Quote:
Originally Posted by oldpotatoe
Gotta wonder how Spec 'handles' LBS' that aren't part of the Spec 'universe', not a factory store and these deep discounts. Does the 'factory' give the LBS some sort of $ break? For inventory already on their floors?
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We have had situations in the past where a bike was heavily discounted that was already on our floors.
Spesh would ask you to wait until you sold the bike, show a POP with a serial number, and then credit your account with the adjustment on the wholesale cost that you paid. IIRC, the adjustment was not the exact dollar difference between the original wholesale and the sale priced one, but some kind of compromise.
Needless to say, it was not the best situation for the LBS, as it shrunk the $ margin that you were hoping to get on the ceiling of your floored models, where you are sacrificing a spot where you could have sold 2 or 3 fast-movers like Crossroads hybrid, or a Rockhopper HT in the same time period. Now you have taken a cut on the ROI of your square footage.
I would not be surprised, as Alexi said, that this policy is now eliminated to indemnify the LBS. This is just one of the many ills perpetuated by the MAP pricing policies, and then websites that also sell D-2-C. Where this will really bite you in the A$$ is on helmets or shoes that you have a lot of. IIRC, those wholesale costs were never adjusted, you just took it.
If I ever opened any kind of bike business it would not be with one of the big four brands. I wouldn't expect that corporate mindset to improve at all going forward.