What is the dealer markup on bikes normally?

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What is the dealer markup on bikes normally?
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flag xclegs-dhballs
Posted: Apr 14, 2011 at 6:59 Quote
Im doing a project for business class and i am trying to find out the percentage markup dealers normally put on a bike after purchasing it from the company.


and information would be greatly appreciated
flag typecaRl
Posted: Apr 14, 2011 at 10:18 Quote
lol no one is gonna answer you mate. If customers know the trade price they expect to get it for that. At the end of the day the shop is there to make money. We dont mind doing the odd deal. But when we only just make trade then we may as well not have bothered. Especially when you take into account wages for time to sell the bike, then time to build and set up the bike. Plus postage cost to get the bike to the store in the first place. Then the tax man takes his cut. There is a lot less mark up on most bikes than what you might think. Plus not all are the same as it depends on the manufacturer and the quantity brought. The more you buy, the better margin you get usually. Which is why arseholes like Winstanleys, Chain reaction etc etc can do such silly prices. Because they buy in massive bulk and then sell on for peanuts as they make their money on quantity sold. Which then kills all the small friendly helpful local businesses because we cant possibly compete with that. But thankfully the rules are seriously being tightened now on how much they can discount them by. Because manufactureres are realising they are upsetting dealers but also by selling a high end bike for a really knocked down price it then makes it look cheap and damages the rep of that company. Also what people forget is they buy these bikes off the net thinking wow I saved a lot there. But then its a big problem if its the wrong size for you because you have to pay the postage to get the bike back to them. Which isnt cheap for a large item such as a bike. Or if it is the right size for you then you realise you dont have the skills or tools needed to build it properly so you take it to your LBS for them to build it for you. We then charge you for our time and you end up usually having spent the same as if you had just come in and brought in store in the first place!
flag xclegs-dhballs
Posted: Apr 15, 2011 at 13:15 Quote
thank you... your info was actually very helpful. much more so than if i was given a figure.... this is all for a business project
flag noelonpc
Posted: Apr 15, 2011 at 14:09 Quote
on bikes, about 100% ($1000 bikes wholesales for around 500-600)... on parts, some shops in isolated areas can mark up more than 200%
flag nathanbalsdon
O+
Posted: Apr 15, 2011 at 17:43 Quote
whitemiscief wrote:
on bikes, about 100% ($1000 bikes wholesales for around 500-600)... on parts, some shops in isolated areas can mark up more than 200%

huge over estimate.....
flag ezekiel
Posted: Apr 15, 2011 at 17:52 Quote
nathanbalsdon wrote:
whitemiscief wrote:
on bikes, about 100% ($1000 bikes wholesales for around 500-600)... on parts, some shops in isolated areas can mark up more than 200%

huge over estimate.....

Its a lot more helpful to the OP if you post up some facts and figures to back yourself up.

From what I've seen, ~100% markup on a bike sounds about right for this area.
flag blairaltman
Posted: Apr 15, 2011 at 19:34 Quote
ezekiel wrote:
nathanbalsdon wrote:
whitemiscief wrote:
on bikes, about 100% ($1000 bikes wholesales for around 500-600)... on parts, some shops in isolated areas can mark up more than 200%

huge over estimate.....

Its a lot more helpful to the OP if you post up some facts and figures to back yourself up.

From what I've seen, ~100% markup on a bike sounds about right for this area.

That is generally not correct. It's not some huge secret about what profit margins are like in the bike industry but the Pinkbike forum doesn't seem like a good place to be throwing around exact numbers as that's not a detail that most members here need to know.

If the original poster needs to know about this, he should go to his local bike shop and discuss it with them.
flag xclegs-dhballs
Posted: Apr 15, 2011 at 20:44 Quote
thank you guys for the info... and going to a local doesn't work... they don't wanna tell me the figure cuz i buy my parts from them and they still gotta make a profit... well anyways thank you guys very much. your help is much appreciated
flag typecaRl
Posted: Apr 16, 2011 at 0:26 Quote
whitemiscief wrote:
on bikes, about 100% ($1000 bikes wholesales for around 500-600)... on parts, some shops in isolated areas can mark up more than 200%

ha ha ha. OMG Where are you getting your figures? 100% - 200% mark up I wish! Might actually make some money then lol.
flag mistercrabb
Posted: Apr 16, 2011 at 4:12 Quote
Yeah, that seems pretty high.
I don't work in the bike industry but I would have thought it would be around 30-40% markup, in the UK at least.
flag pbuser102331
Posted: Apr 16, 2011 at 4:54 Quote
mistercrabb wrote:
Yeah, that seems pretty high.
I don't work in the bike industry but I would have thought it would be around 30-40% markup, in the UK at least.

Depends but you ain't far off.
flag yo13bo
Posted: Apr 16, 2011 at 5:18 Quote
my local shop has stupidly low markup on some bikes than for others. we have big roadie scene, so bmx and street/dj bikes dont sell very well, so the markup on some of them is only about 10%, but on things like road bikes and xc bikes, which will sell well, even if they are marked up by significantly more, have a much higher markup ( im not sure on exact figures of the markup on road and xc bikes at the same shop, but the owner told me it was significantly more because of this and thats how they are still making money)
flag noelonpc
Posted: Apr 16, 2011 at 8:38 Quote
when I bought my Driver8 they said they'd give me any parts I'd need at cost... Got a E13 boomerrang it was $15 but they had it tagged at $29.99... Truvativ Seatpost was $20 tagged at $59.99... And RF bb was $25 marked on the shelf at $54.99...
flag leverfingers
O+
Posted: Apr 16, 2011 at 10:16 Quote
Retailers get 100% markup on clothes and softgoods maybe, but not on whole bikes. Depends on the brand of bike as well. And they might theoretically get it on aftermarket parts, but they usually are giving a deal on them or throwing something in with a bike purchase brings the average down.
flag Iberian
Posted: Apr 20, 2011 at 12:28 Quote
Never understood why some shop employees think they are special members of some secret club and can't let anyone know their margins.

Markup is 20%-35% on most complete bikes. This though isn't straight profit. A lot goes into assembly and overhead. Paying rent, keeping the lights on, paying employees, paying goverment for paying employees, paying government for taxes, etc means that if a shop was selling just bikes they would be out of business. Accessories/clothing/parts do have a higher markup often up to 100% but again their are a lot of risks selling that inventory.

Most shops aren't providing their owners with millions in earnings. It is a tough business in most cases with feast and famine.

If you are really into biking then you probably can work with your LBS to get regular deals on items especially if they know you are capable of wrenching on your own bike. Don't be a jerk and remember they have families to feed to.
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