Cat 3 masters racer offering himself up on eBay...

[bulliedawg]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2904&item=7130272222&rd=1

Hmm...

[Too Tall]

Every duck has a mother too. E-baaaay is the anti-christ, they sell souls.

[Bill Bove]

Damn! I would gone $20.00 to get him in my stuff. You wouldn't believe what local cat 4 and 5 riders think they're worth.

[BumbleBeeDave]

There must be SOME sort of eBay rule against this! . . .

Next thing you know Sandy will be selling himself on eBay for, well, God only knows what! . . . :rolleyes:

BBDave

[Too Tall]

What are you talking about???? I won Bambi as a Pooch-walker(tm) last month in a "Buy Now" auction. His contract runs out in 06' if anyone is interested.

[zap]

So Bill, what do you offer Cat 4-5's?

I'm not either but do have a UCSF license and my team isn't affiliated with any shop, so you wouldn't break any unspoken shop rules. Right?

Personally, I can't imagine Cat 4-5's asking for anything unless they are heavily involved in promoting races or other volunteer work in your area. In other words, they are visible in the local cycling community and can steer traffic to your shop.

I know shops leave quite a bit of money on the table to support teams, but wonder if it really is a wise business decision to do so across the "Category" spectrum.

You really don't have to say what you offer, but am interested in your, or other shop owners thoughts.

[Bruce K]

Bill;

Your team has official UCI status?

Darn, I could've signed on with B&B and worn the mangenta kit everywhere!

BK

[coylifut]

I don’t see where shops get any value sponsoring bike clubs/teams. (BTW, I’ve never owned nor worked at a bike shop). My personal experience is that I‘ve never really received any value via shop sponsorship.

Take our club/team. It’s clearly one of the most successful teams in the area and has won the Team BAR trophy the last few years, which the shop displays in their case. We get a 15% discount on parts and merchandise which comes in handy when you need something in a hurry. Here’s the problem. The shop routinely charges a 15%-20% premium over list on most items. So, the benefit to the team member (people who go through a lot of gear and spend a lot of $) is that they essentially get it retail and save on shipping. This shop stocks more high-end items than any shop I’ve ever seen and therefore probably has more costs to carry that inventory. When you need something, they’ve got it, but it’s going to cost you. Worse yet, even though the team’s discount card is always presented in a discreet manner, the floor manager displays an “aren’t you lucky but undeserving” attitude. It’s not like it’s really broken down and turned into a bad relationship, it’s more of a non relationship.

Consequently, we’ve decided not to pursue shop sponsorship. Because I’m now “self sponsored” from equipment stand point, it’s my duty to buy things as cheap as possible. When I need to special order something (special orders are generally retail) I take my business to a small shop that I really want to see do well. They seem to have the same interest in me.

Besides winning a stupid trophy that they display in their case, we've never really done anything for them either.

[Bill Bove]

Zap, This is how I handle the sponsership thing. I don't. Other local shops do and it costs them so they pass the cost on to their customers. I had some team kits made up and I wear it everyday, the guys who work here wear it when its clean and on Sat/Sun rides, a couple of friends and good customers got gear and wear it whenever they want and I compliment them on looking good when I see them and thank them for wearing it at an event. I do not offer a 10% discount to local clubs or teams, my prices are already low and if I can afford to sell to a club member for 10% off why am I charging the guy off the street that "extra" 10%? I do not pay entry fee's or race expense's. Somebody placing 16th in the district crit held 150 miles from my shop just ain't gonna drive business my way. what I do do ( I said do do) is work late getting a guys bike right before he leaves for a race and a couple of folks continue to race because I've saved cast off parts for them to replace worn and broken parts with and given lots of no interest in store credit so they can continue riding and racing. Right now I can think of a couple of people who's tabs are at a couple of hundred bucks, one who races for another shops team. What I get out of it is enjoying riding and seeing other people enjoying it too.

[Kevan]

the Sandy fiasco. He actually commanded a lot more money at the end of his auction, but I think that was done more out of a promise he'd never do it again.

When I think about it further, I think it was Sandy's transaction that gave Paypal its name, if I'm right.

I still have nightmares from the pictures and detailed description. Professional dogwalker indeed! :D