Spokane bike show

I went yesterday about noonish and here are my humble impressions:

1) The fairgrounds is a 100% better venue than downtown. Free and way more parking and just so much easier to get to.
2) Crowd was pretty big, made for slow going, but that was expected. One great thing, I saw NO unnattended kidlets running amok. I so appreciate good parenting.
3) The title said "Spokane Motorcycle Show and Sale". The term "sale" obviously means different things to different people. After last year's show, I shouldn't have been surprised. To me, "sale" means there is some stuff here that can be bought at reduced price. To the vendors, it looked like "sale" meant here is a lot of non-current bikes and accesories that we want to sell to you for retail and try to make you think you are getting a deal. I saw very few people leaving with stuff in hand.
4) By thier absences, it was clear there are less small shops than before.
5) V twins are still super popular.
6) It's getting more impossible to find anything NOT made in China.
7) Most dealers still refuse to acknowledge the relationship of riding, buying public and the Internet.

I had a good time but stuggled to find anything that really grabbed me. I bought a pair of gloves (guess where they were made?) just because the lady selling them made an effort to help me. In the end, its the endless struggle..dealers need to make a profit, buyers want a better price than retail. When I need a part or accessory I hit my local shop with the Net price and ask them to match or meet me in the middle on the price. I get a " No we need to make a profit to stay open (no arguement from me)" to some lecture about me cheating the state out of sales tax! I used to work at a Yamaha shop, preInternet times (crap how old am I???), and I was faced with magazine ads where the advertised prices were my costs. Eventually I took the stance of haggeling to some middle ground, and that most often worked enough to make some money instead of NO money. Shops need to do more of that today. Perhaps I'm wrong, these are just my general impressions as a consumer and as past motorcycle shop manager.

im part owner of a small shop and yes times are tough, we struggle to keep the doors open. with the internet people can always find a better price, but we need to realize in this economy especially, we need to support local business. it costs a little more, but if everyone would do it we would all be better off. some online prices are lower than my dealer cost!! the only thing a shop has to offer is a personal relationship with the customer. we do wed night rides when the weather is good, they have been trail rides in the past but i think we are gonna do a DS ride once a week,meet at the shop, i'll let you guys know when.

One problem I have found with stores in the puget sound area is that they don't carry what I want to buy. They only carry what Rocky wants to sell. Many don't even know what I,m talking about much less be willing to order it. When they do have what I want I prefer to buy locally.

Phil

I always check online prices before I buy, but I also always check to see what the local guys can do. If they are within a reasonable amount of the internet price I will gladly spend the money. I bought a chain from Rocky Mt that was $20 less than what I could find local for a similar strength chain, but bought both sprockets from the local guy when I went to check the prices because he was close. I do appreciate the brick and mortar businesses and try to support them as best as I can. I encourage all other riders to try to also. Troy34