Editor’s note: 8-28-06 Oh man. This is pretty funny. I’m reformatting these old eBay watches because they were pretty janky in the beginning, and I’m adding them into our CMS instead of the old static HTML pages. It’s amusing how naive some of these early predictions are. Prices have kind of gone through the roof since we started adding these reports. Our first one was actually in a print issue that was compiled for 2000. In the early days of these reports, certain web sites used to poach the highlights. Since then the collecting community has really taken off and even become the scorn of the younger generations of skaters. Collectors are typically seen as guys that spend more time collecting and ranting in the forums than actually skating. In any case, this is one of our most popular features. I don’t what that says about our readers, but I’d say we seem to be split evenly among those who ride and those who wish they rode more. Besdes… You need something to do when you’re at work right?
eBay Watch August 2001 – Our First Online eBay Report.
Old school deck collecting has become massive over the last 2 years, so I thought I’d put some of the highlights I’ve seen in this regular column. Who knows, you might have something you want to sell, or you might want something and need a reality check!
Most 70s stuff goes for big bucks, even trashed decks, especially if it has the Dogtown name on it. This extremely plain 1978 Dogtown went for $274. He might have gotten more if he’d taken the crappy nose and tail guard and rails off of it. They make the deck look much smaller than it really is. Of course, the custom grip tape job on top is very nice. Tell the truth, I’ve never seen this DT model before. It looks cheap, like something you’d buy in a toy store!
A much better example of late 70s Dogtown is this 1978 Jim Muir. It went for $768. It has the awesome trademark Wes Humpston graphics, and isn’t in too bad a shape. It obviously had a tail guard etc on it too, but the seller was smart enough to realize that they spoiled the lines of this great looking deck.
The cream of the crop in August was this complete Dogtown Bigfoot. It went for an astounding $2,550, but you can see why. It is in great condition, and still has the original Indys and Hobie wheels. The only thing that spoils it for me is the stickers. If I bought this, the first thing I would do is remove the stickers, and the rails too actually. Again, they ruin the lines and make the board look narrower than it is. A great piece.
Alva decks form the 70s are all over the place. Some seem very collectible, while some are lucky to fetch over $100. This fine example of an Alva tritail went for $510. It is in almost mint condition, except for the tailskid and nose guard outlines. The grip job on top is beautiful.
Moving onto the 80s now, Even 80s stuff can sell for big bucks. It depends on the make, and the popularity of the pro or the graphics. For example, all Hawks fetch decent money, as do all decks made by Zorlac in the mid 80s. The smaller companies made far fewer decks than the big corporations, which explains the high prices decks made by smaller companies can fetch. One popular small company is Skull Skates. This Skull Skates Godoy mini complete fetched $318. Not sure if that is because it was a Skull, or because Godoy decks are like gold dust. The well ground trucks are a nice touch. They probably came off of a different board, because the deck is in nice condition.
Another Skull deck that went off in August was this Deadguys deck. It has the famous coffin shape, and graphics of John Lennon, Elvis, James Dean, Albert Einstein, Jimi Hendrix and Sid Vicious It went for $409.
This classic Powell Tony Hawk went for $300. There were probably millions of these made, but Hawk’s name and this classic shape and graphic make this one very popular. Plus, odds are that most skaters in the 80s owned at least one Powell deck.
I never understood the popularity of the Roskopp decks. I thought that the graphics were just awful, and he wasn’t that great of a skater. The popularity continues today though. This Santa Cruz Roskopp fetched $271. It is still shrink wrapped, but the graphics still suck!
One I can’t explain is this crappy looking Powell Steve Steadham, which fetched an amazing $416! Nothing special about this one at all. Ugly deck, bad graphics, mismatched rails. The only thing I can figure is that he was the 1st black pro, and so this deck has some historical significance?
Even skate clothing from the 80s sells for decent cash. One of my favorite decks from the late 80s was the Santa Cruz Corey O’Brien with the grim reaper throwing a fireball on it. This vintage —shirt bearing the logo went for $70. I was going to bid on it, but I’m not paying over $50 for a shirt!
The most astounding of all decks sold in August to me was this 1985 mint SMA Natas (2nd pro model), that fetched a unbelievable $1,524! You see a lot of later model SMA Natas decks, but that was after SMA had been taken over by Santa Cruz. His first 2 pro decks were put out by an independent SMA, and that is probably why there are so few about, especially in mint condition like this one. I had both Natas 1st model (which only came in yellow) and this one, his second. Mine was red, and was probably my favorite deck of all time. Wish I’d kept it!
Until next time, happy hunting, and if you have an old deck in good condition, throw it out there! You’d be amazed at what people will spend!
-Neil
Starting from the beginning of your excellent archive of reports. Thanks for the fantastic job you do Neil…keep up the great work! Why didn’t I start collecting ten years ago?
Thanks Neil for all of the great reads, went all the way back to the beginning during this quarantine. Bring this shit back!
I also went from the end to the beginning during spare minutes here and there. Thanks for doing these Neil! (also built myself a sweet Skull Skates Skeletal 2 reissue along the way, inspired by these posts!)