Who’s buying decks at retail?

[Eh]

It may be time for deck companies to vertically integrate their business and start growing Maple trees.

[Groondor the Orc]

Time to make decks out of paper or mushrooms and invalidate all the retro maple bullshit at a stroke

[Bristol_Palin]

I buy boards at retail. I know what I like. Why would I buys something I don’t like for it to be alittle cheaper?

[camel filters]

If a brand puts out a video or supports people I like I will buy a retail board. But mostly I'll stock up on a couple of decks during seasonal sales online. Or if I need one right away its a shop deck from the local.

I buy tons of clothes and shoes full price at the local. I'm sure that's where their real margins are. I get that board manufacturing costs are skyrocketing but the rate that I and many others are breaking decks, it's simply not sustainable to pay 70 to 80 a deck.

[Plan9Customs]

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.

BTW lumber prices have dropped dramatically over the last 2 years. 4x8 3/4” Douglas Fir ply was $70 and is now back to about $35-40 depending on where. It was just price gouging that stuck around for way too long.
America! Fuck yeah!

[logjammin]

I'm too picky about dims, shapes, and artwork to buy sale stuff. I've really tried but it rarely lines up with what I'm looking for. I also utilize the PayPal pay in 4 thing where it splits it up into increments so it's not a full payment all at once. And even better, I can order online from my local using that method and just drive 40 minutes to go pick it up. He always hooks it up with free grip and over the years plenty of random discounts, BOGO, etc. so there's still some savings to a degree.

[SATIVA HYBRID]

yall cheap as hell i buy retail pretty much every time unless the shop owner hooks me up a lil discount out of the goodness of his heart

[Snappyfingers]

I almost always buy full retail to support my local shop

AW YEAH

[mynameisnotjeff]

For boards it’ll vary. I don’t mind going out and if a shop has something I want I’ll buy it. But if I find something interesting on sale I may buy it.

I do buy soft goods at full price. Whether it’s a brand tee/socks.

[garforth]

just wanted to say thanks everyone for this thread, was thinking about spending £80 on a glue board. seeing u guys talking about $70 being steep for a board brought me to my senses and now my £45 skateboard cafe deck is in the post

[Mr. Kamikazi]

I do as I guess I just accept it. I am also not hard on my boards so the 80.00 usually pays itself off. I am fortunate to have a great job so I am not effected, however, if I were a teenager, the story may be different. My parents had money but they are too conservative to spend 80.00 on a board.....


I will say I cannot imagine being a skate rate/kid & breaking boards then asking parents for a new one....

[TwisT]

I do as I guess I just accept it. I am also not hard on my boards so the 80.00 usually pays itself off. I am fortunate to have a great job so I am not effected, however, if I were a teenager, the story may be different. My parents had money but they are too conservative to spend 80.00 on a board.....


I will say I cannot imagine being a skate rate/kid & breaking boards then asking parents for a new one....

Bro I struggled to buy shop decks when they were 35 with grip. I can’t imagine how rough it is now for broke kids.

[mooraga]

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I do as I guess I just accept it. I am also not hard on my boards so the 80.00 usually pays itself off. I am fortunate to have a great job so I am not effected, however, if I were a teenager, the story may be different. My parents had money but they are too conservative to spend 80.00 on a board.....


I will say I cannot imagine being a skate rate/kid & breaking boards then asking parents for a new one....

[close]

Bro I struggled to buy shop decks when they were 35 with grip. I can’t imagine how rough it is now for broke kids.

Same here
I never had a christmas complete as a kid, I had to ask for a board, months later for wheels and bearings, a year later for trucks...

I do have the money now to pay full price but instead I'll buy food for my kids than spend another extra dollars for a board that I will break anyway, probably doing flat tricks. It doesn't matter who made them or what logos they have, they'll break soon (its been like this for the last 7-8 years)

[OhioGuy]

If a brand puts out a video or supports people I like I will buy a retail board. But mostly I'll stock up on a couple of decks during seasonal sales online. Or if I need one right away its a shop deck from the local.

I buy tons of clothes and shoes full price at the local. I'm sure that's where their real margins are. I get that board manufacturing costs are skyrocketing but the rate that I and many others are breaking decks, it's simply not sustainable to pay 70 to 80 a deck.

Exactly. You gotta skate pretty damn hard to destroy a pair of shoes in one session. But a deck can snap with one bad landing, or it could just be defective. Then you’re just SOL cause most shops probably won’t give you a refund/exchange.

Also, everyone saying they pay full price cause they like a certain shape. If it’s deluxe or Crailtap you can find those on sale too. I just got an 8.5 There deck for $44. Retails for $70.

[JM]

Last time I bought a board a few months ago, it was $83 for the Real deck, then $6 for the grip.  Came out to around $95 after tax.

That shit was a luxury. Nothing but understanding for anyone that buys sale decks.

[Dwyck]

sales help get product moving. sometimes i buy a shop tee and by sometimes I mean every other time i buy a board even online. Ive got Vu, Radio, Black Sheep, Premier and Furnace tees and ive never been even close to thwm

[InkkeACAB]

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.

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

[SupremePizza]

I'm not picky and only go thru about 2 decks a year so most of my hard goods are bought on sale. I buy dunks at full price and most clothes at full price.

[RichardBarkley]

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

[TwisT]

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

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.

[devils acrobat]

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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.

Germany/Austria it is now 75-100€ for BBS/PS, around 50-70 for HLC or others. No way to find something equivalent to $40usd here, not even the cheapest shop deck.

[fernando the skater]

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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.

In the UK a basic Death/Slam City Skates shop deck is $50-60, then you get the Heroin, Palace decks for a bit more. The latest, top USA decks that arrive, like these, are $127. Lots of decks on sale though.

[RichardBarkley]

Yeah shop deck where I am is 55 in several shops. Then palace are 65 and everything else is 70+

[Lukabrazi]

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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

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.

[InkkeACAB]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

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.

it is most definitely true in the shop that i work at in the uk

we get our boards from keen, shiner and rock solid and they all sell to us for half of the rrp

[pugmaster]

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.

[j....soy.....]

I’m guessing something to consider as well is if you are spending more on decks, you’ll be spending a whole lot less on other shit….ie. clothes, shoes etc…

[Plan9Customs]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

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.

Nope. This was early this year.

[Shifty Flip]

I only buy Metal boards at retail at this tight time

[MOE SYZLAK]

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.

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.

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.