So you’ve decided to purchase a new shiny bike from your LBS, first thing you do is check out the price tag. Question is, is it alright to negotiate (also known as haggling) the price of the bike?
Before I answer the question, I regard buying a bike more like ‘investing’ on a bike. So the first thing I do is do my homework. I check out the reviews, check out the prices and check out similar bicycles. After I have convinced my wife that I NEED another bike, I then go to my LBS to test ride it.
Answer:
It has been my experience that most LBS will give you a 5% to a 10% discount right off the bat, that is, if you ask. If the salesperson is not willing to go down in price, and you know that the price of the bike is cheaper, talk to the manager and let them know that you’ve seen the bike advertised for less. It always helps to take a printout of the lesser price to substantiate your claim. Keep in mind that LBS have less room to negotiate on cheaper bikes than on expensive bikes. They also need to pay for salaries, rent and utilities so don’t expect for them to give away the bike either. One thing for sure, NEVER pay more than the MSRP listed on the manufacturer’s site.