I work on yachts for a living and i was told my new board will be 600 bucks !!What a bargain!!It’s about time!!There is no way i could make a living making surfboards.It seems like such a thankless art.They should cost what?? 1000.00 would seem about right??
theres no way it should be 1000$!!! takayama and tudor and all those guys have boards at that price, its outrageous! 600 I can understand, but 1000?
id have to say it depends on the board. balsa boards, and other boards that take long amounts of time, have some sort of resin effect, or arent just fiberglass and white foam, i think some of these should be worth alot. sometimes boards dont even look like they should be ridden. id hate to see an unridden board though dj
Most shapers I know who have been around a while consider it a starving artist kind of lifestyle. A lot of them have day jobs and only shape as a hobby. Only the lucky few make it profitable.
It’s an interesting situation. How are kids suppoosed to afford one of the high price boards? $7.00 an hour, 24 hours of work a week, taxes taken out, part of their auto insurance, bloody stinking hell $9.00 for one movie ticket…it’ll take them forever to buy a first class board. Unless, of course, it is provided for them…heh heh. Finding a decent used board in Southern Cal is getting rare…expect to pay roughly only $150 less than full retail, and it will probably be 1-3 years old with corresponding datedness of design. None of that was meant to have anything to do with the actual value of the board (ie. Cooperfish/Surfenginez etc. and the obvious work/craft which goes into them). What that does is build in a niche for lesser priced imports or lesser quality craftsmanship or materials for domestic production. Assuming Real Surfers on average are in the poverty level, premium surfboards are costing 2-3 weeks of fulltime wages. Contemporary culture has sucked new surfers in by the thousands, and none of us really want to leave - with no corresponding increase in capacity. Travel to expensive exotic locales to have excellent uncrowded surf to push the performance edges is really mandatory. You pay through the nose, or other orifices, to live near coastline. Surfing is in danger of becoming a pastime of the idle well-to-do. Or maybe the Type-A workaholics. One logical response is to make one’s own boards, although that is somewhat at odds with supporting established craftspeople.
In 1978 a drum of resin cost $360 Aud and a new board set you back $350, today a drum of resin costs $1300 Aud and you can get new boards still at $350, 22 years ago l was getting $17 dollars to shape a board, these days the kids are getting around $20 to shape for the bigger companies, for those of you who dont make boards for a living has your pay gone up with inflation because ours certainly has’nt. KR http://groups.msn.com/MyKRSurf/krcomweb.msnw
Let’s see, thanks to swaylocks I can build my own surfboards for $150-$200 in materials(including shipping materials from abroad and taxes). It would have to be a really good surfboard for me to splash out $1000. If you sell factory direct and don’t do much advertising and are a fast shaper and glasser I would say $350 isn’t too bad. Depens on how many boards you can do. If you can do 2 a day and earn $150 pr. board that makes for a nice paycheck IMHO. That said, the cheapest board in the shops(imported from South Africa) retail for $500 here. regards, Håvard
You’ve got to put it all into perspective. Some shapers are very skilled or adept at a particular facet of their craft. Some are sought out for their time tested guns or longboards, while some others for their particular species of shortboard (or a combination of styles for which they might be known). Some guys (whether their shapes are CAM created or fully shaped by hand) put amazing detail into their work. FINISHED PRODUCT should be the measure of the work (value/worth). With ghost shapers and the ease of the robot machine CAM, you really don’t know the “providence” of a board. You can’t always be certain if a supposed shaper you’ve “contracted” to build a board has even touched your shape - except to maybe sign his name - like the renaissance guild artists of the past. (we all know that some of those supposed “signatures” are actually stamps). If you want consistant results in production, then use the CAM to your advantage…but don’t expect mega bux on an individual board to make back the cash you laid out on a production machine. More volume the price should come down. (not go up). Cost of raw materials are at issue but that’s all about who gets a bigger piece of the pie. Let’s not forget about glassers (and the cost of subcontracting them [nor their great value]) in this equation. Why do you think (really) that people are taking their work to asia. Be it supply and demand, we know PROFIT has something to do with it. Despite all the R and D there will always be counterfitters or massproduction people who’ll jump your train. Final product and a board’s relative worth will be the deciding factor when the greenbacks leave the wallet. It may not be fair - the amount of INDIVIDUAL hand work which is put into a board - only to receive paltry returns. But then there’s the difference…if a board is good and there is obviously a lot of care put into that work of art - an educated buyer will know. There will be less reluctance to shell out. You can purchase a decent quality guitar or camera with the similar price range of a current day shortboard (as an analogy). As various features enhance the product and it’s capabilities, the price goes up. I’ve seen a lot of work coming out which is quite good - and alot which is quite bad, which does not warrant the extra cash. If people can find a less expensive way to produce, all power to them. (notice I said less expensive and not “cheaper” with respect to final product). But not at the expense of some worker in asia’s health or well being. Maybe those asian workers are doing o.k. with good wages and safe healthy environments. (maybe not). I wonder who’s living a good life - the manufacturer, the workers or both. Seems like when work goes out of this country it’s out of the sight of scrutiny. I tend to think that there is cause and effect in this world. You don’t always “get what you pay for”. Caveat emptor, and “mow your own”!
“Surfing is in danger of becoming a pastime of the idle well-to-do.” This seems to be true of a number of activities. Unless one has parents willing to foot the bills of organized sports many of the traditional activities of youth are no longer viable without financial difficulties. Where I live you would think every young person would be playing hockey or skiing/boarding - and yes, even surfing. Not so. These activities have priced themselves out of reach of many. Yes, there is still a great deal of money to be made from these sports as entertainment or occasional activities, but they are fast becoming the domain of the rich or those few lucky enough to be located in the right spot . If my observations are correct soccer and skateboarding or other less expensive sports are filling the gap on a day to day level. Is this a problem or just natural evivolution? It is certainly not a problem for established builders or beach front property owners. However, it may impact in a negative way on the quality of surfing skills and limit board shaping experiments. Mmmm? This ramble is sounding too negative. I think I will go check out the local windswell. I’m rich in disposable time. Take care. Patrick
Let’s face it, its an art. Everybody touching a board should be getting about $40-$50 per hour. Sh*t, shapers, sprayers, glassers, sanders, fin guys, glossers, theres a lot of people envolved in a surfboard, everyone of them making 20 bucks here or maybe 40 bucks there. A name brand surfboard let’s say 9’6" with a resin tint cut lam acid wash costs $500.00 after paying everybody and before it hits the retail store. Retailer puts a 30-50% margin on it bam $600-750.00 retail. That board should cost $1000.00-$3,000. Surfers are the cheapest people on the planet,(Me included) where else would you find guys wanting to make there own surf wax, sh&t I love baseball, but I don’t want to sew my own baseballs?. Remember those Gucci surfboards that were retailing for $2,500 those are real department store margins, and really what a board should cost, If people want to own a home, have a 401K, new car every 8 of years. As for the young kids, that’s why there are so many used boards out there, buy one, or learn to shape, glass, sand, and polish -Jay
I think that the only guys who makes money are the surf cloth owners
Marketing is always where the money is, because you’re not selling a product all the time, you’re selling a lifestyle. Design a successful clothing line with recognizable clientell and it will pay for all the surfing you’d ever want to do.
Howzit KR, $1300.00 for a drum of resin is way to much. Aloha, Kokua
Howzit Reverb, You hit the nail on the head. A couple of years ago I asked the owner of Hanalei Surf co. how T&C could sell their boards so cheap. He said by selling the boards cheap,there were more out there and people would buy more of their clothing which was where the real profit was.Aloha, Kokua
We need to give more to get more. Change the attitude of your average surfboard builder to one of making the BEST quality he can, and follow that up with better technology. Otherwise China will supress and already depressed market. Set the pace. Be a leader not a follower. It isn’t all JUST marketing.
If surf boards cost $1000 it would be horrible, i’d have to change my shorts after every ding, and i could afford one a year at best. (selling organs and souls) There is a place for such boards, collectables, craftsmanship, flying capabilities, but there has to be a board that is reasonable and not from china. Thats were the hobbiest and the garage shaper and the starving artist come in. (Rant) Surfing could have gotten too big for its briches, there alot of suburban money flying around buying clothes and accessories, and maybe somebody thinks that they can get their share in an honest and respectable way in reguards to the surfing community. Wrong, there is none, hell the clothing is for the kids who dont surf but want a piece of the pussy. THe money is in the image, so if you can sell your “stoke” you can drive an new car every 8 years. Does that make you a bad person, NO, you are just another tool in the valley sceme ussering more folks into the lineup, killing the stoke of others already in the water, diminishing the sport and strangling the aloha spirit. But hell, a mans got to eat and drink, I would probably have a clothing lineup if i could make an easy and comfortable living from it, the difference is mine would be cool. My shirts would have breast pockets like any good shirt should!
We need to give more to get more. Change the attitude of your average surfboard builder to one of making the BEST quality he can, and follow that up with better technology. Otherwise China will supress and already depressed market. Set the pace. Be a leader not a follower. It isn’t all JUST marketing------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Champion words Greg.
there are backyarders in several countries who crafts good and quality ones…
I honestly don’t think buying a board off the rack or buying a used board is an option. If you want a board that is going to serve you well (your weight/height/style/needs) you have to get a custom shape. I just can’t belive I’m going to have to blow the money I have been saving for 3 years (im just a 16 year old kid) on one surfboard. I totally repect all the master craftsmen who build great boards, I guess I just have to pony up. Its funny that competition dosn’t drive down the price of a good quality surfboard. I guess its kinda an art not a business
…ohh my mind…, and really cheap : US$ 200 to 250