Should bike shops become collection points for on line sales?

I think that with traffic to online retailers constantly growing, LBS should take what ever advantage can be taken from that. As others have said, a lost sale is a lost sale. However if that sale that might have never come Anywhere near the lbs, to actually gain 10 or 15 quid for fitting and delivery surcharge might actually be beneficial. They way to do it might be to give conditions for the service, if it's delivered here it must be fitted here ( not thinking of bike fits here).that way the lbs has guaranteed money coming in from online sales, they get the chance to make new customers and add on sales and the online retailer losers nothing either.

Not sure, but I think it could be a salvation against the decline of the lbs

Uumm, sorry i got a bit carried away.

I did fit a disc brake today that one of our regulars had sent to us from crc, i charged him a tenner. (For the record)

Neil753 - i am a ibd owner, have been in the trade for 23 years..and have worked (indirectly) for chainreaction..

And hell yes, we have some plans for 2014 and beyond. I also have my thoughts on how things may well pan out in future..

I do believe that simply opening the doors to display and sell your wares may well not be enough in the future, and it would take a period of time and only a few big brands to change the way they sell, kickstarting a chainreaction that would begin the decline of IBDs.. i hope im wrong.

Regardless, we do run a very passionate business, its not been easy, but amazing fun! we do everything we can (whilst still trying to pay a million bills) and do actually have a positive attitude towards online sales. I lost a sale on a £1200 road bike today, we coulndt get it fast enough, so the guy bought the bike from wiggle. Would have been nice to get the bike for him, we have a vat bill due, paye to pay,and in a few days 3months of rent for next year.

However, with a smile i said its fine, you winyou lose, shit happens, even offered to set the bike upfor him. Of course i didnt give the above sob story, we always have to remain positive after all. He is a regular, and uses us lots.

Generally, i love the challenge of business, i love the risk element, the idea that everything we buy and stock and display is all a risk. And i love it when it works. Like when someone buys a bike from us,and love riding it. Just like i do.. there are so many varibles to bikeshops, its crazy. They bring people together! We have so many stories..

Receiving on-line purchases (admin fee applied) and then fitting parts in a workshop could work well for an LBS as long as workshop pricing reflects costs+margin

Additionally there would need to be a system between on-line retailers and LBS to make sure workshop can actually undertake jobs if tool-specific/skill specific (I.e. campag or di2) parts are being shipped

My LBS works in this manner (kind of).
Does mainly repairs/wheel builds, buys parts in as and when people want them and usually from where ever is cheapest (Distro or CRC etc). As well as assembly of online bought bikes.

Seems to work well for him, he doesn't have capital tied up in stock, people buying components are getting them fitted by him, and I assume he makes the 'profit' on labour & doing repair work, when I was in last his rack was rammed full so can't be doing too bad for business really.
Also helps that he does the usual of a decent LBS of helping people out when they need it, he's chucked me a few Fulcrum spokes & nipples when I snapped one before a trip away, tweaked the gears for me when I went passed on a ride and so on.

I think it's the way for the LBS to go if they want to survive, take advantage of the next day delivery many online dealers offer, and make the money on fixing and fitting.

I see the merits in this, and having worked in the industry will admit to ordering parts from online retailers rather than distributors as the potential margins are greater... to clarify, online prices can, and are regularly less than trade prices available to a LBS.

I wouldn't necessarily charge a quid either... just getting someone into the shop and chatting to you (even better if they think they owe you one) is a win in itself. The way I see it, an online sale is a lost sale anyway, why not at least cash in on an opportunity to build a relationship. More than likely you'll pick up some sundry purchases, and some labour in the process.

The reality is people will shop to their needs... if they know what they want, then they'll order online as its cheaper... if they need service, or insight, then they should find their way to the LBS. Being bitter about that will not make you more money as a LBS owner... Build relationships and benefit from the long game returns, by making sure that when they need the LBS, they come to you.

“Hi is that Sainsburys? I’ve just done a big online shop with Tesco because they’re a bit cheaper than you, but I don’t want to wait around for the delivery, do you mind clearing a bit of space in your back room and I’ll come and grab it when I can. I’ll give you a quid to make it worth your while, and I might even pick up a few bits and bobs too. Hello… hello… are you still there?…”

If you want to support your LBS - then do so, by taking your bike to them for servicing, buying parts and getting them fitted, buying whole bikes etc

I would suggest the proposal made by the OP is a bit patronizing to the LBS and demeans the real value that they have to the local consumer.

Yes many things are cheaper online, but don't expect the after sales service and expert advice from CRC or Wiggle - good though they are - they will never compete with a good LBS on after-sales service. Generally you get what you pay for.

Oh and many retailers will be prepared to price match - or come down in price - if they find themselves particularly 'overpriced' compared to the internet

CycleSurgery do Click and Collect and Pricematch..... plus they have actual shops with workshops...

But seriously, this business model wouldn't work. Most LBS can order parts at your request if they have good relationships with the suppliers, they just can't offer the low price wiggle et al does due to overheads (IE Hiring a Mechanic, having a physical premises).

If you want cheap parts, get in the trade, otherwise accept that real shops cost money but have a quality that can never be replaced by a internet site. A good shop will have great service and expert knowledge, if you find one like that then support it cause they need you.

I like the idea in principle, indeed I've e-mailed my LBS several times already asking for various things to be ordered and colleced them several days later, of course the danger of doing that is that you end up paying full RRP, not a concern if it's a pound or two but anymore than that then quite frankly i'd rather the money in my own pocket.

For instance I'm buying a set of 4 Seasons soon, £44 RRP, £30 online with free delivery, I'd rather buy the tyres online and spend the rest in the shop.

My LBS in Wareham do offer a service in checking assemby of bikes ordered online; my last two visits to them for adjustments to bottom bracket and disc rotor have cost precisely £5 each- people who love bikes and provide a good service.

I would rather stick a spoke through my eye. If you dont own/run a bikeshop, you have no idea how exepensive it is to do so. Everything costs, everything. The profit bit comes after several years of hard graft. So the thought of becoming a collection point for the very thing that threatens every ibd is absurd. Yes, we are workin hard on plans for next year to reduce the growing effect on sales, and no, i didnt go into business expecting it to be easy.

Pretty awful to read some of these comments. I fail to see how a local bike shop can afford to run a business with this? Especially when you have staff, mechanics etc to employ. Also, a stockless bikeshop, as mooted by some here, is a terrible idea. What about test rides before you buy?

I'm happy to support my local bike shop, even if it means paying (often only very little) more. The service and help I've received for free far outweighs the money I might have saved.

Even going by the original poster's "Dozens of sales" at a quid each, its still likely to be barely enough to pay a single member of staff for a day.

So.

You buy some parts from ABC Trading*, who claim that they are genuine bits and they will fit your bike, who send them to your LBS who have agreed to fit them at an agreed price.

Bits arrive and they are not what you wanted or they are faulty.

Someone now has to sort out the problem. The LBS aren't going to do it as they aren't making any money from the parts so why should they waste their time and anyway they didn't source the parts. So it's up to you. You have to go to the shop, inspect the parts, have a conversation with the mechanic/manager/work-experience assistant, contact the seller, argue about the problems, get the shop to speak to the seller, get the items returned, get some new ones and try to get the LBS to do it all a second time for the agreed bit of money to fit them.

Will you re-imburse your LBS for their wasted time? Probably not, and you wonder why they baulked at the idea in the first place.

This is a classic problem in the car servicing/repair business and why most garages won't let you supply the parts, oil etc. Not only do they not make any profit from the parts they're expected to deal with problems their fitting and subsequent use produce and to do it for free and with a smile.

Buy your 'over-priced' bits at the LBS and admit that perhaps just once in a while you'll have to pay full price for something.

* ABC Trading is a fictional name intended to protect the guilty and the innocent.

It would be great for the customer to combine the price and variety of online with the service of local... unclear value for the LBS as they would do more labour and build customer relations but make fewer bike sales... I fail to see what value is in it for the online businesses though? They wouldn't want your head to be turned if they can meet your needs in full.

Sounds like a good idea actually.

The other benefit to the LBS is that it reduces their cash tied up in inventory - it's difficult for them to deal with the big brands anyway, who prefer retailers to go deep into one brand rather than spread themselves across a range. But of course the customer wants to compare and contrast.

Also makes returns potentially easier, and gives the LBS a chance to see what people are buying or upsell them on other products.

Joemmo
Wouldn't work for me. I refuse to buy things like furniture if I can't take it with me. I want to swap cash for parts. Delivery to me is a bad thing not a good thing. In fact its the very opposite of what a good shopping trip should be.
It would be a as bad as mail order where you pay for something then it doesn't turn up or it isn't in stock despite the magic lantern saying it is. If you have it in your hand you know you have it. If you can't get it you haven't parted with your money and you can buy an alternative if you want.

I work in urban planning, and we worked on a plan for a new district of Chicago, where most of the shops were stockless, and essentially showroom only. Customers could go in and examine new bits and bobs, and if they bought them, they would be delivered from high-tech logistics warehouses on the edge of the district. What this meant was that big lorry deliveries were kept off the streets, making the shopping experience nicer and the streets safer; the retail spaces were more productive (more selling space, less storage space); the shoppers didn't need to carry around bags of stuff (leaving them more opportunity to partake in some other leisure activity in the town, which is good for them, and the economy); and deliveries were coordinated, by smartphone, to be at your house at a time you wanted anyway. Everyone wins! But it is an easier solution when you are proposing it for an entire district, and ALL its shops. Then it is THEIR stuff being sold still. It might be a tougher sell for LBS owners if they are only getting a quid... however you might get them to become part of the "wiggle network" or the "chain reaction network", and should a customer choose them as the delivery site they get a % of the total sale (and the potential for the labour of installing the part). Because the alternative, of having LBSs become stockless, and selling things online like Wiggle and Chain Reaction still wouldn't work, because the scale of those web businesses and their lack of bricks and mortar costs must make them nigh on impossible to undercut on price. So it becomes an "if you can't beat em, join em". And what is in it for Wiggle and CRC? Well, access to a market of loyal LBS customers who hitherto would not deign to shop online.

there might be something in the concept of a 'stockless' shop taking in parts ordered online and charging for fitting but as a service offered by a LBS that makes its income from retail it sounds like signing your own death warrant.