Quote:
Originally Posted by r_mutt
Performance Bike = Starbucks (corporate)
i prefer the local small business bike shop. there are no Performance Bikes here but plenty of local shops with lot's of character. i went to a Performance in Ca years ago and it was so Walmart-esque feeling. no thanks!
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There are some good reasons to go to a LBS, and some don't mind paying more money for the same stuff they could have gotten at an online store, and all of that is fine if that's what you want to do, but I'm a business man, I'm always buying things at the best price I can find because spending more than necessary is a waste of money, please note this is my opinion.
But when I go to an LBS and see their selection of tires like Vittoria Rubino Pro III tires for $95 but find them on line for $24 it doesn't take a genius to figure out which place I'm going to go to get those tires, most places have free shipping but even if I pay for shipping for those tires it will cost $12 to ship a pair, and now with taxes there will be an additional $3.36 for the pair, so the total cost will be $63.36 for a pair vs $203.30 for a pair plus taxes at the LBS, so sorry if I sound stupid to you but I would rather save $139 plus dollars!
That is just one of thousands examples I can show. At my LBS the lowest costing socks they have is $12 for a pair, not a big deal but I needed 3 pairs which would have ran $36 plus tax brings it to $38.52, I got 3 pairs from Performance for $16 which included tax and shipping. Personally I think cycling sock prices are rip off no matter what, but that's the sport we're in.
That doesn't mean I never buy from an LBS, I get about 90% of my purchases on line, occasionally I need something right now, or the price difference is so small it's just more convenient to get it at the LBS, but on most items I can save at least 30% (even after including shipping and taxes) by getting my cycling stuff on line.
I don't buy everything from Performance or Nashbar (they are the same company now), but probably about 50% goes through them the rest is scattered out amoung other companies. I always get stuff on sale or usually closeouts which the LBS's in my town never reduce prices even on closeouts by more than 10% off retail, whereas on line I can get up to 75% off their already lower prices than an LBS.
It just makes good sense to me, being a business man, to get my stuff where I can find it the cheapest. What I do isn't unlike what corporations do! Yup, it's the same reason corporations went to China to get their crap made because they could save money and make bigger profits, so I do basically the same thing, find the lowest prices and save money which leaves more money in my bank account to spend on other things...on sale of course! LOL!
By the way, Performance is not like Walmart, Walmart will sell the cheapest thing they can get, they won't sell, for example only, Vittoria rubino Pro III tires, they'll sell Bell tires which no LBS in their right mind would carry and nor does any on line store including Performance, Performance only carries name brand stuff except for their own line of things. So no, Performance isn't even close to being like a Walmart.