Who’s buying decks at retail?

[2fakie]

i dont trust some shops to store their decks properly, and the older a deck is the more likely its warped or sogged out. I usually swing by when they have a new shipment in, and i dont mind paying the extra buck.

[Not_Bruce]

When I was younger, I often would buy boards I loved and it would be retail. Pretty much since 2020 almost every board I have purchased was on sale at a local shop. For example, I just purchased the Krooked Barbee board, loved the graphic, shape and huge fan of Ray. With the cost of living crisis here in SF and across the world, even with a great job it's scary out there.Thus I just cant justify paying full retail. Once inflation gets less bonkers (home insurance went up 15 percent this year), I would buy  at retail to support my local. But presently, just don't have the $$.

[Chavo]

Full price at Strangelove or Western Edition. The designs I like usually sell out quickly and never go on sale. I rarely go to physical shops, so I always at least buy a t-shirt, bearings, or wheels from a skater-owned shop whether I need them right away or not. I can't imagine why some don't have their own t-shirts. I get most of my online stuff from SoCal Skateshop and get pricy things like Swiss bearings and silk-screened decks during general sales.

[camel filters]

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I buy retail and sale decks. If I buy retail, it has to be a deck I really want or otherwise support the shop. I would never buy pizza, braile, etc. regardless of how good the sale is.

I understand the rationale of buying retail from shops so that they get the most profit possible for a given item, but there is also utility in clearing their inventory of the goods they are having trouble moving. It gives them money to work with to buy new gear that has a better chance of selling and keep up with rent.  I do not think it is fair to expect the customers to be entirely responsible for a shop's success or failure. Shops need to do more than have a store front. It is 2024. They need to have web presence, have events and support the growth of their scene. Do periodic sales to drum up business and get people in the door.

The recent boards I got for retail were a couple Ronnie Creager mix master boards from Thank You and a couple of Girl Decks from @MOE SYZLAK at Cassette skate shop.



I bought those decks from Cassette because you can tell he is trying hard to do more than make cash.


If I had a shop, I feel like I would probably try to figure out a way to have an additional stream of income, like make it a coffee shop as well so that there are different markets and demographics that I could hit.  That being said, I can imagine it might be a pain in the ass to get the permit to sell food/drink and keep up with all the regulatory stuff and having enough workers to operate both elements of the business.

EDIT: Willy Santos had a good idea with the barbershop. It is a service that everyone needs plus you would get a bunch of business during back to school time and other parts of the year (e.g., holidays). Props to those who are running or work in shops.

[close]

Thank you so much PUG!
Before opening I flirted with the idea of doing a coffee shop in the store as well. However there is a coffee shop 2 doors down. I looked into the margins of coffee and they aren't as good as one might believe. The overhead and equipment you need is astronomical, to me at least.
No comply seems to do it well though.

NC is my local and its basically a partnership and two separate businesses that share the space. While you won't be able to profit from the coffee if you go that route unless you invest in the coffee side, it might still be beneficial to split rent and get cross business if you find a partner who has knowledge and has equipment for coffee.

[JM]

Before opening I flirted with the idea of doing a coffee shop in the store as well. However there is a coffee shop 2 doors down. I looked into the margins of coffee and they aren't as good as one might believe. The overhead and equipment you need is astronomical, to me at least.
No comply seems to do it well though.

When ever I hear people talk about web deals in the shop, I always have to remind them that while these brands are running crazy sales all the time, they aren't doing anything to support the scene. You can't go to CCS and sit on a couch and watch a video. They aren't hosting community events or placing orders to get promo to give away to locals at contests. I remind them that money they spend at the shop keeps these these events going.

@MOE SYZLAK
Yeah your shop with the couch looks really dope. Wish I was in… Nashville? Knoxville? Wherever you’re at. Love that brick, too.

As for No Comply, I hope we can learn one day how they have been so successful.  I went into DLX when visiting SF, and THEY even commented on how NC is killing it.

They are doing something right, obviously, but it also probably helps that being in downtown Austin surrounded by billions in tech money helps product move. (I.e. more money to burn, more money spent)

That’s just ONE aspect, the other being the huge shop deck number in sales, the soft good tshirts, etc., the dunk sales, the supporting the scene very well, being next to a great skatepark.

Being flexible with the market probably helps any business too.

I don’t know… I’m just making theories. I’m no business major.

Oh, shit, forgot, as for the coffee… it seems just a rad little add-on with an espresso machine, and pour over capabilities. Maybe not a money maker, but hopefully at least breaking even. I do love getting a coffee every time I visit House.

[Gnar_Gnar]

The cool part of getting older is buying whatever board you want at full price from the shop and telling yourself it’s to support the shop, brand, and team.

Feels pretty good.

[BALARGUE]

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I’m not 100% on this for decks, but my friends shop was getting forged hollow Indy 159s for $11 a set. They sell at $65 so I’d say there’s some decent margins. I’d assume it’s about the same with decks.

[close]

shops generally get decks from distro for half their recommended retail price

[close]

This is not true anymore. and never really was even 10 years ago. at this point a lot of the major brands using BBS wholesale boards at $46-52 , these decks are expected to be retailed at $74-80. It seems the median price that I've been seeing a lot lately is $48 wholesale. and the expected retail for those is $72-74

boards have always been the lowest margin item in a skateshop , unless your buying shop decks or smaller regional brands using cheaper woodshops.

I believe your friends shop was able to get those Indy's for so cheap because at some point during the pandemic they were offering box's of trucks for insanely cheap.

In Europe, for hardware it's something like that most of the time
wholesale price (without taxes) x 2 = rrp (with taxes)

I knew it was way tighter for boards in the US (i guess the taxes system is not the same though)

11$ a set of hollow Indys CAN'T be a normal wholesale price.

[roba]

shiner had grind king disruptors wholesale for like 10 pounds a set so i guess the $11 indys are a similar situation, too much stock in an unusual size, or maybe that's the price per truck. 129s probably cheap as fuck too, who the hell rides these trucks other than my 11 year old sister

what balargue said is mostly true, probably depends on where you're at and the tax laws of said place. if you sell a board for its rrp you keep about 30% of its price.

example: a bbs made board from a reputable skateboard company costs (or used to cost about a year ago) about 40 euros net wholesale. they want you to sell them for 80 gross. i guess VAT is around 20% for skateboard stuff in europe, it's different between countries, i paid 23% but 20% is easier to work with. after you pay the tax the board ends up around 48 euros + shipping, if you order like 20 boards from said company you pay about 40 euros for shipping, divide that between each board and they end up being 50 euros each. you sell them for 80 gross, so 16 euros from that pays VAT. buying the boards you already had to pay 8 euros each and you don't pay twice, so from the sale you have to pay 8 more. what you make is the difference between 50 (what you paid for the boards with tax) and 72 (price of the board minus unpaid VAT)

i can't speak for balargue but in my experience the boards don't sell for 80, you usually have to sell for 75 or so, otherwise the broke teenager will order it off an online behemoth like skatedeluxe where that exact board is 5 euros cheaper than the rrp because they order and sell insane amounts of them. i can't even blame em (the buyers), this shit is crazy expensive, especially in my country where the median monthly pay is around 1200 euros before tax.

[moonordie]

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Retail but I buy palace decks and they're cheap as fuck in Europe.

Although I do have my eye on a jacuzzi next that I'll also pay full for

[close]

Just for a refresher, how much is a standard deck in Europe?

How easy is it for you to find a brand name deck for say $40usd or below, online or in person.

If you want cheap retail your options are going to be Jart (nobody wants that but is acceptable if you're broke), Plan B (nobody wants that and your friends will make fun of you and you'll wish you got a Jart), Sk8mafia (Surrey is cool) or Cruzade (nobody ever wanted that)

[TwisT]

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Retail but I buy palace decks and they're cheap as fuck in Europe.

Although I do have my eye on a jacuzzi next that I'll also pay full for

[close]

Just for a refresher, how much is a standard deck in Europe?

How easy is it for you to find a brand name deck for say $40usd or below, online or in person.

[close]

If you want cheap retail your options are going to be Jart (nobody wants that but is acceptable if you're broke), Plan B (nobody wants that and your friends will make fun of you and you'll wish you got a Jart), Sk8mafia (Surrey is cool) or Cruzade (nobody ever wanted that)

could have just said HLC.

can you get roger now that they're HLC? Is Roger cool across the pond?

[WashingtonNECKTIE]

Why the fuck did I bother with this getting this cushy job if I'm just gonna buy budget gear?

The shop has been nothing but awesome to me, even invited me on skate trips and order me specific gear. They've earned my business fair and square. Can't rip off the fam.

All that to say, dropping nearly $100 for board+grip still stings

[Fifty8mm]

I think I've paid retail most of my life.
I would never want to pay retail for psstix though. But my favorite brands right now are on psstix (snack and western edition)
Idk most sale boards are boards i don't like.
Even as a kid/teen i would save money to get what i wanted. Only time i could say I really regretted buying retail was a baker "new wave" construction deck. Absolute dog shit. Stress cracks throughout the waves first day.

[Cbdcigarettesaftersex]

It matters on the brand and shop or if I’m familiar with the product. buying online from a shop I’ll go sale if I can’t see the concave with a brand from deluxe. More comfortable buying online with DSM wood shop because it’s single press. Otherwise in person I’m buying retail.

[Frank and Fred]

I’m just a guy trying to survive in this fucked up economy and do the thing I love on gear that isn’t trash. If I inadvertently ruin someone’s business in the process than maybe they weren’t very good at running it in the first place.

This is the worst take I've read on supporting local skate shops.

[moonordie]

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Retail but I buy palace decks and they're cheap as fuck in Europe.

Although I do have my eye on a jacuzzi next that I'll also pay full for

[close]

Just for a refresher, how much is a standard deck in Europe?

How easy is it for you to find a brand name deck for say $40usd or below, online or in person.

[close]

If you want cheap retail your options are going to be Jart (nobody wants that but is acceptable if you're broke), Plan B (nobody wants that and your friends will make fun of you and you'll wish you got a Jart), Sk8mafia (Surrey is cool) or Cruzade (nobody ever wanted that)

[close]

could have just said HLC.

can you get roger now that they're HLC? Is Roger cool across the pond?

Yeah I could but at the same time Sour is more expensive than your average HLC and when writing was done I liked his it sound.
Regarding Roger I've never seen anybody skating them and I feel that people don't know the brand at all. Also never saw them in shops but you can order straight from HLC site and shipping is free. They come with free Jessup so that's nice.

[mrosk8]

i'm still buying in each city i go, with a skateshop, a set o bones bushing(or maybe more if the shop is cool) to support.
Anyways i'm old and i wanna skate what i like so i buy what i want.

on another note , skateboarders are always complaining about price, shops and money but company,distributors,skateshop are not having goodies for free.its a business at the end of the day, some are doing it with passion and love, some for the money.
so next time you go buy a beer or supreme tshirt maybe save some for your next deck and you'll be happy.

[diplodocus]

Only buying sale shit from online retailers is kook behavior. Only buying sale shit from your shop is also lame as fuck. Support your shop at full price so they actually get a beneficial margin.

[TwisT]

i'm still buying in each city i go, with a skateshop, a set o bones bushing(or maybe more if the shop is cool) to support.
Anyways i'm old and i wanna skate what i like so i buy what i want.

on another note , skateboarders are always complaining about price, shops and money but company,distributors,skateshop are not having goodies for free.its a business at the end of the day, some are doing it with passion and love, some for the money.
so next time you go buy a beer or supreme tshirt maybe save some for your next deck and you'll be happy.

Supreme is a skateshop
They make more profit of the tshirt than the deck
A supreme shirt is only $40 dollars, way cheaper than any deck they have.

 is morally right to buy the supreme shirt and the beer rather than a deck to support the shop

[mooraga]

Two days ago I lost my board
I left it next to the car, got a call, answered and left 

I had to pay full price for trucks, wheels and bearings
Thankfully I had some old boards

Damn it

[rawbertson.]

theres hardly any money in decks anyway
none of these companies would even remotely survive if it werent for the clothing side of it
if you really want to support the brands you like, buy the clothes!

side tangent - i wish they would start making board graphics onto T Shirts again. I always thought that was rad!

[i halfcab board ledges]

I just buy shop decks when they r cheap

[HaveFunSkateboarding]

Only buying sale shit from online retailers is kook behavior. Only buying sale shit from your shop is also lame as fuck. Support your shop at full price so they actually get a beneficial margin.

If you can’t afford to pay retail then you just can’t. I’d rather be able to keep skating by figuring out ways to be thrifty than say “oh well, I guess it’s either spend $80 on a deck or not skate at all.” I’m a single father with two kids I get 50% of the time. Shit just keeps going up in price and my pay stays the same. I buy almost everything I use on sale or places like Depop.

[i halfcab board ledges]

Only buying sale shit from online retailers is kook behavior. Only buying sale shit from your shop is also lame as fuck. Support your shop at full price so they actually get a beneficial margin.

Ill pay full price when they stop charging me for grip

[beautifulcannolis]

Only buying sale shit from online retailers is kook behavior. Only buying sale shit from your shop is also lame as fuck. Support your shop at full price so they actually get a beneficial margin.

Not understanding the financial difficulty many people have throughout life (not to mention the shit show that is 2024), that leads them to only buy shit on sale is the real kook behavior.

Count your blessings retail aint a problem for you, and hope the guy saving some bucks on sale can upgrade their life to pay full price in the future instead.

[Fakie backsideflip]

I have a few friends that run a few shops so I get a deal but with that deal I have this obligation to myself to buy more stuff so it’s ends up being the same amount as I originally planned to spend bust most of the time more .

[schralp pal]

I feel like if I skate 6 boards a year and 2 are from the local (2 decks with grip ~$200) and 4 are from online sales from brick and mortar skate shops (4 decks maybe no grip also ~$200) everyone wins? Especially if I use the local for parts and special clothing and deck releases.

I would also like to add sometimes paying retail directly from the brand is cost effective. Frog throws in griptape and if you buy two boards shipping is free.

[Free hat]

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Only buying sale shit from online retailers is kook behavior. Only buying sale shit from your shop is also lame as fuck. Support your shop at full price so they actually get a beneficial margin.

[close]

Not understanding the financial difficulty many people have throughout life (not to mention the shit show that is 2024), that leads them to only buy shit on sale is the real kook behavior.

Count your blessings retail aint a problem for you, and hope the guy saving some bucks on sale can upgrade their life to pay full price in the future instead.

Sucks more people here don’t seem to understand this. For a skateboarding forum there’s a lot of dudes acting like fuckin mountain bikers. Support your local when you can, but don’t feel guilty for supporting yourself first.

[WashingtonNECKTIE]

Why the fuck did I bother with this getting this cushy job if I'm just gonna buy budget gear?

The shop has been nothing but awesome to me, even invited me on skate trips and order me specific gear. They've earned my business fair and square. Can't rip off the fam.

All that to say, dropping nearly $100 for board+grip still stings

*and passing no judgement on those who aren't financially capable of paying full price. Gotta do what you gotta do.

[txvizier]

Just spent 120+ on a skaterbuilt og pig deck and threw four custom rails on it just because... So that's my cruiser, otherwise boards that I rip the park with tend to last a good while, but hopefully purchased under 75 bucks...probably go through more shoes than decks....fuck shoe prices.

[Frank and Fred]

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Only buying sale shit from online retailers is kook behavior. Only buying sale shit from your shop is also lame as fuck. Support your shop at full price so they actually get a beneficial margin.

[close]

Not understanding the financial difficulty many people have throughout life (not to mention the shit show that is 2024), that leads them to only buy shit on sale is the real kook behavior.

Count your blessings retail aint a problem for you, and hope the guy saving some bucks on sale can upgrade their life to pay full price in the future instead.

[close]

Sucks more people here don’t seem to understand this. For a skateboarding forum there’s a lot of dudes acting like fuckin mountain bikers. Support your local when you can, but don’t feel guilty for supporting yourself first.

Skateboards are still not all that expensive. It's all about priorities. Beer? Weed? Video games?  I've never earned much money or had much disposable income. And when I was really broke I always found a way to get the skate shit I needed and that was at full price from an independent local skate shop bc It was my only option (there was no online skateboard shopping) with the occasional hook up. Just to be clear I'm not against people seeking sales from reputable shops when they arise, I just had an issue with your tone and how you framed some of your argument.

I currently support two shops b/c they support the local scene in ways I like to see it supported. the owner of one in particular will often give me a deal, throw me a free T etc. b/c he appreciates the support. It's a mutually beneficial relationship at this point. Reciprocity makes a better world.  Priorities.