I've been making wooden boards for a while now and so far I've shaped only two foam boards which I think came out OK.
I have two PU blanks waiting to be shaped.
The boards I've made so far have all been for myself so I've been willing to tolerate the imperfections. I don't think I'd feel comfortable trying to sell any of them.
The thing is I'm dumping too much money into this hobby and I want to try to recoup some of my costs.
I'm thinking of making the next board with the intention of selling it. I don't have any fantasy of making a living off of this, I just want to clear enough to pay for the next build so I can keep building boards without going broke. I'm thinking that this would be a wooden board because that's what I'm better at right now.
My question is, what would be the best shape to build for the easiest sale and how much do you think a decent wooden board would sell for?
My thought is that the kind of person who would appreciate and pay for a wooden board would probably be more of a long board person. Thinking that said person would more likely be older and more into asthetics than a kid looking to tear up the break with a pointy little short board.
A long board probably cost me less than $200.00 to make when all is said and done. Wood, epoxy, fiberglass, glue, sandpaper etc...
Any advice would be appreciated.
Here are links to the two foam boards I made (one isn't glassed yet) and you can check out my web site to have a look at my wooden boards.
The one called the Wing (designed by Rich Blundell) is the one I'm thinking of making to sell.
I'm certainly not a top shaper so those numbers are way out of my reach.
The wing that I made for myself was made from pine and cedar. Mostly pine. It weighs 27.4 pounds (using the bathroom scale). Fishbone frame hollow. I could probably shave a bit of weight off of that if I built a new one, knowing what I know now, but not a signifigant amount. Its a bit heavy to carry but I really love the way it surfs.I'm not a very good surfer though so I can't judge fairly how well the board performs. All I know is I can catch waves with it and the more waves I catch the more fun I have.
Last time I tried to source balsa I was discouraged by the price.
Hi, Squaly, I'm a bit of a lurker both here and over on tree to sea, so I've seen your work before, and even made luan board after seeing your paipo. As I recall you live in in LI. (I live in NYC).
Anyway if you are interested in my 2 cents, I think without some extensive marketing, you are pretty much stuck with whatever price the market gives you, but the market is so thin that who knows what a good HWS would fetch in NY. There happens to be a 10' hws with a broken fin that has been on NYC craigslist for several days for $200:
The pics aren't great, but from what I can tell, the craftsmanship looks is very solid even if it could use a bit more surface area up front. At that price, I would have thought a board that nice would have sold immediately, even as a wall hanger, and even with a broken fin.
My advice would be to try selling a few on ebay and then you'll have a better sense for what the local market is willing to pay.
As for shape, I'd say you are right about the longboard, specifically a log. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about weight. My all time favorite longboard is my 9'6" Christenson that weighs more than 20 pounds, and cost enough to pay for enough blanks to keep me busy for quite a while. Logs are heavy, don't fight it, throw a D fin on it and use it to your advantage.
Sorry for the late reply. I do appreciate you taking the time to post such a well thought out response.
I've been poking around on ebay and I have to agree that there seems to be no ryhme or reason to what makes one board list for so much more than another. On the other hand I don't see many bids on the ones that are out there at any price.
I think I'll just stick with word of mouth around town for now and see if I can move a board or two. I'm really just trying to justify the hobby at this point. I'm not looking to make a killing. Selling a board would be one less that I have to store and money to cover the next build. Thats all I'm hoping for right now
here’s what I’ve learned about ebay over the years:
if it ends on the weekend, (when people aren’t as busy) it will sell for more than if it ends during the week.
the lower the starting price, the more people will “watch” and the higher the ending price. I always start my auctions at the minimum. as long as you get two serious bidders you’ll end up with a decent price.
the final price seems to end up around 2x the price with 24 hours to go.