Never ceases to amaze me when companies can (and do) openly scour the world for countries in which they can save money by engaging cheap labour and maximising logistical benefits, while still charging consumers top dollar. And when consumers decide to scour the world for online deals, embargoes are artificially put in place by the original company to prevent this.
House always wins. Unless we decide not to play.
Since there are no ethical guidelines in companies setting MAP/MSRP/wholesale princing strategies on a worldwide basis, I don’t quite get why there would be an ethical issue with buying in different locations vs these supplier-defined strategies. If the MSRP is lower in Country A than where I live, is it ethically acceptable for me to buy at this lower price if I happen to be physically in Country A? And if yes, what’s the difference between me being there and the product being shipped to me here?
That is generally the best guideline in buying online from overseas. Relying on shipping back etc will kill any unit price advantage through accumulated shipping costs.
+1 for having bought 4iiii from PBK with zero issues
I will never use PBK (UK) again after the latest fiasco trying to return a faulty jersey Bought a few bits before this but never had to return anything. This particular time a jeresy I bought developed a fault, I contacted them and sent pics. Rather than just refunding or replacing and asking for me to send it back as any other major online retailer would they wanted me to contact their warranty dept and then send it to them to check the fault, all at my own cost. Well, 6 weeks later after I have heard nothing they are saying they haven’t received it, royal mail tells me it was delivered but pbk are doing nothing. Absolute farce and I’m happy to shame them on here.
Purchased my Ultegra 4iiii crank from PBK. No issues what so ever. Plus didn’t have to pay local taxes (in Australia) 
I live in Switzerland. The store and website works, however my 4iiii powermeter just broke out of nothing after 6 months. Now I am in quite a hassle for warranty. 4iiii themselves offered no solution except that I should deal with PBK directly.
PBK does not offer an e-mail, you have to do everything through their website. After many e-mails now they seem to offer me, that I send the unit to the US.
I will never again buy 4iii. Expensive things are probably rather be bought close to home.
Oh really. I just passed two weeks from paying for my bike travel case. They didn’t provide me with a shipment tracking number and the only response I get from my several emails is “we can’t respond our email box is full and won’t accept new emails”. I don’t know that they even sent the package but they did take the money. So no package and no response plus a one-star rating for 15% of respondents. Amazing that it can take two weeks, or maybe more in my case, and their order cancellation limit is 14 days.
I have never had any delivery or service this bad for an online order and I don’t have an axe to grind. This was my first order with them.
Ive bought many times from probikekit and never had any problems.
It can be a crapshoot with PBk.
Sometimes, like my latest order, it’s a couple of days to Canada and others it’s a month plus. This is why it’s always worth getting tracking.
There’s a good chance your package is tied up in customs. Everything I’ve ordered (from anywhere) that was delayed was because it was stick in customs.
So why is it a crapshoot with pbk if “Everything I’ve ordered (from anywhere) that was delayed was because it was stick in customs.”.
Surely that’s a crapshoot with customs not pbk.
That is not good news for me. I have never flown with a bike before. I need the bike case to go to the Alabama USAC and UCI qualifier race which is coming very, very soon.
I’ve learned more. You don’t need an account with ProBikeKit to buy products so I didn’t create an account. Because they didn’t provide a tracking number I emailed them over and over as the days passed by. The messages went unanswered for two weeks and counting. Was the box sent, where is it if it was? I tried their “support” but there is no response without an account being established. That’s what I just found out. Most products have a support line where you can get help without an account. Plus they already have all my data in their system from my purchase fill out sheet and they keep sending me adds on my email but won’t respond to my email asking for support. I find all of this difficulty to be funny when their website says they are now under the umbrella of a world wide technology firm. I deal with Amazon and Competitive Cyclist a lot and it is always fast,efficient and with endless support. I also ordered a bike trainer tilting board from a well known trainer manufacturer and it arrived busted up. I needed it to go longer on the Winter indoor rides since it’s a 100 mile event. These product snafus and the time running out are really adding stress on me.
PBK is a bit of a crapshoot, if that’s a statement of high high’s, and low low’s.
I’ve purchased many times from them for years and years. I’ve had sensational customer service when items legitimately didn’t arrive, and awful lack of correspondence and updates on products not despatched and only automated emails saying they expect to deliver by x-date.
I’d say they are fine to purchase from, their cancellation system is ok, but there’s a reasonable risk of frustration/disappointment.
I worded that a bit wrong. Those are two seperate statements. PBk delivery time is a crapshoot.
Everything i’ve ordered lately that was delayed has been stuck in customs which is backed up everywhere at least in North America.
Add the two together and you can have some pretty lengthy delays.
I’ve purchased twice from PBK and both times had a good experiences. I’ve also purchased from Merlin, Starbike, Telemark Pyrenees, and other European vendors who ship internationally (plus plenty from domestic and local ski & bike shops). Advice from @jctonett is spot on: PBK (and others) can be a great option if you don’t need the item immediately and aren’t concerned about warranty or having to return it.
I find that customs out of Europe and into the US is the biggest mystery in the transaction. I had a set of wheels arrive in less than a week and another “disappear” for over two weeks while they worked their way through customs and tracking switched over from from the European to US shipper.
Also, purchases over $800 are subject to US import duties. Whether or not you get dinged is a roll of the dice, but it’s wise to factor the duty into your pricing so you won’t be surprised if you get charged. And if you don’t… more $$$ for bike parts.
I’ve used PBK a few times (including for a 4iiii PM as the OP was looking at a few years ago) in the UK at least I find their prices are good and delivery good as long as your order is in stock. Their range doesn’t seem to be the greatest but that probably one of the drivers behind the lower cost. One thing which did catch me out years ago. I ordered something immediately after I’d ordered something for my mother on her card and her card details got used for my order. I realised almost straight away and cancelled and reordered on my card later. I also followed it up by an email within minutes of the error as that was what the site recommended to ensure her card was refunded. The day after I got the processed notice for two identical orders. Before it was dispatched I contacted their support who denied the cancelation request and receipt of the original email and insisted as they’d processed the 2 orders (and took payment for each) they would send them and I would have to send one back to get her card refunded. I forget what the order was now but it was something that would have cost more in time and inconvenience to send it back so I reimbursed my Mother and ended up with 2. I wouldn’t be surprised if that style of operation is in their cost model too.
I’ve been ordering from UK mail order for 30 something years. I think the first place I found was Total Cycling in Ireland which was ridiculously cheap at the time.
I do think you have to use basic logic when you order overseas.
Like:
never expect to return something
don’t expect stuff to arrive tomorrow (even though prior to covid Royal Post was ridiculously cheap and fast)
if you order the wrong thing, just turn around and sell it on ebay
expect little or no warranty support unless you can get it from the manufacturer in your country.
Don’t:
order anything that can easily break easily in transit
order anything not in stock
any kind of item that could typically need exceptional warranty support
any item that needs an authorized dealer for warranty (or assume you have no warranty and don’t complain)
order anything super heavy
complain about covid shipping delays
I’ve saved thousands and thousands of dollars over the years. I’ve gotten burned a couple of times - something didn’t fit or broke. Looking at the big picture, I still saved many thousands.