Fiberglass Hawaii Moved Fr. S.B. to Ventura

General Discussion
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Quote:

Epac - I hear you. Maybe this thread belongs in “Industry Talk”. But lots & lots of garage & even small shop guys read this forum first…Industry Talk is good, but sometimes irrelevant to 95% of the Sways membership… and (since I have absolutely nothing to gain economically from doing so) I’ll step up for Scott any day of the week…its a plug, sure, but an honest (no $$ involved) one.

I hope they both succeed, don’t get me wrong. Every board built domestically is a victory for people making a living at it, many of whom are friends of mine. FGH has always filled a niche that nobody else could touch…

But then there are the guys who have a one-off idea and truly go above & beyond. And that’s where you’ll find FF&F. All I can say for guys in the area, is check FF&F first and buy your crap there if they have what you need. If not, go down the road…

Everyone I’d ever met at Fiberglass Hawaii were backyard guys. I’d never even thought of them as giant corporate types. All those guys built there own boards like the rest of you. So I’m confused by comparison. My ignorance I’m sure.

I hate to make any comparisons to F.F. &F, so I won’t. I agree that they are a great shop, run as a Mom and Pop business (very cool).

This does bring up some of the fundamental issues in regards to the threads author. There is a thin line between the two parties in question. One having some regional distribution, and another, a grass roots shop owner. I myself completely relate to the grass roots local guy. My familiarity w/ the employees at Fiberglass Hawaii always gave me the same impression. Tough as it might be, customer service and low price margins will probably win out. Like I said, good luck to all parties.

Benny1 – I’m about as small potatoes as they come, and everyone I know who used Fiberglass Hawaii in Santa Barbara were self employed too. That’s surfboards for you. So, when Walker goes belly up, or some new EPA regulation shuts them down, FF&F might find themselves in they’re own dilemma. I hope not. Maybe also, Fiberglass Hawaii didn’t own those blanks in Santa Cruz. Maybe they were on account net 30, or 60, or something like that. Who knows? What did Scott do when you called him looking for a Clark blank?

The only bummer here is the thread being posted. So, Sr Pato, what is the context of your question?

“Skip, put your head back up your ass”

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Nah, Skip, your head is just where its supposed to be. :slight_smile: I like it when people have good experiences with friends & retailers no matter where they are… and I don’t wanna cast aspersions on an entire chain because of what I saw at one shop (Santa Cruz) on one day… I bet I’m even smaller than you… (I build only for myself and only sell them when I have understiood what I’ve already made…never yet have I built for someone else to begin with) and I’m glad you stick up for your friends. Sitcking up for your friends is never a mistake - even if it goes wrong somehow, your heart was in the right place. Sorry to ramble a bit…its not the easiest topic. Everyone in business for themselves deserves a little slack…

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Skip- I was just curious if the FGH move to Ventura had any noticeable effect on FF&F. Nothing more. It wasn’t meant as a jab at Scott and I was definitely not trying to pit the two companies against each other. No matter what you may think, it was not meant to be a malicious question.

I guess I was naive to think that I could ask what I believed to be a simple question, but apparently was not. Skip was right when he said this thread should not have been started in the first place.

My apologies to anyone that has taken this as a personal affront. It was not my intention.

Let’s move on.

Marc

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-------pierpontscott-------

Well they should not have put all there eggs in the clark basket as I did not from the beginning. To me what is more important is the hardship it as a sole proprietor it puts on me and my family when these clowns come to town and try to under cut me all the way around the board in attempts to run me out of business in a town I live, work, play, and spend my dollars in. Well any way I think this thread needs to die before something is said that should not be

the simple facts, nothing more:

Nobody is undercutting anybody. FGH’s prices are no different than they were in SB.

Nobody is trying to run anyone out of town. FHSB was forced to ventura by the neighbors forcibly taking over the lease…if you want to get mad at someone, its them.

FH looked to ventura when it was realized that SB was out of the question, and the number one reason: in hopes of gaining the BOATING INDUSTRY’S business, ie the two huge harbors.

things that shouldnt have been said have already been said by you, i take great offense to being called a clown.

those are the facts.

no harm intended, and no offense meant.

it is understood that it is hard when youre supporting a family. also understand that as a self supported college student trying to get by, its hard when your only source of income moves 30 miles away, and are then only able to work two days a week. now from commuting i have a broken truck, broken motorcycle, and have to move my reisdence as well.

there are sides to every coin. everyone got hit.

i know this thread needs to die, but i didnt feel comfortable not saying anything…i apologize.

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howzit E-Pacman, As you probably know F.H. is basically our only real supplier here in Hi… They have always been great to work with and try to answer any questions I’ve had concerning their products. Ted is always looking for the best deals to pass on to customers. The thing I hated hearing was that Gigi was leaving F.H. Hi. because she has been a great source for info and she would go into the ware house to check on product availabliy for us.But at least we still have Cora who can fill Gigi’s spot. Aloha, Kokua

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can’t we all just get along…

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cool sorry for clown line and to tell you all the truth I could careless that fb moved to ventura good luck to fb enough on this subject