Am I being screwed? - hope hub part price

[Robb]

Sorry for a topic that has been covered so many times before, but a bit of a rant...
Just got off the phone to a local shop, that has gotten some pawls and springs for a hope pro 2 hub, and they want $75 for them. Mind you, I had to call the importer directly and arrange it, after another shop called the wrong bike company/importor and never got back to me until I went in and asked, and was told the importor 'no longer do hope' so couldn't get them in..

Is this a reasonable price for them? CRC have them listed for $23, but postage was going to cost $18 so I thought I'd try to get them locally. It still took 1 week for them to show up, so I could have had them posted from the UK in the time it took.
Has anyone else sorted parts for a Hope hub locally?

Doubt I will ever source anything locally again unless I really have to, after I was charged $50 for a shock bushing that sells for $12 in the US, and it wasn't like the service was quicker either.
Am I being screwed on these smaller parts, as I need them to get back on the trail, or is this similar to what other people have paid..

 

[.BP.]

Its hard to get those smaller products such as hub parts and stuff cheap as shops don't stock.

When you order them in through the local bike shop you are going to be charged the postage that it cost the shop to get them in which is usually $12. This puts the price up straight away, also the reason they are cheaper from chain reaction is thet i think they are the importer for hope in the uk.

Its also hard to find a shop that will stock small parts like that.

 

[FoxRidersCo]

Yeah as .BP. said the small parts have to be ordered in which means the part still has to go from manufacturer->distributor->dealer->shop->customer by the time each step has added it's markup the customer wears it.

Most of shops I have gone to for small parts have basically recommended to me to buy direct from CRC or an overseas retailer as the part will be cheaper and take less time for me to get.

Which is kind of sad but so true.

 

[Robb]

Yeah, Im aware of that distribution chain... I guess its just frustrating that these small things are so expensive, given how small/simple they are like a machined bushing. It's the same in the automotive industry as well though I guess..
Just frustrating to spend $75 on tiny little metal springs and pawls (I snapped one spring but figured I might as well rebuild the whole thing) when you can get a whole new hub for $200~

 

[Turner_rider]

Just frustrating to spend $75 on tiny little metal springs and pawls (I snapped one spring but figured I might as well rebuild the whole thing) when you can get a whole new hub for $200~

But using that argument, you could have got a better hub than the hope which wouldn't have broken in the first place too

 

[Tazed]

Yeah, Im aware of that distribution chain... I guess its just frustrating that these small things are so expensive, given how small/simple they are like a machined bushing. It's the same in the automotive industry as well though I guess..
Just frustrating to spend $75 on tiny little metal springs and pawls (I snapped one spring but figured I might as well rebuild the whole thing) when you can get a whole new hub for $200~

Lesson: get stuff from O/S and damn the LBS if they can't compete/can't be bothered.
I buy locally when it makes sense, I need the tech support, or I like to support the LBS for moral reasons.
But if they slack off, can't be bothered or otherwise don't appreciate my business, then I take it where it makes sense to me.
I spent $14,000 in one shop, but their constantly changing staff meant I always had to reintroduce myself/explain my esoteric (yet highly profitable) preferences...
Hope, for whatever reason, don't have nearly the structure here they should have, so with them, just use CRC and appreciate you can - back 10 years ago, it wasn't so easy, as there just wasn't the net to work with.

But using that argument, you could have got a better hub than the hope which wouldn't have broken in the first place too

Not so helpful, that...

 

[Ivan]

Am I being screwed

Yes, but not by anyone in particular, but rather by an outdated business model.

 

[Turner_rider]

Not so helpful, that...

No probably not.

What I don't see in this series of events is a quote for the part being obtained from the LBS. If there had then this thread wouldn't exist as such

 

[Tazed]

No probably not.

What I don't see in this series of events is a quote for the part being obtained from the LBS. If there had then this thread wouldn't exist as such

Thought time was of the essence and he got a $75 quote from the importer (because the shop was useless), got himself an O/S quote (hence his disappointment in the quoted price) but went with the local guys anyway, thinking they'd be faster (and probably thinking supporting the local industry was worthwhile, though that's my spin).
So the thread has every reason to exist and he has reason to be both disappointed in the local industry and the prices we pay (a little more would be acceptable, but 3 times the price is not, delivery cost aside).

 

[~James~]

The same thing has happened to me, I asked the LBS how much a replacement axle for my Hope Pro II would be, as I snapped mine. I got quoted $150 through the LBS, or alternatively I could buy it for $21 off Chain Reaction and most likely get it sooner, hmm..