mooney8302

This is interesting for sure. As angry as some are, Specialized is a business and in order to keep that business alive they have to make money. But the goal is never just to stay alive right? The goal is to make boat loads of cash. Specialized clearly sees some sort of value, or a way to make more money in selling direct to customers. As a business owner I've never thought to myself, "I'm making enough money." The drive is always there to figure out ways to make more. As consumers however we have the choice to decide wether or not we want to give our money to that business. I have a very large multi state Specialized dealer a couple blocks from my house (Eriks) and while I own 2 Specialized bikes (Roubaix and Enduro) neither of them were purchased at Eriks. They've never had the bike I was looking for in stock. So as someone who thinks Specialized makes an incredible product I welcome the choice to purchase their bikes by other means than my LBS. I still go to my LBS for parts and service if needed, LBS like all businesses have to evolve and change to meet demand and survive. We all have a choice on where we spend our money and if you disagree with how specialized operates, you most certainly can spend your money elsewhere. If this move hurts their bottom line, they will certainly cease doing it.