LBS reasonable markup - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

06-11-2004, 09:33 AM

I'm all in favor of supporting local bike shops (LBS) but what do
people consider a fair markup?

Last year I needed some Look-type bike cleats. I went to a
bike shop, and, while they didn't have any in stock, the owner
just happened to be on the phone to the supplier and he added it
to their order. When they came in, the store wanted $27 for
them--that seemed expensive but not knowing better and
since they were ordered explicitly for me, I bought them.

Later I saw that Performance was selling Look cleats (not clones)
for half that price.

Last month, I needed another pair and I went to a different bike shop.
Again they didn't have them in stock, but they looked it up in
the catalog. The catalog price was $13 and they said they could
sell it to me for $21. This time I declined.

So what to people consider a reasonable markup? My first example
I feel is clearly too high. The second one seems to high but by
how much?

Keith