The Pro's Closet at it again

[mstateglfr]

Originally Posted by ktakashismith

Someone with f***-you money just decided they wanted to make the Carmax of the bicycle world, and that's such a sad thing to aspire to be.

Aspiring to be the Carmax of the bicycle world seems better than aspiring to be the sketch used car dealer of the bicycle world.

Carmax is around because the alternative is a loose collection of historically shady small dealers who are stereotyped for a reason.

[C40_guy]

You might be surprised at the size of the business behind the typical car dealer. A lot of rollups have occurred over the past few years.

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by Blown Reek

My thinking is the same as tomato coupe's... if something "special" comes up, someone at TPC gets first dibs on it.

Not my thinking ..

[spoonrobot]

Carmax? Such an outdated reference

TPC VC backing wanted to create a Carvana analog - which they did with smashing success. Now it remains to see if they structured correctly to ride the waves for the next several years as drastic changes in demand and consumer sentiment manifest.

[pbarry]

They sell on Denver & Boulder CL from time to time.

Originally Posted by avalonracing

I sold my perfect, scratch-free, carbon Santa Cruz Chameleon (with a brand new Sram NX group and wheels) to The Pros Closet for about $2K knowing full well that they were selling similar ones with scratches and wear for about twice that much. They were cool to deal with and I was looking for an easy sale, so I was fine with it. That said, I checked back each day for a few weeks just to see where they would price it and I never saw it come up for sale. Either they have a deep well of bikes or someone said "Oh I'm keeping this one for what we paid the seller!"

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by cinema

much ado about nothing at this point… a suckers born every minute and tpc
will not last.

I’ll take that bet.

[Blown Reek]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

Not my thinking ..

Where did I get that from, then? Gotta go back and look. brb

Edit: It was you quoting avalonracing. I kind of mismatched it up. Oops!

[mstateglfr]

I have yet to see a single bike on TPC that I would want to buy for the price listed.
There is clearly a market for their products so I am not claiming their bikes are overpriced or anything like that.

...but I havent seen anything that is would push me to want to buy. If someone wants a used Specialized or Trek road/gravel bike for close to retail price, TPC may be perfect.

[BobbyJones]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

Carmax? Such an outdated reference

TPC VC backing wanted to create a Carvana analog - which they did with smashing success. Now it remains to see if they structured correctly to ride the waves for the next several years as drastic changes in demand and consumer sentiment manifest.

by what metric is it a “smashing success”?

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe

I also sold them a frame but never saw it on their site.

Originally Posted by avalonracing

I sold my perfect, scratch-free, carbon Santa Cruz Chameleon (with a brand new Sram NX group and wheels) to The Pros Closet for about $2K knowing full well that they were selling similar ones with scratches and wear for about twice that much. They were cool to deal with and I was looking for an easy sale, so I was fine with it. That said, I checked back each day for a few weeks just to see where they would price it and I never saw it come up for sale. Either they have a deep well of bikes or someone said "Oh I'm keeping this one for what we paid the seller!"

It's highly likely they simply sold before you saw them posted.

I'm not the only impulsive bike purchaser out there.. there are dozens of us! Dozens!!!

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

I have yet to see a single bike on TPC that I would want to buy for the price listed.
There is clearly a market for their products so I am not claiming their bikes are overpriced or anything like that.

...but I havent seen anything that is would push me to want to buy. If someone wants a used Specialized or Trek road/gravel bike for close to retail price, TPC may be perfect.

Every once in a while they have a used bike for a good deal, but I'd say it's rare.

More often, they actually have new surplus items that they offer for a good price. Recently I bought a set of new Mavic Ksyrium carbon wheelset from them. They had a 25% off Mavic coupon code, which meant I got a brand new set of carbon wheels, with shipping and tax, for less than $700. Good deal if you ask me.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

...but I havent seen anything that is would push me to want to buy. If someone wants a used Specialized or Trek road/gravel bike for close to retail price, TPC may be perfect.

I think the prices may be based on availability of those products new or used in the market.. I can go to most bike shops around me in the Bay Area and not find hardly any drop bar bikes (road or gravel).. at least not at the mid to upper mid tier.. (Ultegraish level).

I think the same thing is happening with used cars still.. I was in the market for a used Forester Sport on the Pacific NW last year, so I signed for AutoTrader alerts.. I never turned them off and am surprised to still see 2019 Forester Sports still being offered at a couple thousand over the MSRP on a brand new one! I have no idea what people are actually paying, but..

I think TPC will continue to price as they are until the market comes back to some sense of normalcy anyway..

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by BobbyJones

by what metric is it a “smashing success”?

https://growjo.com/company/The_Pro's_Closet

[lorenbike]

.

[BobbyJones]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

https://growjo.com/company/The_Pro's_Closet

Well, they are successful at raising money and growing employee count. That’s all I’m seeing there.

It’s easy to blow through other peoples cash. Making a profit? Well, you know…

Welcome to the new economy I suppose.