Halfords - Bike tyre rip off prices

stamford

I need a couple of new tyres for my bike - just plain bog standard 26" x 1.75" was put off by Halfords prices of £12.99 for a tyre and £4.99 for the inner tube. Stuck my head into a Wilkinsons and got tyres for £4.99 and tubes for £1.99.

DCFC79

Its theyre choice to have the items priced at that price, its not as though theres only halfords for bike tyres

Halloway

Yes, what is this current fad for labelling every price which is above the average as a 'rip-off'? If Halfords can justify a higher price for an item and can sell it at the price then best of luck to them.

I don't know the items you are talking about but are you sure they are of identical quality? If you went to Wilkinsons unsure of what you needed for your bike would the average Wilco employee be able to help you? (OK I know that Halfords' employees' technical expertise has been questioned here and elsewhere but the point remains.)

If you got a bargain then good for you but don't go overboard.

uktim29

Halloway wrote: »

Yes, what is this current fad for labelling every price which is above the average as a 'rip-off'?

It's called Victor Meldrew syndrome, it is a mental illness.

stamford

Halloway wrote: »

Yes, what is this current fad for labelling every price which is above the average as a 'rip-off'? If Halfords can justify a higher price for an item and can sell it at the price then best of luck to them.

I don't know the items you are talking about but are you sure they are of identical quality? If you went to Wilkinsons unsure of what you needed for your bike would the average Wilco employee be able to help you? (OK I know that Halfords' employees' technical expertise has been questioned here and elsewhere but the point remains.)

If you got a bargain then good for you but don't go overboard.

A basic tyre is a basic tyre - both made in sweatshops Halfords Thai, Wilkinsons Sri Lankan.

I don't need technical expertise from Halfords or anyone else to change a tyre.

So paying a total of £14 against £34 is going overboard is it ?

Zippy123

Boiling this down to the Nth degree, everyone would charge the same price for all products. Well thats not going to happen as different companies have different pricing structures and costs. Halfords stock loads of bike parts and that costs.

Halfords sell bikes for over £1,000, is that a rip off when Tesco sells them for £50? No, they are different products.

Personally, because the tyres are the only connection with the road, I am happy to pay over £25 for quality tyres for my bike and £160 for each tyre for my car (got three replaced today) when I could have got tyres for £50 each.

It's a personal choice about quality, convieniance and safety. They are not ripping people off and to be honest I am surprised that companies that are accused of ripping off because of price differances don't start taking legal action against this board.

uktim29

Zippy123 wrote: »

They are not ripping people off and to be honest I am surprised that companies that are accused of ripping off because of price differances don't start taking legal action against this board.

To be honest I completely agree with you.

The "rip off" screamers are just greed in disguise.

They're selfish, and don't like it if things aren't their own way.

stamford

uktim29 wrote: »

To be honest I completely agree with you.

The "rip off" screamers are just greed in disguise.

They're selfish, and don't like it if things aren't their own way.

:rotfl: So speaks just about the most frequent poster on the Vent & Rip Off Forums.

Have you ever thought of changing your moniker to ukmugbuyer29 ?

uktim29

stamford wrote: »

:rotfl: So speaks just about the most frequent poster on the Vent & Rip Off Forums.

Have you ever thought of changing your moniker to ukmugbuyer29 ?

What, me, the person who probably manages to save more money and make more informed choices than the lot of you?

stamford

Halfords Reply

Im sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction with our pricing, we are
constantly updating prices inline with other retailers to ensure that we
remain competitive at all times.

Rest assured that your comments will be passed to the buying department
responsible for our cycle maintenance ranges.

The question now becomes one of value rather than lowest cost, as is often
the case that the cheapest item does not always represent the best value as
they quality can be significantly reduced.

All our inner tubes are manufactured to the highest possible standards to
ensure upmost reliability and longevity.

I am sorry to hear that you feel "ripped off" by the price difference
between ourselves and Wilkinsons.

My response

Thanks for your eMail.

You state "All our inner tubes are manufactured to the highest possible standards to ensure upmost reliability and longevity"

Is there a national/european/international standard that inner tubes and indeed tyres are made to ? If so could you let me have details of it. I'd like to ask Wilkinsons and Asda (who are selling some no doubt spurious inner tubes for £1.86) for some assurances that they take as much care in sourcing their tubes as Halfords do.

edthedead

Isn't this just an example of why people should shop around before they buy stuff! Besides which bike tyres, like car tyres, are all different... you can pay a lot more than 14.99 for some, but like anything else you pay extra for a different design, make, quality etc etc.

It a bit like saying a Rolls Royce is a rip off because I can go a buy a Renault Clio which does the same job for a fraction of the price.