What's new

How Negotiable Are Bike Prices?

DanBell

Maximum Pace
Apr 26, 2010
285
86
Can you negotiate bike prices in Japan or do you have to wait for a sale to get a price below list? Say if I go to Seo cycle, can I talk them down on the price? What about upgrades? Is it possible to get free upgrades, like a slightly better wheelset, with a bit of negotiation?

Anyone have any success haggling at a bike shop in Japan, or is it not the done thing?
 
Based on the purchase of one bike almost 5 years ago (the other's so old I don't remember), not much. (The yen was at a different level then, web prices were cheaper but nothing like now.)

Probably since it was a special order from the US (58cm), I paid list. But then the owner dropped the sales tax and included various extras, which I think are ways of discounting that are not considered true discounting. But shop service/care/attention has always been excellent (++), and the same shop facilitated free warranty replacement of the wheelset last December.
 
The longer a bike is in the shop the cheaper it gets.
My 2 best bike purchases were bikes that had been in the shop more than a year.
Had my eyes on both of them till the price came down.
I could probably get 10% off (at least) on any bike in my local shop as I'm a loyal customer. The 30%+ off the old stock suits me....

Wave the cash under their nose and make an offer... they will make a counter offer...
 
If you can negotiate taxes and key money here (both true to some extent) you might as well try with a bike. More likely if your Japanese is good.
 
Thanks guys. I figure cash pretty much always allows for negotiation. I'm thinking about a CAAD10, so it's not going to be something they've been stuck with for a while.
 
I tried this when I bought my Pinarello.... went in with a huge wad of cash.

They couldn't drop the price of the bike but they did throw in a lot of freebies and kit. But a lot of the big names are price fixed and they make very little on top of the trade price.
 
Popped in one of my local LBSs on the way to Cycle Mode and saw a couple of 2010 models at 20% off... Probably depends on your size; larger sizes are almost always going to be ordered in which means not much of a discount.
 
Right, so there's not much real wiggle room on the price of new models it seems. I'm really wondering if I can get a free wheel upgrade. Same brand that comes standard, just one model higher on the totem pole.
 
I made the mistake of asking our main local road bike shop for a discount and got the answer `Oh you mean a sale? No, we don`t do that...` But it also explains why their shop is full of bang up-to-date stuff and vintage relics gathering dust - must be about 15 million Yen worth of stuff which they will never shift at the prices they think they can still justify asking for it.

Anyway, with Seo if you go via Yuuta at the Oomiya store then he gave me below list price on the frame and parts for my CAAD 9 build up. But from the shop`s point of view, the CAAD 9 was a bike that was about to be replaced by the CAAD 10 so the stock needed shifting and given the CAAD 10`s only been out 2 months, I doubt the shops have any trouble shifting the stock at full retail price so I think discounts are unlikely.

As for wheelsets, one notch higher won`t make much of a difference so given the comparative prices of wheelsets in Japan vs UK, I think I`d be more tempted to try and get some free kit thrown in and then just order a decent set of wheels from the UK.
 
When I helped my brother by his Scott we negotiated with sagamo cycles on upgrading the groupset from Taigra to the new 105 and also the wheels. Becuase the groupset is OEM you can often get a bargain.

Sagamo Cycles are very competitive and more like a European bike shop than a Japanese one though.
 
I managed to talk Seo down from 77,000 to 60,000 for a frame but didn't buy it as the shop assistant made a remark about me in Japanese not realising that I spoke Japanese. I may have flip out a little. But you can argue them down but as said above, the longer it is in the shop the more discount they will give.
 
Most dealers will negotiate prices, but some brands, such as Trek have pretty tight control over the retail price, so it depends on the brand. Some offer discounts in form of "points" (place like Y's) instead of cash discounts.

I know Riteway bikes (Felt, GT, Riteway) seem to be offered at more discounts (like, 20%) where as other brands like Bianchi are offered at 10% off (the current year model).
My LBS offers pretty decent discount on new models, but the best ones are the 'B-class' items that comes up every once in while. Sometimes, Y's and other shops do have those 'items with * ' for pretty decent price. You should check it out.

I am also looking for larger sizes, and done some research, if you are looking for 2011 Felt F5 in 56 or 58, I know of a local shop that have them in stock (smaller sizes are backordered till March-11, must be a nice bike to have that much demand).

Some larger size bikes I found on sale....

Bianchi Infinito 105 550 size, 20% off (same place as the Felt F5)

Trek/Gary Fisher 20-40% off

http://otr.co.jp/tsukuba/news.php?id=4343
http://otr.co.jp/tsukuba/news.php?id=4329

My LBS has some Trek hybrid bikes in size 20 on sale (2010 model)
http://jitensha-kan.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2010-11-07

This place has GF Ion Super size 56 in stock (2010 model)
http://www.psycrithm.com/trekbikes/cat/
they quoted 140,000 yen for the price... it was a demo for them and had visible wear.... I almost bought it, but decided wait for better deal.. couldn't pull a trigger on spending 140,000yen for Tiagra bike.

My quest continues... but then again, I may choose to buy GF Sawyer instead of road bike.... sawyer looks just so beautiful to me, and I'm afraid that my large a$$ and 100kg of solid muscle (and fat) will just destroy fragile road bike....

Takeo
 
Back
Top Bottom