keep doin what yer doin. Kids don;t know the difference between a walmart or specialized as long as they can ride and that's the point!
TomL
On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 4:22 PM, Ryan Kragerud rjkragerud@gmail.com wrote:
As Scott Conlin (one of board members said) kids generally don't draw a line when it comes to wal*mart or target bikes, and, we've found, neither do adults when it comes to raffling schwinn cruisers offered through both stores.
Previously we'd scrounge and deal with our bike shops to get a sweet Nirve, Raleigh, or Electra cruiser at cost, which we'd then raffle off. We'd, generally, make bank on the raffle. However, during one of our events last year the bike shop bikes didn't come through - so I beat it to Wal*Mart and picked up two cruisers at $86 a piece. We raffled them off and made about $400 on the raffle. We replicated this later during our Oktoberfest with two return schwinn cruisers from Target, again, another $500 in the bank.
I offer this as just something else to consider when dealing with the devil.
Ryan Kragerud, President Bicycle Longmont
On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 8:33 AM, Affordable Bikes Re-Cyclery affordablebikesrecyclery@gmail.com wrote:
well, I appreciate the combination of wisdom and humility in these posts. Thanks to you all! Nozomi
On Sun, Jan 27, 2013 at 6:55 PM, Scott Conlin scott@gknightride.org
wrote:
'Like' Ron. Well said. We find that kids are appreciative of any bike
and
we'd like to see more on them no matter where they are from.
Riders who get free bikes many times start progressing toward better
built
bikes, because they find joy or utility in it. I think what we do here
even
in bike friendly Colorado as market expanding work.
The big brands interested in just selling biles at $750+ could learn
from
this IMO.
Scott Longmont, CO
Recycle recyclebikesforkids@gmail.com wrote:
For three years various WalMart stores have given us bikes which have
been
returned or have missing parts when they are assembled. To a kid with
little
hope of getting a bike of any kind, a Wal-Mart bike is a treasure. All
the
bikes we repair are given free to kids. Last year we gave away 1,603
bikes
many of which were Wal-Mart bikes. It's funny to note that some who
would
call Wal-Mart the devil can have their principles compromised for
$20.00.
What does it say about a person who makes fun of a child s bike from a position of authority? Bully comes to mind.
Ron King Recycle Bikes for Kids Little Rock, AR
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 25, 2013, at 8:59 PM, Jason Gendill andwrong@yahoo.com wrote:
I normally only use the ThinkTank as random reading material, but never chime in.
Community Cycles in Boulder, generally does the same thing with Walmart bikes. We might keep the seat/pedals/shifters (especially the gripshift
mrx
model!) but otherwise we do strip/recycle most of these bikes. The
bikes we
put into our recycle trailer go to any number of things; I know we have
at
least 2 scrappers that take it for cash, but we also have many
artist-types
coming by to take random parts for whatever project they are working on.
I have moved up in Community Cycles, from a volunteer to the head
mechanic
to shop manager. And I will never forget a few of the tune-ups I took
on as
head mechanic. Normally things we wouldn't touch, but in these
instances I
did. I did more than I should have, but that "cheap" wal-mart bike
performed
better than it ever would have, and the customer was extremely happy
with
it. Sure, BSO's need a little more time and a little more love than most other bikes, but it is possible. I wonder if wal-mart would donate
bikes and
money (the money donation along with the bicycle is HUGE) to other non-profits so that others could investigate into selling a "lesser
bike" to
help fund what we all love to do? Or would other non-profits even want
it?
I'd be interested in doing a wal-mart-refurbish thing, but I know it
add's
another layer into the already trying world of non profit bike shops...
Jason Shop Manager Community Cycles, Boulder www.communitycycles.org
From: Andrew L breathingplanet@gmail.com To: Doug Franz doug@coatesvillebikeworks.org; The Think Tank thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Sent: Friday, January 25, 2013 6:11 PM Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Deal with the devil!
wow. interesting.
our scrapper George (a local scrapper who brings us random stuff and
takes
our scrap steel on a weekly basis - no cash exchanged) gets bikes from wal-mart from the scrap yard. he reported with confidence that they
come to
the scrapyard from Wal-mart by the trailer truck load !!!
the bike he had salvaged was in perfect condition minus being poorly assembled. the gyro brake was seized (pretty common, as you all know).
he suggested talking to someone there, and i nodded, but placed it
pretty
far down on my mental to do list.
we are swamped with bikes... but dont turn anything away. wal-mart sending a check with the bikes! whoa.
a
On Fri, Jan 25, 2013 at 6:45 PM, Doug Franz doug@coatesvillebikeworks.org wrote:
The strangest thing happened last night. I was at an open house for another charity here in Coatesville, talking up our charity because
it’s my
job, and I was introduced to the District Manager of Wal*Mart.
I’m not a Wal*Mart fan. I understand they fill a need in society, and obviously lots of people don’t subscribe to my point of view or else
they
wouldn’t be as successful as they are. But for me, I would rather give
up
other luxuries to afford the more expensive products at my neighborhood store than buy them from the Wal*Mart in town. I actually feel some joy when one of our kids asks me what his Wal*Mart bike is worth, and I
answer
“10 cents a pound!”
Anyhow, this woman explained to me that Wal*Mart doesn’t have a system
for
handling the bicycles that get returned to them or that arrive with
defects
from the manufacturer. She asked me if they could be sent to us as a donation. I explained to her that we accept bicycle donations, but typically the Wal*Mart bikes get stripped for parts and recycled. She
asked
if they could send them to us anyhow. I pointed out that we incur some costs in the processing of this material, and if we decide to fix some
of
them up there is the costs of the parts. She asked if they could send a check along with the bikes.
So, we made a deal. Wal*Mart stores in her district will send us bikes they can’t use, along with $20 per bicycle. We have 35 bikes arriving
next
week.
This will be interesting. . . .
Doug Franz, President
<image002.png>
coatesvillebikeworks.org like us on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/CoatesvilleBikeWorks
doug@coatesvillebikeworks.org 610-383-4349
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