Posts
4173
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
Erie, PA, USA
Edited Date/Time
1/26/2012 10:12am
I am kinda new to the road bike thing and have been wondering about what my local shop is charging for parts and accessories.
Is it normal for a bicycle shop to charge more than the MSRP for parts and accessories? I know in MX most shops charge MSRP or a little less.
I have been going to the same local bicycle shop for a few years now and have noticed a couple times that they charged a lot more than the MSRP. Twice they got me because I didn't research the price until after I bought the stuff. The trailer bike I got for Matt, I paid $119.00 for it. I got home and in the manual it had an order form to get and extra mount, I went on their website and found that the MSRP for the trailer bike was $89.99 and I could have bought it straight from the manufacturer.
I went yesterday to get some pedals for the road bike. I ended up getting the "cheaper" model Look pedals. I paid $99.99 for them. I got home and looked them up on line. MSRP is $62.95, I could have got them for $49.00. I know that they have to charge more than the online guys, and I don't mind paying a little more to support them, but wow! They are charging quite a bit more than I would expect to be a fair markup.
Do all bike shops do this or is this one just taking advantage of people? My buddy works there and I asked them. He told me they get parts from a distributor and that is why they charge more. Shouldn't the MSRP be the highest price they should honestly charge? I am about ready to give up on them.
Is it normal for a bicycle shop to charge more than the MSRP for parts and accessories? I know in MX most shops charge MSRP or a little less.
I have been going to the same local bicycle shop for a few years now and have noticed a couple times that they charged a lot more than the MSRP. Twice they got me because I didn't research the price until after I bought the stuff. The trailer bike I got for Matt, I paid $119.00 for it. I got home and in the manual it had an order form to get and extra mount, I went on their website and found that the MSRP for the trailer bike was $89.99 and I could have bought it straight from the manufacturer.
I went yesterday to get some pedals for the road bike. I ended up getting the "cheaper" model Look pedals. I paid $99.99 for them. I got home and looked them up on line. MSRP is $62.95, I could have got them for $49.00. I know that they have to charge more than the online guys, and I don't mind paying a little more to support them, but wow! They are charging quite a bit more than I would expect to be a fair markup.
Do all bike shops do this or is this one just taking advantage of people? My buddy works there and I asked them. He told me they get parts from a distributor and that is why they charge more. Shouldn't the MSRP be the highest price they should honestly charge? I am about ready to give up on them.
and while I don’t expect to walk into a local brick and mortar store and get internet pricing …
the merchant needs to be reasonable imho … the price discrepancies you have posted seem high
Since you have a buddy there I wouldn't hesitate to explain your issue and tell them you are going to have to shop internet if they are going to charge over MSRP.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
I'd look aound and find one that gives you more bang for your buck.
Normal mark up on a bike was around 30%, which isn't a lot considering you have to build it, tune it, and service it for free once or twice.
The big mark up is on parts, accessories and apparel.
Most stores mark that stuff up anywhere from 100% to 300%.
Another thing to consider is that stores that do more volume get better pricing from their distributers, and therefore have better prices for the consumer.
Shops have considerable overhead that mail order doesn't have, so there is no way any shop could stay in business if they tried to match internet prices.
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