I just dropped about $600 into a Longboard that I shaped with a Skip Frye Eagle Template, and cannot sell it for the life of me. None of my shortys or Longboards are selling… only a fish or quad here and there. Anyone else having similar sales?
Dave
Ah, yeah, sorta. I got a stinking surftech funboard that’s been sitting on the used board rack for about 8 months. Excellent condition, crazy reasonable asking $.
Waiting for it sell to fund my next project.
Waiting.
Waiting…
Almost every board, if not every board, at the Long Board Grotto is on sale. Some are $3K off to $50 off. Trying to drum up sales they say…
TWO at Rocky’s hopefully they’ll be sold by summer.
I was looking at boards in the classified ads, there is some really good deals on used boards, and all the surfrshops that I’v been in have a lot of boards on sale. The only problem is with work being slow for me I can’t afford to buy anymore boards right now.
A couple of months back CI had a half-off board sale out of the Santa Barbara store.
There was quite a turnout.
I am having a hell of a time getting my board from my shaper. guy makes the craziest boards they are like extensions of your body, but “yea bro, 6 weeks” turns to 3 months
What’s that I keep hearing on the news about a recession? I’ve never known winter to be a good time for buying boards anyway. If I have something to sell I take it to the local shop and put in the used rack right around April. The last board I sold used went in two weeks.
I can’t complain though, I sold two today.
Put a 6’8" thruster in for sale at one of the local surfshops a few weeks back. They rang me the next morning and said, “Come and pick up your money, it’s sold”.
Put a 5’10" Fish in a week ago. Then Monday put in a 6’4" single. Tuesday they call me in the morning and tell me to come in to get the money for the fish. Later on that day they call me again and the same guy who bought the fish came back three hours later and bought the single. (He had no idea they were both mine).
The crew in the shop were left shaking their heads with the what’s the chances of that happening when they have so many second hand boards.
The shop grommet who called me wanted to know if I had any more for sale.
I must have good luck or good taste.
Hi Dave just to let you know Iam in the same boat , back to doing it all myself , surrounded by a over gluttered market thanks to the so called modern shaper with their machines and stolen floppy disc . Just another case of . never have so many gone so far on so little abillity. just keep your head down and bum up doing what you love, and we should see a better light at the end of the tunnel hopefully its not a train ,regards MILCH.
My sales are flat. Some do the economy and some do to the glut of cheap imports offered in the shop down the street. Short board sales are the slowest. Longboarders around here tend to be a little older and have a little better jobs.
Overall, I’ve been really flat in sales as well. Of course, I only build a few boards now and those are mostly to repeat customers. This seems to be the general trend here in France at the moment. Most of my friends who shape are building, but more at half-speed or quarter-speed.
Some blame the weather, the fact that the local sand bars have been bad for months and months, the vast numbers of cheap imports from everywhere… and the general economic situation doesn’t help. In December I shaped two boards (my usual production is only six or seven anyway).
But then Monday, three friends come in and order compsand fishes in various styles with all the bells and whistles. Yesterday, a balsa longboard that I’ve had in a shop for six months moves and a guy who just missed the sale calls to order a custom balsa 9’4" noserider about 40 minutes later. Strange.
It’s not good deal when folks are having a hard time selling boards and allot of use are having a hard time because they want to buy a new board. Remember though it’s a difficult time, holiday bills are coming in the economy stinks. I am going to have to keep using an old reliable board for a month or so until i can get a few $ saved. My guess is allot of guys are in the same boat.
Good Luck
Quote:
My sales are flat. Some do the economy and some do to the glut of cheap imports offered in the shop down the street. Short board sales are the slowest. Longboarders around here tend to be a little older and have a little better jobs.
The public does not see much of a difference in the quality of Asian imports because there is not much of a difference. All things being equal they are choosing price for their fun. No one owes shapers a higher price if they can’t prove that there is a reason for it that helps the customer. If I rode a pointed nose shorty and changed boards often…I sure wouldn’t pay an extra $100.00 to say I bought the thing from a shaper.
A proper built custom for a decent surfer is good…but for guys changing boards every six months…they are going to go with price eventually.
Shortboard sales are slow because folks have been riding the same boring shite for too long. There has been little creativity in that segment. Even the fish four fin bandwagon has gotten boring.
The shapers who are making unique things will benefit from the next up turn. All that being said…sales are slow right now and I think mainly because folks are waiting to see what happens with the economy.
Not directed at anyone …just comments.
…may be the boards last more
so the guys dont need boards too often
-but is not “blow and make glass bottles”
you need a reputation, years of hard working, dedication, start like a doorman and develop your way to a Ceo (understand all the tiny details here and there…); you need a portfolio of clients (several years to achieve this)
you need rookies, good and very good surfers on your boards
you need to have quality on your boards
you need a high % of success boards in your career
I only make boards for 20 years and was/is very difficult to keeping a low profile and to bring customers without be a sell out
I do not make too much boards in comparison to others, but the boards are not cheap…and barely I have time (I build from start to finish) for my other stuff (studying a technical degree)
there is almost always a recession before a presidential election, it is just the way it is, doesn’t matter who is in office.
With all possible due respect - maybe your first pointy nose thruster is no better than an import. Your third or fourth, though, they’ll be way better! Going to the same shaper, refining, adjusting, etc , that’s the true benefit of the custom, there’s nothing like it.
Now, I hope somebody buys the stuff I’m selling on ebay, so I can order a board, dang it!! I’m jonsing; I went the entire year of 2007 without a new stick!
BTW, nows a good time to sell ancient relics in Santa Cruz, as the St. Valentines Day massacre - (boards must be pre-1980) contest is coming up.
The market is over saturated at this moment - particularly the retailers have too much irrelevant product on their racks. Probably has been since the summer of 2006. I honestly believe the retailers did a lot of “panic” buying the first 6 months of 2006 to hedge against a possible shortage of product when Clark Foam closed in December 2005. Another round of “bad” buys - irrelevant product - hit the racks the first 6 months of 2007 as retailers tried to offset their bloated inventories with price point product.
Now the retailers are struggling to liquidate both brand and price point product that has been on the racks for a long, long time. Too long to remain in demand. Many retailers have distanced themselves from surfers (surfboard buying clients) and focused on moms and daughters with “Gold Cards” (surf related sports and casual clothing buying clients) to sustain cash flow. Retailer that were once a destination for surfers shopping for a quality surfboard find those clients shopping for their boards elsewhere - in shops that feature fresh - quality surfboards. Throw in the general “trend” towards recession in the US economy and you have a significant slump in board sales in a high percentage of retail surf shops.
I don’t think it’s ironic that at the same time most of the shapers and glass shops in our area (Santa Cruz / Monterey / San Francisco) are backed up with custom orders with clients showing no hesitation to pay top $$ for quality boards of a wide variety of designs and construction schedules.
Sometimes we just have to reinvent the wheel to keep it rolling.
Kind regards to all,
Steve Coletta
Hey,
So what I’ve been doing is taking orders only. I figure that way people can get exactly want they want and then I’m not left with unsold boards which in my case probably wouldn’t sell anyway. Most of us aren’t in this to make money so I definitely try to keep no overhead around. Just put the word out. I’ve been getting alot of response around NYC just from word of mouth. So at least I’m able to keep shaping and be able to get a free board out of it for myself every now and then.
rick.
Quote:
The market is over saturated at this moment - particularly the retailers have too much irrelevant product on their racks. Probably has been since the summer of 2006. I honestly believe the retailers did a lot of “panic” buying the first 6 months of 2006 to hedge against a possible shortage of product when Clark Foam closed in December 2005. Another round of “bad” buys - irrelevant product - hit the racks the first 6 months of 2007 as retailers tried to offset their bloated inventories with price point product.
Steve Coletta
Post of the day. Said it better than I.