The Pro's Closet at it again

[Elefantino]

Yep.

[Blown Reek]

I hope everyone is happy with themselves.

[vertr]

The Pro's Closet is at it again!

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by Blown Reek

I hope everyone is happy with themselves.

It was still ridiculous when they selling 5 year old bikes with carbon repair for more than current MSRP.

I bought a lot of things from TPC over the years, but the amount that I liked buying from them was inversely proportional to their viability as a business.

When they're gone, I'll miss them, but less than I miss Chain Reaction.

[AngryScientist]

I get needing to maybe get rid of that huge space they had; but is there no equity left in the brand that no one wanted to buy at least the name to do something with it?

Very surprised.

[EB]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

I get needing to maybe get rid of that huge space they had; but is there no equity left in the brand that no one wanted to buy at least the name to do something with it?

Very surprised.

Nothing will happen until they go Chapter 11 and wipe out / restructure the (presumably very large) private equity debt that they are carrying.

Then someone will definitely buy it for what's left of the IP.

Capitalism, so it goes.

[KJMUNC]

Of the stuff left, some of it is oddly overpriced. A 5yr old, used Factor O2 with Ultegra di2 for $3500? eBay has better BIN options.

And they have a slew of 3T gravel bikes left, all mostly at meh prices.

[benadrian]

I was wondering about the Radivist, and apparently, they released them a year ago.
https://theradavist.com/the-radavist...ndent-website/

[Mike V]

The Radavist let’s it out of the bag

https://theradavist.com/the-pros-clo...10pG6WjPSp6x8A

[Metz]

I'm sad to see this happen, mostly for the employees, and don't understand all the angst about TPC's market approach. I've bought and sold with them since they were just an eBay vendor and have never had a bad experience. They've always been very helpful and responsive. Sure, they often price incorrectly and lowball but so do folks on PL (and everywhere for that matter). I certainly didn't get upset when they lowballed me or I saw a product that was overpriced - no one was forcing me to buy or sell. I took advantage when it suited me and passed when it didn't. Hopefully there will be better days ahead for bike retailers.

[whateveronfire]

Originally Posted by whateveronfire

Reddit seems pretty convinced that this is going out of business which is, i suppose, a kind of end of a season.

I'm very tempted by a bike they've got stupid cheap. Anyone pulled the trigger on a bike from them in this sell off?

And it's gone. Should have pulled the trigger before the announcement. It was still available at 7am this morning.

I am sorry this happened to the bike folks who worked for them.

[gravelreformist]

Yup, I've bought two bikes from TPC over the years and been happy with both purchases. For those of us who live in smaller markets, and especially those of us outside the 54-58cm M/L size range, TPC was one of the few places we could reliably find a used bike without the risk of a transaction through a place like Pinkbike. Even through the classifieds here, buying a bike used, sight unseen, is a significant risk. It was nice to have a legitimate marketplace other than Ebay.

Sometimes their prices were off - but in both directions. I've seen many bikes priced very competitively there over the years (and those ones usually sold within minutes if not hours).

[echappist]

Originally Posted by Metz

I'm sad to see this happen, mostly for the employees, and don't understand all the angst about TPC's market approach. I've bought and sold with them since they were just an eBay vendor and have never had a bad experience. They've always been very helpful and responsive. Sure, they often price incorrectly and lowball but so do folks on PL (and everywhere for that matter). I certainly didn't get upset when they lowballed me or I saw a product that was overpriced - no one was forcing me to buy or sell. I took advantage when it suited me and passed when it didn't. Hopefully there will be better days ahead for bike retailers.

+1

The PE firms will just write off the losses, but the human tolls on those who are the least able to absorb the job loss is the real tragedy of acquisitions such as this.

Hope the employees can all land on their feet.

[openwheelracing]

TPC has been one of the best places to buy. I hope they make a come back.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by Metz

I'm sad to see this happen, mostly for the employees, and don't understand all the angst about TPC's market approach. I've bought and sold with them since they were just an eBay vendor and have never had a bad experience. They've always been very helpful and responsive. Sure, they often price incorrectly and lowball but so do folks on PL (and everywhere for that matter). I certainly didn't get upset when they lowballed me or I saw a product that was overpriced - no one was forcing me to buy or sell. I took advantage when it suited me and passed when it didn't. Hopefully there will be better days ahead for bike retailers.

Could not agree more with all of that --

TPC's customer service has always been excellent from my perspective. Maybe it's one of those you-get-what-you-give things when it comes to customer-service interactions - be kind and you get kindness in return.. I only wish they would have stayed what they were pre-covid, or reverted to it.. but maybe CyclingUpgrades has to carry that torch now. And BuyTheMojo.. and ElevateCycling. And GearTrade (who's tied to Backcountry so maybe they are dying too..).