"Rip off"

[sr2106]

Is it just me or are we being ripped off by our lbs (which i have been supporting for years), had an incident for a tyre - lbs charges R450 and another shop (reknowned for being expensive) charges R360 for exactly the same tyre.

[Trubie]

that is what happens when

- you lend your ears out - go find out for yourself and then you know - cyclists have diff experiences from lbs's

- you dont build a relationship with a local lbs - you say you have been supporting them for long time, go back and tell them what the situation is, if they dont want your business , you know where to take your money

 

 

[GoLefty!!]

wallet, vote

[Andyr249]

That is all very well Trubie but ultimately it is where you get the best price for a product. It is economics. I buy where I can get the best value. Servicing on the other hand is a difference story. That is where you need to build the relationship with a LBS that fits in with your requirements.

[Trubie]

agreed Andy, but one can bargain if needs be.

[cat-i]

i've had another good experience with my bike shop .... took both wheels in for re-stans'ing it.

 

back tyre - kenda karma - about 6 months old but still perfectly working. left it there to come pick up the next day. the kenda bursted overnight, apparently a big mess in the workshop. so they do a warranty replacement and i get a brandnew tyre and only pay for the stans

 

[DownhillingKing]

Sometimes I wounder why I work at my LBS then it hits me Cost price

[parabola]

i went to a shop in Knysna and they charged me R50 for a Kenda inner tube  but to make up for it they sold me a wire bead Kenda small block 8 for R110 

 

cat-i I think the reason they replaced your tyre is because they usually pump them up dik hard to check the stans for a proper seal. Most likely the mechanic got trigger happy with the pump

 

[Dirtbreath]

 

i've had another good experience with my bike shop .... took both wheels in for re-stans'ing it.

 

back tyre - kenda karma - about 6 months old but still perfectly working. left it there to come pick up the next day. the kenda bursted overnight' date=' apparently a big mess in the workshop. so they do a warranty replacement and i get a brandnew tyre and only pay for the stans

 

[/quote']

 

If you dig a bit deeper you might find they werent doing you such a big favour. The tyre just magically exploded overnight? Good on them for fixing it before you asked questions though.

 

[cat-i]

hahaha i got new tyre out of the deal, the other had 20 plugs and was 6 months old ... so i don't care how they did it 

[Smiles]

not so uncommon having a tyre explode. could have just been that tyres time up and it was de-laminating.

also had an experience with a new crossmark - must have been thorn breeding time - but i got about 30 of them in the sidewall of the tyre, all in a neat row.

so even though they were all small and sealed by the stans, it weakend that part of the tyre, which went bang all over the living room, about an hour after the ride.

[Gasping]

The price discrepancy could be due to a number of factors, the most common one is older stock purchased at a different price to the newer stock.

 

As far as tyres go, the rubber compound would not have deteriorated appreciably so buy the cheaper one. This is the value of shopping around - you spend how much of your money where you can get the most for it.

 

That being said, I am sure there must be benefits to having a relationship with your LBS of choice. I don't like getting into a money bargaining situation with anyone - people do it to me the whole time and it is a pain in the neck having to justify the cost every time.

 

I would rather avoid the haggling and just but the item where it is cheaper.

[AndreZA]

Okay back to the topic. You will find that maybe the one shop has old stock so it can either be higher, due to the bad exchange rate, or lower, due to being old stock.