Chain Reaction Cycles and Wiggle No Longer Taking International Orders

2ndeffort on 12/12/2023 - 23:06

Just tried to add something to my cart at Wiggle and received a warning screen that they are only taking UK orders, no International orders. Flipped over to their sister site at Chain reaction, same deal over there. I saw the press articles that they were in trouble but here is the manifestation I guess. Doesn't seem that long ago that they were a runaway success and were supposed to be the death of the cycling industry. I remember when Ribble drew right back to mainly their bikes, ProBikeKit is still around but doesn't seem to have much stock anymore, wondering where to feed my cycling bargain addiction with (don't say local bike shop, I understand the reasons)

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Wiggle UK
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Comments

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 12/12/2023 - 23:11

    Wiggle been going backwards for some time, mediocre pricing and reduced range. Try Pushys or Bikebug. Both have been reliable for me. Bikeinn has also been good price-wise, but shipping can be a bit pricey.

    • 2ndeffort on 12/12/2023 - 23:46
      +4

      Yep Ive bought plenty from Bikebug and Pushys. Since they merged I've noticed Bargains dry up. The bi-annual Pushy's sales that used to be great for helmets and shoes are nothing like they used to be. BikeInn can sometimes be OK and occasionally there's a bargain on Amazon of all places but otherwise the distributors with their Australia Tax seem to have waited everyone else out.

    • MS Paint on 12/12/2023 - 23:46
      +2

      That makes cadence. Cheers

  • Drakesy on 12/12/2023 - 23:17
    +2

    I mean i wouldn't like to buy from someone that was insolvent

    Probably for the better.
    Probikekit and CRC only survived because they could
    a) Dodge the GST on goods which undercut the bike shops
    b) Could grey import per sae and get around the Australian wholesalers who liked to put their own excessive margins on everything (looking at you Shimano)

    I used them multiple times for bike builds/fitouts and they were terrific.

    They did very well in the day but unfortunately they just became too big, rode the post GFC wave and now we're back into a worldwide recession. Oh and China started wholesaling a lot of the parts direct.

    As @Dashcam AKA Rolts said, try Pushys or Bikebug, both are Australian and both are grey importing.

  • jv on 13/12/2023 - 00:25
    +1

    Wiggle No Longer Taking International Orders

    😲

  • brotherfranciz on 13/12/2023 - 00:36
    +2

    I have the same temptations (I was a platinum member at Wiggle before they made the silly website changes), but I think it's actually been a blessing in disguise for me, as I've managed to really cut back on my spending in this economy!

    I've spent some money at Pushys on exceptional bargains, but otherwise have waited longer to decide than I usually would, which is enough for me to get over the temptations (or I post the deal on Ozbargain so it gets sold out before I succumb…).

    The latest website I have stumbled across but have not used yet is bikechain.com.au. There's a discount code 'OCEAN20' that gives you 20% off your first order ($100 minimum spend, cannot be combined with other offers/promos, offer ends 24/12/2023 11.59PM AEDT). I was looking through their website and they are having a "12 days of Christmas" special with the previous item being an aeroe Spider Rear Rack with a free 12L dry bag (valued at $109), but the clock just ticked past midnight and now it's just a Supacaz cap… So thanks to my good (bad?) timing, I've saved myself spending $239 on a rear rack that I didn't need!

    • sheikyerbouti on 18/12/2023 - 11:52

      Bikechain looks like Bikeexchange

  • Gdsamp on 13/12/2023 - 11:19

    coping immensely

  • Euphemistic on 13/12/2023 - 12:07

    Haven’t bought anything from either in a very long time. Almost exclusively pushys these days, but I don’t get as much stuff as I used to.

    They heyday of massive savings from online stores has passed. They’ve got enough market share now they don’t need to discount.

    Wiggle /CRC got too big for their britches and I suspect the middle managers started looking for ways to maximise profit rather than serve customers better.

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 14/12/2023 - 09:56

      Wiggle's CS went down the toilet as well. Had previously bought dhb short finger road gloves. They were really good value, well made. Ordered replacements, same brand, model, size. The new ones were way off in sizing.
      Return process was a nightmare. First up the CSO refused refund as I had opened the pack. Claimed it was my fault as I had obviously ordered the wrong size. Told them to check the order details and my order history, it was a repeat order.

      Pointed out I ordered from the Australian site and was covered by Australian consumer laws. He agreed to refund upon return despite opened packaging.

      I had to print a prepaid return label. Their T&C said that this would be refunded with the purchase price on receipt of the items.

      Was refunded, but not for the prepaid postage label from their system. CSO said couldn't refund as i hadn't sent a tax invoice for the payment of the return label.

      I complained, as the label had come from their system and didn't produce a tax invoice at my end. Eventually refunded.

      I left a review on the item warning that the sizing was way off. Went from being a gold member to purchasing very little due to CS, pricing and range no longer being what it had been.

      • Euphemistic on 14/12/2023 - 12:31

        When Chain Reaction first appeared on the scene I did a bunch of orders with mates to get free shipping. Spent a small fortune in those first couple of years. Haven’t ordered anything from them in probably the last 7-8years. Prices not so good, range not there, geo-blocking some products etc.

        • DashCam AKA Rolts on 14/12/2023 - 14:24

          Apart from Wiggle's initially great pricing, free shipping used to be easy - $80 (about 50 quid). I used to get my Conti tyres + tubes shipped for the price of one tyre and tube locally.
          Also built a single gear bike; Shimano Ultegra cranks, brakes, cables, Cane Creek levers, Surly adaptor kit, bar tape all great prices from Wiggle.
          Still riding in dhb bib nicks.
          Haven't bought anything from them or CR for 18months or so now.

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