Do you need a bikepacking store?

[speedycog]

I'm hoping you can help me out with a little market research regarding a potential bikepacking store I'm building. I know my own pain points in an attempt to acquire gear, but I'd like to validate those ideas with your vast experience.

Personally, as I get more into the bikepacking scene, I continue run into a pain points regarding gear, and I'm guessing others have run into the same problems. What do I buy? Where do I get it? and What are the best things to get? (MTB stores cater to short-format-racing and backpacking stores cater to, not surprisingly, backpackers).

I keep finding myself wishing for a one-stop bikepacking shop that caters solely to bikepacking/endurance bike racing. The gear sold will be trail-vetted and high quality. The customer service will be staffed by experienced bikepackers who can point customers to the right gear for their needs and budget.

Right now I'm in the process of building the site, finding vendors and getting them on-board. Next steps are to raise a bit of capital and really launch this.

But....before I pull the trigger, I'm trying to gauge interest: If I build a bikepacking store, will people come?

I've put together a little 8-question survey to help me validate my theory.

Find the survey here: http://d.pr/zeK3

Thanks for helping out!

—Andrew

[pedalad]

fyi - survey didn't work when i tried to submit.

i think a bikepacking store with cool, knowledgeable people and a wide selection of good quality products could provide a lot of value. but i also think your retail offerings will have a great deal of overlap with traditional outdoor gear shops and LBSs. having worked in those industries, i think it's tough out there. as much as i'd like to run a shop, I don't want to run a shop. you gotta be legit and have a good solid community behind you.

besides, every day it seems like you are competing with more and more people. and the consumer has grown spoiled in this digital age. how many of us are guilty of looking up items on google shopping in a store before you buy to see if you're getting the "best" deal. i see it all the time. people come in, look and feel around and go home and order it online for less. (plus no tax and free shipping.) it's a race to zero. your prices will never be low enough for a lot of people.

but if you think about each customer that comes in, have a selection of products for every inquiry imaginable. customer: "i'm trying to figure out a good way to attach my sleep roll under my handlebars?" show him the works, all the possible options. have straps of all kinds of sizes, have a few harness options, etc etc. encourage people to bring in bikes and see what works for them. the more bikepacking knowledge you and those around you have the betters things get for everyone.

so i wonder if the dollars and cents add up. think i'd wait a few years to open a retail shop. soon enough we'll be paying tax for online purchases and who knows about that competition but i don't brick and mortar is entirely dead. bikepackers want to talk about, see, touch, test things out.

[dave]

I have an entrepreneurial background and just outfitted myself with a bikepacking setup, so I do have some feedback for you.  The survey didn't submit properly so I'll write it here.  I mean this completely constructively and respectfully.

It's great you're doing this research.  Obviously, in order to proceed with this business, you'd need to be able to answer this big question:  What substantially differentiates you from all the other sources of bikepacking gear--and why should we care?

I'm guessing you would respond with one of these two statements:  1.  Mine would be a one-stop shop; or 2.  Mine would have bikepacking experts on staff and therefore would have more credibility.

Honestly, I don't see how you are going to actually convince people of #2.  The makers of bikepacking gear (such as Revelate) sell direct and they'll always have more cred than you.  They've earned it through the rides, trips, time, trials and errors it took to envision and create the products in the first place.  And the fact that I can get a great return policy and great customer service from one of the manufacturers or a LBS or even the other online sellers like bigbagshop.com means that buying gear is a low-risk decision, so knowledgeable sales staff isn't even as important as it might be otherwise.  Sure, if you have a shop with staff who have done the Divide or AZT or whatever, then that won't hurt--but it won't substantially matter unless you have a relatively "big name" like Matthew Lee on staff making super specific recommendations to your customers. 

As far as #1, I'm not sure that is realistic, either.  I can already buy a full setup of bags from any of the places mentioned above.  All of those already have great customer service and very similar prices, along with good information on gear, so I don't see your competitive advantage.  When it comes to the clothing and camping gear, there are huge amounts of choices, and honestly most of us buy primarily based on price because there are so many options that already have good service, good info, etc.  If I have a question about a piece of gear, I either call them up and ask them, or I look online at this website or another forum/site. 

--The main "pain point" I've encountered with buying bikepacking gear is that sometimes I simply don't know whether the gear recommended on forums or in stores will actually keep me warm, dry, comfortable, etc. without being overly heavy or bulky.  I don't know whether a piece of gear designed in Colorado will work well for me in Georgia.  I don't know whether I need more warm shirts than the guy that won the Divide last year.  Many people run into this situation and get all worked up about it, saying lots of "what if..." statements and generally worrying.  But what people need to do is just scrape together some gear and then actually go on a bikepacking trip instead of sitting on the internet worrying about every detail and trying to buy their way out of any problems before those problems even occur.  In this age of internet shopping, people just feel like they should be able to make 10,000 mouse clicks and then complete the Divide without any discomfort, which is obviously ridiculous.  That "pain point" isn't real. 

Then again, maybe it is real if people actually worry about it and actually will spend money as a result.  If that were the case, I think the best way for you to have a "one-stop shop" and differentiate yourself might be to sell a few different complete bikepacking setups specifically marketed to different trails/locales/seasons.  They should include pretty much everything--bags, shelter, camp gear, etc.  That way, if a newbie wants to try a bikepacking trip and has some money to spend but not much time to devote to perfecting a setup (let alone field-testing it), then they can come to you and buy the kit that hypothetically matches their specific situation.  You'd provide a level of simplicity nobody else does, and you'd address their pain point by comforting them that this kit is the "correct" starter kit for what they're actually doing.  You wouldn't have experienced bikepackers as customers, but I don't think that is your realistic market, anyway.

Hopefully this is useful.  Again, I am just trying to help, not to be negative.  Good luck.

[joeydurango]

This store already exists... if you live in Durango, Colorado, or thereabouts!  I don't sell online precisely because I still believe in local business and its role in making every community across the nation unique.  I don't buy anything online unless I absolutely have to.  More and more stores are picking up on the bikepacking thing as employees get into it.  Nothing beats actually holding a product in your hands.  And nothing is better than talking, in person, with someone who uses all the gear, does trips regularly, and can give you everything from trail beta to bikepacking newb Q&A.

I'd also agree with Dave's comment on the fact that you won't be, at the end of the day, doing anything differently than the multitude of places you can already buy bags and gear online. 

You want to do something different, unique, and fulfilling?  Open a real, brick-n-mortar shop in your town.  If you're good enough, they WILL come - and dealing with people face to face on a personal basis will always be more human than turning products made for a passion into a commodity.

[speedycog]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the feedback!