will tell them to
shop the internet.
Not to mention the riders that will be influnced into buying high end bikes from a local shop if
they get a really good deal. I know riders that flat out won't buy a 105 road bike for $1500, but
you show them a $2500 bike for $1500 and they will whip out a credit card and buy. Cyclists in
general are suckers for deals. That's a sale you'd never make at retail so giving a serious discount
makes you some profit instead of none. Not to mention they are going to send their friends and
family there. I don't know how everyone else is but I probably help 10-15 people a year pick out
bikes. These are ususally friends I have got into cycling and are looking at upgrading from their
$500-600 bike to something in the $1000-1500 range as they get more serious.
Now lets say shop A gives me a bike for near cost, and I bring 10 people there to buy $1000-$1500
bikes at retail. I'm pretty sure the shop comes out better selling me one bike for near cost, and
making 10 $1000 sales at retail than it does charging me retail (which I wouldn't buy anyway) and my
sending friends somewhere else. 11 sales with one near cost and 10 at retail, verses maybe a couple.
Unless there's a new math I haven't learned yet that's easy to me.
I mean we have about oh 30 people in our club, so we probably buy 10-15 bikes a year just in the
club. Between all of us, who knows how many riders we help pick out bikes locally, way more than we
buy that's for sure. Lets say for example brand X gives us 40% off retail and our local shop give us
20% off brand Y, which basically means we can get a 105 brand Y bike for $1500 or a ultegra brand X
bike for the same money. That's not a hard decision if you ask me, and while the shop may not make
much money offering us less than 20% off, it's better than making nothing. I mean it's only
canabilizing your sales if your buyers can't go anywhere else and your guarnteed the sale, that's
not the case.
To me giving super discounts to your local racers they influnce the decision of people that are
going to buy bikes at retail. They are like little sales reps for your shop, they create sales. They
go on group rides and if people see them doing well on high end bikes, their bikes are reliable,
they want to get the same thing or at least the same brand. Many riders turn to team riders for
advice on buying new bikes and parts. As for mountain biking being less influencial than road biking
I suppose that's true, around here though I'd say people replace their mountain bikes faster than
road bikes. Our ride groups are about the same size for both styles in terms of riders. I also think
mountain bikers as a whole (I know I am) are more prone to buying the latest and greatest part. In
the last oh 5 years I've bought one road bike, and 3 mountain bikes. It's true I do like mountain
biking more than road biking but I race both and put about the same time in on each.
However most people these days know that bikes can usually be ordered on several online places at
darn near 20% off retail anway. Yeah I know there's the whole warranty and ease of dealing with a
local shop. Most racers already can do their own work though. I know one shop in particular that
pretty much goes through the roof when you even mention the internet. Why? Because they can no
longer sell PC61 chains for $40, and time atac aluminum pedals for $120 to people that don't know
any better. They complain that people don't buy high end parts from them, but they won't stock any,
and those they do stock are priced too high for anyone that's even heard of the internet to be
tricked into buying. As long as it's going to take two weeks for them to get me a part, I mise well
order it myself, save 25% and get it faster. They tell their friends and pretty soon the word is out
and none of the serious riders even bother to shop there.
I suppose it's like many things, on one hand the shop can do little for it's riders and get little
back, there by self justifing their thought that their riders would give them little benefits.
Or they can do a lot for their riders and have their riders do a lot for them in return and sales.
Todd
