Quote:
Originally Posted by EliteVelo
I appreciate your candor and constructive criticism. I can assure you that I wouldn't have joined a forum if I took it personally. I agree that the internet is a fantastic way to look up pricing and such, but in my defense, a simple email concerning pricing on the model of choice, with options discussed during a consult, is a better way to determine a correct price in my opinion. A simple starting price was not was I was looking to achieve, as most of us would agree that prices typically goes higher when including options.
I also assure you that I am in no way trying to insult anyone or looking to be deceitful to my competition. Being wise to the internet myself, I simply take a total cost in euros including import duty, and match the British Pound. Consistent for everyone. Nothing more, nothing less. Legend frames are for those looking for something different than the off the shelf Treks, Giants, etc. No doubt these are fine bicycles, as are offerings from Shimano and Sram.
These are the only frames I sell and I like to keep it small. Certainly not my day job, as I'm a Pharmacist by trade. Just a business venture I took on to allow someone in the states the option of doing business closer to home than overseas. Is it for profit? Of course, but in no means a get rich scheme. I've raced on a junior pro development team in my early days, and have been around bikes my whole life. My decision to sell Legend was of pure passion and loyalty to his brand, as I've been on most of the other offerings out there.
While my site may seem rudimentary to some, it's just a taste of what is offered.
The bikes you see on Facebook are unfinished examples of what Marco has built for clients waiting to be shipped with their groupset of choice. A small taste of the many color choices available as a custom frame builder.
Thank you, and again I appreciate the candor.
Kindest regards,
Eric
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Yeah, it was obvious that this was a somewhat small side job in the very early stages. With a market saturated with good product, it's a tough gig for sure. What will make it even tougher is barriers to sale. You want to make it as easy for the end user as possible and pictures and information is 101.
We went through a bit of this with wheel sellers and it crumbles quick as people find a way around any seller if the product could be sourced elsewhere. No offense to you in anyway at all but a better model for Bertoletiti would have been a high end bike shop. To withhold price before consultation from an internet supplier is a hard sell to the casual buyer. If I have to enlist my own shop for fit as part of it why not just deal with them in the first place? And if they could also source the frame I would know price upfront, right away.
From a business standpoint you always ask yourself why would a consumer choose me? What do I offer that they can't get anywhere else and/or what value and service do I provide? If any of these metrics are lacking the smart consumer will work around me to get what they want. That's were the internet comes in, if there's a backdoor, people will go through it.
So there is the frame maker, you, the bike shop and the client. That's four jumps. I would try and be as helpful as possible for just being and in-between guy. Price and pictures would go along way. Again, the bike biz is a tough one and those same shops will hunt your customer too that you brought to their door with deals and services with prices for all to see.
I'll end with a very heartfelt good luck to you in this side experience. It will be interesting to see how it all goes. I have a bit of a nest egg and at times think about what I could do, but the bike market is notorious at making small piles of money out of big ones. Dream big, work hard and limit those liabilities.