Ebay vs Online vs LBS

Buying everything but the frame online via BT, Slowtwitch, Ebay and Craigslist.

IMO the forums have the best prices on stuff, followed by E-Bay and craigslist is all over the place.

I like to take my online price to my LBS and give them a chance to match it, which they are usually able to do and happy to do it.

Scott

look at probikekit.com

They have great prices and it is a store out of England. I have bought lots of parts from them and often it is less than 50% what my bike shop sells it for.

I did a complete bike build shopping on ebay and forums, a mix of about 60% new parts and 40% used-like-new. I'm trying to remember the final tally, but I think the total figures came in somewhere around $1750 total for the build with parts that would have cost me MRSP $4000+/-, however it did take me almost a year to finally swap out the last parts and when I decided I was officially  "done". 

I use ebay frequently for buying and selling and have only been burned 3 times in about a decade; remember caveat emptor rules, but it's been positive for me, but be patient.

My LBS and I have a great relationship because we both know how little profit they make on parts & accessories (very small shop with very little stock, so almost everything is a special order) that most of their income is on new bike sales and service. So, I give them all my service, even if it means installing a box of used loose parts onto my bike that I bought elsewhere - which I have done many times - and they don't care. Service is service. In fact, they get so much business from me that when I went in the other day to have the cassettes on two wheels swapped and to adjust my rear derailleur, he did it while I waited and it didn't cost me anything, and even adjusted my brake pads which I didn't ask for.

Regardless, a good relationship with a good LBS is a good thing.

I'm taking a bike maintenance class at the bike shop that sponsors my bike race team. Last week the guy teaching the class and I were talking (he is a high level manager there in a big shop) and he brought up the team discount our race team gets. He shared they have to make 42% margin and giving our team a discount they lose about $75K in sales per year.

I thought it was interesting what their margin needed to be.

The two choices aren't mutually exclusive.

I have great relationships with both LBSs here in town, although I haven't bought one of my five bikes from them, nor do I buy many parts. My last bike, I bought the frame and many parts off ebay, bought the rest from performance.com at 28% off their sales prices. Took the whole conglomeration unassembled in four boxes to one of my LBSs, who charged $100 to assemble the bike and fit me on it. Like sty, I got a $4000+ tribike for around $1800.

Either shop has done minor work (as sty described) on my bikes on the spot and for free. Oh, and one of them gave my high school son a part-time job for the past eighteen months.

An LBS is in business for sales and for service. I doubt very many are going to turn down one because they didn't/don't get the other.

I will buy local if the price is close, even a 20% sway for smaller, less-expensive items, but it is a no-brainer when it's closer to 50% diff and/or you're talking hundred of dollars.

My LBS wrench asked me last week that if I ever find more Dura Ace cassettes new for $29.99, to pick him up a few too (I snagged two several weeks back - ebay) so he absolutely "gets it". .