Wiggle are being Nobs

• OEM stock and stock from non UK distributors.
  
• Price matching 'race to the bottom'
  
• Selling for no profit because people are more likely to buy products with higher margins at the same time, or in the future
  
• enormous volume
  
• less risk involved in bulk orders due to storage
  
  

Take your pick.

Cheers M_V and King_Saxlingham. Selling for no/minimal profit or repeat business makes sense as an explanation, particularly given Wiggle’s wide product offering. Would the assumption ergo be that wiggle makes minimal profit or even a loss on new Shimano product lines, when they’re priced aggressively?

Also, although I might have misunderstood something at some point or perhaps I’m missing something obvious, isn’t madison the UK distributor for Shimano? How can a retailer buy larger volumes of this season’s stock than the national trade stockist?

isn’t madison the UK distributor for Shimano?

Yes, but what they distribute to bike shops is retail packed components. Wiggle, and all the other big online stores, buy OEM components which come in poly bags, not nice cardboard boxes. Shimano sells OEM gear at a much lower price than retail boxed gear, and the OEM customers also avoid having to provide a living for a local wholesaler (e.g. Madison)

In the case of a big OEM, the components don't have to pass through any intermediaries, they are drop-shipped from the component factory to the OEM's assembly facility, whether it's a real one like Giant or an imaginary one like an internet store's fulfilment warehouse.

Ah I see. Thanks for clarifying, Gbj_tester.

Needed a new lock. Went on Wiggle. The lock I liked the look of, the Hiplock DX, was listed as £79.99.

As I was pondering it, an Amazon pop up appeared on my screen. The self same diamond rated lock was on sale for £47 with free next day delivery.

For £30 saving it was hard not to add to Bezos's billions.

How can Wiggle justify £30 on top plus extra for delivery?

Bezos is buying at scale

Are wiggle not?

Not at the same scale probably.

And not selling at the same scale either so they will be looking to make a decent margin on each sale where Amazon is happy to make pennies.

As for delivery, Amazon now have their own couriers right? Who are probably horrendously overworked and under paid…

probably

There's no probably about it

Not sure Hermes couriers are treated significantly better

They vary in the ways in which the drivers are treated like shit, but not much in the degree.

By proxy Evri.

I got delivery window notice at 11am. Window 10am - 12noon

Courier had phoned me at 10.40 to ask if I was in. I wasn't. Hoping parcel is in the stash place when I get home.

This is the second attempt, first parcel was recalled by Wiggle a week after first delivery attempt with notification after the event was followed by radio silence. Nobs.

Kinda hoping both parcels end up being delivered to me, fuck em if that's the outcome they're not getting one back without putting some effort in.

2nd box arrived today, followed by this email. Fuckers can fetch it I'm putting zero effort in from here.

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Update: advised me there'll be a need for an upto 12hr wait for Yodel to collect the duplicate parcel one day next week from my home address.

I've asked them to give me a 2hr collection window or find another way.

Looks like my wheels I've ordered from Wiggle has gotten lost. Wiggle says Yodel has collected the item, Yodel say they're still waiting for Wiggle to pack ready for collection. All the while, I've been refunded but the wheels are no longer in stock so I can't just buy it again. Shame as it was their audax wheels with dynamo.

My Wiggle order arrived today. 3 tyres, (2 ordered), some gloves (as ordered), and a Hope oval mtb chainring thing (definitely not ordered). My bank account confirms I’ve only been charged for what I actually ordered.

Some time on their web chat reveals they are as baffled as I am, but they’ve offered to refund my postage and give me a £20 voucher to return the chainring and extra tyre. Very odd.

Evri again but not via Wiggle tbh, driver just cba today I guess.

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I had that recently with a Wiggle order. Wiggle gave me a refund after a week, three weeks later Evri sent me an email saying my 'next day delivery' package was ready for collection. Needless to say, I won't be collecting it.

Collect+ worked a dream first time I used it.

Same collection shop, 2 failures in the last week, today's didn't even make it to being despatched.

It has to be taking more effort to get it wrong than to do it right it this point. I just want the fucking tyres I've paid for for fucks sake.

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Lol

Turns out Yodel say it was too big & heavy to deliver via collect+.

That'd be 2 tyres & a disc rotor, not a Tungsten Framed Cargo bike.

Out of the frying pan of Yodel, into the fire of Evri. Wish me luck.

No longer free returns for Wiggle? Used to do the Asda dropoff thing which was free but that's no longer an option. It's only a pair of glove liners so could definitely post back cheaper than this, grr.

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Anyone tried using Live Chat to raise a complaint? Had an order arrive incomplete, but cannot get the Live Chat to open in any internet browser. Raised two online requests via their form and got radio silence, does anyone know of an alternative way to get some action?

No longer free returns for Wiggle?

Yeah, I got stung by this recently.

They still do free returns if you subscribe to their £10 a year thing.

I think it’s fair enough.