I'm as big a tight arse as anybody, but really, shouldn't this sort of shit be purchased locally? Unless you're bulking out an order to get free delivery.
Yes part of the reason was to bulk out an order and avoid shipping but I am not sure why you feel like that alone should justify my online purchases to you so here are a few more reasons:
1. Research. I enjoy doing my research online for everything (not just bike gear) and knew exactly what I wanted to get without the input from the LBS or going in there and wasting their time which I am very mindful of.
2. Kids. I have them and they take up a lot of my time which means it is a lot easier to shop from home as aside to the inconvenience of trying to get a 3yr old to the shops, let alone have a meaningful conversation with someone there.
3. Availability. Neither the LBS’s nor Aussie online bike shops either stocked or had stock of the parts I already knew I wanted and I didn't want to be sold something different or a variation of it or wait for it to come in (As a side note it seems like the LBS’s just carry what they do because that’s what they have rather than those parts being the best parts for what people need).
4. Loyalty. While I appreciate what the LBS's do for some people, I don't have any relationship or loyalty to them. On the other hand, as a past buyer off wiggle and crc for non-bike gear, I already have an established relationship with them, find their pricing great, and them very easy to deal with.
5. Money. Another reason is that I don't have much money so if I can save $50 on $170 worth of parts then that’s a MASSIVE deal for me. LBS’s tend to charge more and while I am happy to pay a little more I don’t trust them enough to just give me reasonable pricing from just walking in the door so I still have to do step 1 anyway. In my list of things to buy there were 2 parts that I did find at 2 different LBS’s that, although were more expensive, I felt were comparably priced so I did by them there.
So you should be able to see even if the LBS’s were slightly higher pricing than online, although it might make me more likely to deal with them, I would still have no problem standing by reasons 1-4 above and purchasing online.
Hope that clears it up.
Cheers
MAS
