Local Shops VS Online Dealers.....discuss.

[poukali]

Had to chime in on this interesting topic. Two things to consider when buying locally, 1) the cost of obtaining product. It's a very well known fact that the cost price of goods for our retailers is generally 10-20% give or take. 2) the cost of running a retail store is more expensive. Although a fair comparison would be to canadian e-tailers which are inline with traditional retailers.

US based retailers are not a fair barometer of what pricing should be in Canada because of the cost, duties, and taxes our domestic retailers pay are fare different from the south. I think all shops in the gta make the same margin on their products as they do down south of the border.

If this trends continues where we continue not to shop locally two things will occur. We will have a number of shops closing down, our choices become very limited and we will probably allow a couple of the largest shops in the area have a complete monopoly. At which point we will be discussing on here the gold old days and shops of the past we wish were still around.

Pouk


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[Rob MacLennan]

Had to chime in on this interesting topic. Two things to consider when buying locally, 1) the cost of obtaining product. It's a very well known fact that the cost price of goods for our retailers is generally 10-20% give or take. 2) the cost of running a retail store is more expensive. Although a fair comparison would be to canadian e-tailers which are inline with traditional retailers.

US based retailers are not a fair barometer of what pricing should be in Canada because of the cost, duties, and taxes our domestic retailers pay are fare different from the south. I think all shops in the gta make the same margin on their products as they do down south of the border.

If this trends continues where we continue not to shop locally two things will occur. We will have a number of shops closing down, our choices become very limited and we will probably allow a couple of the largest shops in the area have a complete monopoly. At which point we will be discussing on here the gold old days and shops of the past we wish were still around.

Pouk

Many of us are already lamenting the good ol' days, when we had so many shops to choose from.

[viper84737]

Many of us are already lamenting the good ol' days, when we had so many shops to choose from.

And when income:cost ratios were in general much more reasonable, too.

[Rob MacLennan]

And when income:cost ratios were in general much more reasonable, too.

Then you don't know what profit margins were like back then

[architect]

For gear, GPBikes offered the best service to me easily. I will always go back, and pay the 15% premium price to buy goods. I want to support local businesses and I enjoy the relationships I've built with the young guys that work the floor. They freely give advice without any pressure to buy. Even when I've gone back 3-4 times to look at the same helmet. I have purchased stuff online though, where it was a good 30-50% cheaper. But whenever I can, I will go back to GPBikes.

I've tried getting some OEM parts from Snowcity. Terrible experience over the phone, on several occasions, with the lady. She makes it sound like she's doing me a favour when I shop there. Never again.

People can bring back $800 of products from the border (instead of $400) duty free after 48 hours. $200 up from 50$ under 48$. I might try to make a trip to SBTG now What will this mean to local businesses?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windso...es-budget.html

[Brian P]

Another somewhat related pain with regards to shopping in Canada, is that it appears that the major distributors (Parts Canada, Motovan, etc) have gotten their distribution channels locked up. They only offer a sub-set of parts of their choosing, and then when you go to the local dealer, if it isn't in the catalog, it doesn't exist.

Meanwhile, the most basic of internet searches finds multiple choices for what you are looking for ...

The Canadian OEM distributors don't exactly help.

"I need a XXXX for a 1990 Yamaha FZR400". "Sorry, that model and year does not exist in the catalog." (Meanwhile, it's the exact same part as for a 1989 model, but the 1990 was only sold in the USA - which is where my bike came from.) Internet here we come; the part was on my doorstep in three days.

Or the related "Sorry, that part has been discontinued." Or, "Sorry, estimated delivery 6 months." Had it inside of a week.

[Rob MacLennan]

Another somewhat related pain with regards to shopping in Canada, is that it appears that the major distributors (Parts Canada, Motovan, etc) have gotten their distribution channels locked up. They only offer a sub-set of parts of their choosing, and then when you go to the local dealer, if it isn't in the catalog, it doesn't exist.

Meanwhile, the most basic of internet searches finds multiple choices for what you are looking for ...

The Canadian OEM distributors don't exactly help.

"I need a XXXX for a 1990 Yamaha FZR400". "Sorry, that model and year does not exist in the catalog." (Meanwhile, it's the exact same part as for a 1989 model, but the 1990 was only sold in the USA - which is where my bike came from.) Internet here we come; the part was on my doorstep in three days.

Or the related "Sorry, that part has been discontinued." Or, "Sorry, estimated delivery 6 months." Had it inside of a week.

Not to mention that they OEM distribution channel, with its additional layer of profit margin over the US model, is also at least partially responsible for the price differential.

[Vitamin_B12]

many of the key points have already been covered

sometimes the price differences are too large to ignore. i agree that service is worth paying a surcharge for, but that really depends anyway. if you're trying on helmets for the first time, and you have a sales associate helping you, yeah you should probably buy it there. i completely understand the OP's frustration at the customer. yes, while it is the salesperson's job to answer your questions, if you know full well you won't be buying there, i feel it is kinda rude and ill-mannered to ask for detailed help

when i was looking to buy my first helmet, a Suomy Apex solid, the price was ~$450+tax, while on Rider's Discount it was $250 shipped. that's way too much of a price difference, and i didn't bother the sales reps

if it's something like a spare part that you are going to install yourself, and the price difference is minimal, but they have it on hand, you should buy it locally for convenience. hell even if they also have to order it, doesn't hurt to support them

but like someone else already stated, online shops aren't bad with respect to service either. i bought an AGV Grid helmet from Revzilla and was not sure about sizing coming from a different brand, and i got phone call beforehand, and after i received it as well to make sure i was satisfied with it. talked me through everything, all the regular fitment questions, no pressure even suggested other similar helmets if i wasn't satisfied with the internal shape

i know it's not the same as in person live feedback, but it is what it is. i was still very satisfied with the service and saved a couple hundred bucks. cbcanada is right, the shops need to do what it takes to adapt and survive

[mongol777]

For gear, GPBikes offered the best service to me easily. I will always go back, and pay the 15% premium price to buy goods. I want to support local businesses and I enjoy the relationships I've built with the young guys that work the floor. They freely give advice without any pressure to buy. Even when I've gone back 3-4 times to look at the same helmet. I have purchased stuff online though, where it was a good 30-50% cheaper. But whenever I can, I will go back to GPBikes.

I've tried getting some OEM parts from Snowcity. Terrible experience over the phone, on several occasions, with the lady. She makes it sound like she's doing me a favour when I shop there. Never again.

People can bring back $800 of products from the border (instead of $400) duty free after 48 hours. $200 up from 50$ under 48$. I might try to make a trip to SBTG now What will this mean to local businesses?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windso...es-budget.html

I have to chime in for SnowCity. I purchased many OEM and aftermarket parts from them many times and experience was always flawless. However - I am now shopping for gloves and boots and when I went there to take a look choice is very limited and I likely will go online or gpbikes