Will selling ebikes sink Menards?

[Jason27]

Hi everyone.

I built my own ebike like many of you have. I am seeing these emoto ebikes being sold at Menards and then I wonder. Who is going to fix these them when they break?

We all know ebikes have to be repaired at some point. Will Menards have employees dedicated to fixing them? Or just leave customers stranded?

Best Buy stopped selling ebikes because they lost money due to returns. Menards is not in the same fiscal shape Best Buy is in. This could ruin them.

What do you guys think. Will Menards lose money selling ebikes?

 

[nuevomexicano]

Maybe they'll be a huge hit and start a new revolution selling hundreds of thousands of bikes. Probably not. But Menard's is going to sell a few thousand ebikes, say 3 to 6 per store, at worst. Menard's is not going to sink even if every single one of those specimens of a very, very minor product line are returned defective. Menard's has sold a lot of low budget, cheaply made products from power tools to video game systems. Many of those have ended up broken (I've purchased my fair share over the years) and Menard's never employed a special workforce to repair those products nor went out of business because of them.

The Best Buy comparison really doesn't fit for a direct analysis. Best Buy was never going to be an ebike powerhouse since its business model for them was the kind of tripe popular circa the tech boom of 1998. It was genuine news that Best Buy was going to sell ebikes since it was something of an attempt to brand them as electronics rather than sporting goods and an attempt to change Best Buy itself. It was surprising to many to think of an ebike or a Brammo or even a regular pedal bike at one of their stores. Menard's is a very different kind of store and ebikes fit into their stock in a very different way than they were part of the Best Buy concept. Menard's started as more hardware store than department store, but they long ago diversified their selection of products to allow for a fairly quirky array of specialty items. Menard's has a reputation of selling a wide enough range of stuff, so no one wandering through their store is shocked to find an ebike, much less a pedal bike, on display. I don't live where there's a Menard's, but my father does. He mentioned seeing an ebike for sale there not as a surprising turn of events, but as a statement that the store had decided on the Walmart model for ebikes. Maybe Walmart is a better comparison.

 

[Lock]

Maybe Walmart is a better comparison.

Or perhaps Canadian Tire, where many ebikes are broken before they EVen leave the store:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9482&start=56

 

[nuevomexicano]

Maybe Walmart is a better comparison.

Or perhaps Canadian Tire, where many ebikes are broken before they EVen leave the store:
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9482&start=56

So neither Canadian Tire nor Walmart nor Kmart have gone out of business selling poorly assembled bicycles.

 

[johnrobholmes]

They have enough leverage to charge back the bike companies instead of eating it themselves. That is why many products now have large labels to ensure people call the manufacturer with problems instead of just returning it to wally world.

 

[nuevomexicano]

They have enough leverage to charge back the bike companies instead of eating it themselves. That is why many products now have large labels to ensure people call the manufacturer with problems instead of just returning it to wally world.

The Kmart near me actually sells refurbished bikes alongside new bikes. They are clearly labeled as such and priced about 50% less than retail. Some are decent looking, but many are still pricey even at that discount for their rough shape. It appears that an outside company is paid to get them back on the road with as little work as possible and rust, scratches, dents and mis-matched parts are par for the course.

Not every Kmart in my town sells these bikes. Maybe its a demographic decision based on the fact that the one near me is in one of the poorer areas of town.

 

[dogman dan]

Nowdays, they only cover the thing a set time period. After that, it's up to you to get the thing to the nearest warranty service provider. Often 30-90 days. Might say 14 days in the fine print for ebikes. :lol: Some items are boot it up once, you own it.

This issue is, btw, one of the reasons for the slow adoption of lithium. They could count on few problems with lead batteries they couldn't blame on the customer. Charger never worked and you ran the battery too low? Here's your new charger, f off on the batteries.

 

[auraslip]

When I worked at wally world, we sold the izips. The batteries were hooked up to the floor models. People would turn them on and ride them around. Undoubtedly all the batteries were ruined before they were sold.

 

[dogman dan]

Exactly what I told the guy at Lowes, selling me my lawnmower. A discounted floor model from last year, I insisted that he discount it the cost of replacement batteries. Turned out, the on off key was missing, so the batts were only lightly browned, not toast. They still were lame though, and I'm glad they were free.

 

[auraslip]

I just ran into a mexican lady on a pep boys electric bike. Man it was dorky looking with it's "BLUE LIGHTING" decals. She got it on sale for $129!!! Of course the battery lasted two months. And now... she rides it for exercise.. DD hub drag = hard work I guess.

Any ways, it had the battery behind the seat post design, and what looked like an Aeotma hub with the standard throttles and brakes. For $129 she got a hell of a deal. I don't think she's going to take me on my offer to replace the battery pack though

 

[Jason27]

Im curious to know what Best Buy did with the bikes that were returned because of motor or battery problems?

Did they just ship them back to China or are there in a giant warehouse somewhere?