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Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 2:42 pm
by boss
RonK wrote: It seems the Royal Mail is one of the most efficient and inexpensive postal services in the world. Even the stores in Germany cannot match the UK shipping arrangements.
Ron, I quite liked your theory RE: shipping prices from the UK being subsidised by Royal Mail (very neat really), except c r c used DHL Express for my order.

I did some, albeit brief, research on Royal Mail and subsidisation by the UK taxpayer... couldn't find much on the topic. I believe Royal Mail is similar to Australia Post - government owned corporation. I did find that the UK government plans to sell 90% of RM in 2013-14. 10% will remained owned by RM staff.

So I'm still quite curious as to how shipping is so cheap UK to Aus. My vote would be on economies of scale... but that does not explain the UK vs US differential... is there more to it?

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 3:46 pm
by WoolleyMammoth
All about the definition of 'value'. I didn't really appreciate the other elements of value until I moved to a small town where the nearest LBS was over an hours drive away. How much do wiggle, c r c etc do to foster a local cycling culture, advise you of better purchases, give you expert advice? And is it worth paying that extra % over the internet price?

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 9:37 am
by mezla
I feel sorry for the LBSs. I'm sure they'd love to be able to offer good prices, and it's very sad that they can't compete.

*wistful*
Damn it'd be awesome to be able to buy all my stuff from a local shop, but I'm not made of money. Oh well.
*wistful*

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 10:12 am
by boss
mezla wrote:I feel sorry for the LBSs. I'm sure they'd love to be able to offer good prices, and it's very sad that they can't compete.

*wistful*
Damn it'd be awesome to be able to buy all my stuff from a local shop, but I'm not made of money. Oh well.
*wistful*
I think it's important for us all to remember to give our LBSs a chance.

Sometimes it's all to easy to jump on c r c or whatever, order our gear, and wait patiently for it to arrive in the mail.

I've posted a couple of mentions of my LBS offering really good prices on some consumable stuff (tyres, cartridges) via their own online store. It's actually quite cool, because I can order something after close of business, and they will drop it off to me the next day.

That obviously isn't going to happen all the time, but just give your LBS a chance!

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 10:42 am
by mezla
The other major problem (at least in Canberra) is that our bike stores don't put their prices online... so to give them a chance you have to trek all over the city.

I'm a pure cyclist - no car - so riding all over the place on the off chance a local shop might have a sale on a nice pump and some fancy knicks (or whatever) is not really appealing when I know I can probably beat their price by a lot and get free postage with 5 mins clicking in Chrome.

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:42 am
by MarkG
Oxford wrote:There's this wonderful invention called the telephone, been around for a while, before the internet in fact, in fact the internet often uses their lines to access the global network. You can use it to talk to real people in stores to find out prices without going anywhere. It does mean waiting for times when they answer them, but it is very effective. :roll:
nice :)

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:44 am
by boss
Oxford wrote:There's this wonderful invention called the telephone, been around for a while, before the internet in fact, in fact the internet often uses their lines to access the global network. You can use it to talk to real people in stores to find out prices without going anywhere. It does mean waiting for times when they answer them, but it is very effective. :roll:
Telephones also allow you to price match!

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:44 am
by boss
Oxford wrote:There's this wonderful invention called the telephone, been around for a while, before the internet in fact, in fact the internet often uses their lines to access the global network. You can use it to talk to real people in stores to find out prices without going anywhere. It does mean waiting for times when they answer them, but it is very effective. :roll:
Telephones also allow you to request a price match!

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:45 am
by jcjordan
The other major problem (at least in Canberra) is that our bike stores don't put their prices online.
In fairness the majority of LBS in Australia a small single entity stores and do not have the skills, resources or funds to develop and upkeep that type of website.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710a using Tapatalk 2

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:52 am
by mezla
The telephone is not even remotely comparable to the internet in terms of research, and price/feature comparison. Pretty ludicrous to suggest it is... could lead an objective reader to suspect some people were just saying the first nonsense that came into their head to try and inflate the competitiveness of bricks & mortar.

Also, I trust my information gathering skills far more than I trust some sales person in a bike shop to:
1) Know everything about all their products
2) Tell the truth all the time

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:55 am
by MarkG
mezla wrote:The telephone is not even remotely comparable to the internet in terms of research, and price/feature comparison. Pretty ludicrous to suggest it is... could lead an objective reader to suspect some people were just saying the first nonsense that came into their head to try and inflate the competitiveness of bricks & mortar.

Also, I trust my information gathering skills far more than I trust some sales person in a bike shop to:
1) Know everything about all their products
2) Tell the truth all the time
I'm not reading this thread any more.
Mezla, you're a moron.
You're irrational and refuse to listen to anyone's opinion but yours.
Maybe try hanging around the scene for more than 15 minutes before you carry on like a complete half wit on matters you clearly know nothing about.

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:01 pm
by sogood
Ikea Australia's boss has spoken out that,

1) Cost of business here in AU is way high, more in like with Japan.
2) AU only accounted for 2% of Ikea's business worldwide.

I assume the same business condition applies to bike products.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/ikea-to- ... 27n09.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:06 pm
by boss
mezla wrote:The telephone is not even remotely comparable to the internet in terms of research, and price/feature comparison. Pretty ludicrous to suggest it is... could lead an objective reader to suspect some people were just saying the first nonsense that came into their head to try and inflate the competitiveness of bricks & mortar.

Also, I trust my information gathering skills far more than I trust some sales person in a bike shop to:
1) Know everything about all their products
2) Tell the truth all the time
You said that you ride a bike (no car) and could not justify visiting each shop to find out prices. We said use a telephone.

At no point was it suggested that you place all your trust in a LBS for their opinions of XXXX, YYYY, ZZZZ products and which is better for your situation rather than doing your own independent research via the internet. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:33 pm
by mezla
Thanks for your rational input once more MarkG.
It's funny that the people getting VERY defensive are accusing me of not being rational or listening. I'm just making some points as a consumer... and you're having a big teary defending your beloved LBS.

Fact is... most of the time... their prices are awful. I think that's sad. It's really that simple.

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:59 pm
by Xplora
mezla wrote: Also, I trust my information gathering skills far more than I trust some sales person in a bike shop to:
1) Know everything about all their products
2) Tell the truth all the time
And yet, I'm guessing you will rely on journalist reviews online (frequently biased), opinions from complete strangers on forums, reviews on shops (easily distorted)... you are basically using a mythological arbitrary number, the Recommended Retail Price, then checking for discount percentages, and calling this research...

I'm extremely price conscious myself, but my experience with bike stuff is that you don't get perfect advice online and the only way to know is suck it and see. When you consider the addition of dramatically different experiences and opinions (Gatorskins threads?!?!?!) then you're really setting yourself up for failure. I bought a couple bikes recently without massive test rides... I'm unsure that I was that better off with a ride.

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 3:36 pm
by boss
mezla wrote:Thanks for your rational input once more MarkG.
It's funny that the people getting VERY defensive are accusing me of not being rational or listening. I'm just making some points as a consumer... and you're having a big teary defending your beloved LBS.

Fact is... most of the time... their prices are awful. I think that's sad. It's really that simple.
I wouldn't call it defensive. I think we have just pointed out your mind is not open to all possibilities. Some using stronger language than others.

Either way, unless we start talking about why UK prices are cheaper, postal costs, etc... also known as a rational discussion between somewhat educated adults... I'm out!

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:12 pm
by rkelsen
Some of you guys need a Bex and a lie down.

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 8:01 am
by ldrcycles
rkelsen wrote:Some of you guys need a Bex and a lie down.
+1.

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 8:36 am
by mezla
Nooooooooo!

You resurrected it! lol...

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 9:49 am
by boss
Let's pretend it never happened.

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 11:00 pm
by Mulger bill
Image

Re: Ridiculous Prices (rant thread)

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 11:34 pm
by MarkG
RIP John Banner aka Sgt Schultz!