Powacycle Salisbury £399 plus vat!
- Thread starter Bigbee
- Start date
I agree it's a bit bad. How can small companies compete against some big company that gets a job lot and then offloads them at virtually cost or even a loss just get someone in the store.
Nothing wrong with a bit of fair competition but how can anyone compete against that kind of thing. If we carry on the way things are going the only place you can buy anything will be at tescos...
Nothing wrong with a bit of fair competition but how can anyone compete against that kind of thing. If we carry on the way things are going the only place you can buy anything will be at tescos...
Tescos? No Makro!
399+vat is 459 I reckon. That being the case that's surely what they are worth. What's wrong with buying from a supermarket? Its the likes of Tesco that have driven down the cost of living generally. If we still shopped at the local corner shop we wouldn't be able to afford an electric bike.
399+vat is 459 I reckon. That being the case that's surely what they are worth. What's wrong with buying from a supermarket? Its the likes of Tesco that have driven down the cost of living generally. If we still shopped at the local corner shop we wouldn't be able to afford an electric bike.
I know it's Makro. I was trying to make a point that's all.
When I was living in the UK it seemed to be that most of my day to day spending money would end up in Tesco. Fuel, food shopping, electrical stuuf whatever (but I draw the line at clothes, sorry but no
). I don't think a world owned and controlled by massive corporations, which exist purely to maximise the profits of the shareholders profits at all costs whether they be legal or moral is such a great idea. So we can get a tin of beans for 3p or we can get some piece of crap for next to nothing, great, is life really so much better because of that?
When I was living in the UK it seemed to be that most of my day to day spending money would end up in Tesco. Fuel, food shopping, electrical stuuf whatever (but I draw the line at clothes, sorry but no
). I don't think a world owned and controlled by massive corporations, which exist purely to maximise the profits of the shareholders profits at all costs whether they be legal or moral is such a great idea. So we can get a tin of beans for 3p or we can get some piece of crap for next to nothing, great, is life really so much better because of that?Makro is ostensibly a wholesaler (I'm not sure how much this is enforced) and people would have to go to some effort to prove they are a business..
its not that much of a discount on what some Powacycle online dealers are selling the machine for anyway, and TBH I've not heard of many people buying a bike out of Makro for their own use! (maybe they are for shops to sell on?)
The bike itself (I own one) is far from a "cheap piece of crap" - its a bit of a plodder and rough around the edges but is still a good ebike.. and this is IMO a good thing for the consumer as it encourages keen competition, and it is the consumer after all who gives shops like Tesco their power.
Bear in mind it also shows that Makro are taking a business risk in taking on all this stock.
Presumably the intention may even be for other shops to buy the Salisburys and sell them as ready to roll bikes with their mark up added, as setting up a boxed bike (powered or unpowered) is a daunting prospect to some folk.
Its a free market and everyone is entitled to do this..
there could be a big positive of this as it would put loads more e-bikes on the road and that is good publicity..
its not that much of a discount on what some Powacycle online dealers are selling the machine for anyway, and TBH I've not heard of many people buying a bike out of Makro for their own use! (maybe they are for shops to sell on?)
The bike itself (I own one) is far from a "cheap piece of crap" - its a bit of a plodder and rough around the edges but is still a good ebike.. and this is IMO a good thing for the consumer as it encourages keen competition, and it is the consumer after all who gives shops like Tesco their power.
Bear in mind it also shows that Makro are taking a business risk in taking on all this stock.
Presumably the intention may even be for other shops to buy the Salisburys and sell them as ready to roll bikes with their mark up added, as setting up a boxed bike (powered or unpowered) is a daunting prospect to some folk.
Its a free market and everyone is entitled to do this..
there could be a big positive of this as it would put loads more e-bikes on the road and that is good publicity..
Alex you made some good points and I do agree with a lot of what you're saying. I was thinking more that Makro is for the public but yes you're right it should be trade only and in that case the pricing is about right for both Makro to make their piece and the retailling to make theirs.
A few more e bikes on the road can only be a good thing and hopefully get the UK a bit closer to where they are accepted. I wasn't referring to the salisbury in my above comment, so sorry if it came across that way.
Can I take back what I said now...
A few more e bikes on the road can only be a good thing and hopefully get the UK a bit closer to where they are accepted. I wasn't referring to the salisbury in my above comment, so sorry if it came across that way.
Can I take back what I said now...
Makro's website does claim that they are trade only, and every person I know who has had a Makro card has got it through some sort of business connection. If they are not complying to this perhaps dealers can launch some sort of legal action against them, or expose them in the Press.
Incidentally the Powacycle Windsor seems popular with the ladies, as the ones being sold in Essex at full RRP have have already sold out despite being only back in stock for barely a few weeks!
I think we should look on the positive side with this. Akhter/Powacycle/Ultima is a reasonably well run British-owned family business in my local region. They do have some residual issues with customer service (more precisely timely response to queries and issues) which I have had frank exchanges with Wazz Mughal about, but were eventually resolved to my satisfaction.
If they can work on these, they deserve success, but I think the margins even to Ahkter are very tight (indeed they went from profit to loss in a half-year despite constant/rising sales just due to exchange rates) so they need to make money to invest in service.
Ah sorry - I was a bit slow. I just noticed the thread is about selling of bikes in supermarkets, not about the bike itself
My view is that if you want your local bike shop (or whatever specialist shop) to survive and you value their advice and level of service, you do need to take at least some of your business there and accept it'll cost a few quid more than buying on the internet or in the supermarket...
My view is that if you want your local bike shop (or whatever specialist shop) to survive and you value their advice and level of service, you do need to take at least some of your business there and accept it'll cost a few quid more than buying on the internet or in the supermarket...
Remember though if you bought one and a few months down the line had problems with it Makro will not fix or exchange it but will only give you the address of the manufacturer (as they are wholesalers)
I have to agree with Alex on this one, my first purchase was going to be a Salisbury, at the last minute I went for a Powacycle folder, only because I already had a good MTB, and the folder would come in for public transport.
I now have 2 powacycles, another bought secondhand with little use from the previous owner.
I have taken the electric components off one bike and fitted them to a good MTB.
With just throttle I am hitting 18-19mph and on pedal assist 21mph. The gears are too low ratio at 14 teeth on the back cog.
An 11 tooth sprocket would make me go even faster
For legalities this was on a private road and of course restricted to the UK 15mph on public roads
Powacycle is not a refined bike and could be easily uprated, but at £399 I think that is where e-bikes should be coming in at.
Many of the e-bikes are over rated, even big names like GIANT (pardon the pun) are made in a factory where the same components are fitted to other makes but you are not paying for the name.
Marketing the bike or any brand through Makro isn't going to take the world by storm, IIRC it was Makro who stocked the Sinclair C5 at £399 and look what happened to it. (yes I know £399 in the 80's was a lot more in real terms)
If anything Tesco is probably the only way to make ebikes mainstream so that Joe Bloggs and his wife will have one.
I'm all for local business, recently I found out that the largest cycle warehouse in Europe is based not far from me (online only and only a couple of 'onion seller' style ebikes on their website)
But having said that, other local shops that I went into just didn't promote ebikes and were neither helpful as to where I could source parts or willing to buy in kits for me. In fact I found them arrogant and ignorant towards ebikes and potential ebike users.
I now have 2 powacycles, another bought secondhand with little use from the previous owner.
I have taken the electric components off one bike and fitted them to a good MTB.
With just throttle I am hitting 18-19mph and on pedal assist 21mph. The gears are too low ratio at 14 teeth on the back cog.
An 11 tooth sprocket would make me go even faster
For legalities this was on a private road and of course restricted to the UK 15mph on public roads
Powacycle is not a refined bike and could be easily uprated, but at £399 I think that is where e-bikes should be coming in at.
Many of the e-bikes are over rated, even big names like GIANT (pardon the pun) are made in a factory where the same components are fitted to other makes but you are not paying for the name.
Marketing the bike or any brand through Makro isn't going to take the world by storm, IIRC it was Makro who stocked the Sinclair C5 at £399 and look what happened to it. (yes I know £399 in the 80's was a lot more in real terms)
If anything Tesco is probably the only way to make ebikes mainstream so that Joe Bloggs and his wife will have one.
I'm all for local business, recently I found out that the largest cycle warehouse in Europe is based not far from me (online only and only a couple of 'onion seller' style ebikes on their website)
But having said that, other local shops that I went into just didn't promote ebikes and were neither helpful as to where I could source parts or willing to buy in kits for me. In fact I found them arrogant and ignorant towards ebikes and potential ebike users.
however people are bending the rules, Makro is a wholesaler, it is not directly comparable to Tesco's.
I think the C5 RRP was always £399, and it was the Electricity Board shops rather than Metro which sold them...
For this reason I ended up buying my Wisper from an on-line dealer 250 miles away, I would have liked to deal locally but no one wants the business!
I think the C5 RRP was always £399, and it was the Electricity Board shops rather than Metro which sold them...
I agree but at the same time the specialist shops have to deliver that level of service first. When trying to get a ebike repaired (a Salisbury!) all I got from nearly all the LBS's was a "can't do" attitude and the one which did do the work constantly whined about how busy they were. Some are openly hostile to the concept of electric bikes (there's another theory I have about this)
For this reason I ended up buying my Wisper from an on-line dealer 250 miles away, I would have liked to deal locally but no one wants the business!
I agree prices do need to come down. I'm not saying that every expensive e bike is not worth the money, but the thing is that most people just do not want to pay for quality, well not on a bike anyway and not in the UK. The average joe in the UK would think you'd lost your mind if you bought a bike for £1500, e bike or not.
I feel that the addition of the motor makes the expensive bits like the gearsets and chainwheel less critical as they generally are not so stressed or even used at all if there's a motor pulling you along. Brakes on the other hand need to be strong, as you'll likely be going that bit quicker most of the time with the motor.
A reasonable (not junk) bike and a descent quality motor, controller and moderate sized lithium based battery can be retailed in the UK for less than £600, maybe £500 considering the present exchange rate and the actual cost of the parts, but that's only achievable if your getting stuff at good prices, there are not too many people in the chain and your margins are low. You start putting fancy components or bigger batteries and the costs quickly add up.
Good quality batteries are not cheap, even in China. Just because someone will sell a 48V 20Ah battery on ebay for like $200, you couldn't buy quality batteries in China for anything like that price. The only reason they are that cheap is because they were probably rejected by QC or are just plain junk. I'm not referring to Ping here, his prices are not stupidly cheap and he has a good reputation, but still his packs are not made from the highest quality cells as they will not do the High C ratings that more expensive cells will do.
I feel that the addition of the motor makes the expensive bits like the gearsets and chainwheel less critical as they generally are not so stressed or even used at all if there's a motor pulling you along. Brakes on the other hand need to be strong, as you'll likely be going that bit quicker most of the time with the motor.
A reasonable (not junk) bike and a descent quality motor, controller and moderate sized lithium based battery can be retailed in the UK for less than £600, maybe £500 considering the present exchange rate and the actual cost of the parts, but that's only achievable if your getting stuff at good prices, there are not too many people in the chain and your margins are low. You start putting fancy components or bigger batteries and the costs quickly add up.
Good quality batteries are not cheap, even in China. Just because someone will sell a 48V 20Ah battery on ebay for like $200, you couldn't buy quality batteries in China for anything like that price. The only reason they are that cheap is because they were probably rejected by QC or are just plain junk. I'm not referring to Ping here, his prices are not stupidly cheap and he has a good reputation, but still his packs are not made from the highest quality cells as they will not do the High C ratings that more expensive cells will do.
Thanks for correcting me, doh! I knew it was one of the chain stores.
I agree, Tesco and Makro are not the same.
Tesco have been selling bikes in their catalogues, no reason why it shouldn't be ebikes.
I remember Littlewoods and possibly Kays selling bikes and the likes, years ago in their catalogues.
Thanks for correcting me, doh! I knew it was one of the chain stores.
I agree, Tesco and Makro are not the same.
Tesco have been selling bikes in their catalogues, no reason why it shouldn't be ebikes. In fact I see that they are selling a Meerkat e-motion.
I remember Littlewoods and possibly Kays selling bikes and the likes, years ago in their catalogues.
I'm sure the other supermarket giants will do the same, if not already selling a handful of ebikes.
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