U.S. Turbo Levo Pricing - Discounts?

[kombos]

I've been shopping for an EMTB and am pretty sure I'll be buying a 2020 Levo Comp
(other possibility would be a 2019 Carbon Comp).

I've visited a handful of LBSs here in Arizona and talked to sales guys about the bikes.
I didn't indicate I was ready to lay down the cash for purchase right then, but casually
asked if the MSRP tagged price was what I could expect to pay. Each said yes and I
left it at that.

Are U.S. bike shops typically getting full MSRP on these? Any typical negotiation?

Appreciate any comments or advice.

 

[Captain45]

I received 10% off my 2020 comp with minor negotiations (I just asked if they can do 10% off and I'll purchase today. No hassle)

 

[Deleted member 7401]

My lbs will do 15% off. But we have 3 within a 15 min drive so it’s a lil more competitive.

 

[crazyethnic]

My LBS took $500.00 off the ticket price to get the sale which he didn't have to do as he is selling Levo's hand over fist I have since bought 3 Levo's in total off him and he did the same deal on all of them with free servicing I think that's spot on.

 

[Al Boneta]

Specialized is much more strict on enforcing the MSRP to prevent dealers from undercutting each other in a race to the bottom. It devalues the product and makes an already thin margin thinner.

 

[Swan]

As AL Bonita said, the margins on Turbos is absolutely terrible. Like a shop couldn't stay open by selling just turbos. So we guard our margins pretty tight. If we have 2019s left over, we will do 10% off to move old inventory, but otherwise we stick pretty close to MSRP unless it's a long time good customer or they are buying multiple bikes.

And others said, we are selling Levos hand over fist. So we don't really need to discount them much in order to move them.

Looking at my dealer site, there is more wiggle room on the 2019 Comp Carbons than the 2020 Comps.. But you also only get the 500w battery too.. So if you are trying to deal, you will probably will have better luck on a 2019 comp carbon. Just hope you don't need a Small though.. Sold out.

 

[Wheezer]

I called my LBS and told them I was ready to buy through the Specialized website but was calling the LBS first to see if they could do a better deal. I also offered to pay cash rather than credit. They immediately offered to take $500 off list for my Comp, which I accepted. If I were to buy today, I would look for a 10% discount. They didn't have one in stock, ordered one, and I had it in 3 or 4 days.

 

[Al Boneta]

I called my LBS and told them I was ready to buy through the Specialized website but was calling the LBS first to see if they could do a better deal. I also offered to pay cash rather than credit. They immediately offered to take $500 off list for my Comp, which I accepted. If I were to buy today, I would look for a 10% discount. They didn't have one in stock, ordered one, and I had it in 3 or 4 days.

I had a customer threaten to buy it off the website if I didn’t give him a deal. I said it’s the same price on the website.
He bought it, and had it sent to my shop to assemble.
He said “you could have had my business”
I said “your idea of business will put me out of business”
I then explained to him that when Specialized sends me a bike to assemble that was purchased on their website, I get my full margin, directly from from Specialized

 

[Doomanic]

Are margins in the US tighter than UK? As far as I can tell, 15% is pretty much normal discount on a Levo if you can be bothered to look about.

 

[RickBullotta]

The Alloy Comps are 10% off on the Specialized site and the Carbon Comps are 15% off, so I would expect an LBS to be able to match that, given the way they're comped.

 

[Al Boneta]

Are margins in the US tighter than UK? As far as I can tell, 15% is pretty much normal discount on a Levo if you can be bothered to look about.

If your overhead is 20-30% and you’re offering discounts of 15%, you’re just digging your own grave
We offer significant discounts on 2019 Levos because Specialized is selling them to us at a significant discount.
I offer discounts on upgrades made at the time of purchase and most of the take off parts on higher end Levos end up on base model and comp bikes.
I lead Emtb group rides, I teach basic maintenance and upkeep of Emtbs, I get things warrantied when they shouldn’t be for customers that lie to my face about what happened to their Levo.
I offer on the spot motor swaps and 24 hour turnaround time on any Levo repair.
I spend thousands of dollars a year for training at Specialized to be able to offer the most up to date service.
I do all of this to provide the best experience possible for my customers.
In the end if someone thinks my shop isn’t any good because I won’t give them a discount on a current model year bike, well I can live with that because my 32 years of bicycle industry experience tells me that are going to be asking for a discounts on everything else wether it be a GU gel or a spoke nipple.

 

[Swan]

If your overhead is 20-30% and you’re offering discounts of 15%, you’re just digging your own grave
We offer significant discounts on 2019 Levos because Specialized is selling them to us at a significant discount.
I offer discounts on upgrades made at the time of purchase and most of the take off parts on higher end Levos end up on base model and comp bikes.
I lead Emtb group rides, I teach basic maintenance and upkeep of Emtbs, I get things warrantied when they shouldn’t be for customers that lie to my face about what happened to their Levo.
I offer on the spot motor swaps and 24 hour turnaround time on any Levo repair.
I spend thousands of dollars a year for training at Specialized to be able to offer the most up to date service.
I do all of this to provide the best experience possible for my customers.
In the end if someone thinks my shop isn’t any good because I won’t give them a discount on a current model year bike, well I can live with that because my 32 years of bicycle industry experience tells me that are going to be asking for a discounts on everything else wether it be a GU gel or a spoke nipple.

You seem rad.. Where in CA you around? If it's close to my norcal family, I'd love to come play ebikes sometime when I am down next.

We haven't had motor issues like that in any of ours yet, but sweet to see someone has the depth of knowledge and experience on them outside
Of specialized.

 

[Al Boneta]

You seem rad.. Where in CA you around? If it's close to my norcal family, I'd love to come play ebikes sometime when I am down next.

We haven't had motor issues like that in any of ours yet, but sweet to see someone has the depth of knowledge and experience on them outside
Of specialized.

Unfortunately I am down in Orange County, nowhere near NorCal

 

[Swan]

Unfortunately I am down in Orange County, nowhere near NorCal

Yeah, getting me into Cali is hard enough, getting me into Socal is probably never going to happen!

 

[Al Boneta]

Yeah, getting me into Cali is hard enough, getting me into Socal is probably never going to happen!

Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Californians are moving to Idaho at rate not seen since the mass migrations of Colorado and Washington.
Southern California...

Is coming to you

 

[Swan]

Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Californians are moving to Idaho at rate not seen since the mass migrations of Colorado and Washington.
Southern California...

Is coming to you

Believe me I know. Our house we are in now, we tried to buy 6 years ago. Back then it sold for 120k (we were under 20 and couldn't afford any more). We finally bought it last year for 300k and it had 3 sight unseen full price cash offers from Cali buyers.. And that was a good deal for what real estate is doing now. It's dumb.


But they do have money and buy lots of Ebikes.

 

[Al Boneta]

The margins are actually pretty good... for instance a 2020 levo comp is at 43.5% markup

Where did you get that percentage? Because it’s not even close to being accurate

 

[squeegee]

The margins are actually pretty good... for instance a 2020 levo comp is at 43.5% markup

I know 2 guys that got their 2019 Levo Experts at dealer cost, neither knows the other but both said $4999 is what they paid. Retail in my area on that bike was $8200 so ~39% margin, a pretty close number to yours.

I know 2 other guys with 2019 Expert's that went a couple hours away to buy at a dealer, in a rural area and paid roughly $6800, not a bro deal but a good deal.

 

[Swan]

I know 2 guys that got their 2019 Levo Experts at dealer cost, neither knows the other but both said $4999 is what they paid. Retail in my area on that bike was $8200 so ~39% margin, a pretty close number to yours.

I know 2 other guys with 2019 Expert's that went a couple hours away to buy at a dealer, in a rural area and paid roughly $6800, not a bro deal but a good deal.

If they got theirs at $4999 then they had a inside bro deal through a rep, or the shop bought those bikes on Employee purchase to get them cheaper and then sold them to the customers to save margins (which is not cool), or they were test bikes that the shop had used and discounted to move. Because 4999 is cheaper than my cost on that bike listed on my dealer site as of 30 seconds ago.

 

[squeegee]

If they got theirs at $4999 then they had a inside bro deal through a rep, or the shop bought those bikes on Employee purchase to get them cheaper and then sold them to the customers to save margins (which is not cool), or they were test bikes that the shop had used and discounted to move. Because 4999 is cheaper than my cost on that bike listed on my dealer site as of 30 seconds ago.

These were personal bikes @4999, not sure what the backstory is but is pretty commonplace around here with bike teams and whatnot. Sounds like the other LB shop's price of $6800 was a pretty stellar deal then!

 

[Swan]

These were personal bikes @4999, not sure what the backstory is but is pretty commonplace around here with bike teams and whatnot. Sounds like the other LB shop's price of $6800 was a pretty stellar deal then!

It would be super cool to work at a dealer where you pay the customer to take a bike.. Unfortunately that's not super sustainable for our shop.

 

[squeegee]

It would be super cool to work at a dealer where you pay the customer to take a bike.. Unfortunately that's not super sustainable for our shop.

I hear that! Gotta run a business and that costs money! Personally I think $6800 is too much for the garbage spec on the Expert. Specialized has a lot going for it but they kind of dick you on the build.

 

[Al Boneta]

It would be super cool to work at a dealer where you pay the customer to take a bike.. Unfortunately that's not super sustainable for our shop.

It’s not just the discounts, it’s this position of entitlement that pisses me off.
We do what we can to provide our employees a living wage. They have made a decision to make less money than they could be making somewhere else while working on weekends and dealing with entitled customers that are always grinding them for a better deal.
For them getting bikes and gear for less than the general public does is one of best perks of working in bicycle retail.
If any swinging dick off the street can get the same deal, there isn’t much incentive to work in the bike business.

 

[Al Boneta]

I hear that! Gotta run a business and that costs money! Personally I think $6800 is too much for the garbage spec on the Expert. Specialized has a lot going for it but they kind of dick you on the build.

Well if all Specialized did was use an off the shelf Bosch or Shimano system and throw it on a Stumpjumper, there would be Kashima coated marketing hype all over the Levo for the same price.
If all they did was let Shimano or Bosch handle all of the warranties on motors and batteries directly, the Levo would retail for less.
I looked into doing our own house brand bike for our shop and I could just use an E8000 motor on some Chinese carbon frame and hang whatever the flavor of the month components on it for less than a Levo.
I might sell some but it wouldn’t cut into my Levos sales in the least. Just ask Giant, Haibike, and Bulls how they’ve sold against the Levo in my showroom.
I offer discounts on upgrades at the the time of purchase to help my customers out.

 

[Swan]

It’s not just the discounts, it’s this position of entitlement that pisses me off.
We do what we can to provide our employees a living wage. They have made a decision to make less money than they could be making somewhere else while working on weekends and dealing with entitled customers that are always grinding them for a better deal.
For them getting bikes and gear for less than the general public does is one of best perks of working in bicycle retail.
If any swinging dick off the street can get the same deal, there isn’t much incentive to work in the bike business.

Exactly... I am a trained Helicopter mechanic..I had years where in the summer 4 months, I made 3x my bike shop annual wage as a whole. But I couldn't get away from the bike industry. I like it too much... But a very common occurrence for me to doubt if it's really worth the pennies I make.

 

[kombos]

OP here.....appreciate all the suggestions, comments, and info here. Probably look to buy in the next week or so. Will circle back and let everyone know my experience. Thanks!

 

[johnwski]

if you can afford these high demand bikes, why expect a discount (believe me, I tried on a new model 2020).

Support your LBS, my purchase experience and follow up service has been outstanding (plug Trail Head, Cupertino CA).

 

[squeegee]

Money is money, get the best deal you can and if that happens to be a LBS then so be it. Me personally I will support the LBS as much as I can but I'm not going to buy for example a Maxxis tire for $100 that I can get for $60 online, just doesn't make sense.

I don't think anyone should "expect" or be "entitled" to a discount. I also don't think dealers should "expect" or be "entitled" to a certain profit either.

If you look around enough you'll probably find a happy medium at the right LBS, there's no harm in asking for a discount as the worst you can hear is "NO". Not asking or trying to negotiate a better deal on a multi-thousand dollar purchase just isn't wise.

I did see a previous comment about giving discounts on upgrades, that's worth something because Levos with the exception of the $-works maybe, desperately need them.

 

[kombos]

Again...thanks for all the input. Picked up a 2020 Comp today. Tried to make a deal at a handful of shops here in the Phoenix area and all wanted to stick at list price. Granted stock is low right now and it is peak winter riding season here, so that probably plays into it a lot. I wanted Storm Gray and there were only two mediums (now one) within 200 miles of me. Specialized has them on backorder.

I was able to get them to set up tubeless but no further discount. Oh well....time to play.

 

[levity]

... time to play.

You'll remember the good times long after you've forgotten what you paid