Re: Re:
Titiritero":1karth9d said:
and having higher prices mean higher margins for the retailers and manufacturers, etc.
this is incorrect, higher prices does not translate to higher margins (unfortunately!) in fact it's usually the opposite. Marin bikes for example, the full suspension mark up is less than that of a hardtail, as a shop you are better off selling 2 hardtails at £1000 rather than one full suspension at £2000, it's the same with E bikes, there is so much technology there that margins are actually tighter for both the manufacturer and the importer and the retailer.
the reason the margin is tighter is because the price has to be relatively sensible at retail otherwise it wouldn't sell so the margin is reduced so it is more acceptable at retail price to the consumer.
margin wise the bikes to sell generally are the £300 to £900 range as the percentage is better per bike, and if you can sell a lot the importer might give you a better mark up the following year, it also helps if you buy sensibly, sometimes it's better for the dealer to buy older models from the importer as they become last years model then they can sell them at a reduced price to the customer and usually still make the same or sometimes better margin than normal if they really bought at a good price, this often means 50 bikes plus in one hit.
the brands that shops make the most on, Giant, Specialized, Cube, and the the really cheapo stuff, all the other brands have worse margins than those mentioned, Orange are bearly worth selling unless you really go hard selling the custom options such as paint and upgrades etc, and that's assuming you don't have to throw in the upgrade for free to get the customer to buy it. then they ask for finance, that's another 9% to 11% gone which means on a £3000 Orange you might make £550 margin (which is not profit, profit and margin are two very different things!) if you're lucky the profit is £210 on £3000.
glad i don't sell bikes! i just fix them!