Internet making a kill of bike shops.

[Syed117]

Originally Posted by SDRider

As consumers we are helping to kill the local businesses. You can try to justify your purchases any way you want but if you want the ability to touch and feel these things you are buying or need the expertise of the people who can fix them then you have to support them. If you don’t you will lose that and I think that is a greater loss.

It really depends on the item, but I for one don't need to touch or feel 90% of the things I'm buying.

I can understand for a bike or bike parts, but even for those things, the amount of feedback you will find online is massive compared to what one or two guys at a bike shop might be able to tell you.

For the vast majority of things I need, I do my own research, read reviews and order online. It's just easier.

I do not like going to stores. I don't like dealing with salespeople. Like the guy at best buy telling me I need a $100 HDMI cable for the best picture quality. It's just a waste of time. In the time I would spend going to a store and talking to a person, I could read a hundred reviews and have all the information I need to make an educated purchase from my home.

If for some reason I do need to go to a store for something I care about, chances are I know more than the people selling it.

I just checked my Amazon account. 125 orders in 2017. Averaged about 10 a month. Larger purchases all the way down to chapstick.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Syed117

It really depends on the item, but I for one don't need to touch or feel 90% of the things I'm buying.

I can understand for a bike or bike parts, but even for those things, the amount of feedback you will find online is massive compared to what one or two guys at a bike shop might be able to tell you.

For the vast majority of things I need, I do my own research, read reviews and order online. It's just easier.

I do not like going to stores. I don't like dealing with salespeople. Like the guy at best buy telling me I need a $100 HDMI cable for the best picture quality. It's just a waste of time. In the time I would spend going to a store and talking to a person, I could read a hundred reviews and have all the information I need to make an educated purchase from my home.

If for some reason I do need to go to a store for something I care about, chances are I know more than the people selling it.

I just checked my Amazon account. 125 orders in 2017. Averaged about 10 a month. Larger purchases all the way down to chapstick.

Those first three paragraphs are really the key to me. Besides I much rather trust the reviews of actual users and their experiences vs a saleperson selling their own product for which may not be nowhere near the best I may want or may not fit my needs.

[Syed117]

Originally Posted by dddrees

Those first three paragraphs are really the key to me. Besides I much rather trust the reviews of actual users and their experiences vs a saleperson selling their own product for which may not be nowhere near the best I may want or may not fit my needs.

Exactly.

Plus you know how people are. They rant and rave about every little thing.

I really like being able to search for those reviews on Amazon or any other site. That way I can see all the issues that people had and if they are things that I would have problems with.

I'm not a fussy shopper and I don't like to return things. Unless they are defective, but that rarely happens. Once I make a choice to buy something. I live with it.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Syed117

Exactly.

Plus you know how people are. They rant and rave about every little thing.

I really like being able to search for those reviews on Amazon or any other site. That way I can see all the issues that people had and if they are things that I would have problems with.

I'm not a fussy shopper and I don't like to return things. Unless they are defective, but that rarely happens. Once I make a choice to buy something. I live with it.

I like things that work. I like to think I’m buying the best that I am willing to pony the funds up for and I like buying products from companies that stand behind thier product. I don’t mind taking a bit of time finding those products.

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by dddrees

Those first three paragraphs are really the key to me. Besides I much rather trust the reviews of actual users and their experiences vs a saleperson selling their own product for which may not be nowhere near the best I may want or may not fit my needs.

Originally Posted by Syed117

Exactly.

Plus you know how people are. They rant and rave about every little thing.

I really like being able to search for those reviews on Amazon or any other site. That way I can see all the issues that people had and if they are things that I would have problems with.

I'm not a fussy shopper and I don't like to return things. Unless they are defective, but that rarely happens. Once I make a choice to buy something. I live with it.

This ignores data on customer feedback. You aren't getting an entirely honest picture from these reviews. You’re getting the people who had an emotional hit that energized them to go out of their way provide feedback. The buyer in the meat of the bell curve isn’t spending the time to write a review.

And, I happen to know that neither of you prefer to buy shoes sight unseen.

[Syed117]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

This ignores data on customer feedback. You aren't getting an entirely honest picture from these reviews. You’re getting the people who had an emotional hit that energized them to go out of their way provide feedback. The buyer in the meat of the bell curve isn’t spending the time to write a review.

And, I happen to know that neither of you prefer to buy shoes sight unseen.

Haha. Never for shoes, but you guys have given me enough feedback and advice here that I feel at least somewhat prepared walking into a shoe store.

Amazon reviews are always secondary to professional reviews. Usually I use them to fill on the gaps or get a feel of what the average person is saying.

If it's something easy like cables, or some other random thing where there are no real reviews available, I just buy whatever has the most and highest ratings.

For example, recently I bought my dad an instant pot. He enjoys cooking and always likes new gadgets in the kitchen. I don't know anything about instant pots, but a lot of my friends have them. One was on sale on Amazon and it had thousands of reviews. Almost a 5 star average. Bought it without much fuss, and it's been pretty great. My dad really likes it. Took maybe 10 minutes of reading and 2 seconds to buy.

[wantonebad]

Retail is obviously changing, and direct to consumer products are really the new wave of entrepreneurship. I mean if you can workout manufacturing of a desired product, get funding to put it out there and market it smartly you have a viable business with no middlemen and higher profit margins.

Service industries are taking a hit too, I mean you can hire day laborers from all kinds of skill levels through apps without dealing directly with contractors. and if you are ambitious enough you can watch a few youtube videos on how-to subjects and do project work yourself.

[SearChart]

Not bike related but I do buy my running gear at a local place and definitely over pay on that, but I like to support a local business. I don't like having to order 3 sizes and send two back when buying online if I can drive my bicycle to town and get exactly what I need within an hour.

[pickettt]

If a brick and mortar has what I want, IN STOCK, I'll pay up to 20% more to support them. I understand it's very hard to keep a vast selection on the shelves, but if they have to order it, I may as well order it myself.....cheaper.

[subtona]

Happy to give the local bike shop business for a ~10% mark up of what is available elsewhere.
But when there is such a disparity it's impossible for me to justify the extra cash.
Rents are high and employees are expensive so it's not necessarily that the proprietor is making a killing but the market is the market.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

This ignores data on customer feedback. You aren't getting an entirely honest picture from these reviews. You’re getting the people who had an emotional hit that energized them to go out of their way provide feedback. The buyer in the meat of the bell curve isn’t spending the time to write a review.

And, I happen to know that neither of you prefer to buy shoes sight unseen.

Bell Curve, Smell Curve. Sorry but it’s been my experience and for the most part it works for me. I would much rather do my research on the internet than buy the one or two only options available locally.

Not sure if your serious or not but if so you couldn’t be more wrong. In fact I’ve probably only purchased less than a handful in person. In fact not only have I purchased all of my MTO’s and GMTO’s sight unseen but for the most part all of those RTW shoes sight unseen as well. Actually I even purchased a number of them in a Last I’ve never actually tried on for the first time sight unseen.

I couldn’t even begin to purchase what I have in person because not only does my location make that extremely difficult but also some of them were only available from certain retailers at the time. Also I was extremely lucky to purchase a good portion for much less because at the time Edward Green and Gaziano and Girling didn’t have their current pricing regulations in place. This made it even more affordable to purchase them from a Swiss Retailer who had an extremely friendly exchange rate at the time. After about two years or so this became so widely known that the major US Retailers lobbied Edward Green and Gaziano & Girliong and their pricing policy was changed.
Here again this was mostly made possible via an Internet Forum (StyleForum) where sizing guidance was shared among users. That, maybe a bit of luck, and the fact I have a medium size foot made this even easier. Anyway this all was very common on this forum and a great number of users purchased shoes and boots sight unseen. A great number of users some of which where not as fortunate with sizing and sometime found themselves selling at a loss.

I would say some if not a good portion of these Retailers conduct a majority of their business via the internet and actually most shoemakers sell shoes sight unseen via the internet. In fact this made it an even more secure transaction if you ask me. I was purchasing products known for their quality from Retailers selling high end products who depended on business being transacted on the internet and by the way a good part of it oversees. Although problems may have occurred the retailer was focused on making sure they were minimal and I never experience nary a one.
So not only did I conduct my business via the internet but I also conducted all of my research on these products and retailers on the internet. It has been my experience that forums no matter the subject where people are extremely passionate about certain items generally are the best places to conduct my research. Generally I discount the fanboy and hater stuff and focus on specifics. So although there are a vast number of vague comments as this is great or this sucks if you dig and look around you can find those reviews that are pretty specific. Also I tend to find trends as to this specific thing doesn’t work or this does and I generally try to look on more than just one website for reviews. Sometimes there is a gold mine worth of data and sometimes not. Sometimes it just takes a bit of looking around, but I have found if I take my time and look around and sometimes over the course of a day or two I will find what I am looking for. Either way at some point I generally come to the point where I am comfortable that I did my best and go with what I have.

My latest hobby is also being conducted primarily online. That is with regards to most of the purchases. Here again it’s the options, the availability, and the prices for both current and more vintage items.

Heck, come to think of it in the end this was how I did my very last watch transactions as well. I never would have acquired about half of my watch collection had it not been for the internet, this forum, and a few of the trusted sellers on this forum.

[Any4xx]

Last time I went to my local bike shop to buy a pedal set they wanted almost $200.00 for a set I could get on Amazon for about $75.00. I’d have gladly paid up to about $95.00 for the convenience of having them that day, but not almost 3x the price. We bought my wife a MTB from a shop about a half hour away and their setup was horrible. I ended up having to readjust EVERYTHING, to include replacing a stripped bolt and bleeding the front brakes. Screw that. I’ll buy parts online and assemble myself.

[imperio]

It's not just price; sometimes it's availability.
Lots of folks on here are willing to pay higher than retail to get something a B&M can't get their hands on.

For example, the DaytonaC.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by imperio

It's not just price; sometimes it's availability.
Lots of folks on here are willing to pay higher than retail to get something a B&M can't get their hands on.

For example, the DaytonaC.

Exactly

Why should I limit myself to what the bean counters say matches the what the average consumer will buy in my area?

Heck even when and I hardly ever do anymore go to a local mall store the options change based on the size of city you live in. If you go to a store in a small non-affluent city your product options are not quite as nice. Cheaper but nowhere as nice.

The internet opens this up immensely.

[77T]

Originally Posted by gettocard

... is internet really killing the “personal touch” you establish with street shops ?


This guy is great,he always tune ups my bikes for free,even I haven’t bought a bike from him for years until two weeks ago..

Yes, ecommerce has disintermediated many retailers. But trade-off is service after the sale.

In your case the extra cost might be somewhat off set by the free tune ups - but in a price-driven decision the internet sellers trump many retailers.