UK bike prices

Don Pearce

I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in forty
years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources. Not
just close, but identical - to the penny.

I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?

d

Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

Richard

Don Pearce wrote:
> I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in forty
> years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources. Not
> just close, but identical - to the penny.
>
> I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?

Impossible to say until you tell us which bike you are looking at, and
which sources you have asked.

R.

Paul - xxx

Don Pearce composed the following;:
> I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in forty
> years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources. Not
> just close, but identical - to the penny.
>
> I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?

I'd guess that'd depend upon the bike, the price you find and the retail
price.

If it's a £50 Stove Pipe Special then it's probably true that many, many
shops, garages, supermarkets etc all sell them at a price-point, not to
a quality or to a specification point.

If you get towards mid-range bikes, indeed almost anything slightly
decent and sold by 'real' cycle shops, then I'd guess the price
variation widens. Probably not much price variation until about £ 200 /
300 ish, when real differences in equipment, finish and material
qualities come into play.

--
Paul ...
http://www.4x4prejudice.org/index.php
(8(!) Homer Rules ...
"A tosser is a tosser, no matter what mode of transport they're using."

Don Pearce

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 13:03:45 +0000, Richard
<richard@nomail.nospam.thanks> wrote:

>Don Pearce wrote:
>> I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in forty
>> years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources. Not
>> just close, but identical - to the penny.
>>
>> I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?
>
>Impossible to say until you tell us which bike you are looking at, and
>which sources you have asked.
>
>R.

The bike was a Specialized Crossroads Sport, and the prices I have
found are:

Hargrove Cycles £299.99
Cycle Surgery £299.99
Dever Cycles £299.99
Bikescene £299.99
Leisurewheels £299.99
Bikebike £299.99
Evans Cycles £299.99

I think that will do to be going on with. Now I know what that looks
like...

d

Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

Paul - xxx

Paul - xxx composed the following;:
> Don Pearce composed the following;:
>> I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in
>> forty years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources.
>> Not just close, but identical - to the penny.
>>
>> I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?
>
> I'd guess that'd depend upon the bike, the price you find and the

recommended

> retail price.
>
> If it's a £50 Stove Pipe Special then it's probably true that many,
> many shops, garages, supermarkets etc all sell them at a price-point,
> not to a quality or to a specification point.
>
> If you get towards mid-range bikes, indeed almost anything slightly
> decent and sold by 'real' cycle shops, then I'd guess the price
> variation widens. Probably not much price variation until about £
> 200 / 300 ish, when real differences in equipment, finish and material
> qualities come into play.

Seems a sentence went missing too, as follows ;

I'd also suggest that if it was _exactly_ the same bike, but from
different sources, then many manufacturers have a strict level of
discount available to shops. So, for example, a £300 rrc bike might
only attract a 10% discount, but anyone can get that same discount
level. Thus many shops might sell the same bike at the same price,
especially if that price falls to a price point, such as £49, £199,
£299 etc etc Everyone wants to sell at £99, not at £101 ...

Just had a quick lookseee and it may be the same for bikes at the higher
end too. Discounts are not large in the cycle industry, so everyone
almost has to sell at the same price just to make the same profit to
keep going.

Have fun ..

--
Paul ...
http://www.4x4prejudice.org/index.php
(8(!) Homer Rules ...
"A tosser is a tosser, no matter what mode of transport they're using."

Paul - xxx

Paul - xxx composed the following;:
> Don Pearce composed the following;:
>> I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in
>> forty years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources.
>> Not just close, but identical - to the penny.
>>
>> I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?
>
> I'd guess that'd depend upon the bike, the price you find and the

recommended

> retail price.
>
> If it's a £50 Stove Pipe Special then it's probably true that many,
> many shops, garages, supermarkets etc all sell them at a price-point,
> not to a quality or to a specification point.
>
> If you get towards mid-range bikes, indeed almost anything slightly
> decent and sold by 'real' cycle shops, then I'd guess the price
> variation widens. Probably not much price variation until about £
> 200 / 300 ish, when real differences in equipment, finish and material
> qualities come into play.

Seems a sentence went missing too, as follows ;

I'd also suggest that if it was _exactly_ the same bike, but from
different sources, then many manufacturers have a strict level of
discount available to shops. So, for example, a £300 rrc bike might
only attract a 10% discount, but anyone can get that same discount
level. Thus many shops might sell the same bike at the same price,
especially if that price falls to a price point, such as £49, £199,
£299 etc etc Everyone wants to sell at £99, not at £101 ...

Just had a quick lookseee and it may be the same for bikes at the higher
end too. Discounts are not large in the cycle industry, so everyone
almost has to sell at the same price just to make the same profit to
keep going.

Have fun ..

--
Paul ...
http://www.4x4prejudice.org/index.php
(8(!) Homer Rules ...
"A tosser is a tosser, no matter what mode of transport they're using."

Mark Thompson

> I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in forty
> years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources. Not
> just close, but identical - to the penny.
>
> I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?

All local bike shops will knock a bit of the price or give you slightly
more than that in free stuff if you buy a bike from them. It should also
throw in a free first service after a few weeks to address any niggles with
the bike (e.g. dodgy shifting due to stretched gear cables). They mostly
seem to display list price, but sell off last years models at a bit of a
discount.

Cheaper bikes can be found on the internet, but given what haggling in the
bike shop can get you, it's not so good unless you're going for a seriously
expensive bike and are saving hundreds.

Given that they will find it impossible to compete on price with a well run
internet operation, they probably don't bother to compete on price.
Providing good levels of service, professional advice and a free first
service makes up for it. Chucking in some free stuff for price sensitive
customers takes care of any price differential between them and the
internet lot but costs the shop less (the only pay the trade price).

Mark Thompson

> I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in forty
> years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources. Not
> just close, but identical - to the penny.
>
> I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?

All local bike shops will knock a bit of the price or give you slightly
more than that in free stuff if you buy a bike from them. It should also
throw in a free first service after a few weeks to address any niggles with
the bike (e.g. dodgy shifting due to stretched gear cables). They mostly
seem to display list price, but sell off last years models at a bit of a
discount.

Cheaper bikes can be found on the internet, but given what haggling in the
bike shop can get you, it's not so good unless you're going for a seriously
expensive bike and are saving hundreds.

Given that they will find it impossible to compete on price with a well run
internet operation, they probably don't bother to compete on price.
Providing good levels of service, professional advice and a free first
service makes up for it. Chucking in some free stuff for price sensitive
customers takes care of any price differential between them and the
internet lot but costs the shop less (the only pay the trade price).

Tony Raven

Don Pearce wrote:
>
>
> The bike was a Specialized Crossroads Sport, and the prices I have
> found are:
>
> Hargrove Cycles £299.99
> Cycle Surgery £299.99
> Dever Cycles £299.99
> Bikescene £299.99
> Leisurewheels £299.99
> Bikebike £299.99
> Evans Cycles £299.99
>
> I think that will do to be going on with. Now I know what that looks
> like...
>
>

That looks like the list price. I suspect if you go into the shop you
could negotiate either a discount or freebie accessories/upgrades. It
depends on time of year - you get good discounts at the end of the model
year and on last years models - and in the past year there has not been
much need to sell below list because there has been a shortage of bikes
and components due to steel shortages in the Far East.

Tony

Tony Raven

Don Pearce wrote:
>
>
> The bike was a Specialized Crossroads Sport, and the prices I have
> found are:
>
> Hargrove Cycles £299.99
> Cycle Surgery £299.99
> Dever Cycles £299.99
> Bikescene £299.99
> Leisurewheels £299.99
> Bikebike £299.99
> Evans Cycles £299.99
>
> I think that will do to be going on with. Now I know what that looks
> like...
>
>

That looks like the list price. I suspect if you go into the shop you
could negotiate either a discount or freebie accessories/upgrades. It
depends on time of year - you get good discounts at the end of the model
year and on last years models - and in the past year there has not been
much need to sell below list because there has been a shortage of bikes
and components due to steel shortages in the Far East.

Tony

Cliff

"Don Pearce" <donald@pearce.uk.com> wrote in message
news:41ea6f53.57822437@news.individual.net...
> I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in forty
> years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources. Not
> just close, but identical - to the penny.
>
> I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?
>
> d
>
> Pearce Consulting
> http://www.pearce.uk.com


Retailers buy in at a price dependant on the volume of their sales, they are
given a RRP from the wholesaler/agent and depending on supply and demand
they will offer discounts and/or free/reduced extras at the point of sale.
The retailer has to make a profit it is not a dirty word it is a necessity.

£300 for a complete bike seems like a snip to me. How much have you been
paying to keep your car on the road for forty years?

Cliff

Tony W

"Don Pearce" <donald@pearce.uk.com> wrote in message
news:41ea6f53.57822437@news.individual.net...
> I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in forty
> years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources. Not
> just close, but identical - to the penny.
>
> I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?

Impossible to say without establishing what the real selling price from each
supplier is.

Despite the end of retail price maintenance and the theory that each seller
can set their own price we know from other industries (e.g. cars and
domestic appliances) that manufacturers do, shall we say, discourage
variations in price. Indeed, companies such as Levi have specifically
sought to prevent companies such as Tesco from gaining access to their
products 'because its is the wrong image'. Tesco now sell perfectly
adequate jeans for £4 -- a price so low that even the most dedicated fashion
victim might question paying boutique prices.

My experience has been that cycle shops are not willing to discount brand
name bikes -- but are willing to 'throw in' accessories etc. -- which
strongly suggests that manufacturers are 'encouraging' fixed prices (which
is, of course, verging on illegal) while bike shops know that they have to
attract the more bolshie/market aware customer.

T

Arthur Clune

Tony W <tonyremove@chapmore.co.uk> wrote:

: products 'because its is the wrong image'. Tesco now sell perfectly
: adequate jeans for £4 -- a price so low that even the most dedicated fashion
: victim might question paying boutique prices.

Anyone who has seen me will realise that I'm not a fashion victim, but
the only tesco jeans I've seen on other people were so badly cut
that it was obvious why they are £4....



--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness

Jeremy Collins

Don Pearce wrote:
> On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 13:03:45 +0000, Richard
> <richard@nomail.nospam.thanks> wrote:
>
>
>>Don Pearce wrote:
>>
>>>I've just started looking at buying a bike for the first time in forty
>>>years, and I decided to compare prices from a load of sources. Not
>>>just close, but identical - to the penny.
>>>
>>>I smell a price-fixing cartel - what are the feelings here?
>>
>>Impossible to say until you tell us which bike you are looking at, and
>>which sources you have asked.
>>
>>R.
>
>
> The bike was a Specialized Crossroads Sport, and the prices I have
> found are:
>
> Hargrove Cycles £299.99

[snip]

I've got one of those, and have been pretty happy with it. It's
a good all-rounder with fairly decent components for the price.
The only thing I really didn't like were the pedals, but that
wasn't an expensive upgrade!

The price seems to be the same as last June, so at least it hasn't
gone up!


--
jc

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