Glory Cycles - Terrible experience -

[R3awak3n]

Not a story I am happy to tell but I have to put it out there so I maybe can help people avoid a similar terrible experience I just had with this shop.

About 10-11 weeks ago I was ready to buy a new bike frame. Its not a cheap frame and it was the first time I have bought a brand new frame. Was going to order directly from the manufacturer but found a discount code for Glory Cycles. 10 or 12% off. Its a pretty large purchase and that is a good chunk of change, so btw the discount, free shipping and no tax, was the best deal I could have found. I messaged them since it said 2 weeks lead time for the bike.
Communication was good with this place, a few hours later they said, 2-3 weeks if you buy now. I waited a week so messaged and they told me, its more like 3-4 weeks. I was happy so I placed the order. Glory was also very good at helping me find a campy disc caliper since campy does not sell it separately.

Till here I was super happy, these guys seemed amazing. Great CS, fast communication. WAS I WRONG.

Another month goes by. They tell me bike is still back ordered. Still great communication so I was not worried. I told them I needed the bike by begining of August because I have a big ride (d2r2). Another few weeks go by and still no bike. They messaged me and say the bike is on the way to them. Another week and they say, should be here this week. Nothing. So now we are getting close to August and I have no bike.

I message Glory and tell them, I know its not your guys fault and that they don't have the bike but I really need it, I found a similar bike so I am going to buy it and then leave it in the box and if this bike arrives I will return that one and if this one doesn't I keep that one. I just needed to make sure I had a bike for D2R2. So they message me and say, yes bike is on the way for sure, we are just waiting on a tracking number from the manufacturer.
I message them and tell them how amazing they have been and how the manufacturer sucks and how I am starting to wonder how bad they will be if there is a warranty problem.

Another week goes by, no bike, no tracking, no nothing. This is when I decided to say F it and message the manufacturer (I was blaming the manufacturer but would like to listen to their side of the story). Manufacturer messages me back and says, we have those bikes in stock, have had them for 2 months and can ship one now and be with you in 3-4 days.

I was pretty upset so I call Glory. The guy could not even speak. All I hear is ehhhh uhhhhhh ohhhhh heeeeee, we are sorry. So I ask for a refund. I was trying to remain calm after this guy lied to me for 2 months straight. I don't want to go into a lot of detail of what happened but lets say that my money never got to the manufacturer and Glory was aware of this.

I think they are using new money to pay for old orders.

I went and read reviews of the shop and not only they don't have anything in stock but don't tell you, this apparently happens a bunch. Took a week to get a refund (I was worried about this because I read some peoples reviews and took them months). Took over a week but I did get my refund so I can't blame em for this part but plenty to read online about their refund problems.

I was not even upset about the bike, its a freaking bike who cares. I went to a local shop and bought it, took me 15 minutes. But the lying just hurt. I was talking to this same guy for 2 months, was super nice and convinced they were great guys but he just lied to my face over and over again, blamed the manufacturer and then never really admitted to fault. Just said we are sorry, we are so backed up, we only 7 people here, yada yada yada. Unbelievable.

Don't get lured by their discounts, if you are looking for a new frame or bike, or any components for that matter, I would look else where. This does not mean that they have not been good to some, this is only my experience and I thought I would share it

[Blown Reek]

Man, that sucks. I've ordered a ton from Glory from over the years, and have never had a problem- and that includes recently. But congrats on getting the new bike you wanted anyway!

[fignon's barber]

Man, sorry to hear. That's just not right. Too much unnecessary stress. I assume it's regarding your Open? Maybe there is something between Glory and them? I have to say, I recently bought the Orbea Terra from Glory, and it went super smoothly, delivered a few days earlier than promised, and it was a custom paint order. The bike was set up and packed perfectly, and the owner, Clive, even called after the delivery to make sure I liked it. I know that doesn't make your experience any better though. Forget about it and enjoy the D2R2.

[Spdntrxi]

I ordered a 8070 groupset ... figured it would be shipped by now but it’s not . They promise my this week but it’s obvious they did not have everything in stock

I will probably bypass them next time because I expect a little faster shipment.

[oldpotatoe]

Glory was also very good at helping me find a campy disc caliper since campy does not sell it separately.

In my role as Campag apologist:)..it does exist as a separate part but just not available yet..

Part number is DB-R140

[zap]

That is annoying.

I just received my order from Glory cycles yesterday......a Fizik saddle. They told me they didn't have it in stock and that they would receive it from their supplier by the end of last week. They shipped it to me last Thursday.

I ordered something from them 2+ years ago...........another low $ item that I received with no issue.

I purchase most bicycle parts from Excel, Texas Cycle Sport and Velomine.

[Keith A]

R3awak3n -- Thanks for sharing and I'm glad to hear you finally have your bike.

[cribbit]

Running a bike shop as a ponzi scheme, that's a new one.

[RobJ]

I have a fairly large order with them right now that went smoothly. It took a few days for the status to change to processing or shipped, but it's on its way. They have been good with email status updates to the order. Some items in this order were on sale so their prices were competitive even with the UK stuff.

I did have another a few months back that sat for a few weeks, until finally they told me they were waiting on the Campy rotors to be in stock. I did receive a personal call from the them (Clive?) originally when I was inquiring about some parts and pricing. On this order I did get the feeling that they were not maintaining stock and ordering the parts from the distro after my order was placed.

[R3awak3n]

Man, that sucks. I've ordered a ton from Glory from over the years, and have never had a problem- and that includes recently. But congrats on getting the new bike you wanted anyway!

its good to hear that they don't do this to everyone.

Man, sorry to hear. That's just not right. Too much unnecessary stress. I assume it's regarding your Open? Maybe there is something between Glory and them? I have to say, I recently bought the Orbea Terra from Glory, and it went super smoothly, delivered a few days earlier than promised, and it was a custom paint order. The bike was set up and packed perfectly, and the owner, Clive, even called after the delivery to make sure I liked it. I know that doesn't make your experience any better though. Forget about it and enjoy the D2R2.

It is indeed the OPEN. I don't know what is going on between them but what really bothered me was the lying, for this long. Saying they are waiting on tracking numbers, ect when it is not true.

I think its safe to say that if its in stock with them, they ship it and its fine

I ordered a 8070 groupset ... figured it would be shipped by now but it’s not . They promise my this week but it’s obvious they did not have everything in stock

I will probably bypass them next time because I expect a little faster shipment.

Message them and ask. This is the biggest complaint I see from reviews. They dont have stuff in stock and don't tell people then take weeks to ship and sometimes you have to message them and they tell you they haven't received it yet. Its a terrible system.

In my role as Campag apologist:)..it does exist as a separate part but just not available yet..

Part number is DB-R140

lol. Yes but they should have them available. I found a lever/caliper here on the forum for a good deal. I am wondering how much campy will price these calipers at too. Nice kit though, just bled this weekend. I am a newb with discs and was easy and levers feel pretty nice.

That is annoying.

I just received my order from Glory cycles yesterday......a Fizik saddle. They told me they didn't have it in stock and that they would receive it from their supplier by the end of last week. They shipped it to me last Thursday.

I ordered something from them 2+ years ago...........another low $ item that I received with no issue.

I purchase most bicycle parts from Excel, Texas Cycle Sport and Velomine.

I buy a lot from Excel, jenson and always great. I feel like those companys have stuff in stock while glory, seems like a huge bike shop with tons of stock but its not.

R3awak3n -- Thanks for sharing and I'm glad to hear you finally have your bike.

Finally is here. Kind of funny how I waited for 10 months and then ended up going to a local shop 15 minutes before they were closing and bought one in 10 minutes :banana:

Running a bike shop as a ponzi scheme, that's a new one.

that is exactly what seems like. I am not sure how they are surviving.

I have a fairly large order with them right now that went smoothly. It took a few days for the status to change to processing or shipped, but it's on its way. They have been good with email status updates to the order. Some items in this order were on sale so their prices were competitive even with the UK stuff.

I did have another a few months back that sat for a few weeks, until finally they told me they were waiting on the Campy rotors to be in stock. I did receive a personal call from the them (Clive?) originally when I was inquiring about some parts and pricing. On this order I did get the feeling that they were not maintaining stock and ordering the parts from the distro after my order was placed.

Its good to know they are ok with some orders. I do appreciate that their CS is good as far as communication but lying is not ok. I guess maybe I was too nice and they thought they could play me on this. Just was disappointed in people. Usually have had good experiences with bike people but not this time.

Hope your order comes through

[one60]

Not clear from your description but it sounds as though a single individual was responsible for this issue not necessarily the business or its owners?

From other's comments is it possible you were the victim of a customer service guy not doing his job?

[R3awak3n]

Not clear from your description but it sounds as though a single individual was responsible for this issue not necessarily the business or its owners?

From other's comments is it possible you were the victim of a customer service guy not doing his job?

This is a good question. Without going into a lot of details, this is a business thing and not just 1 guy thing. Yes, I talked to a couple of guys there (mostly this one) but I am pretty sure everyone there knows what is going on and it was not a 1 guy didnt do his job thing. The emails are to the shop, everyone can read them and reply, not just this guy.

[12snap]

I had a similar experience with a completely different shop when trying to buy a new Devinci mountain bike frame 6 or 7 years ago. It was so frustrating. The shop owed money to Devinci and they weren't going to ship until they got paid. The shop owner strung me along for several months saying there were delays in manufacturing. I emailed Devinci directly asking about the delay and within 5 minutes of me sending the email I got a response back asking for my phone number so they could call and explain what was going on. Devinci was great and helped me find a local sales rep and a different shop to get me the frame.

Sorry you had to go through all the trouble. I'm glad you finally got the bike, though.

[m4rk540]

Last year I placed an $80 order for which almost immediately received a "awaiting shipment" message. I figured that to mean that the order was ready to ship and a tracking number would soon follow. I never received a tracking number so a week later I asked to cancel the order. A few days later the parts arrived. Since it was a small order I never followed up or gave it much thought. Sucks if it's a common thing with them.

[Dave]

I've got an order in for a Look 785 Huez frame and Campy chorus group. Over 2 weeks has past and no update yet, so I sent them an email today, asking for an update. If they have none, I'll probably cancel the order.

They do have unscrupulous business practices. They charge your credit card as soon as the order is placed, so they are using your money to purchase from a supplier. Most places never charge your card until the product is shipped.

In my case, all they do is buy a complete bike with 105 or Ultegra kit, strip the parts off and sell you the frame with the parts that you specify. I can do that myself, but you need to know what you might get from the stripped parts, sold on Ebay, before deciding if it's a good deal.

[R3awak3n]

I've got an order in for a Look 785 Huez frame and Campy chorus group. Over 2 weeks has past and no update yet, so I sent them an email today, asking for an update. If they have none, I'll probably cancel the order.

They do have unscrupulous business practices. They charge your credit card as soon as the order is placed, so they are using your money to purchase from a supplier. Most places never charge your card until the product is shipped.

In my case, all they do is buy a complete bike with 105 or Ultegra kit, strip the parts off and sell you the frame with the parts that you specify. I can do that myself, but you need to know what you might get from the stripped parts, sold on Ebay, before deciding if it's a good deal.

be careful though because if they sense you are about to cancel they will come up with an update. "oh we just heard from them, bike is in the mail, just waiting on tracking"

Its very shady practices for sure, may not even be legal.

[m4rk540]

be careful though because if they sense you are about to cancel they will come up with an update. "oh we just heard from them, bike is in the mail, just waiting on tracking"

Its very shady practices for sure, may not even be legal.

Forgot to mention that part. I emailed to cancel the order and they replied that it would ship that day. The timing could have been coincidental.

[dbnm]

They are a tiny shop with a huge instagram following. They post new bikes all the time.

I've ordered once or twice and the item is usually never in stock.

I would email them and ask delivery time before placing an actual order.

[R3awak3n]

They are a tiny shop with a huge instagram following. They post new bikes all the time.

I've ordered once or twice and the item is usually never in stock.

I would email them and ask delivery time before placing an actual order.

which is a ridiculous thing. Also what I did when buying the frame. But interesting enough, the frame was actually available from the manufacturer at all times

[Avispa]

I ordered something from them 2+ years ago...........another low $ item that I received with no issue. I purchase most bicycle parts from Excel, Texas Cycle Sport and Velomine.

True and most smaller shops can afford to keep smaller parts in stock. But when it comes to frames and such high cost items, this could become problem. Excel and others are older "pre-Internet" bike companies and they have a solid business where "customer service" is actually several staff people.

What has happened to the OP is unfortunate and it is too bad that is the way things are going these days. I think this is just a sign of the times: what you see, is what you don't get! But, I also think you are also paying the cost of wanting to get something "at rock bottom price"... Perhaps if you had just gone to the manufacturer in the first place all these would have been avoided. By the way, you never mentioned the manufacturer's name. Some Italian companies are notorious for playing games and sometimes dealers find themselves in this mess. I have seen this happen even at LBSs.

Many and I mean, many smaller bike shop enterprises have realized that the Internet is killing their business model and they use social media to lure the customer into believing they have stuff readily available with the constant updates of pictures, etc. when in fact they are depending on the manufacturer/distributor stock. The days of smaller bike shops taking large "pre-season" orders to get favorable pricing are just about over and I hope manufacturers start to realize this soon and modify their pricing structure, otherwise they will end up with only one or two large bike shops that as a whole, do not do the same numbers of all the smaller shops.

As for Glory, I have had my issues with them as well and I am aware that they had a huge Brazilian customer base, which after the economy tightened in that country, they suffered with it and they are not nearly the same volume dealer they were about 8 years ago.

I do believe that Glory is not alone in this camp and you can also hear horror stories from other shops over the Internet, some places that come to mind: BikesSomeWhere.com and Planetcyclery.com

[R3awak3n]

True and most smaller shops can afford to keep smaller parts in stock. But when it comes to frames and such high cost items, this could become problem. Excel and others are older "pre-Internet" bike companies and they have a solid business where "customer service" is actually several staff people.

What has happened to the OP is unfortunate and it is too bad that is the way things are going these days. I think this is just a sign of the times: what you see, is what you don't get! But, I also think you are also paying the cost of wanting to get something "at rock bottom price"... Perhaps if you had just gone to the manufacturer in the first place all these would have been avoided. By the way, you never mentioned the manufacturer's name. Some Italian companies are notorious for playing games and sometimes dealers find themselves in this mess. I have seen this happen even at LBSs.

Many and I mean, many smaller bike shop enterprises have realized that the Internet is killing their business model and they use social media to lure the customer into believing they have stuff readily available with the constant updates of pictures, etc. when in fact they are depending on the manufacturer/distributor stock. The days of smaller bike shops taking large "pre-season" orders to get favorable pricing are just about over and I hope manufacturers start to realize this soon and modify their pricing structure, otherwise they will end up with only one or two large bike shops that as a whole, do not do the same numbers of all the smaller shops.

As for Glory, I have had my issues with them as well and I am aware that they had a huge Brazilian customer base, which after the economy tightened in that country, they suffered with it and they are not nearly the same volume dealer they were about 8 years ago.

I do believe that Glory is not alone in this camp and you can also hear horror stories from other shops over the Internet, some places that come to mind: BikesSomeWhere.com and Planetcyclery.com

Well, can't blame me for trying to save some money, we are talking about $400 . Trust me, if it was now I would have just bought it from the manufacturer (already mentioned on this thread, OPEN. But Glory seemed legit, had a discount + free shipping + no tax and they are a dealer so it was the smart move to go with them.

[nmrt]

I'm sorry but placing some of the blame on the OP is simply not right.
The OP is not really complaining about how the bike took longer than expected to get to him. He is complaining about how they lied to him and told me over and over again that the bike was getting to him when in fact they did not even place the order for the bike to the manufacturer. So, the OP was indeed aware all the time that they did not have the bike.

Do you really think if the OP had paid $400 more glory cycles would have actually placed the order? I doubt it. I have a feeling something else was going on between glory and open. :confused:

True and most smaller shops can afford to keep smaller parts in stock. But when it comes to frames and such high cost items, this could become problem. Excel and others are older "pre-Internet" bike companies and they have a solid business where "customer service" is actually several staff people.

What has happened to the OP is unfortunate and it is too bad that is the way things are going these days. I think this is just a sign of the times: what you see, is what you don't get! But, I also think you are also paying the cost of wanting to get something "at rock bottom price"... Perhaps if you had just gone to the manufacturer in the first place all these would have been avoided. By the way, you never mentioned the manufacturer's name. Some Italian companies are notorious for playing games and sometimes dealers find themselves in this mess. I have seen this happen even at LBSs.

Many and I mean, many smaller bike shop enterprises have realized that the Internet is killing their business model and they use social media to lure the customer into believing they have stuff readily available with the constant updates of pictures, etc. when in fact they are depending on the manufacturer/distributor stock. The days of smaller bike shops taking large "pre-season" orders to get favorable pricing are just about over and I hope manufacturers start to realize this soon and modify their pricing structure, otherwise they will end up with only one or two large bike shops that as a whole, do not do the same numbers of all the smaller shops.

As for Glory, I have had my issues with them as well and I am aware that they had a huge Brazilian customer base, which after the economy tightened in that country, they suffered with it and they are not nearly the same volume dealer they were about 8 years ago.

I do believe that Glory is not alone in this camp and you can also hear horror stories from other shops over the Internet, some places that come to mind: BikesSomeWhere.com and Planetcyclery.com

[old_fat_and_slow]

Not trying to diminish the problem the OP had with Glory, or come down on either side. I just wanted to throw out that I've ordered a few times from Glory and never had an issue. Had to return a stem once, and there were no issues whatsoever getting my money back.

[Dave]

I suspect that people ordering low priced items will have no problem, but obviously they do not stock the bikes and frames they advertise. I sent them an email directing them to cancel my order and refund my money if the frame and group was not shipping by the end of the week. They blame the slow delivery on the demise of LOOK USA and the transfer of the distribution to another company.

Maybe a Colnago C-RS.

[mdeth1313]

I've read about others having similar experiences with GC. Most seem to do fine but the OP's situation is not unique. About 6 years ago I was looking into buying a frameset from them but opted to go elsewhere because of the stories I'd read (and they were definitely trying to sweeten the deal by throwing some high end extra in).

[R3awak3n]

I've read about others having similar experiences with GC. Most seem to do fine but the OP's situation is not unique. About 6 years ago I was looking into buying a frameset from them but opted to go elsewhere because of the stories I'd read (and they were definitely trying to sweeten the deal by throwing some high end extra in).

it is kind of crazy how many stories I have read and a few I got through PM and how they are still around since these stories go as far as 2008.

Bike industry is a really strange industry

[ultraman6970]

I have no money so is hard for me just got and spend 4 grands in a frame or bike, but the times Ive, actually the only time I got a full bike went to the store to buy it, other places online were ok but went straight to the shop to get the bike, this was like 12 years ago or more.

What happened to the OP sucks, bought from that shop long time ago, even even remember they had another address is orlando, either way, they were ok back then... market is super weird lately and if this shop is struggling to survive and pretty much using other's people money to keep the stuff open, the shop wont last too long doing that because that's the beginning of the end.

[Dave]

My order with Glory has been worked out. Since they can't get me the frame, they have shipped the Chorus group I ordered, at a decent price. Now I can combine the cheap Colnago C-RS frame with the Chorus group.

It's still not right to advertise an attractive price on something you don't have in stock.

[John H.]

I have worked in the bike biz so I have some experience with this.
My guess is that one of two things happened.
1.) Credit Hold- It is possible that Open would not sell them a frame because they needed to pay off past purchases.
I don't know credit policies for Open or account status for Glory Cycles so this is merely speculation.
2.) Open may have a discount structure where the purchasing shop gets an additional discount when ordering multiple frames or a larger $ per purchase.
So they hold an order until they have several.
Again, just speculation on my part.

Either way- Glory was not transparent with their customer, now it is blowing up in their face.

[bitpuddle]

I just had something similar happen with Glory Cycles. I bought something (not cheap, ~$900) that was supposed to ship out the next day (it was “in stock”).

It took nearly a month to ship, with a different excuse each time. No follow-up from them; I had to contact them three times, after they missed promised ship dates each time. They didn’t even respond to my last (fourth) email.

Was thinking about having them build me a bike (Chapter 2 Rere), but no way after this experience.