eBay Watch: November 2011

So, welcome to eBayWatch, November 2011 edition. You will notice a change this month. The bargains section is gone. It was getting too hard to scour for those every month. It would take about as much time to find 10 of those as it took to find the other 45 items in all of the other sections combined. So it’s gone. If I come across bargains while I’m looking I will include them, but there won’t be a Bargains section every month anymore.

November was a pretty huge month. I guess some people do still have some conspicuous income that they like to flash around Christmas time, because some decks went off for craaaazy amounts of money (thanks ST). Now before you complain, high prices are not the only things I look for. There are lots of high priced decks that I don’t feature, mainly because the picture sucks or I just don’t like the deck or the same deck has been featured a lot in recent columns. That’s why you’ll see an Aaby this month. It’s not the most valuable deck by any means, but I like it, I liked the colorway, and I hardly ever show it. So that’s that. BTW, there are a couple of decks from October in here; those were the only ones I was able to research before I went away.

This month I have been listening to a lot of Morrissey. Why? Because he just played here. He was supposed to play in November but he cancelled that one and switched it to December17th. It was an awesome show, probably the best of the five or six times that I have seen him. It was a real mix of a setlist, covering five Smiths songs, (“I Want the One I Can’t Have”, “Meat is Murder”, “There is a Light the Never Goes Out”, “I Know It’s Over”, “Still Ill”) some of his biggest solo hits (“Everyday I like Sunday”, “You’re the one for me Fatty”) and a handful of real obscure tracks I never expected to hear (“All The Lazy Dykes”, “Maladjusted”). He even did two new songs (“People are the Same Everywhere” and “Scandinavia”). He seemed relaxed and even cracked jokes between songs, and apart from the miserable state of The Congress Theater, it was a fine night. So there you go. Break out some Mozzer for the New Year.

60s, 70s, early 80s.

So let’s start November off right. Here we have an Alva team deck from 1979. It is basically in mint, undrilled condition. It belonged to the youngest pro to ever skate in the Hester Series, Bela Horvath, who competed at age 10. This thing is astounding, so bright it could have been purchased yesterday! It sold for a large $1,300.

Now here we have a real beauty with a price to match! It’s a 1979 Sims Brad Bowman “Superman” with Indy stage IIs and very early Powell-Peralta Bones wheels. Even though there are some scuffs and scrapes, especially in the wheelwells, the deck displays as an 8.5 easily, and the trucks look almost untouched. Basically this looks like it was ridden down to the corner store a few times and then put away for 30 years. The griptape couldn’t be cleaner on top! Basically if you were looking for a Sims Bowman then you would be hard pressed to find a better specimen than this. It sold for a large $3,220 on 69 bids.

Next up we have this Dogtown Bigfoot from 1978. The seller claims it is mint, but obviously he doesn’t know what mint means in collecting circles. All original dos not mean mint! However, it is in good used condition. The underside is very clean, and the top is ok apart from the yellowing of the clear griptape. It comes complete with Trackers and Road Rider wheels. It sold for $1,877 on 21 bids.

And here we have another Dogtown from the same period, this being the Bob Biniak model. Now this one is mint, at least as mint as a 33-year-old deck can be! This is one of the Biniak decks that had a fiberglass ply on the bottom, and that it why it is white and shiny. The graphic really pops off the white. It’s a beautiful deck. It sold for a large $1,725.

Here we have a Variflex Eric Grisham complete from 1980. This deck came in 2 models: an earlier flat version with wheelwells, and this one, the concave version, which didn’t have any wheelwells. It comes complete with Trackers and Sims “The Wheel” wheels. It sold for $461 on 33 bids.

And here Now here’s a complete that you don’t see very often at all! It’s a Town & Country Darren Ho deck, with ACS 650 trucks and Tunnel Rock wheels. Talk about an interesting collection of parts here! We are all used to seeing the T&C 80s decks, but who knew they were making decks in the late 70s? Also the ACS 650s are super chunky, and have the name imprinted on the grinding surface. And finally this might be the first time that I have seen Tunnel Rocks on a complete. It sold for $685.

Here is a Z-Flex Jay Adams from 1976. The colorway is superb here, the orange is awesome, and the white and black decals really set it off. It comes complete with Bennett Pro trucks (with the infamous plastic baseplates) and Powerflex 5 wheels in orange and black to match the deck. It’s in superb NOS shape, and is a beautiful complete. It sold for a large $1,699 on 25 bids.

Here is a G&S Doug “Pineapple” Saladino “Pine Design” deck from 1978. It’s in very good used condition: the bottom looks basically untouched apart from some fading around the edges and under the trucks. It sold for $560.

And sticking with Doug Saladino, we have another G&S deck of his, this being the routed version of the “Pine Design” deck from1979. It is in very solid shape underneath, although the state of the topside is pretty poor. It comes complete with Trackers and Powell Peralta wheels. It’s a very rare board in any condition, so I wasn’t surprised when it sold for $1,236 on 21 bids.

And here is a G&S ProLine 300 team board from 1979 that comes complete with Trackers and blue Kryptonics. It’s in very nice lightly used condition, and the gripped side is just as clean as the bottom is. The blue in the graphic is echoed in the tail dome and wheels, and overall this is a very nice complete, if a little generic looking. It sold for $550 on a Buy It Now.

And finally from the 70s this month we have this Santa Cruz team deck from 1979. It’s flat with enormous wheelwells, and has the fade Santa Cruz lettering underneath, but no SC Dot as yet. It also features an enormous Santa Cruz USA logo on the topside, running diagonally across the middle of the deck from rear to front truck underneath the clear griptape. It’s an interesting piece, coming as it did a couple of years before Santa Cruz really found their true graphical style. It sold for $394.

Mid 1980s

So first up in the 80s section this month we have this G&S Neil Blender ‘Coffee Break” from 1987. It’s in NOS shape, never gripped or mounted. There are a couple of touch ups in the red, but apart from that it’s as clean as can be! Now, the colorway isn’t the best, in fact it’s downright ugly, but still, it’s an NOS Coffee Break! It sold for $850 on 33 bids.

Here we have a G&S Steve Claar “Whales” from 1987. AOS says it’s from 1989, but no way they were putting out this shape in 1989! It’s NOS< never gripped or set up, and the colorway is super bright and vivid. The blue stain is great here, mimicking the ocean. The artwork is by Art Godoy, and overall I think that is a very underrated deck. It sold for $134 on 14 bids.

Here’s a great looking Schmitt Stix Steve Douglas “Special Brew” complete from 1989. It has been set up with orange Ventures and green Vision Blurrs, but it was never gripped, and looks like it was never really ridden outside. The deck is basically in NOS condition. I’m not sure how but the orange Ventures match the color in the deck almost perfectly, almost like it was color matched! It’s a great looking complete and it sold for $200.

Here we have a Santa Cruz Eric Dressen “Celtic Roses” from 1988. It’s mint in shrink, and still has the original warranty card inside the shrink-wrap. I’m guessing that it is a dark grey stain, and against that background the golds and greens and blues really pop. It’s an exquisite graphic anyway, but this colorway makes it look really special. It sold for $435.

And here’s another Eric Dressen deck, but this is a Dogtown “Pup” from 1988: a year earlier than the deck above. This one is in good used condition, and comes complete with Indys and Powell Peralta Mini Rat wheels. The graphic is super clean, and even the trucks and rails have hardly seen any action. It sold for $441.

So how much would a NOS Dogtown Eric Dressen “Pup” go for? Well I’m glad you asked, because we happen to have one right here! It’s in grey stain and the same colorway as the one above, but the big difference is that this one is in NOS condition, never gripped or mounted. It’s a beauty and it sold for $869. So it sold for about twice as much as a decent used one.

I guess that I show a Vision Gator “Swirl” every month, or at least every other month, but that’s purely for the fact that they made so many damned colorways, and most of them are totally boss. Here’s a case in point. This is the Gator II “shapes” model from 1988, and although it’s a Mini model, the blue dip and orange to yellow swirl more than make up for any deficiencies in the size! The thing fucking rocks, and it’s NOS too. Never set up or gripped. Excellent brother. It sold for $520.

So here’s a Santa Cruz Claus Grabke “Melting Clocks” from 1988, and it’s the first a veritable avalanche of Grabke’s that went off in November! It’s in decent used shape, with no major dings etc., although it has been drilled for rails, and there’s a lot of fading on the nose and tail. The red stain is a nice colorway for this deck it would look great on any wall as long as you don’t mind a decent condition used deck. And even if you do, it would act as a nice placeholder! It sold for $400.

So a used Grabke “melting Clocks” isn’t doing it for you? Well luckily you were spoiled for choice in November! This is a mint in shrink purple stain, and the colorway is actually far better than the red one above, because the clocks pop far better off the purple than they did off the red. Now this is one of those ones where the seller probably really regrets the price they put on it. The deck lasted all of 11 minutes before a seller hit the Buy It Now price of $1000. I’m guessing that it could easily have fetched $1,500.

So let’s turn the clock back a couple of years to 1986, and we have the Santa Cruz Claus Grabke “Exploding Clock”. This one is NOS in a lovely teal dip and is NOS, but is also a factory second with some missing spots. It doesn’t detract much from the deck however: it’s a real thing of beauty, and the colorway is brilliant. It sold for $1,775 on 23 bids and actually went off in October. It’s one of the few decks that I cataloged from October actually!

So how much did the same deck go for a month later? Well this identical deck sold in late November for $2,400. It was a different seller, and he made no mention of the factory second fact, so I don’t know 100% for sure that it’s the same deck, but I’m pretty sure that it is. It’s an awful coincidence if not! He does take better photographs however!

Here is the really big-ticket item for November, and maybe for the year! It’s a Santa Cruz Jeff Grosso ‘Alice in Wonderland” from 1989 obviously. This is the one that was sold by Jeff himself earlier this year (for about $650 less). It is NOS with no warpage, and is signed by Jeff on top and has a letter from Jeff authenticating it. The colorway is great, and it sold for a Buy It Now of $5,000 after being up for about one hour.

Here we have another Santa Cruz Jeff Grosso model, but this one isn’t nearly as rare as the one above! It’s the “Acid Tongue” model from 1988. It’s listed as mint, and the colorway on this one is really nice. I like the olive stain, and the really allows the pink, blue and yellow to pop. A rarity here is the blue face: most of the time the face on this one is green, but with a green background that would not work, so they changed it to blue here. It’s a nice looking deck, and it sold for $670.

So here’s a Powell Peralta Tommy Guerrero “iron gate” from 1989. If you are looking for this deck, then this is the perfect specimen. It’s 7 ply, full sized, and comes in the best colorway; black dip. Everything about this bad boy exudes quality. It’s NOS and has a couple of surface scuffs on top, but overall this is a total peach. It sold for $805.

Here’s a Powell Peralta Tony Hawk “Screaming Skull” complete, but this is the pig version from 1983, not the much bottlenose from years later. The graphic is plain on a pig deck without any of the background screens that appeared on the later version. Consequently this one looks cleaner less cluttered than that one. The classic Powell wheelwells are in full effect, and the natural wood colorway is great looking. Funnily enough the color of the Powell wheels looks just like the deck, making it look like the wheels are made of wood too! It’s a great looking complete and it sold for $2,025 on 41 bids.

Here’s a Hosoi Skateboards (Santa Cruz) Hosoi ‘Street flag” from 1987. It’s NOS, never setup or gripped, and is in the winning purple dip. On looking at this model on AOS I noticed that most pictured on there say Hammerhead Sktbrds on the yellow triangle, but this one says Hosoi Sktbrds. What’s up with that? Anyway, this sold for $909 on 23 bids.

Here is one of those occasions where colorway can make up for a simplistic graphic. It’s a Vision Joe Johnson “Star Eye” mini from 1988. It’s in never mounted, NOS condition, and has been tastefully signed by Joe, right under the eye in black. The silver dip is astonishing, and the reds and yellows and blues look awesome popping off of it. It would look great on any wall: it’s a real head turner. It sold for $350.

And here is a Zorlac Craig Johnson “Fire Demon” from 1986. It is NOS, never been gripped or mounted, but does have the regulation storage marks etc. The colorway is rather plain, and I’m not sure that the orange and pinky-purple really work well on that blue, but that’s Zorlac for you. Still, it’s a Texas Zorlac and is NOS, so it sold for $550 with a Buy It Now, and it only lasted 1 hour! I do wonder how much it would have gone for if the auction had run its course.

Now here’s a real beauty! It’s a Schmitt Stix Joe Lopes “Barbecue” from 1988. This is the rarer version that had the “sauce” splashes all over it. This one is NOS, and the green stain looks great here. The dashes of red and the yellow mustard stains really work on that background, and the whole thing just looks rich and impressive for some reason. It’s a real winner and it sold for $1000.

Here we have another winner! Not for the deck itself so much, but for the amazing griptape job up top! Now the deck itself isn’t bad: it’s a Zorlac Metallica “Pirate Skull” from 1986. I have featured a ton of these recently, and I probably wouldn’t have featured this one without the massively cool tape job. Actually I’m not quite sure how that was accomplished, but it does look kickass. The colorway on the deck is actually great too: it’s red dip with a gold skull. It’s simple but powerful and it sold for $650.

Here we have a Sims Jeff Phillips “Tie Dye Demon” from 1987. This is the full sized version, and actually might be the best colorway I’ve ever seen for this graphic. The red dip is vivid, and shows through the yellows, greens and blues of the tie-dye. It’s in NOS condition, never mounted or gripped, but it does have a big hole drilled through the demon’s chest, so I assume it was set up as a shop display to frighten the kiddies, or it was a clock at one time. It doesn’t matter to me though, because it still looks boss. It sold for $431.

And here we have classic that I haven’t shown in a while! It’s the Santa Cruz Salba “Tiger”. It’s been reissued in every colorway under the sun, but apparently that hasn’t hurt the value of the original! This one sold for $750, despite the dark woodstain that makes it look a little dull. It’s NOS and still a great graphic though.

And finally from the 80s this month we have this Tracker Dan Wilkes “Dinosaurs” from 1987. It’s NOS, but does have some scratches and discoloration on the nose from storage etc. The colorway is strong which makes this an outstanding auction by itself, but it also came with a vintage Zorlac “Shut up and skate” t-shirt and assorted Tracker stickers, and those add-ons alone are worth at least $100! It ended up going for $352 on 30 bids.

90s-present day

Here we have a 101 Kris Markovich “Looney Tune Alien” from 1991. It is in mint condition and has a pink stain underneath and purple stain on top. It is super rare, especially in this colorway and condition, and although 90s decks are still not as popular as 80s decks are, it still sold for a large $2,500.

Here we have a H-Street Sal Barbier “Hands” from 1990. It’s in NOS condition, and the primary colors of the graphic work really well on this natural deck. It’s a beauty actually, and H-Streets aren’t normally my thing. It sold for $500.

This is a Zorlac Craig Jonson “Superhero” from 1992. This is from after Zorlac had already moved to San Diego, so it wasn’t even really a true Zorlac at this point. It has been set-up but has never been skated and it actually doesn’t even have griptape on it! The trucks are Deadbolts (mint) and it has mint Alva Speedskins wheels. It’s an outstanding complete, and is a prime example of the last stand of early 90s large shaped decks, right at the cusp of downsizing and morphing into the popsicle. The whole thing is very rare, from the wheels to the trucks down to the mounting hardware! It sold for $810.

Here’s a Blind Jason Lee “Cat in the hat” from 1990. It’s in mint condition and it looks great in the light green stain. I actually prefer the light green to the darker green that is more commonly seen. You can see the wood grain show through better, and it allows the main graphic to pop better. It sold for $1,500.

Assorted Crap

Now, I NEVER normally feature or even mention reissues, but a couple of PP Lance Mountain “Future Primitive” auctions were so outrageous in November that I feel obliged to mention them. Powell Peralta reissued this deck in a limited single run about 5 years ago. They sold out very quickly, and since then they show up on eBay from time to time, normally selling in the $300 range. So when this one sold in November for $568 on 25 bids I thought there had to be some mistake. Did the bidders think they were buying a mint original by mistake? Nope, it says Reissue right in the listing and in the description. Maybe it was the result of a bidding war? Pre-Xmas insanity? Well whatever it was it wasn’t a one-off, because another one went off for $590 during the same period too! People, these are reissues! Less than 5 years old! Good condition originals were going off for less than this! It makes absolutely zero sense. Somebody explain please!

And here we have a set of original OJ wheels from 1977ish. These are the full size 65mm Superjuice version. They have never been ridden or set up, so are about as virgin as you will find. Everybody wanted these back in the day! They sold for $363.

And staying with the 70s, we have this vintage poster for the 2nd Annual Hang Ten World Skateboard Championships from 1976. It has pinholes in the corners, but looks remarkably bright and pristine considering that it’s 35 years old! However, it is coming from a reliable seller, so I know that it’s legit. It sold for $171 on 20 bids.

And here we have a mint set of G&S Rollerballs from 1978. They still have the grooves in the riding surface, so you know that they have never seen the pavement, because those would disappear within 30 minutes. They are a little discolored from storage, but still are highly sought after. This se sold for $500.

Now this auction didn’t go high for the G&S composite slalom deck, as nice as it is! Rather it’s the set of Stroker trucks that are mounted to it! Nothing here is new, but it’s all in very good shape, and the Strokers still look almost perfect. Actually it’s nice to see them actually mounted to something instead of sitting in bags! I’m assuming the original Trackers were thrown away once the Strokers came along. It sold for $430 on 17 bids.

And finally we have this Powell Peralta Tony Hawk crewneck sweatshirt. It’s not mint or unworn even, but it is in decent condition with no rips or holes. The colors are bright and the graphic is iconic. However it is a size medium, and after repeated washings is probably smaller than that! So maybe give it to your 8-year-old brother basically! But despite the fact that it cannot be worn by any normal human being, it still sold for $395 on 5 bids.

See ya,

-Neil