"It was a bit spendier than Riv lists it for, but I don't mind kicking a few bucks to the old LBS from time to time."
Believe me, this has nothing to do with your LBS charging top-dollar and laughing all the way to the bank. Riv has long been one of the larger (if not largest) seller of Nitto items in the US, and has a longstanding relationship with that company, buying direct from the manufacturer, etc. Your LBS likely buys Nitto through one of a handful of US distributors, where, because of the extra middleman or middlewoman, the wholesale price is close to what Riv is charging at the retail level. Your LBS is in the difficult position of either selling at or barely above wholesale and not making any money, selling at profitable margins and having people (if they actually buy the item) feel like either they got a raw deal or had to pay extra to "support" the local business, or not selling the stuff at all. None of these options is attractive, but those of us who carry Nitto stuff in any variety try to find some middle ground, and are happy that these items exist and that Riv helps make them somewhat popular. I'm not digging on Riv for underhandedly undercutting on price or anything. Just saying that they are in a position to offer a better price on most Nitto items, most of the time, which makes it hard for your LBS to compete on price. On Oct 11, 6:28 pm, Devin Chalmers <de...@doormouse.org> wrote: > Thanks for the tips, everyone. I am pleased to report that through the > good graces of City Bikes co-op the ornery Albatross has been subdued > and placed into > custody:http://img.skitch.com/20091011-fbqa14hts3fjfw23adtya47g6r.jpg > (I can also testify that an Albatross around your neck isn't so bad > after all, though this one was technically over my shoulder.) > > It was a bit spendier than Riv lists it for, but I don't mind kicking > a few bucks to the old LBS from time to time. City Bikes are awesome > anyway. For anyone in the Portland area, they are very helpful, and > stock tons of Nitto steel and fairly gobs of really cheap used bric-a- > brac. > > Ever closer cometh the Quickbeam... > devin > > On Oct 8, 2009, at 7:38 PM, qwzybug wrote: > > > > > Hello! I'm a new Rivendeller (Rivendling?), living in Portland. SF > > friend Will's Reader no. 40 absolutely seduced me with its absolute > > sensibility and (for lack of a better term) pure class. I arranged a > > deal with my cousin in LA to trade my car for some bikebuilding funds, > > picked up a 68cm Quickbeam frame on eBay, and am currently just > > bleeding money trying to outfit the thing. > > > Long story, but here's the upshot: I'm taken with the Albatross bars, > > and Rivendell is currently out-of-stock of the steel ones. (I'm a big > > dude, and I can use every cm of width and ounce of chromoly I can > > get.) And, naturally, Rivendell is fresh out of 'em. > > > Do any of you have a steel Albatross to spare? I'd greatly appreciate > > it. If you're in Portland or Seattle (or heck, even the bay area, but > > that'd postpone my first ride by precious weeks), I could even come > > pick it up myself. > > > I can assure you it's going to a good home, and will be blanketed in > > shellac, pseudocork tape, and ding-dong bells in nothing flat. > > > Thanks, > > Devin --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
