LBS vs discount prices

I got a new bike recently :) and I've recently had some accessories put onto it. I could've gotten them quite a bit cheaper on Amazon or some such place, but I've heard it is tough to get things onto a disc brake bike. The LBS guy (it's a small shop, just the owner and one employee) put them on for me with no labor charges. Also put my Topeak rack and Ergon bars onto the new bike with no charge. Am I crazy, in this economy wherein we are all pinching pennies until they scream, to pay more. In my mind, I'm glad the shop is there (the other dedicated bike shop in town is terrible, and the only other one is a department in a large sporting goods store), so I feel like I should support him when I can.

Deb

You're not crazy, Deb. My bike shop feeds a lot of employee's families, so I shop there most often. Plus- if he goes out of business- I'm screwed because it's the only shop in the city that I truly trust.
Now, I DID just buy a new cassette online because it was about $80 cheaper than the bike shop, and I bought tires online because my shop doesn't sell them and said he probably couldn't order them . Other than a few random things, I buy mostly from him.
Supporting our local shops not only helps small business owners, it helps your local economy. I'm all about that!!! :)

I buy from the LBS and it has paid off. I hadn't bought a bike from them but this summer when I bought my mountain bike they ordered and expensive model they do not stock and required no deposit or obligation to buy. This gave me a lot of piece of mind and since I ride a small size it is not something they could sell easily. I also get a lot of small labor for free and discounted labor. I could get things cheaper online but having a good relationship with the LBS never hurts.

Now I don't go there for clothes but they don't stock a lot of women's clothing I like.

No you aren't crazy.

Occasionally I will buy something online on an impulse. Normally because it's severely discounted (over 50% off).

When I need something or am saving for something I go to my local shop. By the time I factor in the added shipping cost + some value for my time and headache to get it all working (assuming it's parts) + the 15% discount off everything in the shop (club discount) the shop isn't any more expensive. Plus they are awesome people and my bike always runs flawlessly (something I doubt I could achieve myself).

The last thing I bought online (and the only thing this year, excepting some shorts I got from REIoutlet at an absurd deal) was actually 2 TE jerseys, because I liked them and obviously I wasn't going to get them at the local shop. Everything else has been ordered through the local guys. I haven't felt like I've been had or could have gotten it ridiculously cheaper somewhere else yet.

He did tweak my stem height, and give her a "mini tune-up" while he had her there to put the fenders on. I'm worried about all our local favorite shops. They can't deeply discount like the big box stores do, but they know their customers and merchandise. Their expertise can't be replaced. I'm afraid we're losing them to better prices and less service/knowledge.

Deb

I love my LBS. I'll usually look for stuff online, window shopping. Then I go to the LBS to buy it. If they don't have it, I ask them to order it for me. A couple times they've said they couldn't get me something, but they've offered something else which made me just as happy.

I don't mind the wait for ordered things; since I'd be waiting if I ordered them myself anyway. I don't mind paying a bit more because their economic survival is important to me. They get to make a profit, I get my goodie, and if I have a problem with the item they help me.

And I give them beer... :D

Feel the love!

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

I love my LBS. I'll usually look for stuff online, window shopping. Then I go to the LBS to buy it. If they don't have it, I ask them to order it for me. A couple times they've said they couldn't get me something, but they've offered something else which made me just as happy.

I don't mind the wait for ordered things; since I'd be waiting if I ordered them myself anyway. I don't mind paying a bit more because their economic survival is important to me. They get to make a profit, I get my goodie, and if I have a problem with the item they help me.

And I give them beer... :D

Feel the love!

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I could have written this post! I love my lbs.

I guess I am the anomaly. I generally support local businesses and I did buy my bike at the local lbs (where I believe they scoped me out as someone who would pay the crazy amount of $ I spent on it). The shop caters mostly to racers, but they do carry a decent line of all type of Giant bikes, along with a lot of "boutique" brands. But, I buy everything else online. Well, I buy the clothes on line, since I won't spend $40.00 on a pair of gloves (the shop's price) or $150.00 for a jersey. I will spend good money, but pretty much, I started buying at Terry when I started cycling, because they carry my size (x small) and a lot of places don't. I also buy from TE.
DH buys all of his parts, our tubes, etc. on line. He is an expert mechanic and we don't have to go to the shop for usual and most complicated maintenance or repairs. We do go to the shop for emergency type supplies, a tube here and there, or when our disc brakes on the mountain bikes break, because we don't have tools for those. My DH had to learn the mechanics when our son was racing; it was getting financially prohibitive to bring the bike in every time he needed something, after crashes, etc.
Now, if I wasn't married to a mechanical genius, I would work really hard to develop a good relationship with a shop mechanic. I feel that i was not treated that well by 2 of the 4 other shops I have dealt with, and they mostly spoke only to DH. The place I bought my Jamis was really cool, but it is not close enough for me to go there on a regular basis. I do run in to another LBS for small stuff, which is just as close as the one where I bought my bike. They are more family oriented, carry a wide variety of brands, and my son used to work there, so they know me well. But, the clothes are expensive and so are the parts.
We have referred quite a few people to the shop where we bought our bikes to buy bikes, and he will thank us, but that's about it.

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Originally Posted by Crankin

I guess I am the anomaly. I generally support local businesses and I did buy my bike at the local lbs (where I believe they scoped me out as someone who would pay the crazy amount of $ I spent on it). The shop caters mostly to racers, but they do carry a decent line of all type of Giant bikes, along with a lot of "boutique" brands.

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There is one LBS I won't support here. The service/salespeople are terrible unless you are out to spend major $$. If not, you are just an inconvenience and relegated to the high school guy who works part time on weekends, if you can get him away from his friends long enough to get a bike down for you. Then you're on your own. They used to be a great shop, but they changed hands and everyone who was decent left.

My opinion? In this economy, you'd be crazy to spend your money anywhere but locally.

Why in the world would I send any more of the money that's desperately needed where I live, to already-wealthy corporate executives and faraway places?

The shop where I bought my bike is a 40-minute drive away, and I don't have a car, so when/if I can get there is dependent on other people. Would I like to spend money there? Yes, as they're nice guys and they do a good job. Even my bike shop-snob boyfriend (who spent the entire trip there holding his front wheel and saying "I doubt they have the appropriate equipment to true my billion-dollar wheel...") was impressed. Getting there, though, is just not practical. This means I do a lot of my shopping at a) another LBS, b) Performance, or c) online. Both the other LBS and Performance are accessible by bus (and as a student, I get an unlimited-use RTA pass for $25).

Most of the stuff I've purchased since buying my bike has been clothing or small accessories (computer, tail light). I bought my first pair of shorts at Performance (their house brand), but I've bought all the rest of my clothes online. The bike shops here have relatively limited selections of women's clothes, and what they do have is not something I'm willing to pay for--I don't NEED $70 shorts just yet. I have enough disposable income to bike, but I don't have enough that I can afford to pay shop prices for things I can get online for less.

Bottom line: Clothes I'll buy online. I feel more comfortable buying parts from the LBS.

+1 on supporting your local bike shop. We go in our LBS and it's like visiting family. I know I can trust their advice and even if I don't buy anything, they know I'll be back. It's a win-win.

If I can buy locally I will.

However because NZ doesn't stock everything if there's something I need/want I cannot get here I buy it online. For example 700c 28 tyres for our tandem. Cycle clothing that's not just boring plain colours etc.

I totally understand that the market here and Australia is too small to have everything, so sadly the LBS will miss out.

I have never felt like I was visiting family at any LBS I have bought bikes at. And while it IS better to support local shops, they just charge outrageous prices. Is supporting the extremely wealthy owner of the LBS where I bought my bike any better than supporting a wealthy owner in another city or state? This guy is loved by many, but disliked by just as large of a contingent. One of my physicians keeps going in there to look at bikes, and he is constantly being shown bikes that cost 10-15K, just because he is a doctor. He stopped looking. I have not experienced any of the special treatment I've read about here at any shop, large, small, family owned, or part of a local chain. Frankly, I am glad I don't have to deal with it, the same way I am glad I don't shop at department stores anymore and deal with them.

How did they know he was a doctor? Did he go in with a lab coat or something? Or do they ask you what your profession is?

I don't buy much stuff. Once a year I buy about 6 tubes for my Bike Friday from the company in Oregon because you can't get those tubes locally. I bought one jersey from TE this year, and it was one of the contest ones. But I don't buy other stuff. I don't need it.

Eventually I'll have to take my bikes in for some more serious maintenance than I do on my own, and that will be to a local shop. But none of them know me and they certainly don't know what I do. As if being a city planner would make an impression on anyone! (except for crazycanuck, of course)