I believe there's a not insignificant portion of the bicycle enthusiast community who look to ebay, craigslist, swap meets, etc, first, and only deal with retail bicycle outlets as a last resort. We certainly see it on the repair end, where people do horrific things to "fix" minor mechanicals or fit issues, when we might have done it correctly for free or for a trivial amount of money. There's even a reluctance to physically bring a bike in for a repair estimate, or when they do, there's reluctance to confess all the problems they have with the bike. I think this distrust of brick-and-mortar bike shops and online bike shops like Riv, have fueled a healthy market for market prices and even inflated prices on the gray-market.
On Mar 23, 1:28 pm, William <tapebu...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hey quiet! I'm paying for my kid's college tuition by buying Riv stuff at > retail and reselling on ebay for retail-plus! > > OK, just kidding. It is amusing when people will pay more than retail on > ebay for an item that is readily available elsewhere. The seller started > the auction at $5, so it's likely just one of those weird micro economic > anomalies. > > > > > > > > On Friday, March 23, 2012 10:34:37 AM UTC-7, Peter M wrote: > > > Not riding related but def rivendell related. I usually troll > > craigslist, ebay, etc. for any deals out there and have noticed a > > trend that while the bikes on ebay seem to be "reasonable" the > > accessories usually go for far more than I would expect to pay. Take > > for example this hat for sale > > >http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rivendell-Bicycle-Works-Cycling-Cap-brand-new-/260983293520?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc3d10650<http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rivendell-Bicycle-Works-Cycling-Cap-brand-new...> > > it is currently selling $27 with shipping, you can get the same hat > > for $16.00 on the rivbike site. Even if that is the only thing you get > > and you pay the shipping its only $24.00, a 3 dollar savings and the > > ebay auction isnt even over yet. I doubt rivendell has any problem > > moving bikes because they are amazing and known nationwide for thier > > bikes but having worked in retail the "smalls" as we knew them can > > also generate a huge amount of revenue and let some people who cant > > afford the bikes at least get some rivendellian swag. I have rarely if > > ever seen an ad for Rivendell accessories and clothing and I am not > > sure if this is on purpose or due to lack of funds for advertising but > > it seems like when I see the stuff on ebay and CL it goes for more > > than new which means people greatly desire it so one has to wonder if > > it was better advertised could it generate more revenue for rivendell > > in general. Sorry for the rambloings, just thinking out loud here. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
