Ribble shipping/availability
 

I have purchased a bunch of stuff from Ribble and been very happy.

Today I tried buying bibshorts (Castelli) but received this message:
"This product is not available to your location."

I then tried to purchase some Sidi mid range shoes and got the same message.

Anyone else experience this issue or know what's going on?
Shipping would be to USA - MA. The items list in US dollars.
Thanks.

It's about effing time!!!!

Good on Sidi and Castelli

What's going on is the manufacturers are enforcing territories for their distributors and dealers.

So they can resume gouging the consumer just like the good old days. Way to go!!

Same with Open pros.

In this day and age, well... really... a centuries old solution to a new commerce issue. FFS, we at the end of the supply chain, and the end of the world, get shafted the most.

True story: it took my LBS over 3 months to get a pair of bog standard silver alloy Open Pro 36 hole rims out of Mavic's Australian distribution. That was in 2012 and I kept the order open just as an experiment to see how long they take and how many excuses they had. :butt:

I wonder if it's a Brexit thing.

FWIW, I just bought some Veloflex tires from Ribble

Chain Reaction, Ribble and a few others are stopping the sale of product to the US due to Shimano, SRAM, Campy and others getting slammed by IBD's here.

If your ISP is based in the US, it assigns it to a no sale algorithm.

While I applaud it, I don't think dealers here have really gouged people. I never did. There are some, yeah. But over all that's a small number.

Not so fast, Shimano has done absolutely nothing. Others have and they are great partners for it. This goes for the US arm and the big place in Japan. Shimano products from the UK average 15% or so less than a US dealer can get it from the real source in North America. They are not a friend of the IBD and have no interest in being a good partner. There is some heat on Shimano via Trek and Specialized to contain it as it devalues their higher end bikes. Why should a customer spend $4k on a bike when the parts kit is available for $400? Etc

If pushed, the Shimano road rep will tell you some cock and bull, cloak and dagger story about testifying before congressional subcommittees about unpaid duties and state sales taxes under a secret agreement with his boss at Shimano North America who is providing a massive amount of info, numbers and impact. I'm calling BS on that

As far as price gouging, go try sports car racing or yachting. Cycling is way cheap

Sorry, I included the big S and I shouldn't have. Believe me, I know. I am an OE and sometimes the prices Chain Reaction and others have is cheaper than my OEM Pricing!

About time. They have been talking this regional gig for quite some time.

I'll play devil's advocate.. disclosure I order "wear parts" chains, cassettes and tires from these guys.

Nature abhors a vacuum, so if Chain Reaction, Ribble, et al aren't selling this stuff, then someone like Amazon or Ebay steps in. Amazon won't take any responsibility for the stuff sold in market place (counterfeit UL labeled electronics for example) and consumers end up at risk. I'd rather have "bike guys" like Chain Reaction sell the products. YES, I know some won't warranty (Campy I think?) this way, but at least it's not counterfeit.

I do also wonder if Brexit has something to do with it as Chain Reaction are in Northern Ireland as mentioned above. That's another topic though..

As someone who was affected by Brexit, it didn't have anything to do with this. SRAM actually started the US Order Closing trend before Brexit hit. It was something they were proud of and promoted to IBD's. How they were standing up for US IBD's.

Another way you could always get your "wear parts", talk to people on here. ;)

I don't know if my experience is any indicator, but I got a couple of Assos cento bibs for about half of retail at Ribble in July? and they shipped them to me out here in CO no problem. Shipping was actually super quick considering it was international mail...

There's a big difference between price gouging and expense. Though price gouging may or may not be happening, I don't think there's a great argument for cycling being "way cheap." If it is, then I must be way poor because I can't afford half the stuff I see out on the road or on the trail. The fact of the matter is that if I had to pay retail, I would not be a "cyclist." I would probably still ride for function, but there's no way I'd be able to ride for fun. Same goes for skiing, golf, yachting, sports car racing, etc.

This topic does raise the question of why these items are more expensive in the US than these British sites. Is it the import duties? More middlemen? Wal-Mart style pricing schemes from Ribble etc.? Manufacturer-mandated pricing?