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Skateboarding => USELESS WOODEN TOY BANTER => Topic started by: Mandatory Reload on June 28, 2023, 07:08:00 AM
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https://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2023/06/26/why-are-board-prices-on-the-rise/
Pretty interesting read. The way board prices stayed static for the better part of 2-3 decades is pretty wild to begin with. I personally am totally fine with paying more like $65-70 for a board and want both skate shops and board brands to have some decent profit margins, but I'm also an adult with disposable income. When I was 12 and had to make a board last as long as possible because I didn't know if I was gonna be able to convince my parents to get me another one anytime soon, I might've felt differently.
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https://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2023/06/26/why-are-board-prices-on-the-rise/
Pretty interesting read. The way board prices stayed static for the better part of 2-3 decades is pretty wild to begin with. I personally am totally fine with paying more like $65-70 for a board and want both skate shops and board brands to have some decent profit margins, but I'm also an adult with disposable income. When I was 12 and had to make a board last as long as possible because I didn't know if I was gonna be able to convince my parents to get me another one anytime soon, I might've felt differently.
You’re “totally fine” with the price of a short lifespan good increasing by 40% basically overnight? What an absolutely absurd thing to say. You having disposable income has nothing to do it.
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https://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2023/06/26/why-are-board-prices-on-the-rise/
Pretty interesting read. The way board prices stayed static for the better part of 2-3 decades is pretty wild to begin with. I personally am totally fine with paying more like $65-70 for a board and want both skate shops and board brands to have some decent profit margins, but I'm also an adult with disposable income. When I was 12 and had to make a board last as long as possible because I didn't know if I was gonna be able to convince my parents to get me another one anytime soon, I might've felt differently.
You’re “totally fine” with the price of a short lifespan good increasing by 40% basically overnight? What an absolutely absurd thing to say. You having disposable income has nothing to do it.
The price rising so much in such a short amount of time was a real shock. If the prices had just gone up a couple bucks every few years, we wouldn’t have noticed and we would be be where we’re at now. I personally don’t mind the price jump, because I know it has been long overdue.
Also, prepare for more price increases, on at least decks
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Idk, down here in Oz, seems like boards have never been cheaper, and the retail recession is still seeing huge price reductions due to low sales and overstock. Companies/shops can price whatever they want, but consumers will control the market to pull the price back down to closer to wholesale when they don't sell, and that's what's happened. I'm more concerned about wheel prices now often costing more than decks tbh.
Interesting comment below the article.
Todd C
JUNE 26, 2023 4:59 PM
We just opened a new shop called PROM in Colorado Springs, CO and use PS Stix for our shop boards. We are able to make a healthy margin by pricing the shop decks at $45 each. At that price, it’s one of the best hardgoods margins in our entire shop, too. I can only imagine that larger bulk orders would make this margin grow by a LOT. Of course if you want to do transparencies, embossing, gold foil, etc, you probably have to drive the price up. But it’s a bit confusing for everyone to claim the price HAS to be this high. We are probably blind to a lot of the issues facing larger manufacturers and distributors though.
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One point the article fails to address is the fact that the manufacturing price has risen greatly over the last 3 years.. BBS has bumped their pricing up 4-5 times with another 20% increase happening this month. Kinda forces the brands to raise their wholesale prices..
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I too have a reasonably disposable income, and I'm fortunate that buying skate goods isn't as much of a financial burden as it was in my late teens/early twenties.
I can't pretend to be an expert on how inflation and margins work but it always bothered me hearing people in the industry complain about pricing issues without looking inward at all. There's always this air of entitlement projected upon the consumer for not wanting to pay extra, but it seems none of them want to admit that maybe the price of making a skateboard is going up partially because more and more and more and more and more and more and more people are trying to have skateboards made? It's not our fault that every other asshole in the industry wants to run a skateboard company that oversaturates woodshops. But "sUpPorT sKaTeBoArDiNg", right?
There was a really smug Heath Brinkley interview where he was complaining about it. And I'm sorry, but it's really hard for me to sympathize with a board brand with A tier anime licensing and a luxurious private skatepark to tell me I'm entitled for not wanting to spend extra money for their ridiculous overhead.
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Glad that my board hoarder tendencies have been validated. Last winter, when every retailer and even board companies were blowing out pro decks for $25-40, I figured that would presage a dramatic price increase something along the lines of what we see today.
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i only pay full price for boards im gonna keep
i'll gladly stick to the sale section
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https://www.jenkemmag.com/home/2023/06/26/why-are-board-prices-on-the-rise/
Pretty interesting read. The way board prices stayed static for the better part of 2-3 decades is pretty wild to begin with. I personally am totally fine with paying more like $65-70 for a board and want both skate shops and board brands to have some decent profit margins, but I'm also an adult with disposable income. When I was 12 and had to make a board last as long as possible because I didn't know if I was gonna be able to convince my parents to get me another one anytime soon, I might've felt differently.
You’re “totally fine” with the price of a short lifespan good increasing by 40% basically overnight? What an absolutely absurd thing to say. You having disposable income has nothing to do it.
Across the board it absolutely wasn't a 40% increase, the average would be a deck that cost $55 in 2000 now costs around $65, which makes about an 18% increase. Sure that's not nothing, but look at price increases from 1990 to 2023 on basically anything else money can buy and you'll find an 18% increase in 30 years is pretty damn modest.
There's no way any brand selling any product could survive charging 90s' prices in 2023.
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the rising prices freed me from my board madness, I liked to buy same company/size for years... but Im not gonna pay 85-90 dollars for a board, fuck off
So now I'll buy any piece of shit thats 8.0 inches with a mellow shape, I dont care in which sweatshop it was made as long isn't over 50 dollars
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While we’re on the topic, can we talk about inflation of hoodies. Companies charging $100+ for a hoodie seems pretty normal nowadays is absurd
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While we’re on the topic, can we talk about inflation of hoodies. Companies charging $100+ for a hoodie seems pretty normal nowadays is absurd
Clothing prices are whatever. Want clothes? Go to ross. Want to financially support an org you like? Well yea that requires financial support
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Lots of poor fucking people who don’t give a fuck about the cost of living for workers and think skateboards should be the only thing in the history of capitalism that does not adjust accordingly with the current world financial situation.
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While we’re on the topic, can we talk about inflation of hoodies. Companies charging $100+ for a hoodie seems pretty normal nowadays is absurd
Polar is selling their t-shirts for $50 each now. I didn’t even see what a hoodie cost but one can imagine significantly more than that. I’d say I don’t know who is buying this stuff, but people here will post about their purchases so I guess that I sort of do know.
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Lots of poor fucking people who don’t give a fuck about the cost of living for workers and think skateboards should be the only thing in the history of capitalism that does not adjust accordingly with the current world financial situation.
I have seen and engaged with the argument here on this forum that skateboarding isn’t capitalistic. People really think that, because it’s something that they like, that it’s not motivated by market forces and doesn’t produce goods using the global capitalist mode of production.
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(https://i.imgur.com/JySImcx.jpg)
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Wow it's weird almost like every type of goods and services had prices increase by a pretty chunky margin over the past 4 years.
The fact that a deck cost the same when I was 46 as it did when I was 13 was fucking nuts and it's pretty lame to complain it. Double lame to complain with the next breath when pros that don't ride for big shoe don't make a living wage or have health insurance.
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No one wants anything to be more expensive, but our overlords have been taking advantage of us more aggressively over the past few years so I see it as an unfortunate inevitability.
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Heard this directly from someone who runs a prominent distributor on the east coast, but the price hikes are because shops have stopped ordering decks from them and other brands because all the older big companies like NHS brands and Zero are offering insanely ridiculous deals for like $17/board.
They further said it’s a short term problem that will have long term consequences, and that they’re “killing the industry.”
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Lots of poor fucking people who don’t give a fuck about the cost of living for workers and think skateboards should be the only thing in the history of capitalism that does not adjust accordingly with the current world financial situation.
I would bet a lot of money that the wages of the workers in skateboard factories are still the same as they were 10 years ago.
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Lots of poor fucking people who don’t give a fuck about the cost of living for workers and think skateboards should be the only thing in the history of capitalism that does not adjust accordingly with the current world financial situation.
I would bet a lot of money that the wages of the workers in skateboard factories are still the same as they were 10 years ago.
I'll gladly take that bet because you'd be wrong, at least in Mexico. China is a laborers hellscape since their main economic advantage is literally cheap labor, so it might be "more true" there but I doubt it. Wages on the whole are definitely higher across the board there over the past decade over there. Now that doesn't mean that they've kept pace with inflation, but that's a whole different topic.
In Mexico, It's actually a pretty decent paying, competitive, and desirable job and they take good care of their people. Literally the only time I've heard complaints are when BBS had issues with employees walking out/being scared to come to work because during COVID but again, that has nothing to do with their pay.
But yeah, I'm more surprised by the fact that people seem surprised by this. The margins on boards have been shrinking for the last 25+ years and thats a big part what kept prices the same. Shops barely make money on them as is and for small companies you basically have to be an apparel company that does a 500 board order every now and then. There was literally no room for them to maneuver anymore, so this has been more or less inevitable for quite a while.
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My biggest problem is freight and the charges. I either have to airfreight or seafreight.
Sea just takes too long and as I have to pay before dispatch, I end up paying and then waiting 3+ months before I can even receive it and start making my money back.
The airfreight is slightly higher but faster but I have to ship less, which means the freight charges have to been allocated over less stock, pushing the pricing up again.
Getting a deck on special for like $2 off w/s doesn't really help when I have to put airfreight on that.
It sucks and it's a constant juggle to try keep things down but still stay in business.
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Bloards
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https://archive.org/details/ccs-1993-summer/mode/1up
Looking through this CCS catalog from '93, it's interesting to compare the amount of inflation between product categories over the last 30 years. Most things have roughly doubled in price. Bones Swiss have tripled. Pro, non-slick boards have gone from $42 USD to a range of $62 at the low end to $79 at the high end. That's for a pro, non-slick, non-shaped, non-retro, non-gimmick board. It appears $70, $72, and $74 are the most common prices for boards in this category today. A basic inflation calculator translates $42 USD in 1993 into $88.40 today. My general sense is that most things at the skateshop have kept pace with inflation, but boards have not. It won't surprise me if board prices continue to rise, and sales of blank, team and shop boards to continue to capture an ever increasing share of the market as people seek cheaper alternatives.
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i only pay full price for boards im gonna keep
i'll gladly stick to the sale section
Same issue it's for collection, sure. Anything I'm gonna skate is a blank nowadays
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(https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2021-05/4/19/asset/7c5c91028a1e/sub-buzz-6979-1620155482-4.jpg?downsize=700%3A%2A&output-quality=auto&output-format=auto)
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Honestly it doesn't bother me considering I skate 3 times on a good week so boards last me quite a while. That being said I'll still buy sales boards and local shop and local brand decks to save a few bucks when needed. And tbh there are still companies that sell boards for 50 bucks so it's not like you HAVE to spend 70 on a bigger brand.
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The industry was complaining about the price of boards all the way up until the pandemic. That’s shit would creep into 9 club and other media. It was a slow creep, then they used the pandemic as an excuse to jack up prices and keep them there.
Should the prices have increase? Yeah, but slowly over time. Boards were already creeping up on up to 55$ to 65$
But a 77$ for an enjoi team deck Straight from the warehouse?
https://thankyousupply.com/collections/decks/products/enjoi-happy-tree-super-sap-r7-8-25-8-5-skateboard-deck
Nah bruh, you can’t convince me that’s not price gouging.
Also, all this inventory isn’t moving any more. Hence every other month there’s some insane board sale.
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In the UK Sci Fi Fantasy decks are £90 ($114). Not sure how many they're selling. FA were £80 at Slam City, now they're all on sale for £60.
A Palace deck is £54. Shockingly, I see a lot of them around.
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There was never a price adjustment when companies decided to move manufacturing outside of the us. I think the woodshops did really well for quite a few years. I think ultimately they are in control of the market, but they are doing things to hurt major brands. If they lower minimums like they have they have been they are further saturating the market. Additionally they are selling blanks, further hurting margins.
There are probably too many companies now, with more on the horizon. I’m not sure how this will help keeping board prices up.
Ultimately if prices get to like 75$$ a board, I think people will just skate their boards longer. If closer to 50, I think you’re more likely to skate a board for a few weeks and retire it early.
Makes you wonder if it would be better for the industry if it somehow became like the 80s again, where you had just 4 major brands, but the pro riders were making a nice living just off their boards. Not totally related, but I think it’s a shame that you can have your name on a board and still have to Uber.
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Fuck paying $70 for a board. This is why I love the sale section of ccs or tactics!
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At my local shop, classic/legacy brands are almost all $58-$65 (Anti-Hero, Baker, Girl, etc)
Anything $70+ is a specialty deck (VX, R7, Flight, slick, etc)
The "cool" brands start at $70 (FA, Polar, Sci-Fi, GX etc)
The only decks in the whole shop that go too far over $70 are the VX Everslicks and decks with wild shapes, which can start inching close to $100
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This feels a bit like a last gasp for legacy companies to stay profitable with the same business model.
Market share isn’t what it used to be and nobody is moving units like 20 years ago. Moving offshore probably has com back to bite them in the ass as well because shipping costs now eat up much of labor savings.
Skateboarding is sort of unique in the field of sporting equipment (which is really all it is) to the extent pro riders and company personalities figure into the buying patterns of the general public. It’s cool to some extent but ultimately doesn’t really matter in the end product.
The sad truth as an older consumer is that I don’t really give a shit who makes my consumables and who rides for them, I just care that the stuff I buy meets a minimum quality standard. It’s great the industry has been able to support riders for so long but ultimately you’re paying for a name painted on a board. That barely happens in other recreational industries. 99% of skiers on a mountain haven’t watched a ski video and can’t name a famous skier. There aren’t many signature bicycles, etc.
I like the way skateboarding still is this encompassing scene but price hikes have a risk of being a self inflicted wound - it leaves an opening for high quality generics to supplant pro models indefinitely.
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Skateboarding and our wallets are definitely feeling the impact of rising expenses in 2023. It would be great if skate shops could throw in free grip tape when purchasing decks priced at $65 or more. By the way, I mentioned in another discussion that I don't have much knowledge about wholesaling. I'm curious, what are the wholesale prices for trucks, wheels, grip & shoes? Are all these items marked up 100% in the shops?
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everyone outside the US looking at this thread must be havin a laugh at these comments
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Skateboarders tend to forget that pretty much EVERYTHING has gone up in price over the last 5 years, and that skateboards haven’t in 50. Also, that companies have employees they have to pay, with rent, insurance, advertising, trips, workers comp, taxes, etc. Yet, there’s still the idiot who says “I wish they’d throw in free grip”. Dude, grip costs money, there’s a whole fucking part of the industry based on it. Why would a struggling shop (struggling bc everyone is going to ccs/tactics for cheap online boards) give you a product they had to pay for? What other business does that and actually survives?
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Skateboarders tend to forget that pretty much EVERYTHING has gone up in price over the last 5 years, and that skateboards haven’t in 50. Also, that companies have employees they have to pay, with rent, insurance, advertising, trips, workers comp, taxes, etc. Yet, there’s still the idiot who says “I wish they’d throw in free grip”. Dude, grip costs money, there’s a whole fucking part of the industry based on it. Why would a struggling shop (struggling bc everyone is going to ccs/tactics for cheap online boards) give you a product they had to pay for? What other business does that and actually survives?
I respectfully disagree with your viewpoint. It seems that you find amusement in my desire for a complimentary sheet of $5 grip tape, despite its 100% markup when purchased alongside a $65-70 deck that has already been marked up by over 100%. Damn idiots. It is evident that everything comes with a cost, and I fully comprehend the necessity of charging for products and services in order to sustain a business. I'll continue to order directly from FA, enjoying free shipping and affordable grip tape while you indulge in your penchant for paying $8.99 or even $20+ for fancy anime grip tape. It seems you're the type who delights in supporting such a purchase while keeping local shops thriving. Thanks for that. Your generosity knows no bounds.
** F/A now sells Pepper grip for $3! Awesome.
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Skateboarders tend to forget that pretty much EVERYTHING has gone up in price over the last 5 years, and that skateboards haven’t in 50. Also, that companies have employees they have to pay, with rent, insurance, advertising, trips, workers comp, taxes, etc. Yet, there’s still the idiot who says “I wish they’d throw in free grip”. Dude, grip costs money, there’s a whole fucking part of the industry based on it. Why would a struggling shop (struggling bc everyone is going to ccs/tactics for cheap online boards) give you a product they had to pay for? What other business does that and actually survives?
I've always wanted to know which deck companies pay their riders the best but it's really hard to find out.
I'd be happy to pay a few extra bucks for a deck if it means the skaters get insurance and a living wage.
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https://archive.org/details/ccs-1993-summer/mode/1up
Looking through this CCS catalog from '93, it's interesting to compare the amount of inflation between product categories over the last 30 years. Most things have roughly doubled in price. Bones Swiss have tripled. Pro, non-slick boards have gone from $42 USD to a range of $62 at the low end to $79 at the high end. That's for a pro, non-slick, non-shaped, non-retro, non-gimmick board. It appears $70, $72, and $74 are the most common prices for boards in this category today. A basic inflation calculator translates $42 USD in 1993 into $88.40 today. My general sense is that most things at the skateshop have kept pace with inflation, but boards have not. It won't surprise me if board prices continue to rise, and sales of blank, team and shop boards to continue to capture an ever increasing share of the market as people seek cheaper alternatives.
This is a really good point, skateboards haven’t even kept up with basic inflation and are still cheaper than they were in the 90s (purchasing power-wise) even with the recent price hikes. Everyone in this thread knows that 99% of pros barely make anything from their board company, and yet we are all enamored and obsessed with their video parts.
I have limited disposable income like most people and try to stretch my boards out as much as possible, but I also want to support the livelihood of the people who enrich my life with entertainment who are barely scraping by, just like buying records from musicians when you could easily stream all of their music.
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Skateboarders tend to forget that pretty much EVERYTHING has gone up in price over the last 5 years, and that skateboards haven’t in 50. Also, that companies have employees they have to pay, with rent, insurance, advertising, trips, workers comp, taxes, etc. Yet, there’s still the idiot who says “I wish they’d throw in free grip”. Dude, grip costs money, there’s a whole fucking part of the industry based on it. Why would a struggling shop (struggling bc everyone is going to ccs/tactics for cheap online boards) give you a product they had to pay for? What other business does that and actually survives?
I respectfully disagree with your viewpoint. It seems that you find amusement in my desire for a complimentary sheet of $5 grip tape, despite its 100% markup when purchased alongside a $65-70 deck that has already been marked up by over 100%. Damn idiots. It is evident that everything comes with a cost, and I fully comprehend the necessity of charging for products and services in order to sustain a business. I'll continue to order directly from FA, enjoying free shipping and affordable grip tape while you indulge in your penchant for paying $8.99 or even $20+ for fancy anime grip tape. It seems you're the type who delights in supporting such a purchase while keeping local shops thriving. Thanks for that. Your generosity knows no bounds.
** F/A now sells Pepper grip for $3! Awesome.
Goddamn you are so clueless . First off , no shop is marking up decks 100% .
Decks cost now between $35-48 wholesale before shipping . $48 baker boards sell for $74 , now I’m not sure you can math , but that’s not 100% , $35 decks sell for $56-$60 , again not 100% mark up . griptape rolls are $70+ now , and a box of 20 sheets of grip is $70 + now . That’s $3.50 per sheet of grip, that tons of shops sell for $5 when they sell a board .
Now find the cost of doing business in the margin that the shop is making on those boards + grip.
Keep ordering direct from FA ? Fine, but don’t go to a real skate shop and bitch about not getting free grip , or patronize the folks that want to keep a small business going by supporting and purchasing shit that they need to sell with low margins to keep their shop alive .
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I don't miss the anxiety I had when I was in my mid teens to early 20s about not being able to afford boards (when they lasted me between 2 weeks to 2 months), in the 90s.
I don't mind paying and supporting local shops now. Its about $65 for most of what I want locally. I also never skate a deck until its done anymore. I always pass them on to kids with a decent amount of life left in them.
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everyone outside the US looking at this thread must be havin a laugh at these comments
I thought the same but I m afraid european prices will go up even more. No idea about other countries but skate shit in Europe never came cheap.
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Skateboarders tend to forget that pretty much EVERYTHING has gone up in price over the last 5 years, and that skateboards haven’t in 50. Also, that companies have employees they have to pay, with rent, insurance, advertising, trips, workers comp, taxes, etc. Yet, there’s still the idiot who says “I wish they’d throw in free grip”. Dude, grip costs money, there’s a whole fucking part of the industry based on it. Why would a struggling shop (struggling bc everyone is going to ccs/tactics for cheap online boards) give you a product they had to pay for? What other business does that and actually survives?
I respectfully disagree with your viewpoint. It seems that you find amusement in my desire for a complimentary sheet of $5 grip tape, despite its 100% markup when purchased alongside a $65-70 deck that has already been marked up by over 100%. Damn idiots. It is evident that everything comes with a cost, and I fully comprehend the necessity of charging for products and services in order to sustain a business. I'll continue to order directly from FA, enjoying free shipping and affordable grip tape while you indulge in your penchant for paying $8.99 or even $20+ for fancy anime grip tape. It seems you're the type who delights in supporting such a purchase while keeping local shops thriving. Thanks for that. Your generosity knows no bounds.
** F/A now sells Pepper grip for $3! Awesome.
Goddamn you are so clueless . First off , no shop is marking up decks 100% .
Decks cost now between $35-48 wholesale before shipping . $48 baker boards sell for $74 , now I’m not sure you can math , but that’s not 100% , $35 decks sell for $56-$60 , again not 100% mark up . griptape rolls are $70+ now , and a box of 20 sheets of grip is $70 + now . That’s $3.50 per sheet of grip, that tons of shops sell for $5 when they sell a board .
Now find the cost of doing business in the margin that the shop is making on those boards + grip.
Keep ordering direct from FA ? Fine, but don’t go to a real skate shop and bitch about not getting free grip , or patronize the folks that want to keep a small business going by supporting and purchasing shit that they need to sell with low margins to keep their shop alive .
I'm clueless, and I apologize for any confusion. I've mentioned this multiple times already I do not know wholesale prices. Thank you for responding with a price breakdown. I just didn't appreciate being called an idiot for wanting a $5 (free grip) discount on a significant purchase that I believed already had a substantial markup.
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Skateboarders tend to forget that pretty much EVERYTHING has gone up in price over the last 5 years, and that skateboards haven’t in 50. Also, that companies have employees they have to pay, with rent, insurance, advertising, trips, workers comp, taxes, etc. Yet, there’s still the idiot who says “I wish they’d throw in free grip”. Dude, grip costs money, there’s a whole fucking part of the industry based on it. Why would a struggling shop (struggling bc everyone is going to ccs/tactics for cheap online boards) give you a product they had to pay for? What other business does that and actually survives?
I've always wanted to know which deck companies pay their riders the best but it's really hard to find out.
I'd be happy to pay a few extra bucks for a deck if it means the skaters get insurance and a living wage.
"Why Are Board Prices On the Rise?" - not because pros are getting a pay raise.
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Skateboarders tend to forget that pretty much EVERYTHING has gone up in price over the last 5 years, and that skateboards haven’t in 50. Also, that companies have employees they have to pay, with rent, insurance, advertising, trips, workers comp, taxes, etc. Yet, there’s still the idiot who says “I wish they’d throw in free grip”. Dude, grip costs money, there’s a whole fucking part of the industry based on it. Why would a struggling shop (struggling bc everyone is going to ccs/tactics for cheap online boards) give you a product they had to pay for? What other business does that and actually survives?
I respectfully disagree with your viewpoint. It seems that you find amusement in my desire for a complimentary sheet of $5 grip tape, despite its 100% markup when purchased alongside a $65-70 deck that has already been marked up by over 100%. Damn idiots. It is evident that everything comes with a cost, and I fully comprehend the necessity of charging for products and services in order to sustain a business. I'll continue to order directly from FA, enjoying free shipping and affordable grip tape while you indulge in your penchant for paying $8.99 or even $20+ for fancy anime grip tape. It seems you're the type who delights in supporting such a purchase while keeping local shops thriving. Thanks for that. Your generosity knows no bounds.
** F/A now sells Pepper grip for $3! Awesome.
Goddamn you are so clueless . First off , no shop is marking up decks 100% .
Decks cost now between $35-48 wholesale before shipping . $48 baker boards sell for $74 , now I’m not sure you can math , but that’s not 100% , $35 decks sell for $56-$60 , again not 100% mark up . griptape rolls are $70+ now , and a box of 20 sheets of grip is $70 + now . That’s $3.50 per sheet of grip, that tons of shops sell for $5 when they sell a board .
Now find the cost of doing business in the margin that the shop is making on those boards + grip.
Keep ordering direct from FA ? Fine, but don’t go to a real skate shop and bitch about not getting free grip , or patronize the folks that want to keep a small business going by supporting and purchasing shit that they need to sell with low margins to keep their shop alive .
I'm clueless, and I apologize for any confusion. I've mentioned this multiple times already I do not know wholesale prices. Thank you for responding with a price breakdown. I just didn't appreciate being called an idiot for wanting a $5 (free grip) discount on a significant purchase that I believed already had a substantial markup.
And I apologize for calling you an idiot. But the markup of things is part of businesses and their survival, and to be fair a skateboard deck should not be considered a”significant” purchase warranting a discount. Every item has a fixed cost to the shop. Sure, they could charge you an extra $5 for the deck and then tell you you’re getting “free grip” but the cost is still there. Nowhere else in life is the expectation of getting things for free. When I get gas, which is much more of a significant purchase (and way more mark up), I don’t ask for a free slurpee or a free quart of oil. It is what it is. Only in skateboarding does this entitlement exist. It’s kinda lame.
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And if UPS goes on strike as planned, shipping costs will increase along with shipping delays/time.
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which day is double coupon day?
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I feel like this article is missing a lot of relevant information. Also not sure if Paul Schmitt is the best person to consult on this topic considering he no longer produces the majority of brand's boards at this point.
BBS has been raising their prices consistently post pandemic and, to my knowledge, pays their workers a decent and livable wage.
If a BBS board costs a board brand $20+, then said brand wholesales it for $40+ and a shop sells it for around $65, all three parties involved profit roughly $20.
Shipping cost on any end of a boards journey will affect profit of course but this is a pretty rough outline on why boards cost what they cost. Not everyone uses BBS so this math doesn't apply to all but it represents a big chunk of the industry in the US.
To take it a step further for international markets selling American brands, add international shipping, customs, dutys, conversion, shipping from distro to shop and boom, big retail price.
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And if UPS goes on strike as planned, shipping costs will increase along with shipping delays/time.
@stevedave Interesting, didn't know anything about this. Any more details? Strike because of pay?
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https://archive.org/details/ccs-1993-summer/mode/1up
Looking through this CCS catalog from '93, it's interesting to compare the amount of inflation between product categories over the last 30 years. Most things have roughly doubled in price. Bones Swiss have tripled. Pro, non-slick boards have gone from $42 USD to a range of $62 at the low end to $79 at the high end. That's for a pro, non-slick, non-shaped, non-retro, non-gimmick board. It appears $70, $72, and $74 are the most common prices for boards in this category today. A basic inflation calculator translates $42 USD in 1993 into $88.40 today. My general sense is that most things at the skateshop have kept pace with inflation, but boards have not. It won't surprise me if board prices continue to rise, and sales of blank, team and shop boards to continue to capture an ever increasing share of the market as people seek cheaper alternatives.
I came here to say something like this. While it's been a shock because its been sudden but boards have not kept up with inflation. There are always sale decks if you're hard up. Keep the kids or less fortunate skaters in mind, pass along your old gear or just stuff you aren't using.
Also for the love of fuck its discretionary income, not disposable income. Disposable income is stuff you have to pay for living, income that is automatically disposed of.
Discretionary income is stuff you want to buy, things you have discretion or a choice to spend it on. Sorry huge pet peeve of mine.
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In the UK Sci Fi Fantasy decks are £90 ($114). Not sure how many they're selling. FA were £80 at Slam City, now they're all on sale for £60.
A Palace deck is £54. Shockingly, I see a lot of them around.
Sci-Fi boards : 100€ here in Paris
But they look great haha
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And if UPS goes on strike as planned, shipping costs will increase along with shipping delays/time.
It's all over the news - they could strike as soon as tomorrow. Godspeed to all striking UPS workers.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teamsters-warn-ups-strike-is-imminent-if-company-doesnt-improve-pay-offer-by-friday/
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And if UPS goes on strike as planned, shipping costs will increase along with shipping delays/time.
It's all over the news - they could strike as soon as tomorrow. Godspeed to all striking UPS workers.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teamsters-warn-ups-strike-is-imminent-if-company-doesnt-improve-pay-offer-by-friday/
Crazy. Hope the workers get compensated fairly. Thanks for dropping link @manysnakes
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Why are they on the rise?
Because everything is. Nothing gets cheaper. There will always be a sale, a good, better, best.
Prices on hoodies and other shirts are fucked. Especially on a single screen. Paid 40 on a pullover from West Side and didn’t think twice. But a hundo? Nah.
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Why are they on the rise?
Because everything is. Nothing gets cheaper. There will always be a sale, a good, better, best.
Prices on hoodies and other shirts are fucked. Especially on a single screen. Paid 40 on a pullover from West Side and didn’t think twice. But a hundo? Nah.
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I feel like this article is missing a lot of relevant information. Also not sure if Paul Schmitt is the best person to consult on this topic considering he no longer produces the majority of brand's boards at this point.
BBS has been raising their prices consistently post pandemic and, to my knowledge, pays their workers a decent and livable wage.
If a BBS board costs a board brand $20+, then said brand wholesales it for $40+ and a shop sells it for around $65, all three parties involved profit roughly $20.
Shipping cost on any end of a boards journey will affect profit of course but this is a pretty rough outline on why boards cost what they cost. Not everyone uses BBS so this math doesn't apply to all but it represents a big chunk of the industry in the US.
To take it a step further for international markets selling American brands, add international shipping, customs, dutys, conversion, shipping from distro to shop and boom, big retail price.
sucks because it costs shops 2 beans to make one bean. I get that the board brand and the shop are equal in their respective 20ish dollars profit on each sale, but the board company is making 100% markup while the shop only gets 50% . If we want skate shops to exist the retail price needs to stay high because it needs to be worth it for shops to even bother selling boards. If shops didnt exist and all sales were direct to consumer the price would be a round $45-50, basically what the whole sale price is. if the MSRP was what it should be, keystone markup and double the wholesale price, boards are $80-90. board brands dont like it if shops get a higher yield from a deck sale than they do so they keep the MSRP lower and say " we both make the same $22 dollars of a board sale" Meanwhile while they selling direct to consumer and milking a higher margin for the selves and leaving a shitty margin for the shops. its bullshit. board brands say they care about shops, but dont actually do what they can to fully support shops by raising the MSRP to where it should be. to me its weird that when it comes to clothes and shoes there is no crying about shops getting more $$ off a sale than the wholesaler, but with hard goods the brands cock block the shops from making $40 dollars of a sale while they only make $20 of a sale of the same item. Also shout out to DLX for being the only big company not selling direct to consumer.
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If frog and limosine are selling boards for $75 usd direct from their website do you think royalties may have gone up from $2 to $3 or $4 as well? That’s what I kind of hope, because I buy new shit to support the new shit ya know?
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Heard this directly from someone who runs a prominent distributor on the east coast, but the price hikes are because shops have stopped ordering decks from them and other brands because all the older big companies like NHS brands and Zero are offering insanely ridiculous deals for like $17/board.
They further said it’s a short term problem that will have long term consequences, and that they’re “killing the industry.”
Thats just a fire sale. NHS has new shit coming out every 3 months. if they have a slow quarter or over order and cant sell all the stuff before the next round of product comes in all the old shit clogging the shelves goes on sale. $17 a board is extreme and they must have way over ordered and got desperate to clear out those decks. Thats not a forever price. Also the decks that were $17 bucks were probably the birch ones which is the price point line NHS sells that has cheap ass wood. I think FA having a clearance sale selling direct to consumers for less than the wholesale price is worse for the industry as a whole than NHS selling cheap boards for a season to shops so they can make a decent margin when they sell those boards to customers for $45. Zero is not a big company.
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Nothing gets cheaper. Why is anyone surprised?
There will always be a good better best model, especially in our world.
Now single screen hoodies fetching a hundo is crazy. Picked one up for 40 from West Side and that was easy picks. But a hundo? C’mon.
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And if UPS goes on strike as planned, shipping costs will increase along with shipping delays/time.
As someone from the shipping industry, it also has to do with lack of AC in trucks along with wage.
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Man, I was looking at the Creature site last night. 91 dollars for a deck. What's the deal with that?
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Man, I was looking at the Creature site last night. 91 dollars for a deck. What's the deal with that?
That was definitely a VX deck.
To be fair, I've been skating a Santa Cruz VX since January.
Typically I buy a new deck every 2 months or so, so this thing has already lasted three times longer than standard decks and I'm not even close to razor tail yet, let alone breaking it. Still has very crispy pop.
It's a lot of money but fuck me they're sturdy decks.
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(https://i.postimg.cc/D01FP2k4/Screenshot-2023-06-30-at-9-48-19-AM.png) (https://postimages.org/)
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Man, I was looking at the Creature site last night. 91 dollars for a deck. What's the deal with that?
thats the cost of losing your dignity
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Vu has most deluxe brands for 56-58 bucks which is a steal, I wonder how they can sustain that. Now they do an online store which has a decent selection incase I don’t feel like running into the city.
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Man, I was looking at the Creature site last night. 91 dollars for a deck. What's the deal with that?
It's the cost of a higher quality product.
If you don't want to skate one then don't, no need to get on a high horse about it.
Like I said before, I've been skating one for 6 months. That's unheard of for me, decks typically last me one month on the low end or maybe two on the high end. I'd have spent at least $180 on decks this year if I were skating standard decks.
Maybe they're uncool or whatever, that's fine, but in my personal experience they really are crazy durable decks.
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Man, I was looking at the Creature site last night. 91 dollars for a deck. What's the deal with that?
It's the cost of a higher quality product.
If you don't want to skate one then don't, no need to get on a high horse about it.
Like I said before, I've been skating one for 6 months. That's unheard of for me, decks typically last me one month on the low end or maybe two on the high end. I'd have spent at least $180 on decks this year if I were skating standard decks.
Maybe they're uncool or whatever, that's fine, but in my personal experience they really are crazy durable decks.
If you have been skating a board for 6 months and its not even close to razor tail, i seriously question your ability to gauge what high quality product actually it. Do you just cruise to the store and slappy?
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Man, I was looking at the Creature site last night. 91 dollars for a deck. What's the deal with that?
It's the cost of a higher quality product.
If you don't want to skate one then don't, no need to get on a high horse about it.
Like I said before, I've been skating one for 6 months. That's unheard of for me, decks typically last me one month on the low end or maybe two on the high end. I'd have spent at least $180 on decks this year if I were skating standard decks.
Maybe they're uncool or whatever, that's fine, but in my personal experience they really are crazy durable decks.
If you have been skating a board for 6 months and its not even close to razor tail, i seriously question your ability to gauge what high quality product actually it. Do you just cruise to the store and slappy?
Nope. Mostly flatground flip tricks and I skate a lot of ledges/flatbars/manny pads these days.
Zero cruising, zero slappies. I've been pretty busy this year but I typically get out at least 3 days a week, usually for 2 to 3 hours depending on the session. I did skate less in Jan, Feb and April (probably only once a week those months), but even if you subtract those months this deck has lasted at least twice as long, which would still be $90 vs $120 for two standard decks.
You don't gotta believe me. I'm just going off my personal experience with this deck vs standard decks in the past.
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As many of us have said the price hike is not a good look considering economics etc, do you guys remember what was it 06’ to 08’ where we were all buying bulk moose blank deck’s?
I think I am definitely paying a little bit more than those blank decks, those things were awful.
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Man, I was looking at the Creature site last night. 91 dollars for a deck. What's the deal with that?
It's the cost of a higher quality product.
If you don't want to skate one then don't, no need to get on a high horse about it.
Like I said before, I've been skating one for 6 months. That's unheard of for me, decks typically last me one month on the low end or maybe two on the high end. I'd have spent at least $180 on decks this year if I were skating standard decks.
Maybe they're uncool or whatever, that's fine, but in my personal experience they really are crazy durable decks.
https://youtu.be/SUEs18lxOoU (https://youtu.be/SUEs18lxOoU)
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Maybe the deck was snapped before this video and he faked it?