Besides ebay, how can one find the value of a vintage surfboard and get in touch with those interested in collection and preservation. Not surf and destroy.
I checked out your details but I don’t now where you are…
There are some museums around the world that would be interested.
Have a look at www.surfresearch.com.au for some sites.
OR put some piccies up on this site and get a better idea from “Those who know”
cheers
Hixy
google search , maybe ?
ben
I run a surf shop that has a fair amount of collectors coming through, including the guy who owns the place. So I’ve had to answer this question more than once.
There are some badly xeroxed sheets out there that purport to be a blue book of sorts for used surboard prices and values. And they are for the most part wishful thinking. They date from the height of the collecting boom when the Japanese and Silicon Valley ‘silly money’ was at its high point for the most part, and again wild hopes and wishful thinking where no actual sales were made of a particular make or model. Collector’s items are like a commodity- their sale prices wax and wane with the fortunes of the community that tends to buy 'em.
eBay is a pretty good resource for prices. After all, things are worth what people are willing to pay for 'em. Couple things to remember, though: add the cost of shipping and ignore the boards that went up with insanely high floor prices and never sold or even got a bid. To my mind, it’s about the single best resource these days.
Other auctions, especially charity auctions like surfrider has now and then, can be ignored for the most part. If you’re a collector, with too much money, you can both show off and get yourself a nice tax deduction by paying an inflated price for an old board. Legitimate non-charity auctions (that establish values) on the order of Sotheby’s auctions for artwork really don’t happen for surfboards.
If you have a fair number of boards or an exceptional board, the collectors will find you. Many are unscrupulous, to put it mildly. And they have been known to collude and conspire. Recently, one near here got bagged for board theft on a wholesale level, he had a storage area full of 'em.
Location of both you and the board are a factor. You can get more if the potential buyer can fondle and drool on the board in question and if there’s a fair amount of money in said area. California and Hawaii are the top markets, Japan was but since the Japanese economy hit a pothole it’s gone way down and lets say Idaho is the worst.
My favorite is the wannabe experts who come up to you in a beach parking lot and say "Gee, great board, that’s worth ___ hundred " ( or ___ thousand ) …unless they are willing to give ya that amount, in cash, they are full of hot air. Don’t take checks unless the buyer is willing to go to his bank with ya to cash it before he takes delivery. A fool and his money… nothing wrong with taking that amount if offered but don’t expect that a real collector or a surf shop will give you that kind of dough or even close.
I see it all the time. Somebody was told one of these prices and they expect I will give 'em that kind of money for their cheezy old junker and their feelings get hurt when I spray coffee all over 'em laughing. What I tell them is if somebody offered them $( insane high price) they shoulda taken it.
Again, it’s not what somebody tells ya a board is worth, it’s what they are willing to pay. In real money, not promises.
hope that’s of use
doc…
dunno how it is elsewhere , but here in Australia , surfers are notorious tight arses …promise to give you the world and all you basically end up getting is what I think sunny garcia once called hot air blown up your arse .
Just like a friend in the industry said recently …everyone wants their board last week , and may pay you for it next year . [if you’re lucky !]