December 2008. It was much the same as November. Some decks went for really big cash, some were below average, and there were some real bargains to be had if you were lucky enough or vigilant enough to spot them. Normally there’s a spike in December as loved ones bid on decks for collectors I the family. Let’s face it, they make the perfect gift! They are an unabashed luxury, and skaters often won’t pull the trigger themselves, deciding it’s too frivolous. What a nice surprise under the Xmas tree! However, that really didn’t happen this year. I’m wondering what January, February and March will be like. Normally they are big months because of tax refunds, but this year, who knows? Editor’s note: We’ve made the enlargements pop up in front of the page instead of loading in the same window, thanks to Slimbox 2. This should make for a better reading experience. If it goes over well, I’ll go back and retrofit the past columns. Note to web developers, LightBox 2 doesn’t seem to play nice with long pages. It only took me 2 hours to figure that out. If you experience any errors, please drop an email with…

After seeing himself in last week’s shot of the week, Runaway insisted that we at least use a good shot. That wasn’t a dig a Peter Dietsches’ photo skills, Keith was just being self deprecating. In order to detract attention from his corn rows, Keith furnished two great shots of TSOL member Ron Emory at the same bowl. Above is a close up of one of them. Love the debris flying off, and if you can believe it, it’s a make of a backside edger that took a turn for the hairy. Word is he made those regularly. Keith said Ron owned that pool, and you’ll be inclined to agree if you check out the full frame Shot of the Week as well as a bonus shot after the jump.

BMX’ers and skaters don’t have a beef in Belgium. Hell, they even share their websites. Bocal Mostard (translation?) is a collective of skateboarders and BMX riders. They met together to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of a snake run in the city of Liège, Belgium. It looks like there was a mass thrash, art events and live bands. Sounds pretty good in any language. Check it out.

Squeaking in under the wire in the last few hours of the last day of the week, this week’s Shot of the Week is Billy Runaway at the Sign In bowl in LA, as shot by Peter Dietsches in 1990. Nothing says late, late 80’s like those Hamor Hed and Gouge logos. You might remember Billy Runaway in the early days of Thrasher. He now heads up Addikt Skateboards. Check out the full frame Shot of the Week.

November 2008. The economy is even worse if that’s possible, but by the look of eBay in November there are still collectors with deep pockets out there. These shitty economic times have dropped some prices, but the truly rare and desirable decks are still going for big money. Where do some of these guys get their cash? Good question. Another good question is why do so many big money collectors come from Australia and New Zealand? Maybe the recession hasn’t hit down there yet. Maybe in 6 months time there’ll be a massive sell of from down there. Who knows? So to underline the trying times I have a new section this month: Bargains of the Month. Take a look and kick yourself. Maybe I’ll do it again, maybe not. Check out eBay Watch: November 2008

I should have made this post on Tuseday. On this date in 1982, (December 9th) Code Of Honor released their debut single, “What Are We Gonna Do?” It was backed by “What Price Would You Pay? Neither track appeared on an album. The San Francisco hardcore punk band released a split album with Sick Pleasure and then one album of their own before disbanding in 1984. The band was formed by Michael D Fox who was a co-founder of Subterranean Records. What are we going to do? From the looks of the cover art, I’d say mostly handplants.

SoCal Skateparks has a bunch of video from the 80’s vert challenge that happened at some point in time that is probably still sitting unread in my Google Alerts mailbox. Low purse and high fun. Everyone wore neon, and Hosoi complete with spandex and hair extensions should have won best-dressed, although maybe he did, as there was a special cash prize for finishing dead last. Check it out on SoCal Skateparks Skate-TV. – Thanks to JF for the tip.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that the old Australian pro Tony Hallam had a web site that was chock full of images of his massive skateboard history collection, but it was missing some images. It looks like everything is back in place, so this is the official invitation to check out Tony Hallam Skateboarding. The images above are from one of his traveling exhibitions. That Vision vert ramp setup is perfect. I especially like that one mannequin is in mid-bail. Tony’s site is expansive, so be prepared to spend some time there.

Go Skate used to be one of the heavies in skateboarding mailorder. They had the coolest stickers and T-shirts that said Go Skate or Go Home!. I think this shop was out of San Francisco, and they used to carry a lot of rollerskating equipment primarily. (UPDATE: WRONG! I got my brain synapses crossed with Skates on Haight.) I looked it up onlne a year or so ago and they seemed to be focusing on inline skates. Jon Sheldon found an old Go Skate shop deck that I do not remember seeing before. Actually, I probably just ignored it at the time. Anyway, it’s a piece of skate history that isn’t as glamourous as some of the more well known boards, but still interesting enough to me at least. Check out a few pics after the jump.

October 2008. The economy is totally in the toilet. The stock market is plummeting by triple figures daily, people are being laid off, and stores are closing. Folks just don’t have the discretionary income that they had even a few months ago, and this is evident on eBay. I’ve never seen a month like this. I was hard pressed to find 40 decks to put on here because so many decks didn’t meet their reserve or had zero bids. Sellers, if you want to sell in this Market you’re going to have to lower your prices, be realistic or you’ll end up paying eBay fees for nothing. Buyers with a few hundred dollars in their pocket are suddenly able to afford decks that were totally out of their price range just 60 days ago. It’s a crazy time. Buckle up because October was a bumpy trip. Check out eBay Watch: October 2008