Cheap S&S parts?
#41
[QUOTE=Blackstreak;16650878]I didn't have the same job then as I do now genius. Was going through a divorce on top of that. Any more insults about my posts?
oh better job??? Well then by all means give him 11k then
oh no you didnt!!!! " too much of a biker" I give you credit man you're funny guy.
oh better job??? Well then by all means give him 11k then
oh no you didnt!!!! " too much of a biker" I give you credit man you're funny guy.
Last edited by ChickinOnaChain; 09-18-2017 at 09:55 PM.
#42
This is a good topic and I thank the OP for bringing it up. There's a reason us small shops need the markup on the products. My shop is a 1 man operation (well, my dog is usually there to, but he doesn't really do much) with some help from a good friend now and again (Thanks Rob). There's a lot of time spent doing administrative stuff that is not billable. I bet 40% of my time is answering phones, looking up parts, writing quotes, ordering parts, dealing with walk in customers etc. It's easy money for an online retailer that doesn't have to deal with this stuff to sell products they don't even have in stock, they make the sale, the customer gets the parts, brings them to a shop and has us install them. If there is a problem with the parts they expect us to resolve it, or have a lift tied up while they try to resolve it. I've been toying around with changing my shop policy to either I will not install parts I don't sell or my shop rate will NOT install parts I don't sell or my shop rate will go up $20/hr for the customer supplied parts. I'm leaning more towards not installing them at all.
I'd look like a fool if I went to the grocery store and bought some steaks, then took them to Outback and asked them to cook it for me. Same thing in my book
I'd look like a fool if I went to the grocery store and bought some steaks, then took them to Outback and asked them to cook it for me. Same thing in my book
#43
This is a good topic and I thank the OP for bringing it up. There's a reason us small shops need the markup on the products. My shop is a 1 man operation (well, my dog is usually there to, but he doesn't really do much) with some help from a good friend now and again (Thanks Rob). There's a lot of time spent doing administrative stuff that is not billable. I bet 40% of my time is answering phones, looking up parts, writing quotes, ordering parts, dealing with walk in customers etc. It's easy money for an online retailer that doesn't have to deal with this stuff to sell products they don't even have in stock, they make the sale, the customer gets the parts, brings them to a shop and has us install them. If there is a problem with the parts they expect us to resolve it, or have a lift tied up while they try to resolve it. I've been toying around with changing my shop policy to either I will not install parts I don't sell or my shop rate will NOT install parts I don't sell or my shop rate will go up $20/hr for the customer supplied parts. I'm leaning more towards not installing them at all.
I'd look like a fool if I went to the grocery store and bought some steaks, then took them to Outback and asked them to cook it for me. Same thing in my book
I'd look like a fool if I went to the grocery store and bought some steaks, then took them to Outback and asked them to cook it for me. Same thing in my book
Makes sense to me...
#45
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Southeast Michigan 15 Minutes East Of Hell
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S&S has a MAP Policy, and if we see this crap we police it also.
The "amazon dealers" do not carry inventory as a rule, order as needed, very little overhead with profit margins on the moon, even at the ***** pricing.
We, however stock a HUGE amount of S&S products at our brick and mortar Authorized S&S/NYS DMV Facility.
If folks are under the guise, that an independent shop is laughing on the way to the bank......think again...
Scott
The "amazon dealers" do not carry inventory as a rule, order as needed, very little overhead with profit margins on the moon, even at the ***** pricing.
We, however stock a HUGE amount of S&S products at our brick and mortar Authorized S&S/NYS DMV Facility.
If folks are under the guise, that an independent shop is laughing on the way to the bank......think again...
Scott
#46
Yes I know I made a mistake and maybe I could have returned the parts back to the seller but the shop owner did not seem to mind when I got his quote over the phone on the build. I made it clear that I had purchased the kit a long time ago. When I drove 200 miles to the shop to drop of the bike and parts he seemed distant and very quiet. I was trying to figure out what I did to **** him off and this is all I can think of. I even emailed him and apologized for buying the kit elsewhere. I got no reply, I know he is very busy. At this point all I can do is try to make things better by overpaying the labor charge. I'm looking for solutions not criticism. Thank you.
#47
Yes I know I made a mistake and maybe I could have returned the parts back to the seller but the shop owner did not seem to mind when I got his quote over the phone on the build. I made it clear that I had purchased the kit a long time ago. When I drove 200 miles to the shop to drop of the bike and parts he seemed distant and very quiet. I was trying to figure out what I did to **** him off and this is all I can think of. I even emailed him and apologized for buying the kit elsewhere. I got no reply, I know he is very busy. At this point all I can do is try to make things better by overpaying the labor charge. I'm looking for solutions not criticism. Thank you.
The following users liked this post:
Blackstreak (09-20-2017)
#48
The following users liked this post:
Blackstreak (09-20-2017)
#49
Yes I know I made a mistake and maybe I could have returned the parts back to the seller but the shop owner did not seem to mind when I got his quote over the phone on the build. I made it clear that I had purchased the kit a long time ago. When I drove 200 miles to the shop to drop of the bike and parts he seemed distant and very quiet. I was trying to figure out what I did to **** him off and this is all I can think of. I even emailed him and apologized for buying the kit elsewhere. I got no reply, I know he is very busy. At this point all I can do is try to make things better by overpaying the labor charge. I'm looking for solutions not criticism. Thank you.
THAT is one of the best things about internet forums.
One of the worst things about them is you have to develop some pretty thick skin. Opinions are like ******** - everyone's got one, and some are worse than others. Hang around awhile; you'll find some like-minded folks on here who can maybe share their experiences just as you've shared yours.
The following users liked this post:
Blackstreak (09-20-2017)
#50
FWIW, the bicycle industry faces the same challenge with online sales often being 35% lower than brick and mortar shops. The online retailers are enormous and very competitive. Most of the shops are small single owner and both the cost and margins on the bikes are so slim that they have to carry a lot of soft goods with higher margins to make ends meet. Couple this with the carrying cost of these high end pieces of inventory and it can be pretty untenable.
From a repair standpoint, almost every bike shop I know will charge more to assemble a bike that they didn't sell, or charge more from a labor standpoint when using customer supplied parts.
I tend to be fairly pragmatic about my own behavior. If my chosen brick and mortar store has too small of inventory or is 20+ % higher in price than a non-sale online retailer I stick with the store. But there are certainly times where online purchases have simply made more sense.
OP, I hear what you're saying and I think it's fantastic that the shop guys here try and police the environment of some of these online sellers (sucks that they have to). To have the same engine kit be a full $2k higher with the builder is a tough nut to swallow, whether you were aware at the time or not (which you plainly didn't know given the timeline). Every person o this forum deserves to make income and live the way the choose (staying legal of course ), I was happy to buy all my parts from my engine builder even though I was installing on my own. In the case of my Powervision it came at a bit of a premium which I was frankly happy to pay because it was a reasonable premium, if it had been over the top it probably would have soured me on the whole thing, because just like the seller needs to cover their expenses and create a life for themselves and their families, so do I deserve to spend my money intelligently for the betterment of my family and life.
From a repair standpoint, almost every bike shop I know will charge more to assemble a bike that they didn't sell, or charge more from a labor standpoint when using customer supplied parts.
I tend to be fairly pragmatic about my own behavior. If my chosen brick and mortar store has too small of inventory or is 20+ % higher in price than a non-sale online retailer I stick with the store. But there are certainly times where online purchases have simply made more sense.
OP, I hear what you're saying and I think it's fantastic that the shop guys here try and police the environment of some of these online sellers (sucks that they have to). To have the same engine kit be a full $2k higher with the builder is a tough nut to swallow, whether you were aware at the time or not (which you plainly didn't know given the timeline). Every person o this forum deserves to make income and live the way the choose (staying legal of course ), I was happy to buy all my parts from my engine builder even though I was installing on my own. In the case of my Powervision it came at a bit of a premium which I was frankly happy to pay because it was a reasonable premium, if it had been over the top it probably would have soured me on the whole thing, because just like the seller needs to cover their expenses and create a life for themselves and their families, so do I deserve to spend my money intelligently for the betterment of my family and life.