I’m interested, what was a new board costing on average stateside… in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s?
my first brand-new ( custom-made) was $325.00 in 1982… that’s here in the Canal Zone. ( pigment bottom/rails,pinlines, glassed in fins , tri , gloss coat. and i remember getting an order form for McCoy Zaps around 83-84 for which said about $365.00 (US$)…
In Australia we work on about $100 A foot. that has been for the last ten years. A production shortboard is a bit cheaper say $550.
I bought my first used 6’8’’ single fin for $98.00 I still have the price tag written on the back of " Fantasea" movie hand out. I bough my first longboard for $75.00 Still have that one.
My first custom was $250 in 1979 it was a 6’2’’ Twinnie. Prior to they were all used. I remember conversations we had in the surf shop I worked in that boards would never see the $450 mark and they were there within a couple of years. We just didn’t think the customers would pay that much for a board in the 70’s.
you forgot to add GST john. $660 for a shorty, $990 for a longy
New 9’6" O’neill purchased at the shop on 41st Ave, Santa Cruz in 1962 for $107.
Retail seems to have gone up about $100 dollars a decade for short boards. I did not see many longboards in the 70’s and 80’s, I am sure they were there, but I did look or buy them, and I was not surfing in the 60’s (too young). Most longboards I have seen in shops are between $700 and $1100 depending the reputation of the shaper. I would speculate that longboards have increased at a faster rate than shortboards.
Average off the rack price in 1964 was around 140 US. Some higher, some lower. By '68, it was more like 160.
A Bing Nuuhiwa Noserider with color ran just under $200 through an East Coast dealer. In 1974, I paid 175 for
a custom Overlin swallowtail. A 6’4 Tony Staples egg (custom) cost me $160 in 1978. John Mel charged me a flat
$200 for a 6’9" round pin with tinted glass job and pinlines in 1980. In 1987, I got a 6’3" round pin channel bottom
for $325, and a 9’4" noserider for $450. Both from Tom Eberly, with matching airbrush.
1966 new Surfboards Hawai clear $150
1967 new Dusty Rhodes with color $160
1968 new Morey Pope Tracker clear $175
2002 new Bill Hamilton cloth in lay rails $850
Build your own…Priceless!
This is off the top of my head for a board I’ve made for forty years… the Penetrator.
In ’67 the last year they were made in the 60’s … $125. 70’s none made. 80’s $300 to $400. 90’s $400 to $600. Y2K to present $700 to $1000.
Same materials… same everything. Why the increase? It’s called inflation. Would you believe I made $4.75 to shape them in ’67 and could live better off of that then than what I get now?
D.R.
My first custom was in 74 or 75. Sea Gull Surfboards from the Green Room in OB. 7-2 egg from Holly. 115 dollars. I got 100 bucks from my grandfather for cutting all my hair off( wtf, it’ll grow back), drove down to the shop and ordered the board. Did manual labor for my Dad probably for the other 15 dollars. I learned a lot on that board. I think most boards from that era and location were between 100 and 150 dollars. No long boards except stuffed behind peoples garages dying a slow death. Mike
surf shop worker in the early 90’s and don’t remember a shortboard for over $350…
just picked up a 6’0" swallow from Costco for $200…
Not stateside, but here’s some interesting NZ numbers adjusted for inflation in 2007 dollars
1982 $225 is $609 in 2007 dollars
1987 $370 is $661
1995 $550 is $660
2005 $750 is $761
So relative to wage increases, surfboards have been getting more affordable mostly
CPI calculator
Older standard track home area in Orange County:
My Grandma’s house in the 40’s: $14,000
My parent’s house in the late 60’s: $30,000
To buy my parent’s house in 2006: $700,000
That math just doesn’t seem right to me. Surfboards are a deal, houses are not.
Found a couple receipts.
Feb 10th 1982 Atlantis (jax beach FL) 5’6" single wing, flew off a car rack within a week of buying it. $245
Feb 24th for a 5’6" wing, swallow, 4 channel, twin fin $270
June 10th 1982 5’10" Shaun Tomson wing swallow. If I remember correctly, this was a canyon shaped by Rusty.
$285
Aug 3rd 1983 Local Motion tri fin #56654 $331
Before this, I was buying boards in Japan. I believe I was paying around $300 in the late 70’s. Moved up or down with the exchange rate.
After this, I was buying boards from Semente Surf shop in Portugal. The price seemed to fluctuate based on availability of materials.
Hope that helped.
For a contrast, a new BALSA Velzy & Jacobs Pig, in spring 1958, cost $ 75 dollars.
this is relevant – got in off a google search… Forbes mag:
US Median Income (Men)*
1965 $28,599
1975 $33,148
1985$42,847
1995 $39,186
2005 $41,386
if its any consolation, gas has gone up something like 5 times in the last 20 years. if that dosnt make you feel bad i got nothin’
I still have the order stickers off two Channel Islands decks I had a friend buy at the SB shop for me and ship to me in Japan. This was either '94 or '95.
Channel Islands #53921 TwinFinner
6’2" x 20 1/4" x 2 7/8" 5+5 top, 5oz. bottom, marked “Al Shape”
sanded gloss, airspray red bottom and rails… $415
Channel Islands #53010 MBB3
6’6" x 19" x 2 1/2" 5+5 top, 4oz bottom
sanded gloss, no color, glassed on fins… $385
I just did a little math and comparison study.
In 1967 a new VW bug cost about $1600. Today a new VW bug is about $17,000. Back in '67 a new surfboard cost about $160. Today a long board is between $850 to $1200. Seems like we’re not keeping up.