PortPerryBob
New Member
I did a Google search for the following 2018 Pedego Stretch 2 wheel drive bikes and the following came up https://www.pedegoelectricbikes.com
Why would they make this public???
Why would they make this public???
Dealer Markups-Wow!
- Thread starter PortPerryBob
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Mr. Coffee
Well-Known Member
- Region
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- City
- A Demented Corner of the North Cascades
Those margins aren't grossly high for outdoor gear. In my own experience skis were typically marked up 100 percent.
Nova Haibike
Well-Known Member
I'm sure it is a mistake on someone's part. Regardless, it just shows normal margins for bicycles.
Chic Lasser
Member
Really, 40% markup is barely enough to make a go at a retail business. Your dreaming on the ski markup your numbers are from the 60’s. In today’s, ski business dealers make 40% on map pricing, maybe a touch more if big buyers but few shops sell all their inventory at MAP pricing so when discounts are figured in maybe mid 30’s to high 30’s if their lucky. The internet has taken a toal on retail business.
Barry S
Well-Known Member
Brick and mortar stores could initially compete with online merchants because of ship times and charges associated with online purchases. Along comes Amazon Prime and now the shipping wait and cost are no more. Until CarMax came along, you had to brush up on your martial arts skills and poker face to fend off the circling car salesmen at the dealership. Now, you see the car online, kick the tires at the CarMax lot and go inside and tell the salesperson you want to take a test drive. The price on the sticker is non-negotiable.
I supported my LBS when I bought my last non-ebike and I had a good experience. When I brought it back for maintenance, not so much. I got the impression that the LBS was happy to sell me a $600 Trek, but not really interested in the post-sale tune-up. If a customer isn't going to get over-the-top service after the sale, they're going to start asking, "Why do I need this middleman to buy the bike in the first place?" People start looking online like they do with other products and gamble that they're going to be happy with the bike without taking a demo ride first.
Personally, I think the individual that's going to come out on top of all this retail downsizing as it relates to LBS is the one working out of his Velofix van. If I had the talent, guts, and the savings, I might give it a go.
Everyone wants these rock bottom prices but for the most part people are getting so stupid they can't even put air in bike tires so I can't help but wonder where all this ends up after retail is decimated by the likes of Amazon.
Not long ago I use to refurb used printers and sell them on eBay. I literally lost the account because people would buy the printer for like 75% below the price of the same printer new and then expect me to bend over backwards for them. One guy bought a 802.11g wireless printer and then complained to eBay that item was not as described because it would not support WIFI direct which is entirely different. Of coarse the people that work at eBay aren't intelligent enough to review the dispute and do the right thing so they require me to pay both outgoing and return shipping cost for a buyer that could have simply asked me before buying it if it supported WIFI direct. I could go on for pages with stories just like this - buyers willing to lie and cheat a small seller because they didn't research anything before buying what is a technical product.
Obviously service is going to have to part of any bike shops long term success but even presents huge challenges. Just finding an employee that is capable of doing the service and cares about doing it well is hard to find these days. Those with the brains to do it typically want to do something else so shops need to encourage them by tying them into sales of bikes and accessories. There will be shops get all these factors right and they'll do well....we want some bikes shops to do well because I do believe eBikes are going to get more and more people out of cars and they will need to be serviced / supported.
Not long ago I use to refurb used printers and sell them on eBay. I literally lost the account because people would buy the printer for like 75% below the price of the same printer new and then expect me to bend over backwards for them. One guy bought a 802.11g wireless printer and then complained to eBay that item was not as described because it would not support WIFI direct which is entirely different. Of coarse the people that work at eBay aren't intelligent enough to review the dispute and do the right thing so they require me to pay both outgoing and return shipping cost for a buyer that could have simply asked me before buying it if it supported WIFI direct. I could go on for pages with stories just like this - buyers willing to lie and cheat a small seller because they didn't research anything before buying what is a technical product.
Obviously service is going to have to part of any bike shops long term success but even presents huge challenges. Just finding an employee that is capable of doing the service and cares about doing it well is hard to find these days. Those with the brains to do it typically want to do something else so shops need to encourage them by tying them into sales of bikes and accessories. There will be shops get all these factors right and they'll do well....we want some bikes shops to do well because I do believe eBikes are going to get more and more people out of cars and they will need to be serviced / supported.
Barry S
Well-Known Member
I see an opportunity here for community colleges in bike friendly cities to train ebike technicians. If they offer a night class I'll sign up!
What a wonderful idea! Have you talked to your local CC about it? Your idea is probably premature until e-bikes become more of a commodity, but I think you are on to something.
keithd
Active Member
They could start with basic mechanical bicycle repair since that is the basis of all E-bikes. Bikes shops and mechanics are slowly dying off. All the basics are the same as regular bicycles and really needed for a strong foundation in Ebikes. I own a machine shop and all the kids coming out of the Voc. Tech. schools are all missing the manual machining and basic skills needed to become a machinist. The schools skip over it because CNC machining and CAD/CAM is more exciting for the kids. But this does not help us who are in the industry. The foundational skills are missing. We have found it more beneficial to find people with ambition, good work ethics, and a willingness to learn much easier to train. This works out much better than trying to re-train someone who has been trained incorrectly from the start. We have a saying "You can make a CNC master out of a machinist but you cannot make a machinist out of a CNC master"
Mr. Coffee
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
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- A Demented Corner of the North Cascades
Barry S
Well-Known Member
Looks pretty cool and the tuition rates really aren't that bad. I've seen colleagues spend more on a 3-day computer certification boot camp and still not pass the exam.
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