Is there more money in shortboards or longboards?
Is there more money in shortboards or longboards? DING REPAIR…
The “money”, unfortunately (although, even that depends on your particular point of view) is where it ALWAYS seems to be… IN THE MIDDLE and on and on down the line. A specific case in point: where I live, ocean shrimp currently provide the commercial guys (who go to sea, take the risks, do the work and harvest them), about.25 a pound, while in the same town, at the same time, it retails for $4.99 a pound! Are there any similarities here?
You are right, it is in the middle. The damn shops make sure they collect money from customers or they are damn sure you are the one taking the gamble(consignment deal). And all thought the shop doesn’t make money on boards, they do make a good 50 to 100 bucks on them. It takes a shaper tough hours on a board to hope and make any money. Unfortunately humans are homogenius–a Rusty surfboard has to be the shortboard of choice. McDonalds hamburgers suck, but people like to eat there. i am not saying Rusty Surfboards sucks, just that there are others equal to or better. However, the public won’t take a gamble on another shaper’s boards. If a person rides a Rusty and it doesn’t work, they are afraid to say the board sucks(cause no board really sucks, it just might not be right for you). On the other hand, if a no name shaper shapes a symmetrical board with a good design but it doesn’t work for the customer, then it must be the bard and shaper’s fault. Once again I say, “Have you ever seen Rusty surf?” Have you seen MR or Simon Anderson, Richie Collins, …I like shaping my own boards cause my feed back is not misinterpretted. Out…Peace.
If you have the desire, its never unwise to dedicate yourself to the personal creation of surfcraft that work for you and the waves you most frequently experience. This journey is definitely not for everyone (nor should it have to be), or is it always the easiest or cheapest or fastest, but the accumulated satisfaction, knowledge and experience gained will far outweigh the failures... in truth, theyre often far more significant than the successes! Then, one day when someone asks you “where is the money in surfboards”, you can just shake the foam dust off, smile and say, “I invested it all… in myself”.
Dale speaketh the truth. My friends wonder why I have three different planers, have a laminating and shaping stand, and all the other tools just to shape a few boards a year. The investment is a “self investment” for sure.