Amazon Getting into Cycling?

[Shebeen]

somewhere in my distant past i actually worked in the amazon head uk distribution warehouse. not exactly my finest hour but it was damn interesting to see this beast at work in the pre christmas madness.

 

 

they are game changers, and while i think you could fight this sort of move....it will only be one battle in the war. Cycling is the smallest fry that price check will take on. What isn't that well known now is that they took years to actually turn a profit. during the dot com boom they were growing but not actually making money. look who's left now 15 years later?

 

this is bloody innovative, let's just hope it's left to market forces and not the courts to decide it's course.

[Sharkie 2]

The marketers are really get innovative must say it is a cool application

[EigerSA]

We had a kid in the shop on Saturday wanting to take a carbon handlebar, but was short R500 for it. He wanted to know if he could take it and come back and pay us the balance when he got more money. Imagine trying that at the places you mention.

 

and did you let him?

[EigerSA]

perhaps a brick and mortar store in SA should consider ordering from CRC or Amazon on your behalf, add a 10% handling fee and charge normal labor prices to fit the items.

[andydude]

It seems that with a new phone app from Amazon, you can go into your bike store, scan the bar code with your phone, which then orders direct from Amazon! To me that's pretty low. If a guy goes into a store, writes down the details then sits in front of his computer later that evening and orders... well that's just tough luck fro the bike shop. But too be able to do essentially the same thing but from inside the bike shop I think is really insulting!

 

I'm all for Amazon getting into cycling, it can only encourage healthy (for my pocket at least) competition, but not with these sought of underhanded tactics.

 

Link to article here

 

Luckily we had this technological revolution which makes things easier ... which leads me to my point - I don't get what the difference is between taking a picture of the barcode or writing it down?! You say you'll do the latter, but not the former, and somehow think it's different? End result is the same.

 

I guess your question has more to do with whether big business is good or bad? It's good for the majority of people, because prices will probably come down, but bad for the small minority of bikeshops. I'm not taking a side here, but in this instance for example it will be better for me.

 

And regarding asking discount at shops - you're free to ask at any PnP Just doubt they'll give you discount. Bikeshops doesn't have to give discounts, but they sometimes do when asked, so why not ask? They charge 30 - 50% more so I'm sure they can give some back.

 

I still support my LBS for smaller items and the of course for services, etc. I found it interesting the other day in TotalSports that they are stocking Giant products and selling it at much less than the LBSs!

[andydude]

perhaps a brick and mortar store in SA should consider ordering from CRC or Amazon on your behalf, add a 10% handling fee and charge normal labor prices to fit the items.

 

Great idea! Margins obviously not that great, but you have to move with the times. Evolve... change...

[TNT1]

Why do we as customers always want discount at bike shops but never ask for it at Spar/PnP/Edgars, restuarants, pubs etc.?

 

I don't ask for a discount at any shop. Unless I have done my research beforehand, and refuse to be ripped off.

 

I do that with my shopping at the spar (which is a bit rich for my blood), the Shoprite (which I love - if you know your prices) and the edgars (I prefer PEP for the aforementioned reasons).

 

I just expect my bike shop not to rape me.

 

I expect that my bike shop owner has internet access, and can see what I could be paying for the same product, and will treat me like a decent human who walked into his shop. Frans does, and maybe it's just cause I've known him for twenty years. I would like to see all store owners treat their potential customers as if they had been there for twenty or more years.

[Zac.A]

Only ask for discounts if you know them.

 

I wouldn't dare ask for a discount at a shop in jhb if I just walked in for the 1st time.

At the same time I don't ask for discounts at the bike shops in CT, if they give me a discount then i'll just be more inclined to go back there.

 

Simple.

[Dicky DQ]

All the more reason for bike shop owners to install point of sale system and reprice and bar code all items using in-store coding over the supplier bar codes. you have to price the items anyway so do it properly. Problem solved.

[andydude]

All the more reason for bike shop owners to install point of sale system and reprice and bar code all items using in-store coding over the supplier bar codes. you have to price the items anyway so do it properly. Problem solved.

 

Nope? Most products in bikeshops are standard, and sold as received with no value added, so you can easily go search for it before and/or afterwards.

 

Is it illegal to buy from a shop overseas? Not as far as I know. Is it unethical to shop overseas? Not for me.

 

Why should I pay more to support a distribution channel when I can do the admin myself and buy directly? And regarding the guarantees/warrantees; there's been an interesting precedent where a court (can't remember where, but it might also be here in SA) said that it doesn't matter where or through whom you buy a product, if the manufacturer gives a warrantee then it should be honoured at any licensed dealer.

[TheV]

Look, i'm long tired of SA bike shops ripping people off - most of the time, and i say most of the time the people who work there know jack about cycling and cant offer you any good advice.

 

From personal experience when I do have to visit a LBS for an emergency I goto Linden Cycles, all the staff there actually ride themselves, they are actually interested in helping you ...and their list ticket price is as close to reasonable as you can get...

 

Just today I visited Solomon's in Woodmead, Concept Cycles (Melrose Arch) and Linden Cycles. I spent R1000 at Solomon's on things like Camelbak's, Topreak item's and some small consumables. Asked about lights, dude looked at me like a deer caught in headlights..... I spent R0.00 and Concept, they are a joke...... ended up spending R3500 at Linden on lights because there where like 5 people in the shop who actually ride at night, regularly.....

 

Just oder online, pay on average R350 for shipping and 15% for vat and duty. You get exactly what you want and if you wait until you need to get a couple of items its worth the wait and savings. If you need small items goto your LBS. If you are buying your 2nd or 3rd bike buy a frame and do a custom build.

 

Chainreaction, Evans Cycles and my new favorite Probikeshop are all awesome!!!!

Edited December 29, 2011 by TheV

[EigerSA]

I don't get what the difference is between taking a picture of the barcode or writing it down?! You say you'll do the latter, but not the former, and somehow think it's different? End result is the same.

 

It's one thing too jot down some notes and then later order on line - it's an entirely different thing to be able to stand in someone else's showroom and order from a competitor. Nothing wrong with shopping around, but too me it's disrespectful at the very least to order whilst in the shop - and let's face it, this is exactly what amazon intends here.

 

Again, I'm not against competition at all, I think it's healthy, I just think the way they going about it sucks. If the amazon app becomes widespread, I personally would think shop owners totally justified in banning people from using their cellphones or taking pictures of products while in store.

 

And if I remember correctly, a South African court upheld a warranty on a grey product because the product didn't work as intended/was broken. The outcome was though that the local supplier/agent was under no obligation to repair/replace and that the product had to go back to the manufacturer who had to then honor the warranty. Basically as I understand it, it's the way things function no anyway with regards grey imports.

[Slowbee]

on the topic of disrespectfull, Eiger are you coming down for argus at all ?

[Tumbleweed]

and did you let him?

 

No. We had already offered him a hefty discount on the item in question. The kid was keen and it was old stock. He said his dad was a "regular customer" and that we could trust him to pay up, but he maybe has his bike serviced with us every six months or so, so when we would actually see him again was unclear. Also, letting him take the handlebar would be doing him a disservice. We thought it would be better for him to let us install it - at no charge - because he lacked the right tools to torque the correctly bolts at home.

 

That said, we are not averse to letting people - regular and reliable customers - take stuff and pay later. It's part of the relationship you build up with the LBS that some have mentioned here.

[Tumbleweed]

Nope? Most products in bikeshops are standard, and sold as received with no value added, so you can easily go search for it before and/or afterwards.

 

Is it illegal to buy from a shop overseas? Not as far as I know. Is it unethical to shop overseas? Not for me.

 

Why should I pay more to support a distribution channel when I can do the admin myself and buy directly? And regarding the guarantees/warrantees; there's been an interesting precedent where a court (can't remember where, but it might also be here in SA) said that it doesn't matter where or through whom you buy a product, if the manufacturer gives a warrantee then it should be honoured at any licensed dealer.

 

So, you are willing to do the "admin" yourself? Why then would you expect a "licensed dealer" to do the admin should something go wrong? You talk about value. There you have it right there. Buy direct? From who? Which manufacturer are you buying direct from? Really? If so, and that channel is so good, why don't you use it when you have a problem? The precedent you speak of is nonsense. There are laws governing parallel imports. Go look at the disclaimer law about these products. Even the CPA enforces this in the favour of the supply chain. You make your choices. Self-admin doesn't always come cheap.

[Tumbleweed]

Frans does, and maybe it's just cause I've known him for twenty years.

 

Next time you're at the drug den, remind me to tell you a funny story about Frans and my son ;-)