Attention Board Makers

Wakesurf boards are expensive and I think it would be good business for the board makers to have a demo board for each model they make. Your customers can put down a deposit, have the board shipped, try it out, and return it. AT least then you can sample the goods before you put down $500+. It will generate more revenue because you will make a profit on the rental and if the customer likes the board they will probably place an order. Plus at the end of the season you could probably sell the demo.

Are you saying that the deposit would become the rental price, or would you have a rental price, a deposit, and shipping. I think it is a great idea, the one problem I see with this is the shipping of the product. The shipping is fairly expensive depending on where you ship the boards. I guess a person could combine the price of shipping and renting. Definitely something to think about.

not financially viable. Maybe if you live in the same town as a particular manufacturer but otherwise it's not worth the expense of shipping, time, and risk of the board being damaged in transit. A shop or local sales rep is more likely to be in a position to help but it's really not worth the potential drawbacks for the manufacturers themselves.

If a special foam box is made than the risk of damage would be small. Also boards are not that heavy so UPS ground may not be as expensive as you think. The company could always throw out the option to purchase the demo. I would be willing to pay $50 to try a board. There are a ton of boards out their I would love to try, but I won't buy something at full price I haven't tried yet.

walk into doug hauts surf shop and tell him he needs to loan you a demo before you buy.
let us know how far you get.
then try the same thing at every surf shop from oregon to baja.
imo wardovision said it best.

Great idea. Keep us posted.

Waterdog, I didn't tell anyone they had to do anything especially Doug Haut. When I was wakeboarding and snowboarding I could demo whatever board I wanted before I purchased it. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do the same thing for Wakesurfing? Some boards just don't work well for some people. It would be nice to find this out before you felt like you wasted your money. Look at Robert Garcia's post, he sells boards and said he is already doing this so you have been proven wrong.

(Message edited by easyed77 on June 24, 2009)

It may work for the mass produced surfboards, but not for the smaller company customs.

Was it the wakeboard and snowboard manufacturers loaning out boards or was it the local shop?

As far as I'm aware neither Burton, Hyperlite, nor any other board company has ever made a practice of shipping boards across the country to prospective customers

Also how much are you willing to pay to demo a wakesurfboard? If you're asking a manufacturer to ship & insure (plus return shipping) the board in addition to the special packaging you're looking at roughly $150 in charges before you even take the rental rate into account. That is why it isn't practical to do it on the manufacturer level. IMO the title of the thread should be "Attention local shops" because that is who you should have an issue with not having wakesurfboard demos available.

(Message edited by CAskimmer on June 24, 2009)

<spam>
Nothing wrong with the demo programs, we loan out boards with no deposit all the time. We usually snap pictures of the registration numbers when people meet us on the lake as a way to chase'em down.

The only problem is the out-of-state demoing, we don't do that due to expense of shipping/damage, but we gladly take care of Texas. That's one of the few million reasons why you should live in Texas over any other country.
</spam>

Yes, shipping is tougher, but as a Parent/Consumer, it was very difficult for me buying a board. That is awesome that you guys are doing this in texas. I think this is even more important with the GROM as a kid board, and since it is smaller/lighter, I think it can work. It definitely would be tougher with larger boards. We are not going to be selling stuff like wakeoutlaws, you guys are great, and that's not my thing. I just got a bunch of board socks and a rack from you, worked out fantastic. We are working a specific niche, and enjoying ourselves along the way.

I want to try the Inland Surfer Swallow, they want $635 delivered. If someone commits to buying it from me for $555 including ground shipping I'll do it. FedEx charges $24 for shipping within a few states and about $38 across the country. Obviously if I like it I won't be selling. If the board were to change hands 2 or 3 times everyone after that wouldn't lose any money, they would only pay the cost of shipping.

Clay

If the manufacturer would commit to selling me one near cost ($350-ish?) I would commit to selling it to someone else for cost plus shipping, and they would have to do the same... The board would be in a dozen plus boats over the summer, 40-70 riders.

There is a problem with that.

1. The board is going to get damaged, someone will ding it, or it will get damaged in shipping. I got my stuff back, but it was def worse for the wear. No one is going to want to pay for a dinged up/scratched up board.

2. Someone will get caught at the end of the line, do they sell it back to manufacturer?

Last month I bought 2 Inland Surfers from a surf school, they had them for a year or 2 and are in great condition. If they were custom glass boards they would be trashed, but pop out boards last forever. They older Inland Surfer boards appear to be identical construction as Surftech, I took one of those boards on 5 international surf trips and it doesn't have a mark on it. The new ones might be the same as NSP boards, either way they are very durable which makes them perfect for demos/rentals.

I'll nominate myself to be at the end of the line and the recipient of a $600 board for half price. Take a look in the classified section and you will see what the market value is for a used Inland Surfer. If they have dings a $5 tube of sun cure will do the job.

No worries

ive heard the ave cost on a board from across the pond is well under $200.so at $635 delivered these boards have plenty of room in the profit margins to house a demo program

I've made several boards. Here’s a recurring cost list:
EPS foam ..........$10 ($50 for a billet)
Epoxy..............$50
Add F ..............$4 (Excellent source of zits)
Glass..............$20
Foam Brushes .......$8
Pigment............$10
Tape................$3
Rubber gloves.......$5
Sand paper .........$5
Plastic cups.......$10
Small paint brush.. (Pin lines)
Razor blades.......
Stir sticks........

Poly-U foam blanks are more expensive but easier to work with. They run something like $60 each.


Nonrecurring costs
Hand planer.....$75
Mini planer.....$10
Sander..........$50
Stands..........$50 (Homemade)
Edge tool.......$20 (Homemade)
Template........$20
Hot wire........$50
Battery charger.$60 (Hot wire power)
Floor space......

However, my current effort has problems and is taking a lot of time. I could have purchased a number of excellent boards for what I've invested in making my own. Rolling you own is fun but the quality of the production boards is hard to reach.

I think that the guys that are making boards are working very hard to make boards you want to ride and at a cost they can earn a reasonable return on. If you can do better than the current board manufactures then start your own business.

We are holding a Surf and Turf at the Muncie Water Bowl today after a wakeboard tournament, starting at 5:00 PM and running through Sunday. We’ve got a private ski club lake all to ourselves. I’m bringing the Mighty Enzo and Chris Walker is going to set up is Supra SSV 22. All are welcome. We’re even going to run a night surf set. I did invite local board shops to come by and demo boards. I also asked for help from board manufacturers getting the word out on the event. Mark at Lake Wakes asked me to demo the board that he donated for the National Wakesurf Championship.

Also, I have people on my boat all the time and I share the boards that I have. If you want to try a board try to network locally. As described above the costs and risks for shipping a demo board make the proposition difficult to justify.

Good luck finding a board that you like, it can be a challenge.

Actually the returns aren't really that reasonable. Most board makers I know do it because they have a passion for it and not the money. The shops typically make 3x as much from a sale than the person who made the board. That's why I like to buy direct whenever possible.

The way I see it board makers are missing out on sales because they don't have a demo/rental available.

My wife was riding the Blue Lake for the first time yesterday and her riding improved dramatically. The guys I ride with say that board is an improvement over what they were riding. If a demo/rental was available we would have bought the Blue Lake 2 years ago.

Channel Islands has a dozen demo days from San Diego to San Francisco this summer, and those are most likely PU boards that will be unsellable come September. It's free advertising and generates a boat load of goodwill.

There is a rack full of Surftech rentals at Freeline in Santa Cruz. Bob Miller will let try his boards, everyone I know who has demoed his quad fish has bought one.

Theres a huge difference in having a rental at a surf shop on the beach, than having to ship a rental for someone to try.

exactly. I guarantee that Channel Islands or Surftech aren't mailing individual demo across the country.

Once again, this is something that should be taken up with your local wake shop or if you're interested in a particular brand try calling that manufacturer and ask them if they have a sales rep in your area

Both Ed and I have already contacted the board makers and all the local shops, that's why he started this post. We're both very frustrated with finding boards. We both have our own family businesses so we know how hard it is to run a business and provide great service.

I feel you're pain but almost all the existing manufacturers have impeccable service, just what you're asking is unrealistic.

A wakesurfboard has a profit margin of about $100 (depending on the manufacturer) and it makes absolutely no sense for a manufacturer to add an additional $100-$150 (+extra labor) to their costs for a possible sale

I'll guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

Is your film available?

my skimboard film? If so then yeah, it's in quite a few stores.

edit: I just checked your site, looks really cool, I'm interested in your aerial shots. I have a couple shots in Cabo that I really want for my next film.

(Message edited by CAskimmer on June 29, 2009)

I'll look for your film.

You can see a short video clip of an aerial shot here:
http://www.clayisland.com/

Clorox Bleached apparently.

http://wake9.com/products/grom-model-kids-wakesurf-board/

Wake9 is offering a money back board offer, I love it, now I just need to figure out how to lose 100 pounds.


After riding the Blue Lake a couple more times, I decided it would work better for me if it was shorter so I bought a Sweet Spot. That board is great, tons of speed, I was able to get a little air on my first session. Dropping way back and recovering was effortless. Both Eddie and I really liked it and that's now our go to board.

But now my head is buzzing with ideas of how to improve on that shape, I want to try a scaled up Comp 1, a TWP board, and ask Stretch to make me something like the Sweet Spot. But at $800 a pop I'm still gun-shy from the last 2 customs I have ordered that were not what I wanted.

Please rock on with more satisfaction guaranteed board offers!

Interesting how silence sometimes speaks louder than words.

Meraculus, I've had a TON of boards built and have learned a few things, that you might have experienced also.

The first effort from a shaper is a rough guess It typically takes two or three iterations to get what you REALLY want.

A month on a shapers calendar is like reverse dog years, it's actually 3 months on a NORMAL calendar...duuuuuude.

Whatever you FAIL to specifically identify or discuss on your order, right down to the last minute detail, WILL be wrong.

AND most importantly, when it's finally right, it will be the best board you've ridden, but you'll have no hair left on your head from pulling it all out.

We're going to Stretch's tomorrow to pick up prototype two while they finish prototype three!

Stretch is a genius!

The What model is one of best Ocean boards I have ever ridden, Stretch recommended it and came up with dimensions that I wouldn't have thought of. The Fletcher is another awesome Ocean board. Those are only two boards I have been surfing for the past year.

I've have been trying as many wakesurf boards as I can so that I can order another custom Stretch wakesurf board and have enough experience to tell him what I want.

I know Stretch is the man for the job! I can't wait to see what he makes for James.

Stretch has a vast background in various construction methodologies. He was involved in sailboard building at the height of the sandwich revolution and really seems to know the best application for the various materials. I was pretty specific on the board he is building for James right down to the finished weight.

He has completed two prototypes, he is using this build to train some of his people in the constrution methodology. The first and second proto's are both heavy but he is confident the last and final prototype will hit in the weight range I've spec'ed.

We'll be picking up the #2 prototype today and hopefully I'll post a few pictures of it this evening.

so...if you need to make any room in the garage for all these new boards...

He's already sold two boards on here Wardo

noooooooooooo..........
Kahn!!!!!
I mean Jeffffffff!!!!


{just kidding}

LOLOL Too funny caskimmer. Yeah, I sold the Coil, the Proctor and Joe B bought the TWP JWSM that I had Mike thin down a little.

Back from Santa Cruz. I'll post the pictures here and again in the Stretch thread with the technicals on the board.

Nice!

Jeff, how about a side shot of the rocker? Dimensions?

It's 4'5"...I think 20" wide. Interestingly enough Stretch has a standard rocker, all of his boards use it. You can see him sighting it against the original I brought him in the Stretch Shop Tour thread. The board that James and I made had a section of Stretch's standard rocker exactly BUT only by coincidence. Stretch had a rocker bed already created for that rocker, so building this board was pretty straight forward for them.

its on the DL