Bought a new helmet

[watchman]

Last night I bought a HJC IS-MAX modular helmet. I have been researching and pricing them for several days. I even went to a store that carries them for a test fit for size. Last night I found them in an EBAY store called Powerdrom. He is selling the helmets that normally retail for $209.00 for $147.99 with free shipping. The ebay store has several different sizes and colors in stock. If anyone is interested in a helmet like this do yourself a favor and check the store out.

Be aware that these helmets run small. I normally wear a large AFX 1/2 helmet and needed a XXL in this helmet to fit.

[cnc]

Looks like a nice helmet. My wife uses a similar HJC flip-up for snowmobiling. Much handier for a quick stop, drink of water, etc than the full coverage I wear.

[Top Cat]

So you went to a dealer who invested his money in stock that you could try on and see if it fit, then went on line to get it from some one who has no overhead and bought it because it was cheaper.
This is one of the reasons dealers are going out of business.
Did you at least ask the dealer if he could come close to the on line price?
Hey I'm just saying....................

[Todd]

Nice helmet...if you had to get an XXL....they probably won't have one to fit my big ole' head.



I am sure if the price had been close, watchman would have bought it at the dealer but I am sure he can speak for himself........some dealers just overprice there stuff way too much...they would rather make $100 at one time vs. $10 in 10 times..........that's why some are going out of business IMHO. The business model has to change to fit the buying public. There are several around here that used to be horrible to deal with in pricing....they are now more in line and reasonable and are surviviing.

[waterman]

Have to agree with Todd here (man, did I just say that). Some dealers around here are hard headed and won't budge on price. Some will meet prices but not on everything. Have a dealer that I have bought stuff from and he has had good prices on parts. However, on stuff such as jackets and helmets, no dice on dealing. Plus, if you tell them of the price difference, hey, they had their chance, $50 to $60 dollars is alot of money over several items.

[watchman]

Since 2002 Liz and I have purchased from this motorcycle dealer a New 2001 Vulcan 1500 Classic, a new 2004 1500 Nomad and a new 2005 1600 Nomad all of which I purchased without a trade-in. The dealer offered to drop the price on the helmet from $209.00 to $199.00. The guy on ebay has the helmet IN STOCK. He is setting on his money just like the dealer I went to. If the ebay vendor can afford to sell me the helmet for $147.99 with free shipping, the dealer whom I have spent THOUSANDS of dollars with should have gotten closer the that price. Any more QUESTIONS?

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by watchman

Since 2002 Liz and I have purchased from this motorcycle dealer a New 2001 Vulcan 1500 Classic, a new 2004 1500 Nomad and a new 2005 1600 Nomad all of which I purchased without a trade-in. The dealer offered to drop the price on the helmet from $209.00 to $199.00. The guy on ebay has the helmet IN STOCK. He is setting on his money just like the dealer I went to. If the ebay vendor can afford to sell me the helmet for $147.99 with free shipping, the dealer whom I have spent THOUSANDS of dollars with should have gotten closer the that price. Any more QUESTIONS?

Nope, you pretty much answered what I was askin' and there is no need to SHOUT.
Under the circumstances, if I were that dealer I would have sold it to you for the online price even if I lost money.

[petenomad]

When we first started riding, we want to a local dealer and bought two helmets for what I thought was a decent price. They didn't have either of our sizes so they were ordered. Meanwhile, I checked and found them online for about $50 less (each). I called and discussed this with the dealer and since they ordered a different size for me, they considered this a "special order" and wouldn't work with me on the price at all. I couldn't return "special order" items without a restocking fee that would wipe out any savings either so I couldn't just return these and save a$100 bucks elsewhere. This store just lost a local customer for no real good reason. (This wasn't a special order, since the actually stocked the helmet.)

We are fairly lucky in the Kansas City area to have an internet site that actually has a showroom where you can go and try on just about anything they sell online and get the online price.

www.motorcyclecloseouts.com

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Yes, some dealers just don't try to help you out. I remember back in 1983 when I bought my Goldwing I was trading in a 1981 Honda 650 in excellent condition and the lady that owned the dealership, which she inherited from her father, just wouldn't try to deal with me. We got within I think $200 and she would come down and I couldn't go up as I needed the money to buy insurance. I called a dealer in a smaller town and he offered me more money over the phone for my 650 than she offered and she saw the bike. Needless to say I rode from Meridian, MS to Forest, MS and traded for a Goldwing there. Some you can deal with and others you just can't deal with.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by watchman

Since 2002 Liz and I have purchased from this motorcycle dealer a New 2001 Vulcan 1500 Classic, a new 2004 1500 Nomad and a new 2005 1600 Nomad all of which I purchased without a trade-in. The dealer offered to drop the price on the helmet from $209.00 to $199.00. The guy on ebay has the helmet IN STOCK. He is setting on his money just like the dealer I went to. If the ebay vendor can afford to sell me the helmet for $147.99 with free shipping, the dealer whom I have spent THOUSANDS of dollars with should have gotten closer the that price. Any more QUESTIONS?

A lot of eBay stores carry no inventory, their merchandise is drop-shipped from the distributor. It's very likely this merchant has no investment in inventory at all and never sees the items he's selling.

I'm not talking some guy like me, selling random stuff on eBay because it's taking up room in my closet, I mean actual eBay merchants.

I agree that your local dealer should have done something with the price of the helmet. I guess he thought he already had enough repeat bike customers and didn't need anymore.

[1600bluekaw]

Shelf time cost money but the returning customer should be taken care of no questions asked.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by waterman

Have to agree with Todd here (man, did I just say that). .

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[watchman]

I found what I thought was a very, very, good deal on a helmet. I thought I would pass the information along to this group so they might take advantage of the information and possibly save themselves some money if they wanted this type of helmet. I thought thats what groups like this was for, to try to help each other any way possible. But I learn very quickly, I just won't waste my time posting information like this again.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by watchman

I found what I thought was a very, very, good deal on a helmet. I thought I would pass the information along to this group so they might take advantage of the information and possibly save themselves some money if they wanted this type of helmet. I thought thats what groups like this was for, to try to help each other any way possible. But I learn very quickly, I just won't waste my time posting information like this again.

A little sensitive are we? You posted the information you thought was beneficial to others. Once you've posted it, you can't control what happens with it. Don't get your feelings hurt. Some people will complain even if they were going to be hung with a new rope.

[landman]

:)having worked in motor cycle sales i think most people would be
surprised how little profit there is in a new bike.the dealers profit
comes from selling accessories and the service department.buying three new bikes without a trade in fact denies
the dealer the oppurtunity to make a profit on the trade in.clean
used bikes generally make the dealer a higher profit since most
are bought near wholesale value and sold for near book value.having said that i buy all oem accessories from my dealer
and most other accessories online.my dealer allways gives me
15% off the oem accessories. :)