Is This Suspicious?

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I am considering a bike from a local bike shop, so I e-mailed a few. So far, one has responded, and I've been having a conversation with that one. After learning a thing or two about bikes, I e- mailed that one with some more questions. The person that's been e-mailing me suddenly wants me to either call or show up to get my questions answered- but will not tell me why. I am paranoid that they want me to either call or show up so they can rip me off without me having evidence of it, whereas I would have evidence if they answered me via e-mail. Should I tell them that if I show up, I'll be bringing a voice recorder, so they may as well just e-mail me? (I really do have a voice recorder.) Or would it be more fun to surprise them with a voice recorder? =D I do not want to waste minutes on my phone, and it would probably be difficult to use a voice recorder on a phone. (My phone is a crappy Motorola Tracphone, so I doubt it has its own recorder.)

Salespeople seem to generally prefer face-to-face meetings so that they can lay on the pressure and close the sale immediately. While this is not necessarily a rip-off, it is a good idea to leave the checkbook at home, and sign nothing until you've had time to think it over.

Well of course I'm not going to buy from them before I even hear back from the other shops- bike shops are extremely expensive, and I'm not made of money.

There is nothing wrong in going to the shops to look over the bikes, and ask questions once you are there. You may even think of more questions to ask that way, while actually looking at the bikes. But I do agree with Fnord. Leave the check book at home, and after they have helped you with your questions, tell the sales people at each shop that you will have to think it over and sleep on it.

You are under no obligation to buy something when you go shopping. Part of the experience is to gather info, part of it is to just enjoy browsing, and part of it is to buy stuff. But if you don't see something you want or it costs too much money, they can't make you buy anything, unless you are a spineless wuss.

When I am shopping in department stores, I sometimes enjoy browsing in the jewelry department. I like looking at the jewelry, but I never buy any. I don't want to spend the money on something I rarely wear, and I do already own a few pieces that I can wear if I feel I need to. But window shopping at the jewelry counters is fun and free.

So, you can browse the bike shops all you want, to get the info you need to make an informed purchase. You don't need a voice recorder for that. Of course the sales people will try to pressure you into a sale. They don't get paid much, and have to close a sale to earn a commision. However, you have no obligation to help boost their pay by buying something.

But why are they suddenly requiring me to show up just to get a few questions answered, when they have been e-mailing me since Saturday morning? It's not like this is the first response I've gotten from them, or that they do all their advising face-to-face. That is why I am suspicious. My previous questions were mostly about what kinds of accessories they sold. The questions they are refusing to answer over e-mail are more educated questions about the actual bikes. Why can't they answer those questions over e-mail? The only difference between e-mail and my showing up is I will not have evidence if I show up (unless I have my voice recorder). This is why I am suspicious. As far as browsing, what the bikes look like, etc.: not only do I not care what my bike looks like, but I'll picking it up in person, so I'm going to see it at some point anyway. They're not going to get a closed sale out of me by acting suspicious.

I think you're being a bit paranoid. They probably want you to come so that you can try the bike out (usually in the parking lot) for fit and so that they can demonstrate the differences in the shifting and braking mechanisms They don't want to sell you a bike that doesn't work for you any more than you want to buy one that doesn't work for you, because that just leads to problems on both sides. Besides, you were going to have to go in and actually try the bike out at some point--surely you wouldn't want to purchase a bike you had never even laid eyes on. Will they try to sell you a bike? Of course. They're salesmen. That's their job. Not making an uninformed, impulsive purchase is yours.

What are you saying?

They just don't want to spend the time answering questions that most likely will not lead to a sale for their store.

I think what people here are failing to understand is that the reason I'm being paranoid is that people, particularly salespeople LIE! If they lie to me, and I spend hundreds of dollars on a bike and necessary accessories, I'm obviously going to need evidence that they ripped me off! The only way to get evidence is via e-mail or voice recorder- which the salespeople know! Therefore, how can I be sure they're honest people who just prefer to meet me face to face? After all, if I'm asking a ton of questions (which I did), then there's a chance I may buy from them. Why are they suddenly refusing to answer my questions over e-mail?

Well they're not going to get a sale out of me by not answering my questions, so if that's their logic, they're dumb.

I'm saying that no one can make you do anything. Purchasing or not purchasing a bike is your decision. While most of the people I have known who work at bike shops are avid cyclists who want to promote the sport and encourage more people to ride, the responsibility to pick the right bike for you is yours, not theirs. If you feel they have the right bike for you, buy it. If they don't, go elsewhere. They probably wouldn't try to mislead you, for the reason I already mentioned, but it's your responsibility to go knowing what you are looking for so that you can't be mislead. These arn't auto shop mechanics looking to make a fast buck by tricking someone into buying something just because it's more instantly profitable. Don't be so suspicious and worried!

Actually, most people who work in cycle shops are geeks that would wear out any aspie talking about their interest

This! If they answer all your questions, then what's to stop you just buying the same bike on ebay for cheaper? I think it might be polite to look in person at their bikes, just to show you are considering buying from them.

Otherwise there are probably forums where many of your questions can be answered by people who have the time and aren't being pressurised to meet sales targets.

My thing is how do I know they have the right bike for me, unless they're willing to put it in writing/e-mail? For the record, I also e-mailed other local shops, and currently await their responses. The only reason I'm even considering a bike is I need a method of transportation. These bikes cost hundreds upon hundreds of dollars, so if I get ripped off and have no evidence that they ripped me off because they only answered so many of my questions via e-mail, I can't get my money back. If I can't get my money back, it's going to be even longer before I can get a method of transportation. I'm not going to Wal-Mart or Target, because mass produced, one-stop shop bikes are crap.

This is a very good point, I did not think about this. Thank you.

First, they don't have any reason to lie to you. If you buy a bike you are unhappy with because it does not perform the way they said it would, you are going to be an unhappy customer and a pain in the a** and they don't want that. It wastes their time, potentially wastes their money if they feel that they should take the bike back, and can harm their reputation. Second, proving that they mislead you outside of outright lying to you is difficult to impossible. If they really want to play that way, there are a million ways around a customers complaint that a product does not perform like it is supposed to, and generally they are going to fall back on operator error. So having all the documentation in the world probably won't matter a hill of beans unless they outright lie to you, and even then, they have no real obligation to take the bike back unless it's provided for in their return policy. If they have a return policy that allows for the return of the bike within a certain amount of time, it doesn't matter why you want to return it , and all this documentation is unnecessary. If the return is dependant on manufacturer defect, unless you can prove the bike is actually defective, they arn't going to take it back, and it won't matter who told you what. Third, I think you are missing the point of what I said. If you go in as a well informed buyer, your chances of getting what you want and nothing else are excellent. Know what you want, what the specs should be, accept nothing else, and buy yourself a bike! And seriously, people in bike shops are really not the type to want to screw you, as a general rule.