Buying over the border ??

Deisetrek

Hello all ,
Just be interested, 'cause I've seen it referred to on other threads , have many of you bought in the North ? Is there big savings to be made by buying from a reputable bike shop over the border ( taking into account fuel prices ) and are they good to deal with compared to your local bike shop down here ? Would like to support my local bike shop but sometimes find it hard to justify how they can charge such a difference . For instance for the same items priced locally , last weekend I found a discrepancy of 151 euro versus 85 euro to CRC .

paddyb

I went up a few weeks ago to buy a mountain bike and saved about €250

http://www.mcconveycycles.com/

scottreynolds

I bought a bike in the north a few weeks ago... http://www.slanecycles.com .. it was e1900. Unfortunately I couldn't compare the prices because no one stocked the bike I purchased.

I canhowever tell you that the difference in prices can be as much 25%. I priced a bike here for e2300 and it was available in the north for 1800. There are many rants here for both arguements.

As for treating me well.... the guys fitted me... made sure I had everything and even told me to come back in a few weeks for service. They will service it on a Saturday for me as long as I give them a few hours notice.

To be honest I am happy with them and as I live in Portmarnock going north isn't a problem....

Oh yeah you need to look at the exchange rates as they are moving back towards the pound as well.

Liamo08

There are definitely savings to be had by buying stuff online from shops in the UK, I've just finished buying the parts for a new bike and purchased almost everything from:

www.ribblecycles.co.uk
www.parker-international.co.uk
www.totalcycling.com


I also bought the frame off eBay, but its always worth a quick call to your local shop and see if they can match some of the prices I did this when buying my wheels and got an instant €130 discount - well worth asking the question.

MadHatter

I think on accessories you will generally be able to save significant money by buying online from UK. You can get lucky if there's a sale locally, and sometimes CycleSuperStore won't be far off the UK price on particular items. Apart from that, the only reason to buy these items locally (at full price) is if you want to build a relationship with an LBS.

However, for standard bikes I think the differential is closing for the 09 range. My wife is currently looking for a hybrid and comparing the prices for Specialized in Cycleways versus McConveys, the gap has closed since last year. For 08 range, the EUR price was pretty much 1.5 x GBP price across the board, now it's down to around 1.37 x GBP. At prices like these you would still save a few quid up North, but not enough to justify IMO.

Killgore Trout

I got an 08 Langster from McConvey's in Belfast weekend before last - it was £350, which worked out at €440. Compared to prices of €600 in Dublin. Mind you it was the last one in the shop.

Petrol worked out ok - using aroud 1/2 45 L tank for the whole trip - though fuel consumption can differ greatly from person to person (and i was drving like a granny with the bike on the roof). We also squeezed in a trip to IKEA - which made the trip a winner to all parties involved.