Comments on: Bikes Not Bombs: The Bombest Bike Shop in Boston

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:35:23 +0000

Yes I did Stef, for about 6-8 months while I was attending the U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Technically, they're on the up and up but in the end I would have rather done B2B sales or done cold sales rather than relying on people I knew to generate sales. Still, the experience was educational and for sure taught me a lot about myself. If you have any specific questions about Vector, feel free to send me an e-mail. You're right Herb, but my point was more about how they have more costs to consider as a non-profit (e.g. their international projects, training courses, etc.). If they were a for profit shop then they would only be worrying about the bottom line but as a non-profit they must worry about the bottom line (to keep themselves running) and funding for their projects. Though you are right that the legal structure really does not have much to do with the prices they charge and in the end BnB's prices are actually quite comparable to most of the for profit shops in Boston, even beating some of the bigger shops.

By: Herb

Herb — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:49:26 +0000

A good review. One slight quibble: you seem to have an odd idea of what “forces” an org between non-profit and for-profit. You say “if the shop were to charge less, they’d most likely have to switch to a for-profit model”. This doesn’t make any sense. A place that charges *more* for goods can be a non-profit but one that charges less is a for-profit? I don’t think the legal structure has anything to do with it. If anything, a for-profit business would have a stronger drive to charge more for goods, netting a higher margin and more investors. BnB doesn’t have to worry about that, just how much they’ll be able to support their other projects.

By: Check out My Article about Bikes Not Bombs in Momentum Magazine | Prose of a Pol

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:24:12 +0000

[...] my first published article ever in the latest edition of Momentum Magazine! A while back I posted a review of Bikes Not Bombs on OTIBR.com and was approached by one of the editors at Momentum to submit a shortened version of the article [...]

By: Stef

Stef — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:14:55 +0000

Nice review! I’ll have to check out Bikes Not Bombs. Did you really work for Vector Marketing?

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:53:52 +0000

Sounds great Amy!

By: Amy Walker

Amy Walker — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:56:07 +0000

Hi Adam,

We’re preparing a feature on Bicycling in Boston – and I wonder if you’d be interested in submitting a shortened version of your review for the story.

Our deadline is Nov 26.

Thanks!

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:16:40 +0000

Hmm…I’ll ask a few of the shops here if they know of any shops in the Phoenix area. Seems like a great place for a bicycle as it’s relatively flat and warm for most of the year.

One of the great benefits of living in a small, but heavily populated city like Boston is the plethora of used and new bike shops.

Perhaps one of them knows an underground used bike shop…we shall see!

By: Justin Wright

Justin Wright — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:25:04 +0000

I've been looking around here in Phoenix for used bikes and wish we had a place like this. I just keep getting sold on getting a 700 bike when all I really want is a decent used bike that will get the job done. Justin Wright´s last blog post..Introducing My New Series

By: Blog Action Day 2008 - Poverty | The 42nd Estate

Blog Action Day 2008 - Poverty | The 42nd Estate — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:35:52 +0000

[...] published today several posts which relate to the topic of poverty. First up, OTIBR published a review of Bikes not Bombs, a non-profit bike shop in Boston that refurbishes used bicycles and redistributes them to [...]

By: Buy a Used Bicycle

Buy a Used Bicycle — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:41:31 +0000

[...] April of this year Mr. Money purchased a used single speed Shogun from the non-profit used bike shop Bikes not Bombs in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston for $350. Since then, I’ve easily saved that much [...]