eBay Watch: December 2008

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?

The Black Halos, and their new album “We Are Not Alone” fuel this month’s Baywatch. I fell in love with the Halos the first time I heard them. They are the perfect mix of thrashy, punky and yet melodic rock and roll, much as DGeneration were. The difference is that the Halos have managed to keep it together where DGeneration were not. This is the Halos 4th album, and every one is great, but where a lot of punk bands are getting tired and stale by the 4th album (sometimes by the 2nd!), the Halos just keep on pulling out killer disk after killer disk. They are just so solid and consistent. Every song on here is outstanding, and it will have you hooked from the first chords of the first song “Disbelief”. They may be from Canada, but these guys sound like the reincarnation of the Dead Boys to me, and that is pretty special. Great stuff, and they are probably my favorite band, at least at this moment!

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 the details, including the operating system and browser type.

60s, 70s, early 80s.

SO let’s get started off with a bang. First up is this Dogtown Big Foot complete from 1978. It is super clean, one of the best I’ve ever seen. And it doesn’t stop there. It comes with the super rare Megatron trucks, and these are so clean that they still have the raised type on the grind surface. It even has UFO Flying Saucer double conical wheels, which are enormous, and again, super rare. This is just a really special package, and somebody got an example of 1978 skate technology at its finest here. It even has the rad wooden tail plate. $1,500.

And keeping with the 1970s completes we have this Sims Brad Bowman with what look like t-hanger Indy Stage I’s and green Sims Snakes. It’s in solid, used condition, at least the deck is. The trucks are completely pristine, not a grind mark to be seen. The tail had a wooden tailskid on it, probably similar to the one above, so the tail isn’t chewed up at all. It may not be as graphically exciting as the Big Foot, but it’s still a very solid example of the state of the art 30 years ago. $650.

This is a G&S FiberFlex Henry Hester slalom model, complete with Gullwing HPG IV trucks and a set of Road Rider 6 wheels. Again, this is in very solid used condition. The split axle trucks look perfect, the wheels are used but all there, and the deck is in awesome condition. I bet that thing pumped like a monster through the cones! Again, much like the completes above, this is a top-rate example of 70s skate equipment, and it’s in excellent condition. What a great month for 70s stuff December was! $579.

 

So let’s not stop there! Here’s a Variflex Eric Grisham, complete with flashy blue Variflex trucks and Sims B-52 wheels. Again, this is a VERY solid complete from the late 70s/dawn of the 80s. The deck looks almost perfect; apart that is from the Clouds Bushing stickers in the routed areas. They detract from the rest of the graphic. I’d ditch those immediately. $300 feels like a steal to me.

It’s funny how for a while there all of the big companies had basically the same graphic style. The name of the company down the side of the deck, and the name of the pro down the center. This Sims Bert Lamar looks very similar to the Variflex Grisham above! This complete has a little more wear to it, but it’s still pretty nice. It is complete with Trackers Extracks and Gyro hub wheels. It even has the original Z-Flex rails! The paint is scratched in a lot of places, but not enough to detract from what is a very cool deck. $379.

So you want to go back a little further? OK. Here’s a Logan Earth Ski Bruce Logan model, complete with ACS Lite trucks in white, and 70mm blue Kryptonics. That’s pretty amazing actually: I have featured 6 completes from the 70s so far, and every one has a different brand of trucks and wheels! Anyway, this is a fine looking complete: diamond tail, simple graphic with the classic Kryptonics sticker. I’m guessing this would be from 1977? $250.

And here’s a G&S Proline 500 deck from 1979. It’s a 10-inch pig in very nice condition. Check the wheel wells; they have blue fiber-ply in there, whatever that is. If it had been me I’d have ripped off the Sims, Tracker and Alva stickers, as they detract from the simplicity of this deck, and make it look messy and cluttered. Still, it’s all there and in good shape too. $510.

And they just keep on coming! Here we have a Dogtown Shogo Kubo Airbeam from 1979, complete with Trackers and Kryptonics. The deck isn’t beat up as much as faded in the sun. It looks like it’s been sitting in the yard for the past 30 years! Seriously, there are very few scratches and nicks; it’s just the graphic that looks dirty. It might be just the griptape actually. This one went for $995, which is a great price. I’ve seen them for double that.

Now this one is a strange one, and is the second slalom rig to be featured. This a RMI slalom deck with Stroker Trucks and unknown wheels. I’ve never seen Stroker on an actual setup before; they are enormous! I wonder how they worked? The red tail guard is a nice touch. The whole thing is in great shape, and caused quite a stir in the slalom community, as it had 34 bids. It ended at $482, in large part because of the trucks I’m guessing.

And finally from the 70s we have this absolute classic, the Z-Flex Jay Adams fiberglass in yellow. It has Trackers and Kryptonics, with the stickers to match. It’s in great condition, and the stickers are a nice add-on here. The funny thing is, I don’t know if the seller tried to ride it, but the trucks have new Doh Doh bushings in them. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t stock in the 70s! Like I say, it’s a complete classic. $410.

Mid 1980s

First up is my favorite deck of the month. It’s a G&S Florian Bohm “falling” from 1988. I love the body graphic and the wood carved feel of it all, but I especially love the half black, half natural deck. It’s an awesome idea that even carries over to the top of the deck. It is just totally striking and unusual. The fact that he is was a lesser-known European pro didn’t stop this from going for $275. I don’t know if this was a one-off or a full production model, but whatever it was, it rules.

 

I tell you, sometimes completes are the way to go. Yes you pay more for shipping etc, and the thing is heavier, but you can get some unbelievable deals. Take this Vision Mark Gonzales. The plastic has protected the graphic totally, that thing looks like it was set up for a store display and never ridden. It comes complete with white Gullwings and pink Bullet 66s. Just look at the deck! Not a mark on it. This thing is spectacular, and for $280 that’s a steal and a half.

Here’s a Powell Peralta Tommy Guerrero “flaming dagger” from 1986. Round nose, no wheel wells, silver dip. It’s fine for what it is I guess, and the round nose version is more rare. $320.

Man, the Powell Peralta Tommy Guerrero “iron gate” model has exploded in value, and is now going for more than the earlier “flaming dagger” model above. I can see why though. The flaming dagger always struck me as being juvenile and sloppy, while this one is more intricate and detailed. The graphics really pop off of the white dip. That’s a really nice deck. $482.

Here is a Powell Peralta Tony Hawk “birdclaw” from 1989. Most of these that you see on eBay these days have the forest background, but this one is the plain model, which signified that it was a mini apparently. The forest model looks more special, but the intricacy of the graphic sue does show through on this plain one. It went for $455.

So here’s the classic Powell Peralta Tony Hawk “chicken skull” from 1987. There were literally millions of these made, and a few years ago you could get them at online stores. Then they all sold out, and suddenly there was a run on these decks, with prices exploding through the roof to insane, sky-high amounts. So how is the value of one of these now? Well this mint in shrink, vibrant green specimen went for $500. So now you know.

Well I hope that the seller of this 1st edition Powell Peralta Tony Hawk wasn’t expecting the $6,000 that the more famous one went for a few years back, because in this economy that just isn’t happening anymore. Actually, this one looks to be in better condition than that one: this one looks almost mint. Of course the photo is not great, and those shadows could be hiding no end of problems. But still, it’s a great, historic deck, and it went for a very good price: $2,076.

The Santa Cruz Jason Jesse “Neptune”. Now I must be missing something here, because the seller says that is on a green stain, but the thing looks brown to me. Also, the colorway doesn’t look that great: the purple and yellow just isn’t working for me, but I must be in the minority because this deck went really big: $1,500. It is 100% mint, no tears in the shrink, no warp. Maybe a more color accurate photo would have been a good plan on this one.

This is a Word Industries Jesse Martinez “Rockem Sockem” deck from 1990. The graphics obviously feature Jesse playing Rockem Sockem Robots with somebody and beating them. Man, I always wanted that game when I was a kid. I was never able to convince my folks to get it for me though. The deck was “lightly used” and apparently was gripped at one point, but it must have been stripped by an expert, because the thing looks awesome. There is no sign of any griptape residue on the top, and no discoloration. $316.

Here’s the McGill “stinger” from 1990. We just saw one go last month for $346, so I was interested in seeing if this one kept up the momentum. Well close, this one went for $275. The red stain is unusual on this one, and it’s still in shrink.

And here’s the classic McGill skull and snake bottlenose on snakeskin background from 1987. Man, this colorway is insane! The colors are so incredibly bright, and think, this deck is 22 years old! It is a full size with some storage scuffs on the side. It is simply outstanding. That would look great on any wall. Well, maybe not if the wall was blue, but you get my point. $455 seems like a real steal to me.

Here is a World Industries Mike Vallely “circus” from 1989. Like a lot of mint Vallely’s on eBay, this comes from Mike’s personal collection. All I can say is that he must have a pretty damned big collection of his own stuff! Actually, he explains it in the auction. He’s moving out of a warehouse space he’s had for years, and consequently he’s parting way with stuff that doesn’t mean much to him anymore. Plus, he has doubles and triples of some of this stuff. It’s mint, never skated. $1,168. Not bad for “junk”.

Dude, this one is one sweet complete! Freestyle decks normally don’t do it for me, but this one looks awesome! Of course, it’s the Powel Peralta Rodney Mullen “chess” deck from 1984. It comes complete with very early Indys and 57mm Bones wheels. For some reason the complete package speaks more to me than the deck alone does. Let’s face it, you see this deck a lot, but complete like this it comes alive. At least it does for me! $445.

We all know the Japanese tidal wave with kanji script Aaron Murray deck, but this is the less well-known Dogtown Aaron Murray. It was his last pro deck before he started his own company in 2003. This one is known as the “pool dragons”, art by Wes Humpston. This one is in a nice red stain, and I like the money bump by the back truck area. It’s a nice looking deck, and only cost $160!

Here’s a SMA/Santa Cruz Natas 5 from 1988. It is complete as you can see, but rip those trucks of and you’ve got a pretty decent looking deck. Of course, you can’t really tell from the photo. There is something odd going on over the front truck holes, and it looks like there might be some wear back on the tail, but it is very tough to see. That might be why it only went for $375.

The Santa Cruz Rick Demontrond “spidey” model doesn’t come up very often so when it does I feature it, and when we get two, well I have no choice. The top one has a really chewed up tail, but the graphics are almost all there. It’s in the classic colorway, and still looks pretty damned good. That one went for $98. The one below I featured a few months back. It’s a complete with Indy 169s and Bullet 66s. A classic combo. The deck is monochrome, and has been touched up apparently: the nose and tail were restored. They did a nice job, because it looks great. It looks like they forgot a screen or two, but the colorway is still pretty striking. It went with a BIN of $350.

This Powell Peralta “ratbones” almost made it into the bargain section because I thought it went really cheap. It comes complete with Underground trucks (made by Madrid), and the funny thing is that they have Tracker copers slapped on there. It also has G&S wheels, and the full compliment of plastic. Actually, the plastic really protected this board. Rip all of the plastic off of here, take the trucks and stickers off and you’ve got an original ratbones for a VERY reasonable price. The red dip is a nice colorway for this one. $235.

The H-Street fans out here write me often complaining that I don’t put enough H-Street decks on here. Well here you go, and this is probably why. This thing is just plain horrible. Its like the artist said “let’s put the ugliest damned thing on there we can Danny”, and they did. WTF is that? An ugly bastard sitting on a hand? I don’t get it. I also don’t get how somebody paid $900 for this. And despite what the seller says, it wasn’t his first model.

90s-today

So if you’ve been reading this column recently you’ll know that Hook-Us decks have been going up in value slowly but surely. This one exploded though. It’s the “Alison’s Wonderland” deck from 2000. Typical suggestive graphics here, but the price is not typical: $472. Now, bear in mind that this might no be legit. The buyer had zero feedback and had similar ridiculously high bids on a few of the other Hook-Ups decks from the same seller. I say shilling, and I’m not talking about the pre-decimal currency from England! That’s what it looked like to these jaded eyes anyway.

Jesus is this thing hideous. It looks like the kind of painting a guy would do at the fair: you know, you bring in a photo and the guy does a painting of it in 15 minutes. Horrible. It’s a Plan B Rick Howard “Raggedy Andy” slick from 1993. Congratulations! This might be the most unappealing graphic ever featured on Baywatch. $445. You mean you paid over $400 to put this on your wall. You’re single aren’t you?

And maybe going to the same single guy is this 101 Adam McNatt “Bondage Betty”, again from 1993. I just checked, and it did go to the same guy! He mush have a hankering for hideous 90s wood, because again this is ugly in pretty much every way. Talking of Bettie Page, did you see the movie they made about her a couple of years back? I don’t know how they did it, but they made her life incredibly dull and un-erotic. That was one crap film. Way to go guys. But I digress. It sold for $850. So this buyer spent almost $1,300 on these two decks. What recession?

Zorlac made what feels like a million decks for Metallica. This is the last one I believe, the “Metallica spider”, and is circa 1991. The lines are nice and simple: this actually looks like a really fun rider. That’s one thing that the San Diego period Zorlac (sister company Airbourne too) seemed to do well, and that’s make very skateable shapes. $650.

Here’s another deck direct from Mike Vallely’s personal collection. It’s his second model on New Deal, shortly before he left them to form a company with Ed Templeton called TV. It’s from 1991 and is called the self-portrait. The artwork is by Ed, and symbolizes what Mike was going through at the time: being stretched between the known and the unknown. The known is the wall socket, the unknown is the alien, but you probably figured that out already. So now you know. $710.

And talking of Ed Templeton, here’s his New Deal “Woofff Cat” model from 1991. On the top it says it’s “Cosmetically blemished and is for promotional use only”, but I can’t see anything wrong with the graphic. It looks great to me. I really like this graphic a lot. It reminds me of a Chris Miller. I especially like the way his name spans the nose like a nosebone. Sweet deck. Maybe I’ll pick up the reissue. $204 feels like a bargain, especially after seeing the slicks above.

OK, what screamed “I’m a dork and proud of it!” louder than anything else in the late 80s? Following the lead of the Vision team and wearing their assortment of crap, especially fanny packs and the Vision beret. Well now you can relive your worst fashion disaster of the 80s by buying said matching beret and fanny pack on eBay. Yup, you can look like a complete tool again for only $50! Actually it’ll be even worse today, because nobody will have ANY idea what that piece of crap on your head is. They might think you’re special or something.

Remember GangGreen? Yes, that really crap hardcore/metal crossover band from Boston. I wanted to like all skatecore bands back then, but the majority of the bands on those Thrasher comps blew chunks, and it seemed like they were leaching onto skating as a way to get some credibility and fans. So it was with GangGreen. Look I don’t know if they really skated, and I really don’t care. They were not good, simple as that. Here is a single of theirs that has the song “Skate to Hell” on it. As you can see, it is on a shaped picture disk, which is a pretty cool idea, but then you realize it’s from GangGreen, so never mind. $45.

So you had your Vision fanny pack and beret. But how to show the world that you were a “real” skater? Well how about these sweatpants from Powell Peralta? As you can see, they have ratbones going down the legs. Of course, maybe you’d prefer Vision pants too, because you wouldn’t want your Powell pants to beat up your Vision fanny pack. Yeah, better stick with Vision Street Wear all the way round. You can’t handle these pants. . . . Size large, $169.

But you could sport this fine, pink Powell “Bones Brigade Sumer Tour 88” shirt with those sweatpants. That would go down a treat. This shirt is minty fresh. Pretty cool actually, and again, large enough to actually wear if you like. $140.

But this t-shirt would kick the ass of the t-shirt above. It’s a vintage Zorlac shrunken head shirt, and the colors are still as bright and obnoxious as they were back then. Size large with some stains and holes. Zorlac>Powell. Don’t believe me? Check out what it sold for: $255. Not bad considering the seller probably thought about binning this a few times in the last 20 years, especially on constant nagging from his girlfriend. “You’ll never wear THAT ugly thing again, throw it out! What’s it supposed to be anyway? Grow up already!”

OK, now that you have your 80s skate wardrobe picked out, and your 80s skate tuneage, you might as well buy a piece of crap 80s ramp to skate on too. Well eBay is here to oblige! For only $799 you could buy this deathtrap of plywood and nails. Transitions? Transitions are for pussies! We like big banks that shoot you abruptly off the end of the ramp and into the trees beyond, assuming that your wheel didn’t get stuck in the rotting plywood on the way up that is. What isn’t evident from this shot is the huge, wheel stopping cracks in the flat bottom. If ever a ramp cried out for the daggers to burn it down it was this one. Where were Hook and Monk when you need them? If you look really carefully at the picture you can see a falling down well and a leaning basketball hoop. Maybe an earthquake went through the backyard. Amazingly enough, there were no bidders.

Bargains!

There were some amazing bargains this month. Most of these are not mint, but the graphics are all there, they look great, and they went for peanuts. OK, first up we have this G&S Nicky Guerrero from 1987. Yes, he’s a European pro, and the nose and tail are in rough shape, but the graphics are all there, and it comes with early Indys and SC Bullet wheels. $37 seems pretty cheap to me.

Now some of you are probably kicking yourselves over this one. Personally I never liked the Vision Hippie Stick, but I know some of you really love it. As colorways go, this one is pretty rad: the black dip allows the pinks and greens to really pop. The rails did their job here, as the graphics are almost perfect. Pull off the stickers and you’ve got a really nice deck. It is complete with early Thunders and Vision Blurrs. Hell, I’ve seen Thunders alone go for more than this complete ended at! $63.

This was a common deck a year or so ago, but the later models of the Bones Brigade are starting to climb in price too. You wouldn’t know it from this Powell Peralta Lance Mountain “family” deck from 1989. It went for $37. Say what? In black too no less. Normally the black dips are the more sought after.

This one has to be bargain of the month. It’s a Tracker Lester Kasai “oak leaf” from 1986. It has front wheel wells, and is in NOS condition. Not mint as it has storage marks, but still, it looks great. It went with a Buy It Now for $69. Yup, less than $70. The Lester reissues go for more than that. The price is so low that I was suspicious that it might be a reissue, but the seller appears totally genuine, even admitting that the deck has a warp, and it is missing the print behind the back trucks that the reissues have.

For 70s collectors this has to be bargain of the month. It’s a California Freeformer Ty Page undrilled deck. I know the 70s aren’t as popular as the 80s decks, but come on. $25? Are you freaking serious?

And the hits just keep on coming. Look, I know Howard Hood wasn’t the biggest name of the 80s, but his Smith Skateboards “Lions and Spears” model from 1987 is a good looking deck. This one is NOS with a really nice red to yellow cross fade that I’ve never seen before. It comes complete with Indys and Sims 63 double conicals. Pull the sticker off the tail and you’ve got a great looking complete. $46.

This is a Sims Kevin Staab “mad scientist”, but you knew that already didn’t you? It’s scratched up, but nothing major really. It would be a great placeholder until you can afford a mint one. It has Gullwings and Vision Shredder wheels. $36 is ridiculous, just ridiculous.

Asshole of the Year!

OK, so I’ve never done this before, but this is such a blatant rip-off and attempt to fool people that it makes me physically sick. The asshole bought a Powell McGill reissue and attempted to make it look like a used 80s deck. They even went to the trouble of scrawling the names of 80s hardcore bands on the griptape with paintpen, and scratching up the nose and tail to make it look authentic. They even double drilled the truck holes so as to obscure the new-school mounting pattern. The finishing touch: they scratched out the word “Reissue” under the Powell Peralta logo above the back truck holes. And yes, they did try to initially pass it off as the real thing. Eagle eyed collectors reported them, and they did eventually change the wording of the auction to say reissue.

They also had a Gonz reissue up with almost identical paint pen on the top.

Seeya next month.

-Neil