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If you want to have a good shopping experience, one of the most important
things you can do is acknowledge that a bike shop is allowed to earn a profit
on the things it sells. There's no faster way to make a bike shop hate you
than to be constantly asking, "can you throw in a…"
Bike shops do not earn much money on bikes. Selling bikes does not keep a
store in business. Selling accessories is where a store earns a profit. Just
because you paid $2000 for a bike does not mean the shop earned $2000. That
bike cost the store $1300. Then it took an hour of workshop time to assemble
it at $60/hr. You may think that the mechanic's wage of $15/hr is what it cost
to assemble it but it costs $60/hr or more to operate the workshop (utilities,
tools, wages, etc). It took three hours to sell you the bike (again, more than
just the salesperson's wages). There's a lost opportunity cost to the store in
that the $1300 dollars it cost for the bike to show up in a box has been tied
up in that bike for the last six months and could have otherwise been invested
in more profitable items like lights or clothing. Then, there's the cost of
shop offering free basic tuneups for a year, or two years, or, in my shop, as
long as you own the bike. So, perhaps the shop earns $400 on a $2000 bike.
When you expect that they'll haggle on the price and drop the price by $100,
they start to resent you. Then, you ask if they could throw in some pedals or
upgrade the tires for free. The tires that came with the bike represent about
$30 of the $1300 cost of the bike. The tires you would upgrade to cost about
$70. Then, the shop is left with cheaper tires that they then have to try to
sell to recoup some of their costs. Without the revenue from selling you
accessories, the shop can no longer afford to stay in business.
So, please, don't feel that you are entitled to a discount or free stuff. If
you want a store to stay in business and have cool new products on display,
and to have knowledgeable, experienced staff and take the time to guide you
through the process of helping you to find the perfect bike, and answer all of
your questions, allow them to earn a profit. You wouldn't discount or give
away what you do for a living so don't ask a bike shop to do it.
Oct. 29, 2014, 7:46 p.m. - Vandal
#!markdown If you want to have a good shopping experience, one of the most important things you can do is acknowledge that a bike shop is allowed to earn a profit on the things it sells. There's no faster way to make a bike shop hate you than to be constantly asking, "can you throw in a…" Bike shops do not earn much money on bikes. Selling bikes does not keep a store in business. Selling accessories is where a store earns a profit. Just because you paid $2000 for a bike does not mean the shop earned $2000. That bike cost the store $1300. Then it took an hour of workshop time to assemble it at $60/hr. You may think that the mechanic's wage of $15/hr is what it cost to assemble it but it costs $60/hr or more to operate the workshop (utilities, tools, wages, etc). It took three hours to sell you the bike (again, more than just the salesperson's wages). There's a lost opportunity cost to the store in that the $1300 dollars it cost for the bike to show up in a box has been tied up in that bike for the last six months and could have otherwise been invested in more profitable items like lights or clothing. Then, there's the cost of shop offering free basic tuneups for a year, or two years, or, in my shop, as long as you own the bike. So, perhaps the shop earns $400 on a $2000 bike. When you expect that they'll haggle on the price and drop the price by $100, they start to resent you. Then, you ask if they could throw in some pedals or upgrade the tires for free. The tires that came with the bike represent about $30 of the $1300 cost of the bike. The tires you would upgrade to cost about $70. Then, the shop is left with cheaper tires that they then have to try to sell to recoup some of their costs. Without the revenue from selling you accessories, the shop can no longer afford to stay in business. So, please, don't feel that you are entitled to a discount or free stuff. If you want a store to stay in business and have cool new products on display, and to have knowledgeable, experienced staff and take the time to guide you through the process of helping you to find the perfect bike, and answer all of your questions, allow them to earn a profit. You wouldn't discount or give away what you do for a living so don't ask a bike shop to do it.