[philoanna]

I have a 2011 Vaya. I have a 2009 SS Casseroll. I have a 2012 Mukluk.
I had a 2009/2010 Casseroll built with gears. I sold it to buy the Vaya.
I like Salsa bikes.

I am in the process of buying an El Mar. Even have a deposit down and picking it up Saturday MAYBE.

I see a great deal online for a titanium El Mar. Literally just a few hundred bucks more than the bike I have a deposit on.
Shop can't ship as per agreement with Salsa. Can't get Salsa on the horn.
What the ****?

I might sell all bikes and start fresh with a company that wants to do business with me.
I can't think of another company that I want to buy.
****!

 

[hillharman]

The shop can find a way to make this work that doesn't involve "them" "shipping" the bike to you. Do you know anyone in the area of the bike shop? You could probably find someone on this message board.

 

[philoanna]

That's what they told me. The shop is in Oregon and I'm in Maryland.

 

[the-one1]

Most of the big brands don't allow that kind of sale either and they don't sell direct.

 

[Harold]

Most of the big brands don't allow that kind of sale either and they don't sell direct.

Pretty typical dealer agreement type stuff. You can find a way around this if you REALLY want that bike.

If you want to go with another brand that has less restrictions, typically you either wind up with cheap mass market stuff, or with companies a good bit smaller (and possibly more expensive) than Salsa.

I like Salsa - I own two (a 2014 Vaya and a 2015 Bucksaw). But there's nuttin wrong with other brands. My next bike will probably be a small custom builder, FWIW.

 

[ScaryJerry]

What shop is it? I'm in Oregon and would be happy to help you out.

 

[philoanna]

It's Universal Cycles in Portland. I can't think of a way my wife would let me send a stranger $2000 in the hopes that it's legit. How could we work this out if you could help?
Thanks

 

[MTBeing]

I purchased a specialized off eBay that was brand new and shipped by the shop owners private eBay account. The bike was being sold as 'used' but it clearly wasn't used at all. I traced the shop from a dealer sticker on the bike to the same address the bike shipped from. There's ways around stuff like this. I know my story doesn't directly help you but I hope you get it, nonetheless.

 

[RSDSav]

Remember too, you are also causing a little havoc for your bike shop. It seems like you have a good relationship with them if you have been buying all your Salsa bikes there. I don't know if they ordered your new bike or had it already in stock but generally if its a special order and you are cancelling when you are going to pick it up in 2 days is rough on a shop. Especially if you have had a good running relationship with them. I hope you get the bike you want in the end! BTW you can't order Trek, Specialized, Giant, etc online or over the phone either. Local pick up is required on those too. It's not just Salsa.

 

[cobi]

Knew this was gonna be Universal Cycle's before I even got to the end of his post..... That's the rules. Thankfully I know a few people around Portland if I ever run into this issue!

 

[philoanna]

It's not a special order. It's a 2014 leftover. It's four hours away.
This should be much easier.

 

[Harold]

It's not a special order. It's a 2014 leftover. It's four hours away.
This should be much easier.

Only four hours? And you won't drive to pick it up? I drove over 3 one way just to DEMO a Bucksaw last fall.

 

[philoanna]

The one I have a deposit on , not the titanium. It's on the west coast. i'm in MD. I think I am giving up and picking up the one I have the deposit on.

 

[GOTA]

It's not even Salsa that came up with this policy. Quality Bike Products did this with all of their brands starting with their 2014 models. You can't get a Surly or All City or Foundry bike shipped.

I'm in Connecticut and was able to order my 2013 Colossal from a shop in Michigan. They had 2014 models but couldn't ship them. The is the same policy that Giant, Specialized, Trek, Cannondale and most others have. They want to protect their dealers from the internet shops. I get it but what bugs me is that Salsa doesn't have the dealer network those other guys have. If you have an issue with the 1 Salsa shop in the area it's a difficult to find another reasonably close. If I don't like the local Specialized dealer there's 10 others I can go to

 

[rallyrcr]

Simplest solution would be to find someone local to facilitate the purchase; give the Portland shop a cc over the phone and have someone pick it up and ship it. I see this happen and work regularly on another forum I frequent.
I guess the bbig issue would be the obvious... Finding someone you could trust to do it for you.
But, if you really want the bike......


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Flyin_W]

Went through this last month, almost bought another Kona, and told Salsa to kiss my sweaty (( o )).

Bike that I wanted was not in stock @ QBP, and the closest local dealer is 1+ hours away without traffic.
For these reasons I was able to get the bike shipped. If your LBS is a fuucktard what law says you must buy from them?
Protected territories, are worthless, and the USA's extra layer of distribution are biting them in the butt.

 

[philoanna]

Update
I apologize for my inappropriate language in my original post. Thank you for censoring.
I drove all day yesterday (four+ hours each way) to pick up my 2014 El Mar. I love it. Case closed.
Still no response from Salsa. I get protecting the small business owner. I really do. But in some cases the costumer should be looked after also. Plus, in the end, I was going to spend more money for the bike that could not be shipped, so the industry was going to get more money.
Anyway, picked my wife up a nice deal on a Cannondale while there, so it really made the hassle worthwhile.

 

[Harold]

The US distribution model/protected territories thing is a royal pain, I'll agree.

Just spent the day hanging out at NAHBS. Yeah, my next bike is coming from a custom builder. Talked to a bunch of the guys who do the welding and design and loved seeing the innovation those guys do out of their garages and basements.

 

[2:01]

How could we work this out if you could help?
Thanks

I know you already picked up your bike, but safe long-distance transactions can easily be accomplished by using Paypal. Idea is the same as buying from the classifieds here.

 

[pebbles]

I had a similar problem. 6 months ago while looking for a 2015 El Mar SS the closest shop was 5 hours away. I called Salsa and explained my situation. A QBP rep was there at the time of my call. I actually heard the guy say he could send one to my local shop as a one time deal.

At the end of the call it was understood he would call the local shop to get things going. I was very happy to say the least. So a couple weeks go by. My shop calls and leaves messages directly to the guy at QBP. No reply. So I call and leave a message and he finally contacts the shop. I'm being patient, but think WTF push some keys and get the bike here.

Fast forward 5 months. QBP guy is like "I'll send the bike when the shop is a QBP dealer." Surely this should take only a couple weeks I thought. Drop my the local shop and they say it's been a PITA getting vetted for QBP. He wanted to be a QBP dealer at the beginning of this fiasco.

So now it has been 6 months with crickets from QBP. I'm looking at my bike on the Salsa website and decide to look at the dealer finder. WTH, there is a Salsa dealer an hour away that wasn't there when I looked before and they can get my bike in a couple days! I call Salsa and tell them the whole deal, they say we will get back to me. Yeah, right.

I literally hang up the phone and get in my car and I get a call. I'm excited because I thought it would be weeks. The gentleman on the phone was the same and he says he talked to QBP and they say the only way for me to get the bike is if the local shop becomes a Salsa dealer. This is not what I was led to believe and let him know this without yelling, barely. Salsa man is very apologetic, but has hands tied.

Go to my local shop and tell him I have to get the bike elsewhere. He understands then tells me he won't be using QBP because of all the BS he got on his end.

Good news is I have the bike and love it! I have no ill will towards Salsa. Each time I called it was professional and I could tell they care for their customers.

So, in summation, QBP can GFThemselves>