Bike delivered with lower spec wheels from retailer...what's my recourse?

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

Here is their initial response

Hi Adam,

Thanks for reaching out. Those are the wheels that come with the bike as they come as complete bikes from Pinarello. We won't do any extra discounts on the bike.


Best,

Epic Cycles Team

My response

The stock photo and the description state Red Rapid 500 which are mid tier gravel wheels. It's definitely what you have on your site and in all of the promotional videos. The 900 series is the lowest rung wheel. I don't have a N3W freehub for my i9 Torch hubs or I would just swap them out now.

Their response to this email

That is exactly what Pinarello sends us to post on our website. Unfortunately we do not control how they ship the bikes to us and we apologize for the inconvenience. I am happy to provide a return label for the bike once it is shipped to us. We will go ahead and do a full refund.


My response

You sent out a top tier bike with the lowest end wheels that Fulcrum makes instead of what is both shown and listed. Then you claimed you had no idea and that you had no intention of making it right and that I could send it back.

That is not cool and is called bait and switch. I am a reasonable guy, but sending out a lower spec wheel and just saying "oh well...send it back then" instead of trying to make it right is no good. The site clearly states the 500 and those are the pictured wheels along with the stated wheelset from the manufacturer and all of the reviews. Getting a heavier lower end set of wheels is a huge disappointment when dropping thousands on a bicycle regardless of the discount which includes the 500 series wheels not the 900 series
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IMO and experience they are not wrong and in the end it's on Pinarello. Could be the tail end of Covid disruptions in OEM supply with many brands scrambling to have complete bikes to ship. Most Co. sites to have a disclaimer regarding Spec changing without notice. If the discount was deep enough for you to grab it I'm guessing the retailer isn't making bank just moving product. They see the discount as the "fix" to the problem. Whether or not they should have to claim differently online vs the official Pinarello spec (which they too assumed would come as stated when they bought it) is a different story.

The free return label IMO is fair.

[AngryScientist]

The shop is wrong. Period, end of story.

It's their shop. It's their website. They should act with integrity. If their website says for X dollars you get Y product, that's called a contract.

The entire reason bike shops exist is to be the interface between the customer and the manufacturer. In this case they are just the middle man making money passing on a sealed box from Pinarello to the customer, so what value to the world do they even provide if they can not even be bothered with customer service?

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

They have agreed to take the bike back. I would have preferred to just have the proper wheels instead as I do like the rest of the bike, but the bait and switch is enough for me to send it back. It's sad that this is what these companies have become. They even had the nerve to say I was the only one who notified them of this or even complained! I find it hard to believe nobody else dropping thousands on this bike noticed the lower end wheels!

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Ahh, mailorder..gotta love it. I suspect the distributor swapped the wheels and hoped the shop or the buyer wouldn't notice. Another vote for buying in person...

The shop said it was Pinarello who shipped them out with the 900 wheels, but every single review, promotional video and their own website have the 500s listed as the wheelset. It's like ordering a set of Zondas and getting Khamsin instead.

Is Pinarello still distributed by GITA?

I see not any more..too bad..they were a great company.

But for Angry right above, yes, bike shops and mail-order in particular, are most times nothing more that bike stuff delivery operations, not really 'bike shops', that offer full service, with 'service' being the operative word..Customer Service seems to be dead in a lot of industries these days.

[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

The shop is wrong. Period, end of story.



It's their shop. It's their website. They should act with integrity. If their website says for X dollars you get Y product, that's called a contract.



The entire reason bike shops exist is to be the interface between the customer and the manufacturer. In this case they are just the middle man making money passing on a sealed box from Pinarello to the customer, so what value to the world do they even provide if they can not even be bothered with customer service?

100% BTW the box I received had also been opened and literally has Epic Cycles tape resealing the box and the staples it originally came with pulled out, so the ignorance card being played by the shop seems a lot less likely.

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[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by charliedid

IMO and experience they are not wrong and in the end it's on Pinarello. Could be the tail end of Covid disruptions in OEM supply with many brands scrambling to have complete bikes to ship. Most Co. sites to have a disclaimer regarding Spec changing without notice. If the discount was deep enough for you to grab it I'm guessing the retailer isn't making bank just moving product. They see the discount as the "fix" to the problem. Whether or not they should have to claim differently online vs the official Pinarello spec (which they too assumed would come as stated when they bought it) is a different story.



The free return label IMO is fair.

The shop has no such disclaimer on their site and still has the 500 listed as the wheelset. I am savvy enough to check these things out and would take full responsibility if that were the case. I would have settled for them sending me a N3W freehub for the carbon wheels I have here.



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[Hilltopperny]

The owner just contacted me and apologized! He is sending me the freehub I need for the inconvenience! Much better outcome then the original contact from customer service!

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[tctyres]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

The owner just contacted me and apologized! He is sending me the freehub I need for the inconvenience! Much better outcome then the original contact from customer service!

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Good. Glad you're getting what you paid for.

Every time I say that I am a repeat customer, the vendor realizes that there's a loyalty trade going on as well as a sale. In those instances, they go out of their way for me.

The thing about a lot of this stuff is that it's a relationship -- if they don't like you, they don't bend, and if you don't like them, they don't get another sale.

[batman1425]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

The owner just contacted me and apologized! He is sending me the freehub I need for the inconvenience! Much better outcome then the original contact from customer service!

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Glad they took some responsibility and came up with a solution.

[weisan]

Takes so little, but goes such a long way.

[ridethecliche]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

The owner just contacted me and apologized! He is sending me the freehub I need for the inconvenience! Much better outcome then the original contact from customer service!

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So are you sending the bike back or did they send you the freehub you need so you can run a wheelset you already own? Just wanted to see how this all turned out.

[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by ridethecliche

So are you sending the bike back or did they send you the freehub you need so you can run a wheelset you already own? Just wanted to see how this all turned out.

Yes, I am keeping the bike and they are sending me the freehub I need for my carbon wheels. I am glad it worked out as I am really liking this bike after today's shakedown ride.

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[vertr]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

Yes, I am keeping the bike and they are sending me the freehub I need for my carbon wheels. I am glad it worked out as I am really liking this bike after today's shakedown ride.

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I hope the freehub's value is equal or better than the price delta between the wheels you got and the wheels you paid for!

[robt57]

Glad it worked out to your liking. Ride safe, enjoy!

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

The shop has no such disclaimer on their site and still has the 500 listed as the wheelset. I am savvy enough to check these things out and would take full responsibility if that were the case. I would have settled for them sending me a N3W freehub for the carbon wheels I have here.



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Glad it worked out. Disclaimers I'm talking about are on manufacturers sites.

Enjoy!

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

100% BTW the box I received had also been opened and literally has Epic Cycles tape resealing the box and the staples it originally came with pulled out, so the ignorance card being played by the shop seems a lot less likely.

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This bike may have been shipped to and returned by another would-be buyer before you?