Cycling Express - New AUS online shop to compete with UK....

[Le Velo]

Good to see an on shore option.
Happy to sport the local business if they have what I am looking for and need.
If prices are reasonable and I can get it quick(er) I don't mind spending just a little bit
In the end I will most likely end up buying things here and there as it suits anyway as I can appreciate that no company can price match or be cheaper on 100% of their stock

Great site so ar and look forward to see more as it grows

D

[Crawf]

'Sort by' option would be handy.

[sogood]

Who thinks CE will impact more on the business of LBSs than UK online stores?

[Aushiker]

Who thinks CE will impact more on the business of LBSs than UK online stores?

Very early days, but I don't think it will. If you think about there are what four major UK retailers plus Bike24 and the other German mob against one Aussie online retailer who also has to compete against Cell and T7. It may take a bite for sure but unless it can get the range at the right price it will be a fight to be up there against the likes of Ribble. That said it has the potential to be a major Aussie player.

Mind-you Wiggle are heading fast in the direction of taking themselves out of the market.

Now if it only stocked Bell helmets

Andrew

[munga]

the ppl that buy at lbs's are still going to buy at lbs's.

[norbs]

Mind-you Wiggle are heading fast in the direction of taking themselves out of the market.

Andrew

What makes you say that Andrew?

[Tazzy]

Who thinks CE will impact more on the business of LBSs than UK online stores?

I think that if CE does have an impact on LBS's then they would only have themselves to blame.
The stores that genuinely want to go out of their way to help customers and have a high level of skill and knowledge will survive.

[CommuRider]

Anyway, thanks for the support and the PM's guys, seriously awesome, we'll keep getting the products up so keep coming at me with suggestions! And a massive thanks to bicycles.net.au for letting the comm's happen, this is definitely one of the best forums on the net in my opinion. Actually I'm super keen to get a link on the Cycling Express website for these forums/site, that is if the admin don't mind...

BC, it's nice of you to reach out to your customer base like this proactively. If there are perceived criticisms, it's because your customer base is a highly experienced mob (in some quarters with deep pockets) and very demanding because they're used to or expect world class, (high quality) products and service. It's a steep climb to offer a world class shopping experience that is competitive on price but would strongly encourage you to continually aim for the top. Best of luck.

[jcjordan]

Who thinks CE will impact more on the business of LBSs than UK online stores?

I think that if CE does have an impact on LBS's then they would only have themselves to blame.
The stores that genuinely want to go out of their way to help customers and have a high level of skill and knowledge will survive.

I think that this is more the point; CE is being supplied by the same suppliers that the LBS use. If I was in the position of a LBS I would be expecting the distributers to provide me with prices that would allow me to compete in a way that was price competitive.
If this was not possible I would look to stock items not supplied by those suppliers and tell people to get the items from whoever provided it at the best price.
My personnel opinion is that we are going to see a change in the LBS market away from the higher end products (ie the more competitive items) and more towards the middle low commuter. This market will still provide mechanical services, but I think that the advice and support elements will slowly diminish as the wider knowledge is watered down.

[Luke Brown]

Well I've just placed my first order for a few bits and pieces so look forward to seeing how it all works out in terms of delivery etc. Certainly the website was easy to navigate and the ordering process very simple. I want to congratulate you on getting the site up and running, great job!

Prices seem very comparable to the overseas competitors. Some items possibly 5-10% more expensive (than ribble) but that's something I'm happy with given I'm supporting an Australian business rather than going overseas (when the LBS is more like 25-50% more expensive I draw the line) and hopefully quicker more realiable delivery etc.

I agree that a 'sort by' option would be good (ie, cheapest price, biggest discount etc).

Also some more detailed pictures of the bikes, maybe some more actual photos?

Site could maybe be streamlined by putting items that come in multiple colours etc into just one item with a drop down to select colour? Specifically I noticed lots of bar tape pages, one for each colour.

[bostonceltics]

I agree with you 100% Luke, we will definitely work on all of the things you mentioned over the coming weeks.

[ozzymac]

Hi,
Just wondering what the expected processing time will be for orders and how orders will be sent? Eg: ordinary mail, eparcel, etc.

Cheers

[scotto]

great looking site, easy to navigate etc.
but, my pair of tyres pro race 3 were $20 cheaper from ribble
the bottom bracket selection is mediocre. 2 SRAM's cheapest at $40, when my ultegra BB is $26 from UK
and $7 postage from UK compared to 12 from CE - are we calling them that yet ?)

i hope to use them soon.

[AUbicycles]

I think the wiggle and crc price match is an excellent start - and even if there was a different OS shop selling a few dollars cheaper, the local warranty may make up for that.

On credit card security, good news that numbers are not stored.. which means in the event of a breach then it would be a problem with the customer or payment gateway provider - not that I anticipate - precaution is always better.

I will email CE regarding the link - happy to also discuss opportunities with all business (hint for competitors reading).

[Richard.L]

I personally would like to see the .au in the url and banner as the only way i can find out it is Australian is in the 'About Us' section. Then again this probably isn't an issue if you aren't shipping overseas???

Wiggle offer free delivery within the UK without a price limit, maybe this can be the same with you guys??(Australia of course)

[CommuRider]

Probably not worth it for small amounts.

Edit: Just saw their free delivery

Free Delivery

Free standard delivery is available on all orders over the value of $99.00 to Australia and $199 to New Zealand. Excludes bicycles. Standard bicycle delivery is $49 to Australian Metro areas, $99 to Australian Regional areas and $199 to New Zealand addresses.

http://www.cyclingexpress.com/informati ... ck-up.aspx

[cobba]

Wiggle offer free delivery within the UK without a price limit, maybe this can be the same with you guys??(Australia of course)

UK residents might get free delivery from companies like CRC & Wiggle but they also have to pay a VAT which means the same product costs them 20% more then what we'd pay for it.

[cambrook]

Great work guys, it's good to see another option for local buying. I agree with an earlier post that this is a "soft launch", so we should be patient as things come on stream and the site gets more refined. I've had some emails with them about a Giro Ionos helmet, and they've updated the helmet page to better show some options.

As this site is still evolving, it might be worth checking that when you re-visit a page that you ensure that it fully refreshes. I was slow to pick up some of the changes that had been made to pages I was interested in, as my computer was just reloading the page from the cache.

Keep up the good work guys, I'm sure that when the site is fully rolled-out it will do very well.

[Max]

I think someone already mentioned this odd one. Am I paying $1.99 for 24 sachets? Or is it CE's way of saying that it equates to $1.99 per sachet if I buy 24? If it's the former, I'm pulling out my credit card NOW!!!!

Being able to sort by price would be very useful. This has also been mentioned before.

I'd be interested to see how this site pans out. Having been an online retailer and having to compete on price with overseas sellers, I can tell you it's tough - very tough - to do, and to do well.

I'd also like to say I was very happy to see Genuine Innovations CO2 inflators on the site. They're really good devices, but not many places seem to carry them.

Max

[AUbicycles]

I personally would like to see the .au in the url and banner as the only way i can find out it is Australian is in the 'About Us' section. Then again this probably isn't an issue if you aren't shipping overseas???

They have a kangaroo in the logo!
That being said, this symbol is also used by business across globe and isn't reserved for Australians.

[scotto]

great looking site, easy to navigate etc.
but, my pair of tyres pro race 3 were $20 cheaper from ribble
the bottom bracket selection is mediocre. 2 SRAM's cheapest at $40, when my ultegra BB is $26 from UK
and $7 postage from UK compared to 12 from CE - are we calling them that yet ?)

i hope to use them soon.

i wish i knew about the price match feature. i was about to rant about it not being obvious enough, but on a second look, its pretty clear.
oh well. next time. maybe. I can see CE ( and i include T7 in this too) being a bit like aldi. lots of cheap good stuff, but ( atm) just not everything i need. so its a bit like my wife's shopping. she drops into aldi, and then hits up woolies for the stuff they dont have. they are next door though, and she's not paying double on postage.
wiggle/ribble/crc have the little things that i couldnt get on CE last night, like $32 pro race3's, shimano bottom brackets, sidi replacement heel pads and a chain catcher for my sons' bikes.

[ozzymac]

Placed an order last night for a few things so will be interesting to see how the processing goes.

Cheers

[bostonceltics]

Wiggle offer free delivery within the UK without a price limit, maybe this can be the same with you guys??(Australia of course)

UK residents might get free delivery from companies like CRC & Wiggle but they also have to pay a VAT which means the same product costs them 20% more then what we'd pay for it.

Good point, I forgot about that. It's the same for EU residents.

[Aushiker]

...like $32 pro race3's,

$39.95 at Cell which is getting close.

Andrew

[bostonceltics]

I personally would like to see the .au in the url and banner as the only way i can find out it is Australian is in the 'About Us' section. Then again this probably isn't an issue if you aren't shipping overseas???

Wiggle offer free delivery within the UK without a price limit, maybe this can be the same with you guys??(Australia of course)

Hey bro there is an '.au' in the name, type in cyclingexpress.com.au.