Best helmet under £150?

[EazyDuz]

DuckSauce said:

It's a lot more than saving a tenner though. I went to a local shop for some textile trousers, I had done my research online (reviews) and fully intended to buy them in the shop. However the price difference was just too much (£80 more than they were on most of the online shops)
I didn't buy them in the end, as to me, that's a huge amount of money. I have bought from that shop on plenty of other occasions

Agree. 9 times out of 10 the brick and mortar store you try the stock on has its own online website anyway, so they're not losing out on anything. Really couldn't care less about what some dork on a forum thinks.

[Bumblebee7]

CaptainSlow said:

Quite...tossers like the OP are a drain on the bricks and mortars that are already suffering margin squeeze. He knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. Totally scummy behaviour...but seems to be an unpleasant person generally.

Must admit that I agree. I used to work in an outdoor shop and we received a very minimal commission of 0.5%, but more importantly we were trained to give fantastic advice. We went through lots of training to ensure recommendations on equipment were the best for each customer and we went to great lengths to ensure footwear was the correct shape and the appropriate size, often having to factor for variables like climate of the location where they were to be used and swelling which occurs at high altitude. You would sometimes spend over an hour with someone at which point you would start heading to the till only for them to say 'don't worry mate, I've seen them cheaper online somewhere else' and just leave the shop without as much as a thank you for your time.

By all means buy what you want online at the most competitive price, but if you try something on in a brick and mortar shop, take the advice and then buy elsewhere online to save some money you are a bit of a bellend. If there's a big price difference at least ask the shop if they could price match, or meet you halfway etc.

[Brads67]

EazyDuz said:

Agree. 9 times out of 10 the brick and mortar store you try the stock on has its own online website anyway, so they're not losing out on anything. Really couldn't care less about what some dork on a forum thinks.

Pretty sure everyone on this thread knows who the dork is anyway.

[Krikkit]

DuckSauce said:

Krikkit said:

He has a point.

Brick and mortar shops are under the kosh from the big online sites that run on wafer-thin margins. Using their time and generosity to let you try on a helmet, then sacking them off and ordering online to save a tenner is exactly what puts them against the wall.

It's a lot more than saving a tenner though. I went to a local shop for some textile trousers, I had done my research online (reviews) and fully intended to buy them in the shop. However the price difference was just too much (£80 more than they were on most of the online shops)
I didn't buy them in the end, as to me, that's a huge amount of money. I have bought from that shop on plenty of other occasions

Overpriced is overpriced, I wouldn't expect to spend a significant portion more... But in the example of the OP buying his helmet in-store from J&S, you could get them from FC-moto.de for cheaper, but trying it on and having the aftersales is worth £20 to me.

[crofty1984]

EazyDuz said:

DuckSauce said:

It's a lot more than saving a tenner though. I went to a local shop for some textile trousers, I had done my research online (reviews) and fully intended to buy them in the shop. However the price difference was just too much (£80 more than they were on most of the online shops)
I didn't buy them in the end, as to me, that's a huge amount of money. I have bought from that shop on plenty of other occasions

Agree. 9 times out of 10 the brick and mortar store you try the stock on has its own online website anyway, so they're not losing out on anything. Really couldn't care less about what some dork on a forum thinks.

Really? This whole thread started because you care what some dork on a forum thinks. That's the whole point of asking for advice on a forum. Just when they disagreed with you you got all upset.
Would it be the worst thing in the world to tell the shop that you found it for £x online and can they match it. Most will, or at least try to get close. I wouldn't chuck away £80 on pinciple the same as DuckSauce, but if they could get within a tenner I might.

[EazyDuz]

Bumblebee7 said:

Must admit that I agree. I used to work in an outdoor shop and we received a very minimal commission of 0.5%, but more importantly we were trained to give fantastic advice. We went through lots of training to ensure recommendations on equipment were the best for each customer and we went to great lengths to ensure footwear was the correct shape and the appropriate size, often having to factor for variables like climate of the location where they were to be used and swelling which occurs at high altitude. You would sometimes spend over an hour with someone at which point you would start heading to the till only for them to say 'don't worry mate, I've seen them cheaper online somewhere else' and just leave the shop without as much as a thank you for your time.

By all means buy what you want online at the most competitive price, but if you try something on in a brick and mortar shop, take the advice and then buy elsewhere online to save some money you are a bit of a bellend. If there's a big price difference at least ask the shop if they could price match, or meet you halfway etc.

Sounds like poor sales technique. Anyone can reel off a list of facts about the product. What you're supposed to be doing is selling the service. Why buy from you when its cheaper or same price elsewhere? Maybe a no quibble return policy, free aftercare, discounted repairs after warranty expires, help line etc. All things you cant get on Ebay bar the returns.
With your technique you're literally just being a walking talking 'Amazon view more product details' button. Then have the gall to get butthurt when the customer doesn't pay over the odds for it? No wonder you USED to work in sales.

[Brads67]

EazyDuz said:

Sounds like poor sales technique. Anyone can reel off a list of facts about the product. What you're supposed to be doing is selling the service. Why buy from you when its cheaper or same price elsewhere? Maybe a no quibble return policy, free aftercare, discounted repairs after warranty expires, help line etc. All things you cant get on Ebay bar the returns.
With your technique you're literally just being a walking talking 'Amazon view more product details' button. Then have the gall to get butthurt when the customer doesn't pay over the odds for it? No wonder you USED to work in sales.

So basically you have no use for ANY actual shops because everything can be bought online.
You see no use in sales people and no use of a physical shop.?

[Bumblebee7]

EazyDuz said:

Bumblebee7 said:

Must admit that I agree. I used to work in an outdoor shop and we received a very minimal commission of 0.5%, but more importantly we were trained to give fantastic advice. We went through lots of training to ensure recommendations on equipment were the best for each customer and we went to great lengths to ensure footwear was the correct shape and the appropriate size, often having to factor for variables like climate of the location where they were to be used and swelling which occurs at high altitude. You would sometimes spend over an hour with someone at which point you would start heading to the till only for them to say 'don't worry mate, I've seen them cheaper online somewhere else' and just leave the shop without as much as a thank you for your time.

By all means buy what you want online at the most competitive price, but if you try something on in a brick and mortar shop, take the advice and then buy elsewhere online to save some money you are a bit of a bellend. If there's a big price difference at least ask the shop if they could price match, or meet you halfway etc.

Sounds like poor sales technique. Anyone can reel off a list of facts about the product. What you're supposed to be doing is selling the service. Why buy from you when its cheaper or same price elsewhere? Maybe a no quibble return policy, free aftercare, discounted repairs after warranty expires, help line etc. All things you cant get on Ebay bar the returns.
With your technique you're literally just being a walking talking 'Amazon view more product details' button. Then have the gall to get butthurt when the customer doesn't pay over the odds for it? No wonder you USED to work in sales.

Did you read my post?? Selling a service is exactly what I was doing, offering advice, expertise and the ability to try the product. The very definition of what we were offering is not available online.

[CrankyCraig]

I'm sorry EazyDuz, but it sounds to me like you've had quite enough










....still, there's always the online bars. They can't kick you out

[gregs656]

EazyDuz said:

Why? There is no fine print saying if you try on our clothes you must buy from us.
Do you buy the first car/bike you test drive at the dealer?
Do you buy the first insurance quote that comes up?
Do you buy the first flight ticket you find?

No? Then STFU.

None of these examples are really the same as buying a helmet.

The main differences are that helmets are safety critical items that most good retailers (online or otherwise) won't accept returns on for obvious reasons and secondly that you really need to try them on for size and make sure they fit properly. These two things mean that unless you're sticking with a brand the trying on bit is pretty critical.

I get that you want to save a few quid, but this isn't a very sensible place to do it IMO as in the not very long run it will make helmet buying a real pain.

FWIW if you were really interested in saving a few quid then the spring really isn't the time to buy a helmet.

[MikeyB99]

Bumblebee7 said:

Did you read my post?? Selling a service is exactly what I was doing, offering advice, expertise and the ability to try the product. The very definition of what we were offering is not available online.

Open question/thoughts - Places like SportsBikeShop or Asos do effectively give you the chance to try things on because of their free returns policies. I suspect the cost of postage/staff/hassle to them won't be the same as staff/rent/bills for a "traditional" shop but it's something to consider.

Agree completely on the advice though, that's something that's hard to convey through a computer screen - but I do think the desire for that type of service is dwindling as people now tend to read reviews/watch their trusted Youtuber.

I can see both sides of it to be honest. I'll always check prices online to make sure I'm not being fleeced and give them the chance to match. But I did buy my full kit set last year at the local shop (excluding y gloves) as I could see the value in it.

[scarble]

The Caberg Duke has the ratcheting strap that adjust every time, it's 5 star and the sharpe website will say how good the chi'n guard is at staying down in a crash.
Trying on in a shop then buying online for a few quid saving is a dk move and if everyone did it the shops wouldn't be there for you to try it on. When we got the Mrs' helmet we tried it on in a shop, found a different paint job online and asked if the shop could get that one, they ordered it in and priced matched it too. Same shop is a top notch dealer & workshop, I'd gladly pay a bit extra to keep them in business.

Edited by scarble on Friday 26th April 18:02