Uncommon Cents

As I’ve recounted here in the past, one of my hobbies is bicycling. I’ve already told the story of how I’ve compared the price of bicycle inner tubes for a mail order vendor (Performance) versus a local vendor. Now that I’ve had my annual horrible bike ride where I ended up with multiple punctures and riding a couple of miles with a flat rear tire, I’m prepared to bite the bullet and get some new bike stuff.

In addition to the tubes, I could really use some new clothing; I wear a pair of cycling shorts every day and while I have a nice selection of jerseys, some of them are 20 years old or older, so getting a bit more clothing would be nice.

While I was considering an order this weekend, I decided to check out the price on a new bike jersey and some shorts at my local bike shop (which, really, I would like to support). The difference in price, however, was stunning, and there was no way I could justify buying these items locally.

Low end cycling shorts–

Performance price: $19.99 ($15 if I was a medium instead of a large!)
Local price: $38.00

Low end sleeveless cycling jersey with front zipper and rear pockets–

Performance price: $14.99
Local price: $55.00

Tax on the local prices and shipping and an Internet discount coupon code on the Performance items are not factored in; those come out to be about a wash. Keep in mind these aren’t totally apples to apples comparisons; the jersey available locally is a name brand rather than Performance’s house brand and is more decorative, for instance. But one of the things I’ve learned on the journey through frugality is that I don’t necessarily need the best stuff; I like to have nice stuff, and this is nice enough. It’s also affordable enough. So while I’d love to support my local bike shop more, I have to support my bank accounts and pocketbook first, and having an option like a mail order vendor helps me do that.

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