The Pro's Closet at it again

[bicycletricycle]

Originally Posted by CNY rider

Is Canada experiencing a recession?
The US isn’t.

Talk to people trying to sell consumer goods

[prototoast]

Reminder from your friendly neighborhood economist, "recession" is not well-defined. We generally accept as "official" the word of the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee, but that is mostly to solve a coordination problem. Judgement can differ on when is and is not a recession.

Also, not all bad things in the economy are recessions. You don't need to declare a recession to validate your problems.

[ahumblecycler]

Question for those who’ve sold to TPC, does the cash payment sent to PayPal get hit with fees and/or gets reported to the IRS? I’m trying to decide between cash or credit, and while the difference is not large on paper, losing money to fees or busting the low ceiling for reportable income would be good to know in advance.

[zap]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

It does seem like that Cycling Upgrades site has picked up what the Pros Closet used to me. They seem to find some decent stuff at fair prices.

I find prices to be rather high. Recently purchased a new derailleur at a 40% lower price than what Cycling Upgrades was asking for a used one.

I do find that Cycling Upgrades does a better job presenting products vs Pro's Closet.

Cycling Avenue in Montreal recently closed. I regret not purchasing an Argon 18 (new closeout) from them early last year.

[kppolich]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

Talk to people trying to sell consumer goods

Unlike food and medicines, discretionary goods or services are not essential for survival.

IMO it's not really fair to gripe about people not buying non-essential things, especially niche/boutique products that are available at a more affordable price point just a few clicks away on the internet.

[AngryScientist]

Interesting video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOz7ZXvfVsE

[julian3141]

Originally Posted by prototoast

Reminder from your friendly neighborhood economist, "recession" is not well-defined. We generally accept as "official" the word of the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee, but that is mostly to solve a coordination problem. Judgement can differ on when is and is not a recession.

Also, not all bad things in the economy are recessions. You don't need to declare a recession to validate your problems.

I would also add that a recession is determined, by looking backward. Anyone who will tell you that at this current moment, we are or are not in a recession is at best stretching the truth.

[bicycletricycle]

It isn’t a gripe, a reduction in discretionary purchases is an indicator of how the economy is doing. If you talk to people selling consumer goods you will quickly find out that people are buying a lot less of them.

Originally Posted by kppolich

Unlike food and medicines, discretionary goods or services are not essential for survival.

IMO it's not really fair to gripe about people not buying non-essential things, especially niche/boutique products that are available at a more affordable price point just a few clicks away on the internet.

[ridethecliche]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

It isn’t a gripe, a reduction in discretionary purchases is an indicator of how the economy is doing. If you talk to people selling consumer goods you will quickly find out that people are buying a lot less of them.

Either that or they're shifting gears.

Fender, for instance, stocked wayyyy up on guitars during the pandemic since a ton of people started playing. They were gambling that the trend would continue. Used guitars flooded the market and they're sitting on a ton of unsold product right now. So there's also been a shift in spending due to a change in interests now that the world is a bit more open.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Interesting video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOz7ZXvfVsE

Yup, as a reseller of a lot of used gear, this is pretty much essential..altho somebody will slam TPC, even for this..cuz they can...

[KJMUNC]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Yup, as a reseller of a lot of used gear, this is pretty much essential..altho somebody will slam TPC, even for this..cuz they can...

I give them credit for putting together their whole counterfeit program of scanning against the national database, etc. They didn't have to do that, but probably felt to operate at scale they needed to provide some credibility to their bikes. How they represent the condition of bikes is entirely different (and well documented in another thread), but they also process an enormous amount of bikes and you can always ask for more pics/details, so caveat emptor and all that.

It's been interesting to watch the shift of what they have to offer, at least for road bikes. Currently there are ~150 posted for sale, virtually all of which are carbon and 75% have disc brakes. Size wise, 80%+ of them are what they call M (52-55) and L (56-58). Given the prevailing trends and average height of the population it makes sense....they used to have a wider range of stuff, but seems like they've figured out what sells and have tightened down their algorithm. But as a tall retro-grouch, I don't expect to find much to buy there (but I did just sell them a frame, so go figure).

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by KJMUNC

It's been interesting to watch the shift of what they have to offer, at least for road bikes. Currently there are ~150 posted for sale, virtually all of which are carbon and 75% have disc brakes. Size wise, 80%+ of them are what they call M (52-55) and L (56-58). Given the prevailing trends and average height of the population it makes sense....they used to have a wider range of stuff, but seems like they've figured out what sells and have tightened down their algorithm. But as a tall retro-grouch, I don't expect to find much to buy there (but I did just sell them a frame, so go figure).

I think you need to re-check their site. I see size M and L making up 64% and XL (59-63) making up 16% of their road bike offerings.

[KJMUNC]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

I think you need to re-check their site. I see size M and L making up 64% and XL (59-63) making up 16% of their road bike offerings.

clearly my ability to approximate percentages needs to wait until after my 2nd coffee......yep, XL bikes are 15% (23 of 156), but of those, only 3 rim brake bikes. I get that disc is the current trend, just surprised me how few they keep in stock. Wheels are the same.....only 12 of 105 are rim. For a while they had a ton of tubulars, which seemed odd given trends.

[Kyle h]

Anyone sold anything to TPC lately? A friend I quoted about selling his SuperSix and the offer was decent but they said they aren’t doing payments for 60 days. Seems wildly sketch.

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by Kyle h

Anyone sold anything to TPC lately? A friend I quoted about selling his SuperSix and the offer was decent but they said they aren’t doing payments for 60 days. Seems wildly sketch.

It's not a great sign if they're cash constrained, but if you look at the timing, it's possible they've stretched themselves thin stocking up for the holiday season, and could realistically expect to have the money for payouts 60 days from now.