i just have to say something

General Discussion
1

just got the quiver thingy in my email and i saw this - http://www.swaylocks.com/surfshop/Detailed/1442.html

we have a whole community of board builders and craftsman - not asians making 1 dollar an hour undermining our livelyhood and our choice to build boards for a living (i know it is just their job and it is nothing actually against us)- but man - stand up for yourself and others who believe in something besides a damn f’ing dollar! dont waste the space on the site to help some guy make a bunch of money who has in no way a passion for surfboard builing like it is to so many of us.

what culture do they know? what hero’s do they have? what aspirations to they have toward mastering the way water pours over the curves or the tricks that have been handed down to others on how to gloss a board without it splitting or how to laminate wide laps toward the nose. people of our culture have spent their lives and laid in bed at night trying to figure out how to do their craft better and better.

but no - lets just help some guy who is exploiting another nations economy so that he can offer a thing called a surfboard for really cheap “because gosh they sure are popular right now i bet we could make money”

think about it people - i am not saying they are f’ed up for doing it - but this our way of life - lets all do what we can to preserve it. i know money is nice and we need it - but in the end there are other things that are more important.

by the way this is in regards to polyester boards being made over seas.

i wrote this kind of in the heat of the moment so hopefully didnt spell stuff wrong too much and it reads ok.

just some thoughts

thanks for your time

maurice agnello

2

wow - what a ramble!. Dude, what’s your point? No disrespect but is your problem with Asian people? Are they actually stopping you from pursuing board building as your passion? Just dont read the ads or buy their boards man - save yourself an embolism.

Find a peaceful place and chill.

Ado

3

is there good surf in guangzhou,guangdong china?

and the price is dropping

wasnt it 240? last yar?

is peter drouyn behind this synister plot?

reaking revenge on the australian surfing establishment?

laughing while surfing chinese secret spots

wit busloads of concubines and free boards

and lavish meals

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA !

he who laughs last laughs last.

The Real Peter

first to bring surfing to china

he Instantly became a God.

The next james jones bond movie

is set in china ,and james infiltrates

the Guangzhou facility and foils as

yet undisclosed sinister plot.

It aint over till james jones bond

sails away into the sunset with

that unbelieveably hot chick

that used to be Drouyn’s hottie.

…ambrose…

a surf movie to end all surf movies

written by Mikilos Chapin Dora

uncovered in an excavation

of his chumash burial mound

last september after the fire

4

hahaha WA WA WA go cry somewere else this website isnt for posting your opinions

its here so we can all help eachother shape better boards

5

a movie staring surfers by surfers

written by surfers

attended by surfers

licenced by surfers

profitted on by surfers

promoted by surfers

eclipsing gods hands full of money

running through its fingers

blue crutches

being hobbled on

from the emergency room doors

to the rusting carmen ghia

the acadamy award for

defamation of a spiritual pursuit

goes to usurfboard

for$140.oo

best offer.

…ambrose…

ppsssst keed

jou wanna buy a hot board?

in 1966 dollars thats about

$14.00 for a brand new board

yes marcie there is a santa claus

and he is filling up the land fill.

6
Quote:

hahaha WA WA WA go cry somewere else this website isnt for posting your opinions

its here so we can all help eachother shape better boards

Here we have a nice, gentle admonishment; followed by your basic authoritative analysis of the purpose of Swaylock’s; all courtesy of someone who registered a month ago, has no name or location entered in his or her profile, and has never posted before. Thanks for contributing. Good thing this site isn’t for posting opinions, eh?

-Samiam

7

Although I am still confused as to the point of the original post (something about heroes??), its still good that people can put their points forward, muddled as they are. So im with Sam. Also, i still reckon that if you dont like Asian import boards then dont buy em - make em yourself or go local shaper.

Ado

8

Bottom line, all the majors are in china looking to set up shop. Even the hero builders that showed the way here on sways, It’s happening now, like it or not. They’re on the move making deals.

9

I too was kind of wondering about the irony of those ads on this site.

But, one - I didn’t assume to know anything about the people who put it up or presume their lack of culture or devious financial ambitions. And, two- if it pays the bills and KEEPS THIS SITE ALIVE I’m all for it.

10

it actually has nothing to do with asians - it was really about seeing the bigger picture of our actions - supporting something like ourselves . it is not like i shape a board once a month for my friend and it is a little hobby of mine. i make a living doing boards and i have friends who have first hand felt the affects of retailers favoring the profit margin of the china polyester boards. why lend a helping hand in promoting the eevr slow but inevitable cutting of our own throat - that is a little dramatic and extreme but i am just trying to make a point. - i had a shop and the allure of the china boards was tempting. rationally justifing the “get mine” attitude would unequivically come at a cost. i do agree with one of the other replies to this post that it is going to happen and is happening already - i was just a little suprised to see the ad coming from swaylocks. i am sure this guy is not combing the archives on how to work out the foils on his fins.

the market is changing there is no doubt - how it actually pans out will yet to be seen - so my point is this:

i was just suprised to see this site helping a china surfboard co. promote their product and service when it, hands down, takes away from our product and service! justify it any way you want - you can accept it and what is happening but you do not have to help it and definetly dont have to support it in taking a foot hold into our market. i am aware of the double standard - i buy sony - i am sure some of my shirts are made there - and i am sure my reef mick fanning sandals i got for xmas could be made in china. but i have made a choice and i just could of glanced at the ad and thought" oh look - china made boards for cheap." or i can say something about not agreeing with that ad coming from this site. so i did.

these were just my thoughts and i apoligize to those for stating my opinion on this site. i agree this site is for building better boards but from time to time something does come up - and this was pertaining an ad that came from this site.

11

I don’t get it. What is really wrong with a surfboard made in China for less money? I don’t live in the US so why should I buy a board from the US as long as there are boards made with comparable quality being made elsewhere that cost less? To support your economy?

I think it would be kind of racist if we allow us manufacturers to advertise here and block board factories from asia from advertising. What about Crabie (from hongkong was it?) who post here? Ban him? Heck, why don’t we block the asians from reading this site so they can’t use it to build better boards?

regards,

Håvard

12

yeah i agree - i didnt really explain that it was really just in regards to what is happening in the united states not other places.

asians are cool - it doesnt have to do with the race - it has to do with there economy/price of labor and it’s effect on our domestic board orders/sales/economy. somebody would not be doing this (making board overseas and selling them in the U.S.) if they couldnt making a bigger buck. so it coming down to dollars. why support that here( in the u.s.) - those people that build the boards overseas are not surfers they are laborers (for the most part ) if it wasnt a job building the boards it would just be another job they would be doing building something else that has to be built over there.

don’t aid the selling out of our domestic surfing industry is all i am saying

i repeat asians are cool - everyone is cool - people are good no matter the race - my whole thing has nothing to do with the race in particular.

13

…its a semantic issue, but there re no races at all…

check it

…I think the same about your point

if tomorrow no mo money in boards, well they do whatever

14

i do not think they are devious in any way shape or form. i do think they would not be doing it unless they could offer a huge advantage over our domestically made boards (price wise). that lower price tag could come at our expense. why help and support them in getting a foot hold in our domestic market. it just suprised me in seeing that ad from this site - thats all

15

This forum is not limited to anyone. What if I were to post about my stockpile of 500 epoxy boards that I could sell for $100 each? I live in Delaware, does my culture negate me from doing that? Are you an ancient hawaiian? Does that matter?

Are you a capitalist? Are they? Is their culture perhaps a little more like yours than you want to admit?

Does China have no surf? Does anyone surf in China at all?

If you can answer any of these questions, can you do so honestly and with accuracy?

The people you sell to would never buy a chinese crap board like these, even if they are not crap at all xenophobia has already decided. All chinese boards will do is help surf shops sell more boards so they can afford to carry the $700 and up Merricks and Firewires and Rusty’s. Thry will get more people in the water which is more money for surf and surfstyle companies and then even more people start surfing well and will need a “better” board that hopefully you can provide and China cannot.

Furthermore, and quite simply, I am too poor to afford your boards. I own a four year old CI Sashimi and various homemade boards (most of which suck). If that Merrick breaks, there is no way I’m buying a super expensive board, its used or Chinese for me.

I think you guys should consider some kind of payment plan fr your US boards. $50 for 20 months and I get a firewire? Maybe garauntees or trade ins like a car?

The market sorts itself out. Consumers consume what they want, producers produce accordingly.

16

In a way it does seem a little ironic that an oversea surfboard company is advertising on this site. But it is a free country and like mentioned earlier, this site should not discriminate who or who can’t advertise here just as much as it should’nt discriminate what views one wishes to express (keeping within the guidelines of the site of course). I would think that the majority that visit this site agree that one should try to keep things domestic or build your own. I know you rely on making surfboards for you livelihood and the influx of imported boards might be causing you some financial stress and I do hope you will survive and prosper past this situation.

17

you bring up some good points - i think you were accurate and correct in some of your assesments of what i wrote - i also think that some of what i am saying is also true and accurate. it is not all going down like i said in my pont and it is all not going down like you said. both have some truth.

my post had nothing to do with epoxy boards

a 245.00 dollar china made polyester funboard, sprayed glossed/polished fcs’d delivered - that same board here in san clemente is 65 for the blank - glassjob is 180 with fcs - gloss/polish is 55.00 - spray is 40 - shape is 60 (production shape) for a total of 390.00 - THAT IS COST BEFORE ANY SURFBOARD CO. HAS MADE A DIME

now you can whole sale your 245.00 china board for 390.00 make 145.00 on your 245.00 - even before we have made a single dollar.

my friends go on road trips up north for hobie - and tell me about how some shop owners have some china polyesters and how they tell them they are going to get more this year because they make more money on them. core shops will always carry" the good stuff" (rusty merrick and other top tier names) because that is the face of surfboards for the most part but the lower tiers are totally affected by china polyester boards…

our choices do affect things. that is just some thing to think about. - in arizona they started laws that prevent co. like walmart to buy to large a square foot a building and also have laws stating that no too large a section of the walmart can be for groceries. these are made to protect and help nurture other business’s and livelyhoods. they saw what was happening and looked down the line at the affects, and made choices.

my letter seemed extreme and did not take into consideration the otherside of things - while i do internally realize the other side i purposefully meant to be onesided about it to convey and bring to the surface just some of the realities.

ultimately - i simply was just kinda suprised to see that ad coming from the site - thats all.

18

i appreciate your reply - i know i sounded extreme and it might seem like i am kicking and screaming - i take my life in-stride - things are changing and that is inevitable - everyone/everthing is cool. i was just a little tripped out thats all.

19

I agree that its not cool for big companies to put little ones out of business, but we are creating a fascist system all around us and we are loving it! We love all the government controls put on everybody else, but hate it when they affect us. Oh well, maybe the trains will start running on time…

a capitalist-fascist government. Make dough, but not too much or we’ll put you in jail.

20
Quote:

a 245.00 dollar china made polyester funboard, sprayed glossed/polished fcs’d delivered - that same board here in san clemente is 65 for the blank - glassjob is 180 with fcs - gloss/polish is 55.00 - spray is 40 - shape is 60 (production shape) for a total of 390.00 - THAT IS COST BEFORE ANY SURFBOARD CO. HAS MADE A DIME

Your forgetting that the glasser, sprayer and shaper has a good cut for labour in those prices. If it’s done inhouse you can easily make a board for less than $245 including materials. How long does it take to make a surfboard start to finnish? There are shapers here that claim 20 minutes shaping a close tolerance blank, I guess 15min glassing for each side of the board with poly, sanding 10 min and you have one hour work pr. board. I make boards out of EPS with 3x4/6oz deck, 2x4/6oz bottom with epoxy and fcs fins. The cost here for the materials are about US$200, but I pay twice as much for the glass compared to in the US and about 3 times as much for the epoxy.

I think those companies that sell surfboards for $500 to $1000 that do all work inhouse have pretty good margins.

regards,

Håvard