CTC Shop vs Wiggle

[Mick F]

CTC Shop is run by Wiggle.

Until this moment, I thought that they were one and the same thing except CTC members usually get some discount via CTC Shop.

I'm looking at helmets and using Google to find info and outlets, and I find that CTC Shop and Wiggle are NOT the same thing. The CTC Shop doesn't have such a wide range as Wiggle when it comes to helmets.

WHY?

Look at this screen shot. Wiggle on the left, CTC Shop on the right.

What other products are different I wonder?
Has anyone else noticed this anomaly?

[meic]

I guess there are certain items and brands that Wiggle do not wish to give a discount (or donation to CTC) on.

[karlt]

Or they know how much the CTC bunch hate helmets.

[661-Pete]

This thread is in danger of being de-moted to the h****t section, but I'll add this: if I ever chose to buy another lid, I'd want to try it on in the shop. No mail order for me! Same applies to shoes.

[Mick F]

It's not just helmets ....................

Wiggle on the left, CTC Shop on the right.
Note the numbers of BBs, Chainrings, Chains, and Chainsets.

It must be that some things, Wiggle doesn't want to sell to CTC members because of the discount.

Sounds a bit underhand to me.
As far as I was aware, and no doubt all of us thought, that CTC Shop and Wiggle were one and the same thing.

Obviously not, so from now on, I'll be looking at the Wiggle site first, then going to CTC Shop to see if they sell it at a discount. If not, I'll be emailing them to ask.

[Malaconotus]

I would imagine this is because some manufacturers take a very dim view of their product being discounted.

[Mick F]

Yep.
Back in the olden days, you could go into a shop which was patronised by a club and by showing a membership card, you got a discount off your bill.

[ANTONISH]

I can remember in the days of retail price maintenance, "trading in" used tubulars to get a discount on new ones.

[Aikon]

Bit like Amazon, I searched for an item at the weekend, rrp £250, UK Amazon price £200 odd, Amazon.de was €145, both stocked and shipped by Amazon.

[Keith]

Huh. Never mind whether it's called the CTC Shop or Waggle. Support your local bike shop, or a good touring specialist. Wiggle's neither! I had a whinge about this on the forum last year. No telephone number, customer support by email only, no collection facility even if you live in Portsmouth, so you have to place orders on line. They don't sell any touring bikes, either.

I heard all the reasons why we've chummed up with them, but I for one, won't buy anything from them, there are much better real shops around the country (not just web sites that sell bikes and bits) and I want them to stay in business! They've never let me down.

Grumpy old ***.

[rabmania]

Huh. Never mind whether it's called the CTC Shop or Waggle. Support your local bike shop, or a good touring specialist. Wiggle's neither! I had a whinge about this on the forum last year. No telephone number, customer support by email only, no collection facility even if you live in Portsmouth, so you have to place orders on line. They don't sell any touring bikes, either.

I heard all the reasons why we've chummed up with them, but I for one, won't buy anything from them, there are much better real shops around the country (not just web sites that sell bikes and bits) and I want them to stay in business! They've never let me down.

Grumpy old ***.

+1, despite the pain caused by the LBS price of £15 for SPDs I saw for £6 online.

[jb]

At one time the CTC shop used to specialize in hard to get touring specific items from abroad or little known companies at home especially if it had been reviewed in the mag.(I got my Nordict 2000 dynamo long before it was available in this country), they also used to get touring specific clothing manufactured.

Whilst the internet has largely made everything available to members, as a club shop it could still preform a function of herding the best practical commuting and touring gear into one place unfortunately its been made into more of a money spinner than a club service.

[Mark1978]

Strange! I get a 12% discount on Wiggle through British Cycling, I assume CTC is the same?

However since I've bought something using my discount code I now automatically get the discount applied as a 'platinum customer', even by going straight to the Wiggle site.

[LondonBikeCommuter]

some manufacturers take a very dim view of their product being discounted.

The Law takes an even dimmer view of retail price maintanence.

[Mark1978]

Sure, but it still goes on. Try getting a new iPad at a discounted price, for example. Whereas there are other products - groupset parts for example, where you'd be mug to pay anything close to the RRP.