Support Your Local Bike Shop LBS

Local Bike Shops and Buying Bike Parts Online

Support Your Local Bike Shop LBSInadvertently, there was a conversation started on our local advocacy board last week about supporting local bike shops and the process of trying to find the best deal on parts we can by purchasing them online.

I want to start this conversation by saying that there are two very different sides to this argument and I am going to try to give both sides before I inject my opinion. Also, my opinion on this matter is my opinion and my opinion only. I am open to hearing as many sides of the story as possible, so please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Editors Note: It also needs to be said that I have never owned a bike shop and I do not plan on owning one in the future. My conclusions are drawn from doing business in other industries and the past and owning my own companies.

The Local Bike Shop

There are many facets to the local bike shop that we might not think about on a daily basis, so let’s take a look at the structure of a LBS before we jump into the argument.

First and foremost, the local bike shop is a center for local advocacy that has financial backing for the bicycle community in your area. They support local groups, lobby with local government and they do this as a tax paying business in your area. Now…the tax paying business part of the equation holds a lot of weight that many other groups might not be able to pull. That tax money to the city is important to elected officials and the well being of the local government, so the opinion of the local businesses typically carries more weight than Joe the taxpayer.

The local bike shop is also (in most cases) the first line of defense for new riders entering into the sport. When a soon to be mountain biker looks to get their first bike or get educated on local places to ride, they are going to head to the local bike shop to pick up their first ride or get educated. The LBS also hosts events like demo days to get riders on their lineup to help you with purchasing decisions as you are able to get the bike on a trail before you drop the cash to make sure it is the right bike for you.

And finally, the LBS is the place to get service work completed for riders who do not want to or can’t work on their own bikes. This service is completed for a competitive fee and you are off and running with a well tuned machine that will get you to the end of the ride.

So you get the idea. The local bike shop is your one stop shop for bikes, parts, service and industry support in your area. They pay their employees, make a living for the owner and support the local bike scene by selling their products and services to bikers in your area. Without the sale of these products and services, they can not survive or help the community in your area.

Buying Parts Online

Online purchasing of products is nothing new. With less overhead and larger quantities, online superstores are able to purchase parts and bikes at a cheaper price and then turn them around to the consumer at a cheaper price because of these costs savings. As all of us already know, bikes and related parts are incredibly expensive! By no fault of the consumer, we are looking for the best price on bikes and parts as we can possibly get to try to keep the bleeding at a minimum when we are decking out our rides. In many cases, we are even scouring eBay and classifieds to find lightly used gear to save even more money.

Online bike warehouses and stores fill a need for the consumer to find what they need at a lower price. Everyone should have a budget, so operating within that budget and getting more for your money just makes sense.

The Conflict: Online Buying And The LBS

The conflict arises in some local bike shops when the consumer does one of a couple of things:

  • Gets educated on bikes and parts at the LBS and then buys it online to save some money.
  • Buys bikes or parts online and then brings them into the LBS to get repaired or installed.
  • LBS is asked to price match online pricing.

The local bike shop often sees these instances as the local consumer not supporting local business and the costs associated with supporting the cycling community in their area. There are those that take it more personally than others, but…at the end of the day…I can’t think of one bike shop what wouldn’t want you to buy everything and get it all serviced from them. They are a business and that is their goal to make a profit. However, it is your goal to save money on expensive parts so these two goals conflict at times.

The Opinion: My .02 That Is Worth About .01

First off…I do not believe there is one right answer for any of this…but I’ll roll with my opinion anyway.

In my opinion, the local bike shop does have a valid complaint about online buying, but…at the end of the day…they should be a little less sensitive about it. The bulk of a bike shops income is made in service (if it is being run correctly). They are going to make far more income off keeping the pipeline of their service department filled than the low margins they are given on retail parts and bikes. Because of this…it is up to the local bike shop to create an atmosphere that is inviting to the consumer that eventually makes them want to spend money at the store. This often includes installing and servicing self bought parts or doing their best to budge on the price when and where they can. Especially with pricing, there are many cases where the consumer just wants to feel like they are getting a deal, so you do not have to come all the way down to the online price to get the sale…you just have to do the best you can and provide a pleasurable experience.

In return for this atmosphere, riders are going to want to support the cause. Even as a bike website owner, I often shop at one of my local bike shops because of the support they have shown the site and the experience I get when entering the store. Can they match online pricing in all cases? Absolutely not…but when someone asks me where they need to go to get work done or shop for a new ride…I send them to that local bike shop because I know they will get treated correctly regardless of their budget or experience.

The local bike shop is in the service industry and the shops that I see that have the greatest reputation locally and run the best business are those that support the rider as much as they possibly can. They also understand the environment in which they operate and realize they are going to lose some sales to online vendors, but they use their community, atmosphere and incredible service to make a great living and create fans of their shop at the same time.

In our area, we run into an “elitist attitude” with some bike shops where they feel that we (the buying public) should pass some kind of test before we receive this level of service (typically buying full retail for awhile) or that we should never buy online. I do not know if it is just the Atlanta area that festers this attitude as I have traveled to other parts of the country that see more consumer centric, but I am sure every area has at least one. It is that kind of attitude within a bike shop that makes people NOT want to support the LBS and take their business elsewhere. At the end of the day, we are all in this together and we need to try to figure out a situation that works for all. I remember in my big B2B sales days, if a customer came across a better deal that I could not even come close to…I would tell them how great of a deal it was and they should go after it. If they got a price increase or bad service in the future, guess who got that business back? I did…it is the nature of doing business.

Bottom line…try to support the LBS in your area that supports you when you can. You can do this by paying 5 bucks more for a part instead of buying it online, suggest the shop to new or disgruntled riders and help them out by becoming a part of their community. The LBS fills a very vital role for the biking community as a whole and that should be supported. However, the online retail stores also fill a need within the community, so supporting those and saving a little bit of money is also a worthy cause. It is all a balance routine and as long as respect and courtesy is shown on both ends…we can run into each other on the trail ready to ride.

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