Overpriced or underpriced?

[theloniousmonk]

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Can anyone accurately say what the actual cost of manufacturing a deck in China/Mexico and getting it to you local shop is?  The argument is kind of pointless until we can determine that. 

I dont know too many other sports where the main instrument of that sport is as disposable as skateboarding.  Wouldn’t making boards that last longer and out of more sustainable materials hurt the industry as much as cheap blanks and shop boards?

[close]

If you work backwards, it might show you approximately how much they can cost, but not exactly because that is one of the secrets of the industry as well.

So you have the retail shop, who would like to make a decent margin (some mark up 100% but most are less) who gets from the wholesale distributor in the country.

The wholesale distributor needs to make margin too, when they get it from the brand company.

The brand company gets the product made to specifications and requirements from the manufacturer or woodshop.

The woodshop is the primary source, who determines the price, so if each board goes up $1 then that could easily be $10 or more at the retail shop end.

Eg woodshop $8 to $10, brand company $16 to $20, wholesale distributor $30 to $40 and then retail shop $60 to $80


The model might have one less step in country, or may even have another step if it goes through another set of hands for a different country too.

Anyone with more correct information, please let me know, as I am happy to be corrected.

I think in one of the 9clubs, Torey pudwill was talking about eastern not wanting to pay more than $18 for his Thank you boards, and Pudwill said he was making $2 per deck. So that would mean that he was paying $16 per deck. It might have been different numbers I am not going to listen to that one again. Keep in mind those are heat transferred probably on both sides with shrink wrap and probably a sticker or something, not just a blank. Also, being dsm, they had to be shipped to him from China, which was probably a part of the $16 cost. When I owned a shop from 2003-2009 I would pay $30-$38 wholesale for decks from the distributor and sell them Retail for $50-$60.

[hillbilly shifty]

I don't think they're underpriced per se.  Back in the 80s you had boards made in America and silkscreened by hand.  Now they're mass produced in Mexico or China, and graphics are heat transferred.  Boards back then were also bigger, and used more material, and you didn't buy one every 2 weeks (more like one every, 3-6 months, or even once a year). 

this

[Mbrimson88]

I think in one of the 9clubs, Torey pudwill was talking about eastern not wanting to pay more than $18 for his Thank you boards, and Pudwill said he was making $2 per deck. So that would mean that he was paying $16 per deck. It might have been different numbers I am not going to listen to that one again. Keep in mind those are heat transferred probably on both sides with shrink wrap and probably a sticker or something, not just a blank. Also, being dsm, they had to be shipped to him from China, which was probably a part of the $16 cost. When I owned a shop from 2003-2009 I would pay $30-$38 wholesale for decks from the distributor and sell them Retail for $50-$60.

I am in Australia so it is somewhat different here, but keep hearing shops in the USA make very little on pro decks. Is it because there is a set RRP or "expected price" or too much competition or something else I don't know about?

When wholesale prices go up a few dollars here, retail shops who are only about the money will jump AU$10 quite easily, but some of the core shops seem to wear the cost and still have most pro decks at about the same prices, or some will even have overall lower prices just to try to get more business.

In saying that too, most of the core shops I know will give significant discounts to regular customers, so margins go down further at the shop end if they mostly have regulars only.

[JB77]

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I don't think they're underpriced per se.  Back in the 80s you had boards made in America and silkscreened by hand.  Now they're mass produced in Mexico or China, and graphics are heat transferred.  Boards back then were also bigger, and used more material, and you didn't buy one every 2 weeks (more like one every, 3-6 months, or even once a year). 

[close]

this

Yeah, I think there’s something to this.  Maybe they were priced fairly then and they’re priced fairly now?  Possible.  Sure does seem like they used to last a lot longer, though.  Wonder how much that has to do with glues and pressing techniques used back in the 80’s? 

[Mbrimson88]

Yeah, I think there’s something to this.  Maybe they were priced fairly then and they’re priced fairly now?  Possible.  Sure does seem like they used to last a lot longer, though.  Wonder how much that has to do with glues and pressing techniques used back in the 80’s?

I forget where I saw it but there was an amazing piece written about this, with both the average cost and the average lifespan of a skateboard deck at various points in history.

The 80s were all about the graphic for most skaters, who by todays standards were very minimally skilled.  We skated mostly ramps and some street, but didn't really do any tricks that would break a board, and anyone who could flip their board was the local hero.  Five stairs doesn't seem like much nowdays, but it was the most I ever did, and I recall looking down an eight stair which was huge back then and seeing pro dudes walk away from it too.  Boards would often be passed down from others, and some I had went through a few sets of hands before mine, but we could still see the graphic and shape, even if the tail was half what it was when new and those things would last years.

The early to mid 90s were the worst, with quality of boards really being at the lowest point while prices were still quite high and I know a lot of us were breaking boards on flat ground flip tricks way too often.  As things went on, boards seemed to get stronger and people were starting to do bigger things, so it was a fairly even but still relatively short lifespan of a deck.  Kids coming up were getting much better and the difference between the average pro and the average local hero could be fairly close in some instances, but the main and well known pros were still always miles ahead.

Bring about the current period (and could almost include the last twenty years) and kids are still able to make boards last, but the average pro will set up a new board every other session and a lot of demos would see boards broken here and there if they didn't land what they wanted, but other pros could make a deck last a month or more and still pass it on to others without it really losing pop or getting flexed out, as per a few I have had given to me and passed on to others over the years.

If anything, skateboarding has become a much more diverse spread of companies, woodshops, brands, with so many more blank or generic products, more shops and associated persons, compared to previous eras, with so many people still looking to make the same profit but at lower overheads, eg moving production to other countries and other things like automated machines to do the work.

The split / difference between high end branded product and generic blanks has never been so great and only looks to increase as time goes on, but it seems there will always be a market for both and then a lot in between as well.

[Ishaboi]

It’s funny how alien has not changed their graphics but are still considered cool.

You don't get out much do you

[Crap]

I don't think they're underpriced per se.  Back in the 80s you had boards made in America and silkscreened by hand.  Now they're mass produced in Mexico or China, and graphics are heat transferred.  Boards back then were also bigger, and used more material, and you didn't buy one every 2 weeks (more like one every, 3-6 months, or even once a year). 

This is a great point that I hadn't thought of before. I was thinking of a skate deck in 2020 as the same product as a skate deck in the 80's, but it really isn't. Makes me wonder what the profit margin was in the past versus what it is now. Most mass produced consumer products have undergone big changes in manufacturing in the last ~30 years. In some cases the product is better, and in some it is worse; but in almost all cases, the product is now more expensive. The point of the cheaper manufacturing - whether it improved the end product or not - was to lower the production cost and increase the margin. I wonder if skate companies today are making more or less profit (both overall and on a per-unit basis) than they were in the past.

There's so many more factors to consider that make this hard to figure out:
- how did the market change with the influx of 8 million new board brands? Does a brand like Baker or Primitive sell more boards in 2020 than Powell or Santa Cruz did in the 80's?

- how many total boards are being made/sold? Even with more brands diluting the market; it's a bigger market. There are more skate shops, immense growth in skateboarding outside the U.S., likely more people skating in the U.S., and those people are going through boards faster. Does that offset the market dilution from all the new brands?

- how did the changing pro skater pay scale change this? Think about how much money guys like Hosoi used to make from their board sponsors, versus now where top pro skaters make so much more from shoe and energy drink sponsors that they don't really need the board cheque, which they all say is no longer a big part of their income. It's not uncommon for established pros to go months with no board sponsor (Evan Smith) or start their own small board brand that probably doesn't make much money (Rowley, MJ).

- how much have the rising costs of materials (wood, glue, manufacturing equipment) offset the cost savings from outsourcing production and heat transfer graphics?

- have the prices stayed down because no one is really trying to profit from board sales anymore? I remember someone saying that the margins are so bad on hardgoods that a skate shop is really just a shoe store that has skateboards in it. Are board brands really just t-shirt/hoodie brands that also make skateboards? Think about Polar for example - I bet they make more profit from selling $100 worth of jeans (aka one pair) than $500 worth of boards (aka 10 boards), but the boards are essential to marketing the jeans.

[artskool]

You can get top quality, made in USA boards made for under $20/printed. A shop like Orchard has shop boards for $45 gripped, with good graphics. They get a good margin, and people get a good value. This is always going to be a baseline holding down prices of pro boards for a lot, if not most, shops.

Pro boards are underpriced if you expect the rider/brand/distributer/shop to make a reasonable profit. Pro boards are overpriced if you look at them primarily in terms of bang for the buck.

Obviously marketing, stoke factor, etc. are a major part about how people perceive value, but really the distribution model has the biggest impact on pricing.

[sbmfj]

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paid 80$ (CDN) for a local garage brand pro model (includes local sales tax and grip).
I probably paid around the same price 25 years ago at a shop, so inflation adjusted, prices gone down I guess...

But with some shop boards being pressed by the same manufactuere of abovbe mentioend garage brand, go for the shop deck I guess - its the same wood.

However, kinda nice to support a local brand, graphics are cool too.

[close]

Feel like it's often a whole different margin/structure on a 'garage' brand, and I probably wouldn't pay close to full price in most cases. They're not paying a team or any of the associated expenses with that (travel, videos, etc.), it may be coming from a second tier wood shop, and there's no cut going to the shop (if you buy it direct from the brand, as is often the case). I consider that stuff to be part of what I'm paying for when I pay full price for a board at a shop. I'd rather pay $95 and spread that money among an actual skate brand, a professional artist who was paid to make the graphic, a pro skater, an established wood shop, and my local skate shop; versus spend $80 and have it split between a rando Chinese factory and some guy who knows how to order boards.

Mileage may vary on all of that, obviously. 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.

Edit for the Americans: I'm talking Canadian dollars in the figures above.

I hear ya, makes sense. Essentiqally, bought it cause Im used ot the shape / mold / concave. Ive gotten really used to them (Control press from Quebec Canada). Normally score for 40$, but the supply dried up (buy from the homies). Bought from the shop, so at least shops making a few bucks. Its a pro model - so hopefully the rider gets a few bucks as well.

But very hard for me to justify paying more than 80$ for a board, regardless of brand etc..It just gets too pricey. Next spring, gonne find either garage brand / or shop boards that are pressed by Control, and buy like 5-6 at once for the summer.

But yea, aint cheap up in the great white north.

[JB77]

Looks like Vice actually did a story on this in 2018...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en/article/a34ede/why-have-skateboards-cost-dollar50-for-30-years

[ndsr]

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paid 80$ (CDN) for a local garage brand pro model (includes local sales tax and grip).
I probably paid around the same price 25 years ago at a shop, so inflation adjusted, prices gone down I guess...

But with some shop boards being pressed by the same manufactuere of abovbe mentioend garage brand, go for the shop deck I guess - its the same wood.

However, kinda nice to support a local brand, graphics are cool too.

[close]

Feel like it's often a whole different margin/structure on a 'garage' brand, and I probably wouldn't pay close to full price in most cases. They're not paying a team or any of the associated expenses with that (travel, videos, etc.), it may be coming from a second tier wood shop, and there's no cut going to the shop (if you buy it direct from the brand, as is often the case). I consider that stuff to be part of what I'm paying for when I pay full price for a board at a shop. I'd rather pay $95 and spread that money among an actual skate brand, a professional artist who was paid to make the graphic, a pro skater, an established wood shop, and my local skate shop; versus spend $80 and have it split between a rando Chinese factory and some guy who knows how to order boards.

Mileage may vary on all of that, obviously. 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.

Edit for the Americans: I'm talking Canadian dollars in the figures above.

[close]

I hear ya, makes sense. Essentiqally, bought it cause Im used ot the shape / mold / concave. Ive gotten really used to them (Control press from Quebec Canada). Normally score for 40$, but the supply dried up (buy from the homies). Bought from the shop, so at least shops making a few bucks. Its a pro model - so hopefully the rider gets a few bucks as well.

But very hard for me to justify paying more than 80$ for a board, regardless of brand etc..It just gets too pricey. Next spring, gonne find either garage brand / or shop boards that are pressed by Control, and buy like 5-6 at once for the summer.

But yea, aint cheap up in the great white north.

Are you friends with Bob or Doug McKenzie?  If so I would like to invite you to come down to the states.  My first tape is “the great white north” performed by Bob and Doug.  I’m a huge fan of your country and the many talented comedians, skaters, musicians and all around good people!

[Mbrimson88]

Your math is pretty spot on.

Looks like Vice actually did a story on this in 2018...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en/article/a34ede/why-have-skateboards-cost-dollar50-for-30-years

JB77 - thanks that is a good one!!!


https://www.vice.com/en/article/a34ede/why-have-skateboards-cost-dollar50-for-30-years

“BBS started producing in 1996 in the US, and we made a deck for around $12.50. We would ship it off to somebody that would silkscreen a graphic on, and it might bring the cost up to $18. It was a real artistic, painstaking process that cost quite a bit of money to produce. We would sell that to a brand like Expedition or Arcade. They would get a deck with graphic for $18, and they would sell it to a distributor for $27, the distributor would sell to retail for $30–35, and it would sell for $50. There were a lot of hands that things went through.”

A few key changes in how boards are manufactured actually lowered wholesale costs. First, heat transfer images brought the cost of silkscreening closer to $1 per board. “When you take away a few dollars, by the time you send it through everybody’s hands and they have to make their margins, it helps out quite a bit. That saves a couple years of inflation right there.”

The other big savings came in the early 2000s, when manufacturers began making boards in China or, in BBS’s case, Mexico. “We took our average labor cost at the time from $13 an hour in the US to down to $4 an hour. We were able to drop the price of our decks from $12.50 to $10.”


And lots more info in the article, so worth reading it.

[roba]

shit is extremely expensive in poland. a pro board is about 300pln retail (over 75 bucks), a polish brand board is about 200 (a little over $50) and you can get blanks for 120-150pln (30-40 bucks). it doesn't seem all that expensive, but people here earn a lot less than pretty much everywhere else. if you earn $1000 a month here you're living good; if you earn $2000 a month you're living like a king. now let's say you're buying a deck a month and a pair of shoes a month earning the average polish salary which is about 3000pln ($750, which is enough to live off of alone). a board is 250pln, shoes are 300pln, so you're spending about 20% of your monthly income on skateboarding. that's why i usually skate blanks and second hand shelltoes. for comparison, when i was starting skating 10 years ago pro usa decks were about 200pln (so 50 bucks) and you could get a polish board for 100pln (25 bucks), but i've heard from older skaters that back in the late 90s/early 2000s skate shit cost pretty much as much as it costs now while people earned significantly less money on average than they do today

[Mbrimson88]

shit is extremely expensive in poland...

Yeah crazy!  Are there many shops or much selection or are you fairly limited to whatever you can get your hands on?

[lampshade]

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I don't think they're underpriced per se.  Back in the 80s you had boards made in America and silkscreened by hand.  Now they're mass produced in Mexico or China, and graphics are heat transferred.  Boards back then were also bigger, and used more material, and you didn't buy one every 2 weeks (more like one every, 3-6 months, or even once a year). 

[close]

This is a great point that I hadn't thought of before. I was thinking of a skate deck in 2020 as the same product as a skate deck in the 80's, but it really isn't. Makes me wonder what the profit margin was in the past versus what it is now. Most mass produced consumer products have undergone big changes in manufacturing in the last ~30 years. In some cases the product is better, and in some it is worse; but in almost all cases, the product is now more expensive. The point of the cheaper manufacturing - whether it improved the end product or not - was to lower the production cost and increase the margin. I wonder if skate companies today are making more or less profit (both overall and on a per-unit basis) than they were in the past.

There's so many more factors to consider that make this hard to figure out:
- how did the market change with the influx of 8 million new board brands? Does a brand like Baker or Primitive sell more boards in 2020 than Powell or Santa Cruz did in the 80's?

- how many total boards are being made/sold? Even with more brands diluting the market; it's a bigger market. There are more skate shops, immense growth in skateboarding outside the U.S., likely more people skating in the U.S., and those people are going through boards faster. Does that offset the market dilution from all the new brands?

- how did the changing pro skater pay scale change this? Think about how much money guys like Hosoi used to make from their board sponsors, versus now where top pro skaters make so much more from shoe and energy drink sponsors that they don't really need the board cheque, which they all say is no longer a big part of their income. It's not uncommon for established pros to go months with no board sponsor (Evan Smith) or start their own small board brand that probably doesn't make much money (Rowley, MJ).

- how much have the rising costs of materials (wood, glue, manufacturing equipment) offset the cost savings from outsourcing production and heat transfer graphics?

- have the prices stayed down because no one is really trying to profit from board sales anymore? I remember someone saying that the margins are so bad on hardgoods that a skate shop is really just a shoe store that has skateboards in it. Are board brands really just t-shirt/hoodie brands that also make skateboards? Think about Polar for example - I bet they make more profit from selling $100 worth of jeans (aka one pair) than $500 worth of boards (aka 10 boards), but the boards are essential to marketing the jeans.

This is true.  Back then there were about five-ten real board brands with about five pros each and a few ams.  There were some tiny brands, but they didn't really count for anything except fun.  Rocco came through and fucked everything up with the huge super teams.  Very entertaining to watch, but not great for the industry.  Now board sponsors don't really matter.  Shoes, clothes, soda, energy drinks, yoga pants, whatever. 

[sfa]

Just to put a few things into perspective. Baker logo boards are now $42 for a shop. Dwindle brands are that much and then go up from there for pro boards. You might be able to get that down if you are buying a dozen or more direct from them.

But remember, the shop also has to pay to have the boards shipped to them. When shipping in bulk it’s still about $3-$4 per board shipping.

A sheet of Jessup is now costing most shops about $3-$3.50 shipped to their door.

In a lot of retail set ups, you should be asking $95 for a board with grip.

[Eggie Vedder]

A friend and I started a board company in 2012 and it lasted about 5 years. We were getting our boards screened at BBS and Generator. At least at the time the were pressed and screen in the US and had a made in the USA stamp on them. It cost us $17 per 4 color screened board. We sold them to shops for $27 and the shops would sell the for $55.

It was fun and would pay for the next round but not lucrative in anyway. I think they are a little underpriced. I think $70 would be a good spot for USA made boards but that’s getting expensive for kids getting into skating so as a skater I like that they are under priced. As someone who tried to do a brand, I did not like that they were underpriced.

[x]

is there like 0 woodshops in europe? doesn't really makes sense to me that decks costs $80 in poland.

[JB77]

A friend and I started a board company in 2012 and it lasted about 5 years. We were getting our boards screened at BBS and Generator. At least at the time the were pressed and screen in the US and had a made in the USA stamp on them. It cost us $17 per 4 color screened board. We sold them to shops for $27 and the shops would sell the for $55.

It was fun and would pay for the next round but not lucrative in anyway. I think they are a little underpriced. I think $70 would be a good spot for USA made boards but that’s getting expensive for kids getting into skating so as a skater I like that they are under priced. As someone who tried to do a brand, I did not like that they were underpriced.

This is great “real world”, first hand info.  Thanks for sharing. 

I’m glad big brands like Anti-Hero and Krooked continental to offer price point decks for those just getting into skating or who don’t have $50-$60 buck to shell out each time they need to replace their gear.

Do you feel like there was a big difference in those sort of budget decks and the ones you were buying wholesale?

[Eggie Vedder]

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A friend and I started a board company in 2012 and it lasted about 5 years. We were getting our boards screened at BBS and Generator. At least at the time the were pressed and screen in the US and had a made in the USA stamp on them. It cost us $17 per 4 color screened board. We sold them to shops for $27 and the shops would sell the for $55.

It was fun and would pay for the next round but not lucrative in anyway. I think they are a little underpriced. I think $70 would be a good spot for USA made boards but that’s getting expensive for kids getting into skating so as a skater I like that they are under priced. As someone who tried to do a brand, I did not like that they were underpriced.

[close]

This is great “real world”, first hand info.  Thanks for sharing. 

I’m glad big brands like Anti-Hero and Krooked continental to offer price point decks for those just getting into skating or who don’t have $50-$60 buck to shell out each time they need to replace their gear.

Do you feel like there was a big difference in those sort of budget decks and the ones you were buying wholesale?

I’ve only skated one of the Real budget boards around 2010 and it felt almost indistinguishable from what we were using. I think a lot of those boards cut cost by reducing colors and printing rather than cutting corners on wood. At least that’s my take with the DLXSF budget stuff. I think putting the graphics on the board is really the most expensive part of the process.

[sfa]

A friend and I started a board company in 2012 and it lasted about 5 years. We were getting our boards screened at BBS and Generator. At least at the time the were pressed and screen in the US and had a made in the USA stamp on them. It cost us $17 per 4 color screened board. We sold them to shops for $27 and the shops would sell the for $55.

It was fun and would pay for the next round but not lucrative in anyway. I think they are a little underpriced. I think $70 would be a good spot for USA made boards but that’s getting expensive for kids getting into skating so as a skater I like that they are under priced. As someone who tried to do a brand, I did not like that they were underpriced.

Are you counting that as $17 to your door? Or are you not counting shipping and set up fees? A four color deck will run you well over $100 for the set up.

[Eggie Vedder]

Expand Quote

A friend and I started a board company in 2012 and it lasted about 5 years. We were getting our boards screened at BBS and Generator. At least at the time the were pressed and screen in the US and had a made in the USA stamp on them. It cost us $17 per 4 color screened board. We sold them to shops for $27 and the shops would sell the for $55.

It was fun and would pay for the next round but not lucrative in anyway. I think they are a little underpriced. I think $70 would be a good spot for USA made boards but that’s getting expensive for kids getting into skating so as a skater I like that they are under priced. As someone who tried to do a brand, I did not like that they were underpriced.

[close]

Are you counting that as $17 to your door? Or are you not counting shipping and set up fees? A four color deck will run you well over $100 for the set up.

$17 did not include setting up the screens but did include shipping for a round of decks. I forget how much a new screen was but it was something like $50-$100 at the time for a set of screens for a graphic. We would do a few hundred of each graphic. We would use the same screens to do different sizes and colors of the same graphic so the setup fee didn’t really feel like too heavy of an expense. This is probably outdated now though.

[BALARGUE]

is there like 0 woodshops in europe? doesn't really makes sense to me that decks costs $80 in poland.

The main one is HLC in Spain (presses boards for JART, SOUR, some american brands for european market : SK8MAFIA, PLANB, SOVRN, FLIP and then some).
there are others but with way lower capacity.

I think MDCN in Germany is importing chinese wood and print stuff on it.

I am not surprised by 80$ in Poland, considering US brands boards were at 70€ in France for instance.
Covid makes them 75 / 80 € now

BAKER / DEATHWISH for some reason will be sold at 85-90€ by now. It doesn't make any sense compared to other brands from the same woodshop
There's a scammer on the "distribution line" for Baker Boys landing in France...

[BALARGUE]

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A friend and I started a board company in 2012 and it lasted about 5 years. We were getting our boards screened at BBS and Generator. At least at the time the were pressed and screen in the US and had a made in the USA stamp on them. It cost us $17 per 4 color screened board. We sold them to shops for $27 and the shops would sell the for $55.

It was fun and would pay for the next round but not lucrative in anyway. I think they are a little underpriced. I think $70 would be a good spot for USA made boards but that’s getting expensive for kids getting into skating so as a skater I like that they are under priced. As someone who tried to do a brand, I did not like that they were underpriced.

[close]

This is great “real world”, first hand info.  Thanks for sharing. 

I’m glad big brands like Anti-Hero and Krooked continental to offer price point decks for those just getting into skating or who don’t have $50-$60 buck to shell out each time they need to replace their gear.

Do you feel like there was a big difference in those sort of budget decks and the ones you were buying wholesale?

[close]

I’ve only skated one of the Real budget boards around 2010 and it felt almost indistinguishable from what we were using. I think a lot of those boards cut cost by reducing colors and printing rather than cutting corners on wood. At least that’s my take with the DLXSF budget stuff. I think putting the graphics on the board is really the most expensive part of the process.

Current Real budget boards are named Renewal Series
Made of recycled wood, made in mexico. 60€ (instead of 70€)
At first i thought it only had to do with: no stickers, basic prints, no colored plys...
Wood is different, i don't know how different but the feedback on these is pretty good (there are some from Antihero and Krooked at the same price tag, same wood i guess).

[Mbrimson88]

Current Real budget boards are named Renewal Series
Made of recycled wood, made in mexico. 60€ (instead of 70€)
At first i thought it only had to do with: no stickers, basic prints, no colored plys...
Wood is different, i don't know how different but the feedback on these is pretty good (there are some from Antihero and Krooked at the same price tag, same wood i guess).

For people who don't break boards, the pricepoint DLX decks will still be awesome, but for the heavy footers or the bad landers, these can last less than one session and I had recommended people I know who are like that to NOT get them when I was in the shop.  I have not broken any and think they are still good boards, but I can definitely feel the flex in them compared to pro wood and some I had are a bit flatter too.  I ride and have mostly the 8.5 versions.

[Mbrimson88]

Do you feel like there was a big difference in those sort of budget decks and the ones you were buying wholesale?

The bigger name brands all have very specific wood lots, maybe even dedicated presses or different processes, but the smaller brands can still get the decent wood and good shapes for the most part, it seems.

One woodshop has thousands of shape options which can be a bit too much, especially if the new board brand guys are not that knowledgeable, but there are generic sizes and shapes for the medium market.

The Generator wood that a few local companies had used here before covid was good but definitely did not hold up the same as DLX wood.

Edit / Added:   *** I know they come out of the same woodshop, but some feel better than others ***

[Jud Nestorkins]

Those decks sizes are beautiful. All the sub 7.75s

Back when an 8.25 popsicle was considered massive lol.

[gyros4heroes]

Checked out the new Kader panther deck only to realise it had a 90€ pricetag. Like come on, that’s ridiculous when baker also skips one step by having its own distro.
I just hope HLC starts making better boards shape/wood wise or another euro factory pops up  and im never buying US boards again.

[IpathCats]

The price change has been slowly happening already for sure. 54.99 or 59.99 for a deck without grip is prey standard on most shops online stores. Once you buy grip that puts it in the $70ish dollars range. I've seen some of the cool guy brands (FA/hockey) going for 64.99 without grip. I've seen what people in other countries are part for decks, and that's just outrageous. Idk the different currency values and how that plays into things, but I would like to see skateboards within a reasonable price range for most parents to consider buying them for their children. If skateboard manufacturing was more localized, and local brands employed people and provided value to a community, I think people would be more willing to pay a little more. But that's just me trying to have an idealistic view of capitalism. I wouldn't mind paying $75-$80 for a locally made quality skateboard, preferably with grip.

[Lenny the Fatface]

Prices have been higher, but I’m cool with that.