board sales

[lurker_and_poster]

Don’t get the problem.
Bought 1988 my first imported pro board for a similar price then today. So most Consumer goods are 100-200% more the 35 years ago - some even more.
People producing / selling hardware are struggling.
Majority is not really making money.
And this are the people we love and we look up too.
The local skate shop owner, the pro skater or the washed up ex pro we still like to watch the old parts who have now a own company.
I woud pay whatever is needed to get that lovely peacock BA 18 board - and hope Brian, John and Julian get some.

[Lukabrazi]

I use the sale gear thread religiously and haven’t paid more than 48 for a deck in a while (love the shape so I almost always get FA/hockey) I just save up, wait for sales and buy as many as I can afford. If anything it’s been easier this year cause shops are so overstocked with hard goods. Looking forward to winter sales. That being said seeing 70-80 dollar dlx/baker/FA at my local has me worried sale decks are soon gonna be 60

I’ve been blessed by the sale gear thread, and the fact that skating an 8”- 8.125” is in the minority now so these sizes seem to be available on sale in the shape I want to skate .

I try and only skate full shape decks , big square nose, steep concave etc. So FA boards have been a favorite of mine because of BBS wood , short WB , and seem to be available on sale often enough .

The last two I’ve gotten were quite cheap , $40 shipped  from an atlas sale, and the most recently from FA direct for $48 .

[sluggers]

The shipping costs are now quite outrageous. The Postal Service changed their shipping calculation recently, more expensive the taller and wider, so Priority Mail for one deck from the northeast to the Midwest just cost me $33. It will only get worse now as they always seasonally adjust prices upwards for the holiday season.

But, it is not all shipping, board co’s have been itching to increase prices above $50 forever, but globalization, specialization, division of labor, innovation, increased competition, etc. kept board prices down. The Covid increase in popularity and short supply was an opportune time to make the increase a reality, but, now with increased inflation the new normal is here to stay and likely going higher while the brands won’t see any extra profits. So, right back where they used to be. Good times.

[work_lurker]

The shipping costs are now quite outrageous. The Postal Service changed their shipping calculation recently, more expensive the taller and wider, so Priority Mail for one deck from the northeast to the Midwest just cost me $33. It will only get worse now as they always seasonally adjust prices upwards for the holiday season.

But, it is not all shipping, board co’s have been itching to increase prices above $50 forever, but globalization, specialization, division of labor, innovation, increased competition, etc. kept board prices down. The Covid increase in popularity and short supply was an opportune time to make the increase a reality, but, now with increased inflation the new normal is here to stay and likely going higher while the brands won’t see any extra profits. So, right back where they used to be. Good times.

$20 shop decks with grip in '23. FTW

[LonleySk8er15]

The shipping costs are now quite outrageous. The Postal Service changed their shipping calculation recently, more expensive the taller and wider, so Priority Mail for one deck from the northeast to the Midwest just cost me $33. It will only get worse now as they always seasonally adjust prices upwards for the holiday season.

But, it is not all shipping, board co’s have been itching to increase prices above $50 forever, but globalization, specialization, division of labor, innovation, increased competition, etc. kept board prices down. The Covid increase in popularity and short supply was an opportune time to make the increase a reality, but, now with increased inflation the new normal is here to stay and likely going higher while the brands won’t see any extra profits. So, right back where they used to be. Good times.

Make an account on Pirateship.com and use UPS. Shops need to do this asap. Now USPS adds a $15 flat fee to anything longer than 30"

[LonleySk8er15]

One of the reasons for the price increase is to support skate shops. If it costs $16-$22 for a brand to buy a deck from a a manufacturer. The brand marks it up to $34-$44 when they sell it to a shop. The shop wants to mark it up to $68-$88 when they sell it to a customer. But the shop cant sell it that high because everyone wants it to be 2003 still so the shops deal with shitty margins on decks and hope they can also sell you some Circas at full price. Most retail stores want 100% mark up any item they buy and sell. That goes for book stores, record stores, big box stores, shoe stores, clothing stores, weed stores... Retail stores wanna sell items at a keystone markup. But for some reason the skate shops let the hardgoods industry shit all over them by accepting high wholesale prices and low retail prices that dont match up. With direct to consumer taking off because of covid the big brands want to keep the price high to maximize profits, and keep the price at a certain level to make it possible for retail stores earn enough cash to stay in business and continue to carry their product. If all the brands went direct to consumer they could sell for $50 and make a nice profit on decks. But customers eventually wont buy from shops if the in store price is always 30% higher. the brands and shops use each other to have the same higher price, MSRP. Also as mentioned previously, its been proven customers will buy at this price so nobodys gonna lower it now.

Some of you have pointed out that there is currently plenty of deals to be found online, but that not might last for much longer. During covid skateboard sales went through the roof. all the brands, all the shops killed it. Shops had their best year ever. Free time plus free money created lots of board sales. The following year shops and brands in the industry made larger orders for the coming seasons based off the numbers from the big year they just had. Sales slowed and inflation hit, add on the delays unloading product at the ports, causing a massive overstock of decks. All the brands are desperately trying to sell through inventory before the next batch of product comes in for Fall and Holiday season. Once all the product sells and the industry catches up with smaller orders for each season there will be less overstock and less deals available. Now is a great time to find deals on decks.

[manysnakes]

An excellent explanation. Thank you.

[hayduke lives]

One of the reasons for the price increase is to support skate shops. If it costs $16-$22 for a brand to buy a deck from a a manufacturer. The brand marks it up to $34-$44 when they sell it to a shop. The shop wants to mark it up to $68-$88 when they sell it to a customer. But the shop cant sell it that high because everyone wants it to be 2003 still so the shops deal with shitty margins on decks and hope they can also sell you some Circas at full price. Most retail stores want 100% mark up any item they buy and sell. That goes for book stores, record stores, big box stores, shoe stores, clothing stores, weed stores... Retail stores wanna sell items at a keystone markup. But for some reason the skate shops let the hardgoods industry shit all over them by accepting high wholesale prices and low retail prices that dont match up. With direct to consumer taking off because of covid the big brands want to keep the price high to maximize profits, and keep the price at a certain level to make it possible for retail stores earn enough cash to stay in business and continue to carry their product. If all the brands went direct to consumer they could sell for $50 and make a nice profit on decks. But customers eventually wont buy from shops if the in store price is always 30% higher. the brands and shops use each other to have the same higher price, MSRP. Also as mentioned previously, its been proven customers will buy at this price so nobodys gonna lower it now.

Some of you have pointed out that there is currently plenty of deals to be found online, but that not might last for much longer. During covid skateboard sales went through the roof. all the brands, all the shops killed it. Shops had their best year ever. Free time plus free money created lots of board sales. The following year shops and brands in the industry made larger orders for the coming seasons based off the numbers from the big year they just had. Sales slowed and inflation hit, add on the delays unloading product at the ports, causing a massive overstock of decks. All the brands are desperately trying to sell through inventory before the next batch of product comes in for Fall and Holiday season. Once all the product sells and the industry catches up with smaller orders for each season there will be less overstock and less deals available. Now is a great time to find deals on decks.

i know hardgood margins for shops are pretty low and i do think keystone is fair, so @ $70 usd definitely seems reasonable. brands cranking their wholesale to $44 seems a bit excessive to me, but i guess if it is really costing the $22 then...
what i do know is that a lot of retail stores (not skateshops) started expecting to make well beyond keystone going to 200-300%+ markup. basically starting a race to the bottom where stores undercut supplier so they can maximize profit, then supplier goes direct to consumer so they can maximize their profit. at some point retail went from a symbiotic relationship to putting each other out of business. less people have work and consumers pay more than they should in this new model. post-peak capitalism i suppose.

[rocklobster]

One of the reasons for the price increase is to support skate shops. If it costs $16-$22 for a brand to buy a deck from a a manufacturer. The brand marks it up to $34-$44 when they sell it to a shop. The shop wants to mark it up to $68-$88 when they sell it to a customer. But the shop cant sell it that high because everyone wants it to be 2003 still so the shops deal with shitty margins on decks and hope they can also sell you some Circas at full price. Most retail stores want 100% mark up any item they buy and sell. That goes for book stores, record stores, big box stores, shoe stores, clothing stores, weed stores... Retail stores wanna sell items at a keystone markup. But for some reason the skate shops let the hardgoods industry shit all over them by accepting high wholesale prices and low retail prices that dont match up. With direct to consumer taking off because of covid the big brands want to keep the price high to maximize profits, and keep the price at a certain level to make it possible for retail stores earn enough cash to stay in business and continue to carry their product. If all the brands went direct to consumer they could sell for $50 and make a nice profit on decks. But customers eventually wont buy from shops if the in store price is always 30% higher. the brands and shops use each other to have the same higher price, MSRP. Also as mentioned previously, its been proven customers will buy at this price so nobodys gonna lower it now.

Some of you have pointed out that there is currently plenty of deals to be found online, but that not might last for much longer. During covid skateboard sales went through the roof. all the brands, all the shops killed it. Shops had their best year ever. Free time plus free money created lots of board sales. The following year shops and brands in the industry made larger orders for the coming seasons based off the numbers from the big year they just had. Sales slowed and inflation hit, add on the delays unloading product at the ports, causing a massive overstock of decks. All the brands are desperately trying to sell through inventory before the next batch of product comes in for Fall and Holiday season. Once all the product sells and the industry catches up with smaller orders for each season there will be less overstock and less deals available. Now is a great time to find deals on decks.

Solid summary.

My guess as to why shops are still overstocked post-pandemic normalization is they expected sales numbers stay consistent. But with borders and the life returning to normal there will be fewer 1st time board buyers and casuals, sales numbers will return to pre-2020 levels and needs even more support from the local community to stay afloat. Hopefully the shops used the 2 years to strengthen goodwill in the community to build on the pool of long-term customers.

[RichardBarkley]

Expand Quote

I use the sale gear thread religiously and haven’t paid more than 48 for a deck in a while (love the shape so I almost always get FA/hockey) I just save up, wait for sales and buy as many as I can afford. If anything it’s been easier this year cause shops are so overstocked with hard goods. Looking forward to winter sales. That being said seeing 70-80 dollar dlx/baker/FA at my local has me worried sale decks are soon gonna be 60

[close]

I’ve been blessed by the sale gear thread, and the fact that skating an 8”- 8.125” is in the minority now so these sizes seem to be available on sale in the shape I want to skate .

I try and only skate full shape decks , big square nose, steep concave etc. So FA boards have been a favorite of mine because of BBS wood , short WB , and seem to be available on sale often enough .

The last two I’ve gotten were quite cheap , $40 shipped  from an atlas sale, and the most recently from FA direct for $48 .

I also like FA shape but it's too expensive. Good alternatives?

[231st Street]

Alien and habitat have relatively large noses.  Not quiet as full as fa and more medium kicks. 

[CHONGO]

thansk trump

[thehogsniper]

Just to put this into perspective, inflation since 1995 (when another user said they bought a board for $50) is a little under 100%. A $50 board in 1995 is equivalent to $97.17 now. I would argue that now skateboarding has matured and grown financially since that time, that board prices have slowly decreased across the board. Skateboarding companies have proven themselves to manufacturers time and time again, invested in woodshops, and decreased production costs. As much as people wanna give stick to board companies, I think the numbers speak for themselves.

[sluggers]

How has skateboarding grown and matured exactly since 1995.?

Skateboarding was probably at its most mature in 1975.

[thehogsniper]

How has skateboarding grown and matured exactly since 1995.?

Skateboarding was probably at its most mature in 1975.

Matured in a financial sense. Skate brands were scattered and all following completely different plans. Big money hadn't hit the scene yet, but now most of those big brands during that period are still around and have learned hard lessons. There is far more centralization and stability. Skate shops aren't going under like they used to. Manufacturing is easier then ever. For better or worse, skate companies are run more like businesses than ever.

[Lucky_Basek]

I got a Wet Willy World Industries deck for my birthday in 1998 and it cost $120 Australian dollars.

I regularly paid $110 - $125 Aud for decks from 1988. In 2017/18 started to see more popular brands going for $140.
In rare times with the Aus dollar was strong would order from the US.
It is insane that boards stayed at a flat price for 20 years.
The environmental costs of ever cheaper wood and shipping and the human costs of ever cheaper labour are on my conscience every time I get a board.
And even more when they break easily.
And even more when people chuck them against a wall or focus them to be cool.