Buying on the net

Heh. I just received an email from Performance requesting a number fo
th
issuing bank, which in this case is the CBA. Unfortunately I can't fin
th
merchant enquiry number on their web site. If anyone knows it it'l
save m
some time, otherwise I'll have to try to get it from the bank myself

In the meantime I got a confirmation email that the CBA has received m
complaint. It says I can expect "a response" within 4 days. I wonde
wha
their excuse will be and how much they'll put their fees up for no
providing a necessary service yet again

-

A: Top-posters
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?
The other trick to dealing with Performance is to always use a 'coupon
code which gives you extra discount (on the goods but not on the freigh
charges). If you are going to do the internet thing, you might as wel
get best value. This applies to other US net bikes stores as well.
Google will usually find the codes and there are also sites tha
specialise in discount coupon codes, eg

http://www.edealinfo.com/Coupons/performancebike.shtml.

Somewhere in the ordering process you will be asked for the code. If i
is accepted it shows up in the total charge at the end. Current code fo
Performance is 6000387 which gives you 20% off orders of US$50 or more.
Makes the trinkets you can't get in Australia a little bit cheaper

Steve

--
SteveA

Steve,

I am considering buying an Ultegra Triple Crankset and BB for my Felt
what freight method do you use from performance?

In the past I have used USPS Ordinary Air Mail from Harris Cyclery, bu
their Ultegra prices are way too dear.

Also in Perth, I choose the Train/Bus/Walk this morning, too cold an
wet for me to bike to swimming...

cheers
Georg

--
gclark8

DRS Wrote:[color=blue]
"mfhor" wrote in message


[...]


You're being ridiculous again.



Yes, well ridiculous is in the eye of the anal-retentive beholder wh
whinges that his master-of-the-universe credit card facility has faile
him in the all-important quest for reducing the number of self-induce
technical anomalies/discrepancies/unpleasantnesses in his microscopi
cycling universe.



Not at all. I just hate being stuffed around. And since I'm bein
stuffed
around by bike shops it's a legitimate topic of discussion in here.
You
don't like it, don't read it.



Yes, well that's actually the point, isn't it? You go into
transaction expecting to be stuffed around, and sure enough, if you ar
attached to an outcome (either negatively or positively) it comes about
Don't tell me what to read or not to read. I'm just pointing out tha
you sound slightly like a spoilt child at your inability to get exactl
what you want, even with all of the might, majesty and power of th
International Financial System at your disposal. (That 'ridiculous
enough for you? )



I'm not after information, I'm after specific items no Australia
vendor
with an online presence is making available (there was only on
Performance
brand item in my list). Do you carry what I want? I have no idea.
And
even if I was able to buy them here there would be no "pleasurable and
interesting" interaction between myself and the merchant, it'd take m
just
long enough to walk in, grab what I wanted, pay for them and leave.
There's
no added value here, just a commodity transaction.



Yeah, why do you want it, anyway? Everything cycling is social, fella
even (negatively) your arid hard currency transaction model. Are yo
going to brag to your mates about it when you've got it? Then it's
status symbol as well as a functional item = a social signifier
conversation starter, what you will. The marketing at the front end
that just disguises what the things you've bought are about. Only t
the most shallow are they trophies to be displayed, tokens to b
accumulated. If you are a real cyclist, you buy the best you ca
afford, use it until it wears out, and buy another, and keep on riding
You don't endlessly obsess that someone else has got the drop on you b
having something a bit lighter, newer, more aero or shinier than you
Are you trying to shave seconds off your time to keep your pr
contract? Well then, why are you worrying about the unobtanium at th
other side of the world?

I'm the first to admit that the Oz bike industry is parochial an
small, and that sometimes really IMPORTANT items are availabl
overseas/mailorder for a much better price, but why get in a tizz abou
those that purport to provide a service at a distance and then fail to
due to procedural difficulties? Aren't you doing exactly the same thin
as you once did about LBSs?

Sounds like you're more into smooth and seamless procedure-followin
than actually getting onto a bike and riding it, to me. Sounds like yo
have chosen cycling as a small and limited field, in which you can b
safely obsessed about the shortcomings of everyone involved, rathe
than getting on with what it's all about.

As Jack Nicholson's character said in the film version of the eponymou
film "Hey people, this might be As Good As It Gets" Don't make me star
calling you Melvin.



Is there a local alternative to the "Winwood Instep Peda
Insert--Shimano
SPD"? I don't think so. If there is then it's a well kept secret an
I'm
not interested in stuffing around.

Sheesh. What a load of consumers.

Welcome to John Howard's globalised free trade agreement Australia.



Somewhere where you seem to be right at home. A living embodiment o
the maxim that conservatives are basically afraid of anything unknown
and attempt to control it at every possible opportunity. "If I can'
rely on my Dura-Ace/Record/XTR bike, what can I rely on?"

Have a nice grizzle.

M "Tries to get the wind in his hair whenever possible" H


--
mfhor

suzyj Wrote:

I think for me it's about value. If the local bike shops (and yes,
have bought a significant amount of stuff from my local bike shops ove
the years) add value to my purchase, whether by having the item I wan
when I want it, or else by offering advice, or having a range of item
that I can look at in person and choose from, then I'll buy locally.



I appreciate that a lot of bike shops seem to be bland and uninvolved
and just seem to want to push immediately available product on th
unsuspecting consumer, if they can get away with it. It's a bit of
lottery, isn't it, what your LBS is like? But I think it's a bit of
modern disease - not being able to form an habitual and mutually value
relationship (where the root of 'customer' - e.g. "It is my custom to g
to MH, esq., Purveyor of Fine Cycle Parts to the Gentry" - comes from
with someone who has got an account with a local wholesaler and wh
won't load up the margin just because they saw you coming. Also,
think it's a cranial cringe on the part of many LBS owners who ar
****-scared of not being able to pay the rent this month and so jus
concentrate on pushing bread-and-butter, and not encouraging thei
employees to think beyond the current product catalogue and wholesale
specials list. Having been 2IC at a number of shops (in between mor
spiritually fulfilling pursuits ), I've left most of them over wha
I saw as the inability of the owner to get their head around the bi
picture of building a reputation on REAL customer service, not jus
hot-air customer charters, service plans, incentive schemes, etc
Unwillingness to stock or source parts they are unfamiliar with, et c
Charging rascally prices when they can be bothered.



However it's not often the case (especially more recently) that a loca
shop will have what I want. I don't particularly care for Shiman
mountain bike parts, so when I do buy locally, it invariably means
don't get to see what I'm buying, have to wait for it to arrive, an
then pay a premium for the "local" service. Not to mention all t
often being treated like an idiot by some pimply teenage kid, simpl
because of my gender.



I know that people with two X chromosomes often have a hard time whe
cranially underdeveloped XY bike shop droids talk down to them
especially to someone so far up the right end of the bell curve as you
SuzyJ. Your interests specialise, and you have to search more widel
to find the stuff you're after - an universal rule, ce n'est pas
Sheldon and his urbane East Coast colleagues aren't as afraid of wome
cyclists (and framebuilders, to boot) as gnarly dude downhillers are
Well, at least they hide it better



At least buying on the net in such circumstances, I get to save
little money, and I find (gross generalisation here) that the advice
get from online shops, like Sheldon, Peter, and John, is much bette
than the advice that I'd get from the LBS.

The ultimate example of this sort of thing is framebuilding stuff.
Once (quite a few years ago) I rang the local agents for Reynold
tubing, to ask if they could sent me a catalogue, so that I could bu
some frame tubes through them. They refused my request, saying tha
they only deal with professional framebuilders. I gave up on the ide
of building a bike frame then, and it was only much more recently (onl
after finding the Ceeway site on the web) that my interest wa
rekindled. My attitude now is that if the local guy can't (or won't
give me what I want, then stuff them, it's a big world, and there'
always someone who can.



Yes, and I have no hesitation in saying, in a public forum for all t
hear, that BRITISH INTERNATIONAL TRADING are as hard to deal with on
wholesale level as any company in the industry. No wonder you don't se
many British cycle parts here (*sob*, as ancestral ties are severed)
Again, I intuit that this and other examples are largely down to th
parochial, mentally sclerotic nature of the traditional sectors of th
local bike industry, as it is still habitually (mis-) manged by guys
who see themselves as hard-nut ex-roadies, and who don't see themselves
as having the control issues that are blatantly obvious to most. There
are several notable exceptions to this gross, and broad
generalisation.

I think, and it is changing, that the general attitude in Oz has always
been a massive cultural cringe to anything beyond a couple of standard
deviations from the mean. As cyclists, we are few in number, hence, in
the general viewpoint, and pardoning the pun, cranks. This, combined
with the relentless auto industry and passive leisure industry
propaganda that bombards us from all sides, makes the bike industry
grow small and wizened and keeps it deprived of the consumer dollars
that might fertilise it and make it grow.

So, to some extent I sympathise with expanding the 'net' to catch the
fish you want. But having a local presence, whether it's bikes outside
coffee shops, regular bunch rides (CM, Hell Ride, GVBR, whatever) or
well-disposed people selling a good (not necessarily the latest from
the States) product they know that works with the knowledge to back it
up is very important to get more people on bikes, with more muscle (!)
to make political and social change come about so we can all ride
safely as fast and as far as we want, on the terrain that we like.
Cybersourcing by the trendsetters and influence-peddlers (which is what
most of us here are in their own little cycling worlds) is just going to
deprive the local scene of life in the form of cashflow. Sure, give the
shonks the arse, but Buy Australian operates on a retail as well as a
manufacturing level. And then I can afford to keep up the ISP account
so I can harangue y'all with my particularly slanted views on what life
on two wheels is like in this little corner of the cosmos. Spare a penny
for the poor RSI-afflicted wheel builder, miss . . . ?



Regards,

Suzy

M "likes nice bits as much as the next gear freak, and supports his
habit by becoming a pusher, which is perhaps morally reprehensible and
financially irresponsible, but can justify it if he's got half an hour
and an open net connection, and thinks being slightly stood over by the
local mafia is preferable to being controlled by some mob from the US" H


--
mfhor

"mfhor" wrote in message

DRS Wrote:
"mfhor" wrote in
message

[...]

Not at all. I just hate being stuffed around. And since I'm being
stuffed
around by bike shops it's a legitimate topic of discussion in here.
You
don't like it, don't read it.

Yes, well that's actually the point, isn't it? You go into a
transaction expecting to be stuffed around,

No, I didn't, although it's increasingly becoming the case and it's always
from bike shops.

and sure enough, if you
are attached to an outcome (either negatively or positively) it comes
about. Don't tell me what to read or not to read. I'm just pointing
out that you sound slightly like a spoilt child at your inability to
get exactly what you want, even with all of the might, majesty and
power of the International Financial System at your disposal. (That
'ridiculous' enough for you? )

Oh, it's ridiculous all right. Expecting to be able to buy something from a
vendor without being stuffed around is not spoilt in the slightest.

[...]

There's
no added value here, just a commodity transaction.

Yeah, why do you want it, anyway?

To put on my bike.

Everything cycling is social, fella,

Er, no.

[...]

accumulated. If you are a real cyclist, you buy the best you can
afford, use it until it wears out, and buy another, and keep on
riding. You don't endlessly obsess that someone else has got the drop
on you by having something a bit lighter, newer, more aero or shinier
than you. Are you trying to shave seconds off your time to keep your
pro contract?

You're full of ****. I buy what I please for my bike and I don't have to
justify it to anyone.

Well then, why are you worrying about the unobtanium at
the other side of the world?

Because no Australian vendor has what I want available online. I've already
said that but you're just ignoring anything people say which doesn't fit
your rant.

[...]

Sounds like you're more into smooth and seamless procedure-following
than actually getting onto a bike and riding it, to me. Sounds like
you have chosen cycling as a small and limited field, in which you
can be safely obsessed about the shortcomings of everyone involved,
rather than getting on with what it's all about.

Seems to me you're a moron without a clue. I'm trying to buy bike stuff to
improve my cycling experience.

[...]

Is there a local alternative to the "Winwood Instep Pedal
Insert--Shimano
SPD"? I don't think so. If there is then it's a well kept secret
and I'm
not interested in stuffing around.

Now this is the really important bit and because you're fundamentally
dishonest you've ignored it completely. This is the most important item in
my current list and no Australian vendor has it available online. My LBS
doesn't have it either. I'm certainly not going to not buy from overseas
just to please the likes of you.

Sheesh. What a load of consumers.

Welcome to John Howard's globalised free trade agreement Australia.

Somewhere where you seem to be right at home. A living embodiment of
the maxim that conservatives are basically afraid of anything unknown,
and attempt to control it at every possible opportunity. "If I can't
rely on my Dura-Ace/Record/XTR bike, what can I rely on?"

I'm not the conservative here, you are. You're the one who is afraid of the
future, who is afraid of change.

Have a nice grizzle.

You truly are an idiot. It's rare to come across anyone as fundamentally
stupid as you. You've worked yourself up over a whole bunch of bad
assumptions, launched into a tirade about **** all and ignored every point
of substance. You deserve to go out of business with your attitude towards
customers.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

DRS Wrote:
"mfhor" wrote in message

DRS Wrote:
"mfhor" wrote in
message

[...]

Not at all. I just hate being stuffed around. And since I'm being
stuffed
around by bike shops it's a legitimate topic of discussion in here.
You
don't like it, don't read it.

Yes, well that's actually the point, isn't it? You go into a
transaction expecting to be stuffed around,

No, I didn't, although it's increasingly becoming the case and it's
always
from bike shops.

and sure enough, if you
are attached to an outcome (either negatively or positively) it comes
about. Don't tell me what to read or not to read. I'm just pointing
out that you sound slightly like a spoilt child at your inability to
get exactly what you want, even with all of the might, majesty and
power of the International Financial System at your disposal. (That
'ridiculous' enough for you? )

Oh, it's ridiculous all right. Expecting to be able to buy something
from a
vendor without being stuffed around is not spoilt in the slightest.

[...]

There's
no added value here, just a commodity transaction.

Yeah, why do you want it, anyway?

To put on my bike.

Everything cycling is social, fella,

Er, no.

[...]

accumulated. If you are a real cyclist, you buy the best you can
afford, use it until it wears out, and buy another, and keep on
riding. You don't endlessly obsess that someone else has got the drop
on you by having something a bit lighter, newer, more aero or shinier
than you. Are you trying to shave seconds off your time to keep your
pro contract?

You're full of ****. I buy what I please for my bike and I don't have
to
justify it to anyone.

Well then, why are you worrying about the unobtanium at
the other side of the world?

Because no Australian vendor has what I want available online. I've
already
said that but you're just ignoring anything people say which doesn't
fit
your rant.

[...]

Sounds like you're more into smooth and seamless procedure-following
than actually getting onto a bike and riding it, to me. Sounds like
you have chosen cycling as a small and limited field, in which you
can be safely obsessed about the shortcomings of everyone involved,
rather than getting on with what it's all about.

Seems to me you're a moron without a clue. I'm trying to buy bike
stuff to
improve my cycling experience.

[...]

Is there a local alternative to the "Winwood Instep Pedal
Insert--Shimano
SPD"? I don't think so. If there is then it's a well kept secret
and I'm
not interested in stuffing around.

Now this is the really important bit and because you're fundamentally
dishonest you've ignored it completely. This is the most important
item in
my current list and no Australian vendor has it available online. My
LBS
doesn't have it either. I'm certainly not going to not buy from
overseas
just to please the likes of you.

Sheesh. What a load of consumers.

Welcome to John Howard's globalised free trade agreement Australia.

Somewhere where you seem to be right at home. A living embodiment of
the maxim that conservatives are basically afraid of anything
unknown,
and attempt to control it at every possible opportunity. "If I can't
rely on my Dura-Ace/Record/XTR bike, what can I rely on?"

I'm not the conservative here, you are. You're the one who is afraid
of the
future, who is afraid of change.

Have a nice grizzle.

You truly are an idiot. It's rare to come across anyone as
fundamentally
stupid as you. You've worked yourself up over a whole bunch of bad
assumptions, launched into a tirade about **** all and ignored every
point
of substance. You deserve to go out of business with your attitude
towards
customers.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?
aaaaah. DRS is nothing but entertaining!

mfhor 'fundamentally dishonest'.

"Seems to me you're a moron without a clue. I'm trying to buy bike
stuff to
improve my cycling experience."
Wanna improve your 'experience' ???
Simple.
Get some, DRS.
Ride more. rant/abuse less

oh, and which of your posts are OT??? approx 90+%

Look out people. DRS might actually make it south of Moorabbin one
day...

And why am I turning on you DRS? simple. turning on mfhor is waaaaaay
out of line and you are the last to talk in this regard. he has added
more value to this forum in the short time he has been here than you
have. ever!


--
flyingdutch

"flyingdutch" wrote
in message

[...]

aaaaah. DRS is nothing but entertaining!

mfhor 'fundamentally dishonest'.

Yes, he is.

"Seems to me you're a moron without a clue. I'm trying to buy bike
stuff to
improve my cycling experience."
Wanna improve your 'experience' ???
Simple.
Get some, DRS.
Ride more. rant/abuse less

oh, and which of your posts are OT??? approx 90+%

Bull****. You clearly have no idea what off-topic means.

Look out people. DRS might actually make it south of Moorabbin one
day...

And why am I turning on you DRS? simple. turning on mfhor is waaaaaay
out of line

Oh, no it isn't. He's trying to make out I'm some sort of poser who's
helping destroy the local cycling industry by buying bits from OS and he's
full of ****. He did nothing but have a go at me on grounds he made up out
of thin air and he can shove his bull**** where the sun doesn't shine.

and you are the last to talk in this regard. he has added
more value to this forum in the short time he has been here than you
have. ever!

**** you too.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

"DRS" wrote in message


[...]

In the meantime I got a confirmation email that the CBA has received
my complaint. It says I can expect "a response" within 4 days. I
wonder what their excuse will be and how much they'll put their fees
up for not providing a necessary service yet again?

I just got this responce from the CBA:

"however for a solution to this problem, you are able to give the overseas
vendors our email address and we are more than happy to confirm any of the
details required.

The email address is and a response will be given
within 48 hours of receipt of the email."

A 48 hour turnaround by email!!! How pathetic. We're in the 21st century,
people. It should be automated and painless.

It'll be interesting to see what Performance make of it.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

Sounds good. I approve. But eh i am still dubious about how to get
good deal
DRS Wrote:
"DRS" wrote in messag


[...

In the meantime I got a confirmation email that the CBA has receive
my complaint. It says I can expect "a response" within 4 days.
wonder what their excuse will be and how much they'll put their fee
up for not providing a necessary service yet again

I just got this responce from the CBA

"however for a solution to this problem, you are able to give th
oversea
vendors our email address and we are more than happy to confirm any o
th
details required

The email address is and a response will be give
within 48 hours of receipt of the email.

A 48 hour turnaround by email!!! How pathetic. We're in the 21s
century
people. It should be automated and painless

It'll be interesting to see what Performance make of it

-

A: Top-posters
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet

--
nyhsu

DRS Wrote:

Bull****. You clearly have no idea what off-topic means.


silly me. every thread IS about top-posting...

DRS Wrote:

Oh, no it isn't. He's trying to make out I'm some sort of poser who's
helping destroy the local cycling industry by buying bits from OS an
he's
full of ****. He did nothing but have a go at me on grounds he made u
out
of thin air and he can shove his bull**** where the sun doesn't shine.


No. He's saying youre whineing cos you are expecting concierge-lik
service for margin-cut priceing thru an obviously automated 'cart
system.
Get what you pay for, 'n'all that...

DRS Wrote:

and you are the last to talk in this regard. he has added
more value to this forum in the short time he has been here than you
have. ever!

**** you too.



no thanks .wouldnt be seen dead riding with a weedy little guy on
hybrid along StK, etc bike trying to compensate for his lack o
personality and social skills. wasnt telling you to go procreate. jus
stating facts. if you could turn your dial away from th
'auto-argument' setting you might get along with people..

--
flyingdutch