I’m interested in ordering a shortboard or fish from ShapingShack.com to be shipped to the Eact Coast (Central NJ). Which brand would you choose based on design, craftsmanship and quality of materials used? LINDEN SPYDER WEGENER OAK FOILS ROBERTS HORI Thanks in advance for your feedback. John
Waht are the board makers using Shaping Shack thinking? The prices seem low vs. the surf shops (although shipping costs are usually high enough to dissuade 1 board orders). I guess these shapers don’t care about burning the shops who carry their boards? As its very easy for most people to mess up as regards picking the right board without someone else’s input (particularly someone who simply would’nt just go to the local surf shop), are’nt these manu’s cutting their own throats in a sense? I for one would prefer to get volume orders from shops vs. customer one-offs, which tend to be way more labor intensive given the $$ involved. But that’s just from a board maker’s perspective…
I beleive the price savings are from the Shaping Shack end, seems as if they are not heavily overhead as most of the retailers and pass the savings on to the customers. I think it’s mainly for surfers that don’t have a retail outlet in their neighborhoods. Most shops lag in terms of retail and custom orders, as this is not a primary money making part of the shop. Most shops don’t really seem to want to be involved or care to “take orders”, due to the margins and stock boards are on the rack primarily for “dressing”.
Fair enough observation, I was just focusing in on the fact of the “personalized service” aspect that good shops offer. The fact that the boards themselves generate so little profit basically proves that most of the shops are “in it for love” and not $$. I’m sure if you asked most shop owners if they would rather sell clothes or boards they would pick boards IF all the other factors were the same, which they are not. The shops sell clothes to pay the rent because board sales don’t cut it. Most of the guys that I deal with run surf shops becuase they love it. Let’s face it, in most cases the real estate the shop sits on is probably worth more than the shops can make in many years. So given these facts, why would’nt someone want to seek out a shop to get their expertise in choosing a board for their local conditions? (By the way, which break is the local break for Shaping Shack.com? I guess that they can offer real help on choosing the right board if you want to surf the Net) Also, I predict that Shaping Shack will soon find out the real meaning of “customer service” when they start generating enough sales to get things like returns, repair questions, etc. I guess their customers will just pay to mail their boards back if they have a problem…it’s only about $125 in shipping. Or maybe that’s when they will break down and go to a real surf shop with their problem. I’m sure the shop owners will like getting that type of business (given that they are still in business) What do you shop owners out there have to say about this?
That shaping shack thing is a joke, if you check closer you can click on the individual companies and order directly from them. I am not sure what the shaping shack company does.