Cycling UK Forum

Whenever I buy new Campagnolo components they come nicely package in a Campag box and with an instruction booklet saying how to fit and maintain.
Shimano parts come in a plastic bag with a fold out sheet containing fitting instructions.
Are Shimano more environmentally friendly than Campag or do they just want to cut costs.

The same Shimano parts can also come in a nice cardboard box, if you buy them somewhere (a bit more expensive) else.

I'm saying nowt!

beardy wrote:The same Shimano parts can also come in a nice cardboard box, if you buy them somewhere (a bit more expensive) else.

Dunno. It's happened with Campag and Shimano parts I've bought from the same place at the same time, Ultegra and Athena, both occupying a similar price point and neither particularly cheap as bike bits go.

I have had 105 hubs, XT hubs, levers and cantis, UN55 BBs, A520 pedals, Deore dérailleurs in nice presentation boxes from some places and in bags from others.

retail vs oem..

[XAP]Bob wrote:retail vs oem..

Yes i think you are right.

Or what some folk call "grey imports" i think.

In a different market sector i well remember some marketing manager ranting to me about grey imports.

But when i asked him if the bits were genuine and the same quality stuff he went kind of quiet.

For grey imports are of course just perfectly reasonable folks finding ways round their price-fixing/differential pricing.

[XAP]Bob wrote:retail vs oem..

A friend was after some clipless pedals and shoes and bought the shoes from Evans but they didn't have the OEM pedals in the shop so paid in the shop and had them sent to home. The pedals arrived in a Shimano box, not a plastic bag.

Sweep wrote:

[XAP]Bob wrote:retail vs oem..

Yes i think you are right.

Or what some folk call "grey imports" i think.

In a different market sector i well remember some marketing manager ranting to me about grey imports.

But when i asked him if the bits were genuine and the same quality stuff he went kind of quiet.

For grey imports are of course just perfectly reasonable folks finding ways round their price-fixing/differential pricing.

Yep agreed,and does it really matter if they come in nicely logoed multifold box or not?
I've had parts in both but prefer them in a plastic bag,so I don't have to fill the paper bin up with cardboard which saves on energy used to recycle it.
People are always complaining about too much packaging,particularly plastics and quite right too.
If the parts are packaged well enough for transport that all that matters isn't it?

reohn2 wrote:If the parts are packaged well enough for transport that all that matters isn't it?

That rather depends whether or not you are a small trader whose business is being wrecked because the public can buy "grey imports" at about the price you can buy retail packaged goods from the wholesaler.

531colin wrote:

reohn2 wrote:If the parts are packaged well enough for transport that all that matters isn't it?

That rather depends whether or not you are a small trader whose business is being wrecked because the public can buy "grey imports" at about the price you can buy retail packaged goods from the wholesaler.

Makes not a jot of difference regarding the packaging that R2's referring to. Maybe it 'looks nicer' for the small trader to have fancy packages on the shelf, but grey importation cutting out small traders and levels of waste associated with a product are seperate matters. If you want to fill your bin, and care about how pretty the item looks for the time it takes to get it home and open it up, then fine, but less clutter, waste and cost are more important to some.

It is perhaps a bit shallow and cynical of me, but as much as I like the idea of small independents, trying to legislate or motivate against using other markets reeks of protectionism and is going down a road that is doomed. Small traders really need to find a niche or other income stream as they cannot rely on the goodwill and laziness of customers alone. It is an emotive topic as we all love such businesses, but more of us end up buying from the other sources when the push comes to the shove.

531colin wrote:

reohn2 wrote:If the parts are packaged well enough for transport that all that matters isn't it?

That rather depends whether or not you are a small trader whose business is being wrecked because the public can buy "grey imports" at about the price you can buy retail packaged goods from the wholesaler.

I was speaking from an ecological POV but yes if you're,as a small business,being ruined by big business politricks I've every sympathy.The answer is a level playing field,something that capitalism isn't particularly fond of.
So then if you can't bet 'em join 'em which perpetuates the problem and so the capitalist system goes.

OTOH,my LBS had his Colnago franchise taken from him because he was selling them cheaper than anyone else,the big boys were complaining even though he was selling more than they were,perhaps collectively he wasn't !

I think almost all the Shimano products I've bought have been packaged in the Shimano blue boxes, with instructions on a folded sheet of paper. The only ones that I recall weren't were a rear derailleur, but that was from eBay and some shift levers from Ribble Cycles.

mrjemm wrote:

531colin wrote:

reohn2 wrote:If the parts are packaged well enough for transport that all that matters isn't it?

That rather depends whether or not you are a small trader whose business is being wrecked because the public can buy "grey imports" at about the price you can buy retail packaged goods from the wholesaler.

Makes not a jot of difference regarding the packaging that R2's referring to. Maybe it 'looks nicer' for the small trader to have fancy packages on the shelf, but grey importation cutting out small traders and levels of waste associated with a product are seperate matters. If you want to fill your bin, and care about how pretty the item looks for the time it takes to get it home and open it up, then fine, but less clutter, waste and cost are more important to some.

...........

I'd much rather cardboard packaging was used rather than plastic. Disposal is much easy - most plastic eventually ends in landfill or littering the seas and land.

Tis true, but there is biodegradable plastic out there. Also, often things are in plastic inside cardboard inside plastic, and then put into a plastic bag, or if delivered wrapped in bubble wrap and polystyrene and then in another box, usually with an A5 document sleeve on the outside also.

Guess I am just so used to mega excessive plastic wrap from the supermarkets every time I buy veg. I went between 3 supermarkets yesterday (not out of route, so not inconvenient/wasted fuel (in car)) due to certain products in unnecessary packaging that I knew I could get unwrapped elsewhere.