Why I shop online.

[SpokeyDokey]

Needed some clear frame protector patches so this morning...

...went to LBS (shut) so off I chugs off to Britain's biggest cycle store 5 miles from me. Only black carbon effect in stock. Went to Evans Kendal and as I entered the guy asked if he could help so I said I just needed some clear rectangular frame patches for either side of the head tube. He came back with a pack of round ones which are useless for longer cable sllides up the head tube. I said I wanted rectangular (again) and back he comes with a whopping great pack that included a down tube protector etc. He said I could cut the down tube protector, which is huge, to the appropriate size. Cost £29.99! Complete Dork.

So 1 Hr 5 Mins and 15 miles of fuel (£4) later I went on line, ordered them (£6.99) no P&P and guaranteed here Tuesday. Took me 5 mins tops.

No wonder bricks and mortar retailing is on its arse.

 

[theclaud]

It's Sunday.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Needed some clear frame protector patches so this morning...

...went to LBS (shut) so off I chugs off to Britain's biggest cycle store 5 miles from me. Only black carbon effect in stock. Went to Evans Kendal and as I entered the guy asked if he could help so I said I just needed some clear rectangular frame patches for either side of the head tube. He came back with a pack of round ones which are useless for longer cable sllides up the head tube. I said I wanted rectangular (again) and back he comes with a whopping great pack that included a down tube protector etc. He said I could cut the down tube protector, which is huge, to the appropriate size. Cost £29.99! Complete Dork.

So 1 Hr 5 Mins and 15 miles of fuel (£4) later I went on line, ordered them (£6.99) no P&P and guaranteed here Tuesday. Took me 5 mins tops.

No wonder bricks and mortar retailing is on its arse.

I had a similar problem with wheels earlier in the week, Evans didn't stock them. so ordered on line, apart from a slight glitch in that they couldn't get to the stock, they should have been here Thursday but got them Friday (ordered Tuesday afternoon). A store can only stock so much though.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

It's Sunday.

Just what I was going to say.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

What's Sunday got to do with it?

 

[phil_hg_uk]

What's Sunday got to do with it?

A lot of shops and businesses don't open on them.

 

[vickster]

It's the day of rest

 

[Rob3rt]

You didn't have some electrical tape?

 

[Alex H]

No wonder bricks and mortar retailing is on its arse.

No, this is why it's on it's arse http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22098575 (not that I ever do this)

"Have you ever seen something you wanted in a shop, tried it, checked the price online on your smartphone, found it was cheaper, and walked out? Welcome to the world of "showrooming".
"The staff at Jessops would like to thank you for shopping with Amazon" read the sign in a shop window shortly after the British camera chain went into administration."

 

[ColinJ]

No, this is why it's on it's arse http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22098575 (not that I ever do this)

"Have you ever seen something you wanted in a shop, tried it, checked the price online on your smartphone, found it was cheaper, and walked out? Welcome to the world of "showrooming".
"The staff at Jessops would like to thank you for shopping with Amazon" read the sign in a shop window shortly after the British camera chain went into administration."

I agree that it is a bad thing to do so I do not do it.

It will not help the shops though - I can't afford to pay their prices so I shop online but I do my research online too.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

But Sunday doesn't affect the fact that Evans and Britain's Biggest didn't have them in stock. Or is there some weird relationship between stock levels and Sundays?

Frame patches is what we are talking here, a staple I would have thought. Not like I was going in there wanting to buy something exotic. Or maybe frame patches are exotic - dunno!

Maybe it's all my fault after all and I should've just stayed indoors and watch the rain fall.

 

[Deleted member 23692]

My better LBS has in shop price and a web price - on a pair of Shimano RT82s (for example) these are £88.99 and £66.99 (the cheapest I could find) respectively. Quite a difference! As I'm a regular I get the web price but only if I ask.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

My better LBS has in shop price and a web price - on a pair of Shimano RT82s (for example) these are £88.99 and £66.99 (the cheapest I could find) respectively. Quite a difference! As I'm a regular I get the web price but only if I ask.

I know a shop that does this, very irritating and totally pointless. They are open anyway so why the different prices.

 

[Deleted member 23692]

I know a shop that does this, very irritating and totally pointless. They are open anyway so why the different prices.

The shop prices are more than competitive with other LBS in the area but there is no way those prices could compete with the main web players like CRC, Wiggle etc. So they have to drop the prices to attract those non-local web shoppers. It's income they would not get if they didin't

I can see the logic behind it, and if selling cheaper to a wider audience helps them keep a high street presence for locals then good luck to them

 

[Gravity Aided]

I like the idea of being able to shop in another country. Sometimes, better offerings in the States, sometimes, better offerings in the UK or France. I also patronize my local bike shop, but another LBS in town was doing a brake job for my friend and used the entire length of hydraulic bike cable because "He didn't feel like cutting it to size" . So here is a fellow with about 2-3 feet of excess hydraulic cable and poorly adjusted brakes on a mountain bike. Just so they can snag trees and brush when he races competitively. Some local bike stores don't deserve the business. I was 17 years in the retail photo business, in labs, customer service and sales, and management. Retail is, in the States, completely different now. Online buying is more of a symptom than the illness itself.