^ well said.

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"Let's plunge ourselves into the roar of time, the whirl of accident; may pain and pleasure, success and failure, shift as they will -- it's only action that can make a man."

That's a fair 'douche' assessment although the product had gone out of stock some time ago and is still being advertised and I suspect will continue to be for a while to come

OP isn't serious until he buys through a LBS.

Seriously, there's no free lunch. Markup on bike parts isn't nearly as high as on anything else you buy, besides food. People usually make a conscious choice to support brick-and-mortar businesses because of customer service, knowledgeability, and general willingness to jump through hoops-upon-hoops to source you a product if it means making a sale that is worth the man-hours invested.

Seems like this place is legit, taking the time to send you an honest answer in a timely manner. I don't know what else could be expected.

What point are you trying to make?

I dont know why you are finding it so hard to understand that they had an item on special and it sold out. Most online retailers continue to list items that arent in stock, and sometimes suppliers arent able to give them a delivery date for the next shipment. Its not some conspiracy against consumers. Its not as though they are actually listing them as available for purchase at that price, and then telling you they dont have them.

It doesnt do much good to call me a douche when it is you thats starting threads to slag off a reputable online seller, considering they havent actually done anything wrong. What are you expecting, that you will be able to use this thread as some kind of leverage against them? Good luck.

Id like to see you pull the same stunt with an LBS, and then stroll back in demanding your discounted wheels. Most people would tell you to get nicked.

i work at a shop, kinda own a small part of it, been working at shops a long time, i strongly support the LBS to the point that i'd gladly buy something i wanted but dont/wont carry at one of my "competitors" if they had it in stock.
that said, i dont think the online retailer here did anything wrong. like others said, they probably got a bunch in to clear out, then theyre gone.
beyond that, you argue that they should then take down the ad. if they did that, how are people supposed to know how much those wheels are going to be when theyre back in stock? how are people supposed to know that the shimano version is a regularly carried product?
no offense, but knowing how this scenario played out in your head, i would be leery of handling any retail transaction with you.