Cajees rip-off

[pauloc]

Cajees is the only bike store I ask for discount and you will ba amazed at how much they will come down too

Have they ever gone below the market price / they just come down to a more realistic price from their bloated price?

[Me-rider]

That is there business culture, they advertise it for a higher price. Their feeling is that if you too stupid not to know the real value of what you buying and you want to pay an inflated price then they are not going to stop you.

 

They are fully aware of what their competitor's prices are and will bragain down to that amount.

 

I am not saying that is the right way to do business but that is there business model - and it apparently works for them. I guess you can make the call whether you want to bargain or go to another store.

 

If you go into the shop often enough and show them you know what you are talking about and that you know what the actual price should be, they will stop Bull sh**ing you and you will not have to haggle for to long.

 

I used to buy all my diving gear from a Mia's (similair to Cajees but for diving / fishing) and thats how it went for me. I was a student so put my pride in my pocket and haggled. Eventually they recognised me and would quote me a realistic price which was a bit lower than everywhere else.

[Klaus]

Theres a world of differance between getting three quotes and going into a store and bargaining with someone - its not even on the same page.

 

I also dont believe in bargaining at any retailer, do you bargain at your local Spar, butchery, coffee shop, restaurant, vehicle workshop, barber, pool chemical supplier, do you bargain at your kids school for better school fees, do you bargain with your attorney when you need a legal document, your doctor when you are sick, how about the chemist, do you ask for cheaper medicine costs too, do you take a trip to the local nursery and bargain for cheaper flowers,........No, I am pretty sure you dont, so I dont for the life of me see why its okay to bargain at a bicycle shop.?

 

Offer me a fair price that I feel is good value and I'll buy it, I am not going to demean myself by haggling around for 30 minutes to get a 10% discount, I'll shop elsewhere.

 

+1

 

Last time I was in Cajees they did the bargaining for me, sales chap knocked 5k off the price of a bike without me asking and without a blink. Got me thinking about the rest of their offerings and so I dont go there anymore.

 

Voting with my wallet

[urbanroyal]

Theres a world of differance between getting three quotes and going into a store and bargaining with someone - its not even on the same page.

 

I also dont believe in bargaining at any retailer, do you bargain at your local Spar, butchery, coffee shop, restaurant, vehicle workshop, barber, pool chemical supplier, do you bargain at your kids school for better school fees, do you bargain with your attorney when you need a legal document, your doctor when you are sick, how about the chemist, do you ask for cheaper medicine costs too, do you take a trip to the local nursery and bargain for cheaper flowers,........No, I am pretty sure you dont, so I dont for the life of me see why its okay to bargain at a bicycle shop.?

 

Offer me a fair price that I feel is good value and I'll buy it, I am not going to demean myself by haggling around for 30 minutes to get a 10% discount, I'll shop elsewhere.

 

I bargain / negotiate at every place that I can ...PnP , Spar no..but my butcher, mechanic , chemist , lawyer.. yes...in fact Hyundai quoted me R1600 plus vat to replace my brake pads....I said they crazy..it would be much cheaper to buy them and have them fitted by my mechanic ...they eventually charged me R1005.00..., that's a saving of seven hundred rand...!!!...I bought me a nice new saddle and Bridge cycles knocked off a R50.00 as well....

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I bargain / negotiate at every place that I can ...PnP , Spar no..but my butcher, mechanic , chemist , lawyer.. yes...in fact Hyundai quoted me R1600 plus vat to replace my brake pads....I said they crazy..it would be much cheaper to buy them and have them fitted by my mechanic ...they eventually charged me R1005.00..., that's a saving of seven hundred rand...!!!...I bought me a nice new saddle and Bridge cycles knocked off a R50.00 as well....

 

Ha,Ha, okay you are the exception.

 

...but my point was two fold, (a) I dont believe in barganing and I shop elsewhere if I dont see value, so in your example I would simply have used my mechanic - why do I need to waste 30 minutes "doing" some deal if I could get it at that price elsewhere where indeed it seems to me the guy was pricing right in the hope of getting your business?. Thats not really fair of you either doncha think.?

Edited March 25, 2011 by GrumpyOldGuy

[scotty]

I wont go to Cajees without knowing what other bikes shops prices are, no bargaining i just ask them best price and if its better than elsewhere i accpept, if not i thank them and leave. Works sometimes, sometimes not.

[Handlebar]

A lot of guys just buy of the internet and I can understand why.

 

However, LBS (should) offer service, advice together with the product they are selling. There are honest shops with experienced staff that do this well and fair play if their prices are a bit higher to cover overheads.

 

There are however quite a few shops that let the industry down. Maybe I've just had bad luck but I seem to be attracted to them.

 

I'm with you. Name and shame the shops that are out to rip people, especially pthose just getting into the sport, off.

 

Thanks for the post.

[leeu52]

I got confused because the shop looks like the PicnPay or Makro of bikes and we do not negotiate prices with those, we know they are competitively priced. I assumed the same applied here and became very angry when I saw a tail light which costs R80.00 about everywhere were priced R185! When I started pricing a new bike I wanted to buy, they came in 20% cheaper than the best price I could find. These days I check my prices carefully, walk in and give them the price they need to beat and they have done it everytime.

[urbanroyal]

Ha,Ha, okay you are the exception.

 

...but my point was two fold, (a) I dont believe in barganing and I shop elsewhere if I dont see value, so in your example I would simply have used my mechanic - why do I need to waste 30 minutes "doing" some deal if I could get it at that price elsewhere where indeed it seems to me the guy was pricing right in the hope of getting your business?. Thats not really fair of you either doncha think.?

 

You right, it's not fair on my mechanic, but I was on a tight schedule , had to get the brakes done, see to an oil leak...warrentee issue at hyundai and take it for roadworthy and licencing before I left for the Garden Route...on the two previous occasions I told them to stuff it and took the van to the mechanic.

 

This a more 'senior' oke that was attending to the oil leak authorized the new price for the brakes job.....

[ThePubSA]

Are they (Cajees) even cyclists? Been to their eastgate & boksburg stores

,none of the staff /owners seems to know much about products, i could tell them more about a bicycle then they could tell me & (i dont know a hell of alot), So dont value a shop much that has no in the saddle experience or product tested knowledge to inform u what products are bulletproof. Rather go to a shop where the ie - staff rides / owner was ex - rider.. or w.e., and have some actual practical knowledge of equipment and tips to pass on to me..

Maybe they are cyclists idk ?,but the owner of eastgate cajees is so huge he must ride 2 tandoms @ once j/k

[quinton]

I would rather miss a ride on my bike and wait to get it from somewhere else than buy anything from Cajees!

Their concept of make it up way above recommended retail and asking for discount is so 80's style.

 

Just a pity that they manage to catch so many uninformed shoppers!

 

Then they still have the cheek to complain & threaten their suppliers about supplying small bicycle stores in their area!

[Moolz]

If you dont like their prices, either let them know and wait for a discount - or shop around...

CycleLab is just as expensive, if not more, with ZERO discounts. What you see is what you pay...

 

Between Westdene, Cajees and Solomons, their prices usually vary around 10-20% but the guys are also always eager to match or beat prices...

Need to use that as your advantage - if you are a bargaining type - that is...

[Riprap]

Are they (Cajees) even cyclists? Been to their eastgate & boksburg stores

,none of the staff /owners seems to know much about products, i could tell them more about a bicycle then they could tell me & (i dont know a hell of alot), So dont value a shop much that has no in the saddle experience or product tested knowledge to inform u what products are bulletproof. Rather go to a shop where the ie - staff rides / owner was ex - rider.. or w.e., and have some actual practical knowledge of equipment and tips to pass on to me..

Maybe they are cyclists idk ?,but the owner of eastgate cajees is so huge he must ride 2 tandoms @ once j/k

 

So the owner of a hardware store must be a DIY geek, gardener, welder, painter etc. Hell forbid what the owner of a Pick and Pay Family store must all be able to do, or a Chemist must be abe to do.

[dirtrider]

Since I had to go to Macro bottle store on satday I decided to pop into the CAjee's just behind them . Browsed around a bit and prices seemed ok to me . Their selection of kiddies bikes are awesome .

[scotty]

So the owner of a hardware store must be a DIY geek, gardener, welder, painter etc. Hell forbid what the owner of a Pick and Pay Family store must all be able to do, or a Chemist must be abe to do.

Video store an actor, bottle store owner alcoholic, Adult sex shop a sex maniac

[Tankman]

So the owner of a hardware store must be a DIY geek, gardener, welder, painter etc. Hell forbid what the owner of a Pick and Pay Family store must all be able to do, or a Chemist must be abe to do.

 

That depends, do you buy your drugs from the drug store or the drug lord?

Normally the chemist needs a qualification of sorts