eBay Watch: February 2009

February 2009. Much as in January, the economy might suck, but you wouldn’t know it on eBay. There were some BIG auctions that went off this month, and a lot of cash thrown around. Tax refunds really come to bear at this time of month, with collectors throwing their “free money” at any grails that happen to come up.

And there’s something else I want to repeat from my January column, and this is dedicated to 2 sellers in particular: “classicadsfromthepast” and “vintagogaga”. ENOUGH ALREADY! Stop cutting up old mags and selling the individual pages on eBay for $10! Nobody is buying your crap, so just stop! Your crap is overrunning EBay! Do a search fro Steve Douglas. You might find one deck, but I can guarantee that you will get about 5 ads come up in the search; all ripped out of 80s skate magazines. One of the sellers has very little feedback, and all that there is is from the same buyer that apparently can’t get enough of Tony Hawk ads, and who hasn’t figured out that he could buy the original mags and do the cutting out himself. Fuck me! This is as lame as all of those ads for the Yocaher aluminum decks from a few years ago!

My music choice this month is from Canadian band The Riptides and their album “Hang Out” on Union 2112 Records. Take one part Rancid and 3 parts Lillingtons and you’ll have this great release. The album isn’t new: it’s a 2006 release, but it’s new to me, and it is really good. Most songs are Ramonesy: catchy with killer hooks and memorable melodies, but there are a few surprising, straight on punk rock songs on there that sound very much like Rancid, even down to the killer bass runs. This album has been on repeat in my car ever since I bought this on iTunes a few weeks back. Very much recommended. Gabba Gabba Eh?!

Now whether you pick this up or not, try picking up something new. There’s nothing worse than a stubborn old punk rocker whose record collection stopped in 1989. There’s a lot of great stuff out there. You’ve just got to do a little digging to find it. . . .

60s, 70s, early 80s.

First up this month is a G&S Dennis Martinez “Flying Aces” from 1979. It comes complete with ACS 800 trucks and Variflex Street Rage wheels with AZF bearings. The rails, nose and tail guard have kept the deck in great condition. The bottom is super shiny (it looks like that bottom ceramic ply that Skaterbuilt put on their decks), and the logo on top is clean as can be. This is a very nice late 70s setup and only went for $300. It went with a Buy It Now, so there is a good chance that the seller could have gotten more if the board had gone to the end of auction.

Now this is one of the nicest examples of a 1977 Z-Flex Jay Adams fiberglass complete that you will ever see. It has some slight scratches on the tail and a small piece of griptape is missing on the Z. Other than that it is near mint. It’s as bright as the day it left Venice. It comes complete with Trackers and bright orange Belair Lipbombs. They are a little dirty, but the graphics are incredible for being 30 years old. I know it doesn’t matter, but the graphics on most wheels today are gone after about 30 minutes. Apparently the seller got it for his 12th birthday, rode it until he broke his wrist, and then they moved to Maine where he never skated again. It sat in his parents’ garage until now. It sold for $1,626. Now that’s a nice bundle of cash to just stumble upon!

Description 3

Here’s a Dogtown Wes Humpston complete from 1978! It features the Dogtown fade stain that was later taken by Alva. This one is a particularly nice fade from blue to natural. It has Gullwing trucks and red Kryptonics. This is probably my favorite Dogtown deck from the period: it is completely iconic in every way. Thirty years later we are still seeing decks based on this basic premise. My local Target has this Tech Decks handboard. I think I’ll get it. Just Awesome. $610.

So here’s something not quite so awesome, but I love the skater, so there you go. It’s a Variflex Eddie “El Gato” Elguera from about 1981. It comes complete with red Motobilt trucks and what may be Variflex X Series wheels. The board looks pretty beaten up and the photo stinks, but still, it is what it is. The funny thing is, the only thing that looks new is the lapper, and if you ever used one you’ll know that the first generation plastic ones broke after about 30 minutes. SO I’m guessing that the board was never ridden post lapper install! $385.

Now here’s an item of interest. It’s a Dogtown Jim Muir “Triplane” from 1979. The picture shown is of the topside; all of the clear griptape has been removed leaving some residue. The bottom simply has the words “Dogtown” and “Triplane”, and has a ton of graffiti on it. So basically this deck is fucked, but it is super rare, so it is still worth showing. Rumor has it that it was the first production deck to have concave, but I don’t know if that’s true at all. It went for $316.

OK, you want a top graphic? Well here’s a top graphic! It’s a fiberglass cheapo complete, probably from 1976 by the look of the graphic. Actually, this would rule all polyprops, so maybe it’s not that cheapo. The wheels are super wide, which again was a sign that at least some thought went into this. I’m not sure why I’m featuring it. I just dig it I guess. It brings back memories. $16.

I thought Kilwag would get a kick out of this one. It’s a 1960s Red Devil “Roll-n-Surf” 19” skateboard with metal wheels and, well for lack of a better word we’ll call them “trucks” This thing looks homemade because the trucks aren’t even mounted straight or evenly, but it probably was store bought. I do love that graphic though. I’m guessing another Cold War limited retro cruiser deck might not be far away! $40.

Aah. Yes, The original Bones wheels. They were rare as hell in England. If you had them it meant your were happening. I had a “friend” who said he knew somebody that was selling a set. He was asking 15 quid, which was a ton when you were 14, but I really wanted those wheels. I begged and borrowed and eventually came up with the cash, only to have my shamefaced friend tell me that it was all a joke and he’d seen them in a magazine and thought he’d wind me up. Thanks Bev. Of course, I don’t know what I’d have done with them, as I had a polyprop at the time. Shortly after though I did have a friend make me a solid oak deck, and I won some trucks and wheels in a competition in Skateboarder magazine, so I could have used them I guess. But I digress. This set is not mint, but in pretty good condition. They have the original NTN bearings. And yes, they are verrry wide. $250.

And speaking of wheels, here’s a set of mint Henry Hester Road Riders. Very clean and they come with the original factory installed NTN bearings. Fuck me are those beautiful. Transparent wheels are the shit. They finished at $710 with lots of heavy bidding activity.

Mid 1980s

First up in the 80s section is this Santa Cruz Bullet team deck from 1985. This was the first version of the Bullet: they later did a second version with the German looking eagle and newspaper clippings behind it. You would think that it would be a pretty common deck, but you rarely see them still in shrink like this. $300, Buy It Now.

I seem to see this Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “dragon and bats” deck every month, but I love the colorway so much that I keep on featuring it. The bats are done in some kind of metallic ink that screams off the black dip. The green scales of the dragon are super detailed and the Caballero in yellow is great too. Overall this is simply one sharp looking deck. $426.

Ok, this is a Dogtown Street from 1985. It comes from a seller in Japan, the same seller who had two awesome Dressens last month. Now, there was an issue with those auctions and some bad feedback was left, but it seemed like the buyer wasn’t giving the seller enough time: the decks are shipping from Japan after all. They aren’t going to get there next day. Now the seller has some decent feedback, so I will assume they are on the level. Anyway, this is a beautiful Dogtown deck. This seller really must have a killer collection because his decks are flawless. This sold for $500, which seems cheap. Look out for the awesome Dogtown web later on!

I won’t feature Vision Gators unless the colorway really turns me on, and this one does. The purple and yellow works really well here, making the simple but effective graphic even more so. It’s a very, very nice looking deck, despite the rail and tail holes. $400 is a very large price for a used later Gator.

Here’s another Vision, this one being a Mark Gonzales “Gonz III-Man and Woman” from 1988. It’s not NOS, being gripped on top, but the graphic is almost perfect. If you dig his style of artwork, then I know that you love this deck. $677.

You see lots of Grabkes bought and sold on eBay, but very few of this model, his first American deck (yes it predates the Powell deck). This is the Madrid “time warp” from 1985. It was set up but never skated, or so says the seller, and it was certainly drilled for a tailbone. The graphic is all there, and the top features a “groovy” griptape design that has to be seen to be believed. Of course, personally I wish more people did griptape art these days. Most decks are so freaking boring. It sold for $230.

No word on whether the buyer asked for the griptape to be removed.

This is a Vision Tom Groholski “skeleton” from 1988. It’s mint in the shrink, and hot pink apparently, even though it looks red in these pics. Hopefully as soon as the buyer gets this he’ll rip off that crappy shrink and let the poor deck breathe! Shrink is evil and makes the decks look far duller than they actually are. This sold for $203.

So obviously both of these decks are the Powell Peralta Tony Hawk “chicken skull” models from 1987. Both appear to be in similar NOS condition. I show them both to show the difference in price that the colorway can make. The green is still in shrink while the seller says that the red was removed from the shrink just weeks ago. They are both full size, not minis. The red one sold for $539, whilst the green sold for $910. That’s a big price difference, and I show it to illustrate the point that it’s almost impossible to know a deck’s worth without taking into consideration the colorway and size etc.

There are just so many variables. Both are fine examples of this graphic, but the green certainly has something special.

So this, the first Tony Hawk model on Powell Peralta, used to be the highest priced deck to sell on eBay, but the days of $6000 are long gone. Admittedly, that one was as close to NOS as you might ever see for this deck, and this one has been set up and skated, but still it’s in good condition. The colors are vibrant, the graphics are intact and there isn’t any major damage. It’s a very solid example of the rookie Hawk. It sold for $1,526.

Now this Santa Cruz Jeff Kendall “end of the world” graphic from 1986 was never one of my favorites, but this colorway is fantastic. I really love the deep orange dip. Now the seller says that he has touched up the orange but not the graphic, so I’m actually a little confused. Was it orange originally and he touched up some scratches, or did he mask it off and repaint the whole thing? I would say the former, but the Santa Cruz logo has been completely painted over on the topside, so who knows? Or did this deck have no top logo? Every SC I ever owned did, so I imagine it should have one. Anyway, it’s interesting. It sold for $203.

Here’s a Blind Jason Lee “cat in the hat” from 1990. It’s mint and highly sought after. It’s the mini model I believe. The full size has the full character with the hat on, this mini model has him inside the hat, because he’s mini I suppose. It went for $1,080, which is actually a good few hundred less than it had been going for, but again, it might be the colorway. This charcoal stain is dull.

Here’s a Powell Peralta Rodney Mullen “mutt” from 1982. It’s his first model. I tell you what. The seller of this deck must have a career in copywriting, because he built up this deck like no other. He starts off saying how rare it is to find a NOS one at all, but in white? Forget about it! Then in the second paragraph he tells us about Rodney Mullen’s amazing career. Then in the third paragraph we get details on the deck: “white dip with pearlescent finish”, “lots of colorful glittering specks as if it were dipped in iridescent nail polish”. Finally he gives history on how much other NOS Mullen’s have gone for on eBay, even referencing this column! By the end of the dissertation I’m about to ready to put in a bid myself! Now for the bits he doesn’t mention. It does have a lot of storage scuffs, and has been gripped on top with one of the worst grip jobs I’ve ever seen. And it looks very flat in the pictures. I see no example of pearls or glitter! So claiming it’s NOS is not accurate. But still, it’s a nice example of this rare deck. It sold for $2,325. The seller should be commended for his sales job.

OK collectors; explain this to me, because I really don’t get it at all. The very first Natas SMA graphic, the simple panther on a yellow is rare as hell, and a mint one supposedly sold privately for over $7k. So it should follow that his second SMA model, on the same shape with a better graphic would sell for a bundle too right? Nope. This one doesn’t sell for shit, and that has always amazed me. This is a black dip version and it sold for a paltry $240. I know the tale is scraped up and it’s complete, but the Indys and Slimeballs can easily be removed, as can the stickers. There were two versions of this deck: the original SMA model, and then another issued by NHS. The NHS has solid green leaves, so apparently this is the earlier true SMA model. Another way to tell is if it has wheel wells: the SMA had them, the NHS didn’t. So again, this appears to be the original SMA model, so why so low? I’d have bought it if I didn’t already have one.

Ah, good old Monty Nolder. This is his very first pro graphic, the Schmitt Stix “double stripe triple name” from 1985. These decks always seemed to have different stripes and fades going on, all in neon colors of course, it was the 80s after all! There were several different versions of this graphic, but this appears to be an early one because of the front and back wheel wells. This is a board you don’t see very often, and might have been the very first Schmitt Stix pro model. $572.

Here’s yet another Vision deck. This must be a record! It’s the Old Ghost “Guardian” model from 1984. The graphic was by John Grigley, and they later issued a similar deck as his pro model. That one had all kinds of funky shaping though, while this a straight on pig. The screening on this bad boy is incredible. Half red, half blue with yellow screened crosses and stars etc. The skull is screened in silver, which is pretty rare. The deck has been set up and ridden, but it’s still in damned fine shape and would look awesome on any wall. $166.

Here’s a World Industries Steve Rocco “III” from 1990. It features the Pooh Bear character, transformed from the loveable bear with the pot stuck on his head from the Rocco II deck, into the evil leader of World Industries, devil horns, pitchfork and all. The top graphic has the devil bear at the unemployment line with Ronald Regan and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. It’s never been setup and is clean. The grey stain and orange bear is a nice combo. Nice deck. $1,100.

Here are two versions of what might be the most iconic skateboard graphic of all time: the VCJ skull and sword. The top one is the version that graced the generic team deck after Ray “Bones” Rodriguez had left the team. It dates from 1984, and is an amazing blue translucent dip that shows the wood grain through. It ahs never been setup, and despite a few storage marks is basically NOS. It sold for $1,135.

This one is the 1987 version of the graphic. It features a completely updated shape (it looks to be the same as that used for the bug graphic) with bump on the hips and flat “wall jam” nose. It also has the full skeleton background. It’s in a rich burgundy stain tat is very striking. Again it’s NOS with a few storage marks. It sold for $500. Side by side they make a striking pair. Add the Ray “Bones” version and you are all set.

And here’s another vintage Dogtown deck from our Japanese friend. This one is the Stonefish from 1985, a deck we’ve seen a lot recently for some reason. As is normal from his stash it is mint and in a great colorway. He also features about a million photos of his decks from every angle, showing nose, tail etc. Very detailed: you really know what you are getting. $660 was the winning bid.

And here’s another from the same seller, and this was one of my favorites in 1986. I was deciding between this deck and the SMA Natas II. I chose the Natas and am glad I did. I just wish I still had it! Anyway, it’s the Dogtown Web from 1986. It features funky sidecuts, and I think the thing that sold me on it was a great ad in Thrasher featuring Aaron Murray doing a slash grind on this deck. It seemed so underground: a million miles away from what Powell and Vision were doing. Of course today the graphics look juvenile, but 23 years ago they were rad. $500.

And talking of spiders here we have the Schmitt Stix “Taramplua” from 1985. The graphic is terrible when you look at it, featuring a very 2D looking ramp seen from above, with a skater caught in the spider web that has been spun from wall to wall. Still, it is as NOS as you will ever see this deck, and the pink dip is very nice. With the Monty Nolder above, we have a very good representation of the earliest days of Schmitt Stix. $311.

And here’s a Zorlac “street skate” from around 1983. AOS has it listed as being from 81, but I think that’s far too early. It reminds me of the Santa Cruz “street skate” from the same era. It’s got a simple shape, and is narrower than most vert pigs of the day: that’s probably what makes it a street skate. That and the really bad graphics with road sign graphics. The seller claims that there are only 2 NOS models in the world and this is one. That may be so, but it doesn’t help the value. It sold for $250. The only other mint one listed on AOS sold 7 years ago for the same price.

90s-today

In contrast to January, lots of very cool 90s decks went off in February. In fact some are amongst my favorite decks of the months. First up is this Real Salman Agah “Rocket Queen” from 1992. It’s so rare that AOS doesn’t even have a real picture of it, just a black and white post from a magazine. I like the graphic, but it does blend in with the ugly-ass carpet! It’s in great condition, never been set up or skated. It has a slight warp. $312.

Can this be for real? I mean haven’t we all figured out that Bam is a massive cock by now, and that his crappy Element decks are, well, crappy? I guess the message hasn’t reached everywhere because this auction for his “HIM 1” deck from 2001 went for $500. Yup, not $50, $500. Now I’m sure that I’m going to get emails from pubescent twats telling me how “rad” Bam is, but face it, this deck has no redeeming social, artistic or historical merit. It’s one of those faceless graphics that companies like Element churn out month after month with the same graphic, different name. If you ever needed evidence that some folks have more money than sense, then this is it. Buy a new popsicle for $55 and donate the other $445 to the homeless or something.

Now here’s a World Industries Jeremy Klein “manga robot” from 1992. NOS, never gripped or set up. They did reissue this graphic, but this is the real deal. I really like this deck. I love the shape and the graphics really pop off the wood stain. As Borat would say, “Very niiiice”. $470.

And here’s another World Industries Jeremy Klein from 1991. This one is the “family photo” model, and features a more conventional late 80s shape. Most have the background of the photo in white, but this one has those crazy “chicken scratch” yellows, blues and pinks. It’s very unusual and only had one bid, but that’s all it takes! $500.

Here’s a Liberty Mike Smith from 1991. Let’s call this the “Hippo One” as AOS has one called the Hippo Two which is similar but different: it features the hippo with the umbrella all folded up, goggles flying off his head as he hurtles down. Anyway, that Mike Smith, what a card! His graphics with Liberty were always loud, bright and funny. I like ‘em. This one is NOS, signed and from his own collection. $305.

This is a World Industries Rodney Mullen street from 1991. Of course it features the lounging dog, picking his teeth with the bones of another dead cat. And look at the collection of stuffed heads on the wall: we have Hello Kitty, Sylvester, Garfield, Felix and the Cat in the Hat. I assume this all means something; so if anybody knows what the cats signify, please share. $810.

And talking of cats, here’s the 101 Natas “9 lives” from 1993. If you look at the blow up of the graphic you will see all 8 of his old cat/panther graphics on the tombstones. This one would be numero nine. Obviously, the “Satan” graphic is Natas’s most famous on 101, but this one is the best in my opinion, far better than that one. I would rank the “Oops” as second, and the Satan a distant third. Anyway, this one sold for $2,025. There are still some folks with lots of money out there if the right deck comes along.

Now this one is kind of a mystery. It’s an Eddie Reategui, but it’s not on AOS, and the seller doesn’t know the year or company. He thinks either an Alva or Public, and from either 1990 or 91. I think I can shed some light on this. It’s definitely a Public deck, and is from 1992. You can tell by the shape, and they also had some other decks with cartoon characters and similar lettering from that year, so it’s probably part of a series. There was a Chet Thomas “Chester Cheetah” in the same series. It’s very rare, but not that many folks are after Reategui decks, at least not of this vintage, so it went for $284.

Assorted Crap!

This one makes zero sense to me. The Dogtown and Z-Boys documentary was good, but that was years ago, and the bloom is off the rose really. Everyone who was into it probably bought the accompanying book already, so when this signed book came up, I thought no way in hell is this selling for the Buy it Now price. But it did: $501 no less. What? I know it’s the limited first edition and every original Z-boy signed it, but still. These are tough economic times and I didn’t think this would get much more than $100.

And this one is symptomatic of a growing pet peeve of mine. Not content with the regular reissues, some companies are doing limited edition, screened and signed reissues. This is the Santa Cruz Corey O’Brien “purgatory” graphic. Of course, all decks should be screened, and if the original pro is going to sign it, some thought should be given as to WHERE they are signing it. But my real beef is how they are selling these. A company “insider” comes to a collectors website and breaks the news that this will soon be available. He talks it up and talks about how limited it will be, and how fast it will sell out, getting people all riled up and eager to prebook. It’s an impulse buy, just like the candy at the grocery store. The problem? These are really expensive: most of them are in the $100-$150 range, which is insane. How can they possibly justify those prices, and why are you paying that, when you can get an original of this graphic in the $250 range? And really, what are they saying? That the regular reissues are basically cheap, low quality pieces of crap? If you buy one with the intention of selling it for profit on eBay, you better turn it around immediately like this seller did, otherwise potential buyers will forget all about it, choosing to spend their money on the real thing, or on the latest limited reissue. This one went for $258. I bet they would be lucky to get over $75 today.

Now here’s a real collectible, unlike the fake collectible above. If you read Skateboard magazine from the 70s then you remember the Mellow Cat comics in there, which followed the adventures of a laid-back hippy skateboarder. Well I guess they issued some t-shirts and patches for Mellow Cat, because here’s one of the patches. It’s just perfect for that old jean jacket of yours. $52.

Bargains!

First up is this Variflex Steve Hirsch. It’s not NOS as it has rails mounted, but the deck is basically perfect. It appears to have no dings and no noticeable scratches. Actually, the rails might have been part of the deck package as all of the examples I’ve ever seen of this deck have had the same 4-hole black rails in exactly the same spot. By the way, Steve Hirsch is the brother of Mike Hirsch who runs SoCalSkates.com. It’s probably from the very early 80s, probably 1981. $66.

This is a Santa Cruz Jason Jessee “V8 racing flames” complete from 1989. It’s one of those strange completes that pairs up a primo deck with crap trucks and wheels. It must have come from England because the trucks are Pacers, while 3 of the wheels are Stamm street attacks and the other is unknown. The deck is in great condition here. The deep red stain is very effective with the graphic, and there are no major scratches in the graphics. So you would junk the wheels and trucks and clean up the deck. With mint examples of this deck fetching over a grand, this lightly used example went for $127.

Yes, I know this Schmitt Stix Joe Lopes BBQ complete is trashed, but the graphic is pretty solid, and it has Gullwing Super Pro III trucks and Powell Rat Bones wheels. It would make a sweet beer cruiser or would look good in your garage with all of the other completes. And for $23 you can’t go wrong.

Here’s a 70s Makaha “wave rider” in NOS condition. It’s 24” long by 7.75” wide. It has been drilled for trucks and looks like it has about a 10” wheelbase. It’s not the best deck ever made, but for $26 you can’t go wrong.

Town & Country is a surfboard company out of Pearl City, Hawaii and they made skateboards for a few years in the mid 80s. They had a couple of pros (Ken Park, Jonee Kopp), but they were most well known for their generic team decks that featured simple shapes in bright colors. They have become very collectible in certain quarters. This is the “quad” model, and the graphics are all there and very bright. Not perfect, but not to bad. $41.

Seeya next month.

-Neil