Another board shop out of business

I hate to see it happen,but my favorite local shop just went under. Its sad to see, always gave me a great deal, no matter what. I guess on the bright side, I did help him out a little by buying some gear. I hope this economy turns around quick. I dont want to be forced to buy my stuff online.

what shop was it that closed???

Boardwurx, in Delafield WI

you guys talk about this and it makes me wonder. i have a relationship with our local shop and he says wakeboarding is dead. sales are way way down he has been in buss. for ever so he as seen it all. he says kite boarding is dominating his sales. is wake boarding really dying? i know economy is crap right now but people are buying kite boards an kites that cost alot more than a wakeboard setup. this dealer is a great guy and a great place and why he has been around for so long and has always competed with online sales. i just wonder if he is on to something.

(Message edited by kko13 on January 11, 2009)

you have to try and compete with online sales or be part of the game yourself I guess. It sucks for sure. No shop in any industry likes to hear the ever popular "I can get that way cheaper online".

I myself am way more willing to pay a bit more in my Local shops (groceries to cars to wakeboards) and maybe, just maybe that guy will either bring some of that cash into my store and buy something or at least keep it local. It gets harder and harder to do but if we don't try to pass it around a little our local shops are all doomed. IMO

Scott check out Tinus in Oconomowoc, not to far from where boardwurx was. They have CWB, Liquid Force, Obrien and a couple other things. Austin is a good guy and a buddy of mine, he always takes care of me there. Otherwise in the Madison area there is Rich's Boardsports he sells wakeboards and snowboards. He is also a great guy, known him for 12 years. Those are the only two places I get gear from.

Stan

You have to compete with all of the used gear out there. Most riders have a few boards and there really is not major differences between boards of the past few years (within a few characteristics - rocker, fins, flex, etc.). Why buy new every year if your board is still good? You may need the cash for fuel. Also, most board sales are to young men, those with limited funds. Not too many 50-year old wakeboarders with kids out of the house...

suck to hear another shop went out of business. at what point will the wake industry wake up and realize that their online dealers are taking out all the mom and pop shops. the shops that helped build their brand long before online sales existed.

brands are so scared •••••••• right now with the economy... that they are willing to sell their souls for pennies on the dollar.

i own a shop... i dont sell much wake stuff however i love spending time at the lake and going for a shred. i can say that the wake industry is messed. pricing is stupid, very few brands and riders have any sort of style or originality and the surf, snow and skate industry think wakeboarders are dorks.... it's compared to rollerblading.

thanks for the rant. support your local shop.

"very few brands and riders have any sort of style or originality and the surf, snow and skate industry think wakeboarders are dorks.... it's compared to rollerblading"

Is that the sales pitch you use to help any customers that come in your shop looking for wake related merchandise

adam probably could have stopped at "I own a shop.. I dont sell much."

i am not saying to my customers that wakeboarding is for dorks. i love wakeboarding. it's a blast. i did say that the industry outlook is such. i deal with many brands/ reps etc everyday and wakeboarding is rather looked down upon.

i am not on here to promote my business. i was on here to mention that it's a shame that small boardshop are being eaten alive by bigger online shops.

no sales pitch.... just a few things i have heard from skatebrands..

My shop here in Edmonton... Hyperactive watersports closed its doors in the fall. It was part economy and partly because the manager took a job at different location.

I was somewhat surprised they decided to close shop and not hire another manager. While it does suck I'm awaiting Clints new shop out in Calmar (45 min away) with Wizard Lake Marine. The boat dynamic changes, Tige to Malibu but at this point I don't own either and while I'm somewhat partial to Tige, I've always enjoyed Malibu's.

"very few brands and riders have any sort of style or originality and the surf, snow and skate industry think wakeboarders are dorks.... it's compared to rollerblading"


Never heard that one before.

Ours closed down also here northern Colorado. They were the only shop up here and they were also the Surpra/Moomba dealer. I was partially glad to see it go, because they saturated the lakes up here with Supras and Moombas. Don't get me wrong they are nice boats, but it made me want something different. Guess I'll have to go down to Denver from now on for gear.

I am pretty sure that the board companies are not allowing any new online retailers. To sell online you must have a physical shop.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.... but, BuyWake.com/Ambush is a local shop in Atlanta but they took their sales online and kept the store. It's a situation where a local shop blew up and captured the online market. It's hard to blame them.

(this info could be wrong, just what I was guessing about buywake)

But yes, it does stink. Hit up Tinus though, great guys over there. Ironically almost bought my first boat years ago from them.

Jeffrey,

I didn't find this out until just after christmas when I went down to buy some stuff and found it shut down.

When does the Calmar shop open?

Just look at the board/binding reviews from 2008 and 2007 compared to 2006 and 2005. Not a positive sign of a growing sport, I hate to say. I know I'll be riding some kind of board every season as long as I can walk.

Total Liquid Force board reviews on Wakeworld by year. I chose LF since their name hasn't changed. I know CWB's popularity has improved over the last few years and Ronix was created, but is this a sign of Wakeworld visitor decline or another bad sign for the sport? No more X Games, no more Gravity Games, Fuel TV still gives a lot of coverage, but hmmm???

2001 248
2002 236
2003 217
2004 185
2005 180
2006 196
2007 102
2008 62

I don't think you can base the industry on declining reviews. There are a lot of people in here that don't even read the reviews since we all know that some of these stuff is bogus that people write about. However, it is interesting to read some of the reviews but I do not base my board/binding purchases on those reviews.

Some may think that I'm an ass for thinking like this but, less people in the sport means less boats on the water and more ride time on better conditions for us!

adam is right. a lot of people that dont wakeboard think it is the water version of rollerblading. people just dont take it serious. im just glad fuel takes it serious so it gets some attention. i love watersports and nothing will stop me, but it hurts the growth when the outsiders you are trying to bring in think its a joke. i dont know how to make people take it more seriously though, because its not a serious sport, people wakeboard because its fun. you watch the pros in the videos and on tv and they are just having fun. and i love that

what needs to change is how wakeboarding seems to be all about the gear. i know i love the latest stuff too, but it seems wakebording is all about buying more stuff because you will pop higher, faster and land softer. the same stuff we've heard forever. and the margins in wakeboard products are insane. do other industries get away with these margins?


jake, i completely agree. thats why i dont mind low lakes and cold weather, no people! haha. i hate chop and im greedy
but in all seriousness i would like to see more core riders out there.

(Message edited by wakemitch on January 14, 2009)

Somewhat thread jack.

I don't really care what people think about wakeboarding. To me wakeboarding is just the sport that I do when I am out on my boat. I don't care if you surf, wakeboard, waterski, barefoot and as much as I hate to say it..tubing. To me the whole thing is about being out on a boat and the people that just don't get it have no clue what they are missing. Being on a lake in my boat by myself or with a bunch of friends is my favorite place to be and that will never change. I feel lucky my parents had a boat when I grew up and can't wait until I have kids and I can pass along the experience to them.

Until the US is inundated with cable park the wake scene will continue to be small.

Kiteboarding is the fastest growing water sport right now because is a relatively small investment to buy a couple kites and a couple boards compared to buying a boat.

Once people can learn to wakeboard without a boat it will become more main stream!

Winches offer that on a small level, but how many people are really going to buy a winch and charge a fountain without every riding a wakeboard first.

Lobby toward the construction of more and more and more cable parks! That is what the industry needs right now!

i agree with you mitch on several points-

for some wakeboarding is a fashion statement and that means having the latest gear.some think having the best gear is gonna make them a better rider. for those that this applies to LISTEN UP: wakeboarding is 90% RIDER, and 10% GEAR. your switch BS 900 doesn't give a sheet if your board has last years graphics, i was watching Pull this morning and it was the Byerly episode that looked back on his contribution to the sport(s). in 95-96 he was pulling sick moves on a wake tech flight 69 board with basic bindings behind a SKI boat with NO tower or extended pylon.

and i agree on the margins. the wake industry emulates the snow, skate, and surf industry to a certain extent. i have been surfing, snowboarding and skating for a long time and have bought a lot of boards for each sport because of the wear and tear the conditions cause. surf: broken too many boards to count, comes with the turf. skate: dont skate like i use to, but concrete and metal eventually take their toll on your deck. snow: from rocks to rails, the edge and bottom get thrashed, and mostly, the snap of the wood goes away after a few seasons of heavy riding. the problem with wakeboards is for most of us who dont hit sliders, your riding on water that doesnt take its toll as quick as the other sports products do. basically i can get several more years out of my set up than the others.

when a new quality set runs $800+, kind of tough to justify getting a new one every year.

Riley...Couldn't have said it better myself bro!!

Core shop's are the one that help grow and support this industry we all love so much, and without them it will continue to be a small industry.

I opened my shop because I have this crazy passion for this sport and the culture it offers.

There is very little loyalty with shoppers in our industry as well. I sell Wake, Skate, and Snow items, and as much as I hate to say it the wake shopper is the only one that would rather buy online to save a buck or two then support their local shop.

I dont get this with any other shopper. Snow buyers are all about their local shop and will support them to the death, same for skaters.

here is a perfect example...one of my best friends had a good friend that's wife needed some wake bindings. Since he was a friend of a great friend of mine I was gona swing him a sweet deal. His wife loved the boot.(even let him demo a brand new pair outa the box)He went and bought the same boots from as online dealer for $19 less then I could do......That is why all our core shops are closing. I only hope I can hold on until people realize this...

Shon let's start up a cable lobby!

I need to get up to your shop sometime! I passed by it the other night, went to meet Tyler R's parents for dinner, and finally saw where your shop was.

Lets do it...I am down for sure. I have a great ave. for gettin signitures...Are you ridin yet? I think we are goin friday..

I agree with riley once cables start to open all over the US the sport will be bigger than ever. Working at a cable park I met alot of people who had never wakeboarded before because of the price tag on a boat compared to the cable!

I haven't yet but I feel like I could at least get up and take some turns. Where you guys riding? Clementine? When are you gonna be hittin the water?

Clem it is...We are going around 10:30

PM me your number if I can get away from the office and if you have room, maybe I'll come up and shoot some photos of all you guys in your penguin suits!

Shon do you have Push Process, Drive, and Transgression at off axis?

I have one Transgression left, also have store copies of the other...Watchin Drive right now.

Let me know when if you get the others in I have burned copies and the skip all the time, I'd like to buy real copies of all three. I'll be in Santa Cruz this weekend but I could make it up next weekend or whenever you get them in.

I'll order them up..

Thanks!

No Worries..