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If it's a small brand who does support a team, is using a good wood shop, and is selling it at a real skate shop; then I'm all for it - they should be charging as much as the big guys, and I'll pay it. It just feels like all that isn't the case a lot of the time.
To clarify, I do support a team, use a good wood shop (mfg in Mexico) and at least 60% of my sales are to the only local Skateshop in OKC. Also I occasionally use profits from our sales to help fund local DIY pours when I can afford it.
You seem like you are doing it the right way, which is awesome.
There are many others who think they can make money or have dreams of bigtime by starting their own brand, whether they "do it for the kids" or "no one seemed to be supporting their local scene" or whatever, but have no idea, get cheap wood, have terrible graphics, wonder why no one like shops or legit dudes want their product and then go slinging it to kids or people who don't know any better at local skate parks or where ever they can, which then gives the DIY skate brand a bad name, as well as reducing sales of established board brands and takes money away from the shops, which is in turn hurting the industry. * Not preaching, just telling it how it is.
That is just my observations from 30+ years in and around skate industry, working in shops and helping run events, and most of these new startups are here today then gone tomorrow. I do this for the love of skateboarding, not to make money, but I guess it is different when people need to prove themselves or whatever.
I have had arguments with people about it, but at the end of the day, I will buy and ride what I want to and the next guy can do the same, but as soon as someone starts telling me I should support their local brand, if I don't think it is good, I will say so.
The hardest thing too is if a kid only has limited funds, of course this seems like a great price to get a brand new deck (which for him might last just the same as a pro board at twice the price from the skate shop) and so that is often the market that "Mr DIY new brand" will hit.
That probably sounds like a whole lot of crazy, but the main thing I like is the big established brands rely on high quality product and reputation, so this combined with a good returns policy is the main reason I will always favour them, eg Deluxe brands of wood and the BBS woodshop supplied other pro brands if I cannot get DLX wood in the size and shape I want, which works best for me. It is the shape and the concave I want first and foremost, of which I know I can always get from DLX, and in the event of an issue, warranty and board replacement was completed without a fuss.
Any good brand should be the same way, and any good skate shop should be able to facilitate that too, as well as have somewhere you can stand on a deck before you buy it.
Topic: Overpriced or underpriced? (Read 9897 times)