By Kent
Senatore
Tore Surfboards,
North Shore, Oahu
Do You Want to Continue Paying High Prices
for Surfboards?
On the heals of the Clark Foam closure in December
2005, there was an explosion of press coverage, most
of which proclaimed that our surfboards would never
be the same, blanks would be unavailable for months,
and any alternatives would be inferior.
The effect from these stories has been a mood of uncertainty,
not only in the surfboard industry, but more importantly,
within the army of surfing consumers who in reality
are the driving force behind the previously mentioned
industry. The immediate reaction from most shapers was
to raise their prices, sometimes by as much as $100.00.
Then, there was a mad rush to purchase as many of the
remaining Clark blanks as possible. These blanks were
quickly shaped, glassed and put into any and every shop
on the island essentially flooding the already heavily
stocked shops. What happened next was, I’m sure,
unexpected by most, if not all. Rather than a consumer
feeding frenzy, there was a collective pause. Now, three
months have gone by and a lot of those boards are still
sitting in the racks waiting to be sold.
The predicted free for all never happened. Why?
I believe it’s a combination of a few things.
The first being that most surfers in the islands have
a quiver of boards, this might have made them feel as
if they had some time to wait and see what was going
to happen. Others may have simply been waiting for the
magazines to tell them what to do. Hell, I read every
mag from cover to cover too, in hopes of finding the
answer, but when I talk to friends the most common thing
I here is that the prices are too high.
At this point, it’s half way through March and
nothing seems to have changed. The Australian blanks,
along with some South African, Brazilian and Argentinean
foam have arrived, not to mention the EPS foam that’s
been here all along. But it seems that people are still
frozen in a wait and see mode, which I believe, is the
real problem. Everyone is waiting, whether it’s
to see what new foam will be the best, or if the prices
will come down, is hard to say.
Thus far, I’ve been looking at this from a neutral
point of view, but now I want to speak to you as a shaper.
Many shapers, although they might not want to admit
it, are hurting right now. These are the people who
over the years have tirelessly worked to improve your
surfing experience by shaping you the best board they
could. Now is the time they need your support the most.
I’m not talking about the large companies who
have held a majority of the market for years, this hasn’t
hurt them in the same way as the little guys, and in
fact it has strengthened them. I’m talking about
the majority of shapers who operate on the fine line
between profit and loss.
Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing, and surfers around
the world look to us for a lead to follow. As Hawaiians,
we understand the importance of the family unit. If
your shaper was part of the family, wouldn’t you
be more understanding of the problems they’re
facing? For their sake, now is not the time to sit around
and wait, the sooner you accept this, the sooner things
will get back to normal. If you as the consumer do not
make a move, the surfboard industry really will never
be the same again.
Instead, it’s time to be open to new options
like custom EPS epoxy, or be willing to pay a bit more
for now. In the long run you’ll be helping yourself
as well as the shaper, and I’ll tell you why.
I know saying this might piss off some other shapers,
but the prices will come back down if the consumers
keep the money flowing. Helping local shapers now is
the only way I see to reverse the current pricing trends.
If you continue to wait you might eventually get the
lower prices, but will it be at the expense of your
favorite shapers career? Without the little guys, prices
will stay high, and the industry will move outside of
the country; most of the large companies already have
done so. Do you want someone who has never surfed to
make your board? It’s a real possibility if we
don’t start working together like the family that
we are.
I’ll say this too, even at the higher prices
the profit per surfboard is only something like $50-$100
at best. We’re not getting rich, we do it because
we love it. We do it because we’re surfers, just
like you. I say keep the money in the family, we’ll
all be happier in the end. Aloha, and thanks for reading!
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