eBay Watch: January 2009

January 2009. The economy might be in the toilet, 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. Maybe it was early tax refunds; maybe it was just a case of right place, right time, but whatever the case, it was an exciting month.

Let me just say something though, something that is really starting to bug me. Sellers, please do a modicum of research before you set your prices. I’m really getting tired of seeing the same decks up, month in month out with the same ridiculous prices. Hello, McFly, your Lance Mountain “family” deck is not going to sell for $200, it doesn’t matter how many times you keep putting it up there. If you did 5 minutes of research you’d see that about 5 family decks went off in the last 2 weeks, all selling in the $50 range. So why you think people are going to pony up 4 times what it’s worth is a freaking mystery. Also, if I see that red Chris Miller “dog” at $500 again I’ll scream. It’s been up for like 3 months. Nobody is going to pay that! To keep putting it up month after month at the same price is plain silly. And another thing while I’m ranting. Can the guy that’s cutting up old magazines and auctioning them off, 1 page at a time kindly stop? Nobody is interested in your piece of crap $9 auctions. We could buy the magazines for that. Just stop. And enough with the deck shaped stickers too. Just stop that shit already.

My music choice this month is the deluxe and remastered edition of Boy by U2. Now I’m not a big U2 fan by any means, but in the early 80s (read 1981 and 1982) I was a fan of their first 2 albums, Boy and October. I’d grown tired of their self-importance by War, but I still rate the first two. This deluxe edition of Boy includes the album in its entirety, along with a ton of early demo versions of some of the songs, along with their 1st 3 singles that came out before Boy was released. These are particularly interesting because they feature a band still experimenting with their sound, and the earliest stuff appears to be recorded before Bono’s voice broke! Songs like Girl/Boy are simple, bristly pop punk, nothing like the glossy stuff that was to follow. The early versions of the album tracks are great too. Bono’s voice is high and nasally, and he sounds completely lacking in confidence, almost whispering at times. It’s fascinating stuff. I give props to the guys in the band for releasing the stuff that a lot of successful bands would have been too happy to bury.

60s, 70s, early 80s.

First up this month is this fine Powell Peralta Beamer complete from 1980. Well, everything is from 1980 except for the wheels, which are Powell cubics reissues. The trucks are Trackers. This thing looks like it weighs a metric ton, but it is a very good example of state of the art skate technology circa 1980. It would be better with original wheels though. Maybe some white Bones? $800.

And here’s a Dogtown deck I don’t think I’ve seen before. It’s a Shogo Kubo design, but it isn’t the typical airbeam that had the graphics on top, under the griptape. This one is a traditional deck with the graphics on the bottom. The graphics are scratched and beaten up and it is severely faded overall. Also the stickers are real problem on this deck. They are not period correct (Schmitt Stix rails, Cell Block risers), and they totally clash with the black deck. Rip those off right away please. It sold for $409.

Here’s something from the 60s! It’s a Nash “sidewalk surfboard”, the shark #1 in excellent condition. The graphic is almost as sharp as it was when bought 40 years ago! It has steel wheels and those terrible single action “trucks”, so riding this was probably an exercise in futility and a guarantee of skinned knees! $153.

So I guess that before he started Logan Earth Ski, Bruce Logan skated for Makaha. Here is his signature model for Makaha, undrilled no less! 29” by 7.75” of solid wood! Yes it’s plain but feel the history! $148.

The seller of this complete might have included more information than any other seller I’ve ever seen. He not only includes details on the deck (length, width and thickness), but also the trucks, wheels and even the stickers! He even tells us how he purchased the deck and how he rode it (“skate parks, parking lots and half pipes”). It’s as Caster team deck with Tracers and green Kryptonics conicals. There are 4 Kryptonics stickers, 4 Town and Country stickers and 14 Sims bearing stickers. I don’t mind the stickers on this one as they are period correct and they go with the setup. It sold for $271.

I don’t normally show polyprops on here, but this one was so bright that I made an exception. Plus I loved the angle of the photograph. It’s a California Rainbow from the mid 70s. I guess California Rainbow was a company out of San Diego that also made skate products for the Pepsi team. It’s NOS and comes complete with the original plastic packaging bag and it still has the instructions label on the underside of the kicktail. It tells you all about maintenance and skate safety, including “always wear long sleeved shirts, long pants and sneakers” Also, never skate at night apparently. $96.

And here’s a Belair solid oak, wedge-tail complete in very good condition. It comes complete with California Slalom trucks and orange Belair Lipbombs. Damn! Cali Slaloms and Belair Lipbombs! This would have been the Cadillac of skateboards in England in the mid 70s! Everybody wanted Cali Slaloms! Much like Megatrons, the Cali Slaloms had the name raised on the hanger of the truck, not on the baseplate. A few serious grinds would take the name off completely, but hey, that’s how we rolled back then! This thing is sweet! $76. An English company called Pacer ripped this complete off, lock stock and barrel. It was their top of the line model, and looked just like this, even down to the placement of the logo on top. Of course they used their own crappy wheels and trucks.

Mid 1980s

First up in the 80s section is this Santa Cruz Micke Alba “tombstone” from 1985. Micke has signed it on the top. It has storage marks and scratches, but is pretty much NOS. It’s not the best colorway I’ve seen for this deck, but it certainly isn’t bad by any means. Solid, that’s the best way to describe it, but I wouldn’t call it “a museum quality board” (like the seller does) by any means. $750.

I tell you, the Rip City Black Flag decks go really big whenever one comes along, and this is no exception. It’s a “Process of Weeding Out” deck from 1985ish. NOS and stunning. As soon as I saw this come up I knew it would go big, and I wasn’t disappointed. It didn’t meet the BIN price of 2k, but still, $1,250 isn’t bad at all. Mysterious and epic.

Here’s a Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “Ban This” from 1989. I’ve always thought that this deck looked cheap and crappy, almost more like a rip-off than a real Powell Peralta, but I guess I’m in the minority here as this deck keeps skyrocketing in value. This deep teal stain is nice, as is the orange breasted dragon, but in my mind that doesn’t help the pedestrian and obvious graphic or the terrible, clichéd lettering. It went for $495. Wow.

Now this is more like it. It’s a Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “dragon” from 1984. This particular model has a stinger shape, which is far more rare than the standard pig shape. The red dip is stunning, and is as deep and rich as the day it left the factory. Truly they don’t make decks this way anymore. DO you really think that that heat transfer is going to look this good in 2 years time? I can guarantee that it won’t! This is a true work of art. Look at the screening job in the dragon in the full size blow up. Talk about clean and precise. Awesome. $1,375.

There wee lots of Dressen’s this month, and here are three. The first is the Santa Cruz “celtic rose” from 1989. Much like the deck above, the screen job on this deck is amazingly intricate and delicate. It really is a thing of beauty. I have a used one, but one day I will get a mint example like this one. The gold and pale blue is nice, but I prefer the full color version. The reissue they did butchered it though: they put too many colors on it, and the bright purple dip overwhelmed the graphic. $245.

Here’s a Dogtown Dressen “street” from 1987. It is totally mint and on a green stain that helps the graphic to really pop. And what a graphic! It is Eric’s first pro graphic (despite what it shows on AOS) and is totally classic Dogtown. Kevin Ancell did the graphic, and he really wanted to impress Wes Humpston with this graphic apparently. I think he succeeded. Apparently the kanji reads, “don’t drink and crash”, and the yellow banners and cross make a SM for Santa Monica. That is a great looking deck. $1,400.

And from the same Japanese seller comes an even rarer deck. It’s the Dressen mini street model from 1988, again totally mint. The pictures really made these auctions special because he included close-ups of the graphics from every angle to really make you salivate. This one sold for $1,525. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the seller had a zero feedback and now has -1, because apparently there was some kind of problem with the above transaction. I’d like to think that decks as great and unusual as these would be able to change hands honestly, but maybe not. Any time you deal with a seller with zero feedback can be a crapshoot however. I truly hope that it’s all a misunderstanding due to the language barrier.

And now onto something a lot more common. Well, maybe not as common as it once was. It’s a Santa Cruz Jeff “ffej” Hedges from 1988. Ffej was a sponsored am forever, just like Spidey, and SC eventually gave him one pro deck. Here it is in all its mind-bending glory. These were at all of the online stores a few years back, but those have long since closed up, leaving eBay as the only source for NOS. They did reissue this for some reason in 2004. Actually, you don’t see either the original or the reissue very often anymore. This sold for $250.

This is my deck of the month without any question at all. It’s a Fogtown “Board to Death” from 1984. Fogtown was a SF shop that sold industry decks but also produced their own decks and had their own team in the early 80s. I believe that this Board to Death model was their first graphic, but they also had another called the Beast and another that featured a skeleton smoking a ciggie. Every other version of this graphic I’ve ever seen has the skull and crossed trucks only. I have never seen it with the flame background, making this a really rare find. Yes it is scratched up, particularly around the tail, from countless drop-ins I’d say. Still, the graphic is all there. Amazing. $350. Is that it?

So what is a Powell Peralta Tommy Guerrero “iron gate” going for these days? Well, you can say with relative surety that a mint one goes for $270. The black dip went for $280 and the natural went for $260. There’s nothing like consistency! They are both very nice looking decks.

And as a comparison, here’s the first Powell Peralta Tommy Guerrero model, the V8 from 1986. Hard to find in any condition, this one is as mint as you will find. The silver dip is stunning and you have to love the boxed wheel wells. Just how rare is this gem? Well, it sold for $2,000, and I think that was cheap.

And talking of Powell pros and their first models, here is the very first iteration of the Lance Mountain “Future Primitive” deck. It features the same cave drawing theme as the later model but has different tricks featured. The main trick here is a layback air, and Lance asked that it be changed. The version that we are all more familiar with has the layback air gone, and his name bigger across the middle along with running guys and dogs. This first version is way more rare than the later versions. Even though this one is very used it still went for $650. Our friend Neal Bantens had this version of this deck.

This is Dogtown Aaron Murray “fingers” deck from 1988. It is Aaron’s most well known deck, and for good reason. The graphic is awesome, featuring the traditional Japanese style tidal wave, along with a ton of kanji. The shape is awesome too. I loved the scallops, something that Dogtown also did with the team “web” deck at the same time. Even though this deck is used, the graphics are completely there. $435 seems about right. Description 21

I feature this just for the rarity of the deck and company, not for the graphics, which are horrendous. It’s a Town & Country Ken Park “mugger” from 1986. It seriously looks like it was designed in 5 minutes, using a character from a comic book that was hanging around the offices. Say something nice. Well, I like the orange and yellow circles around the Town & Country logo. And Town & Country is based in Hawaii and I love Hawaii. How’s that? $213. WOW.

OK, I swore a coupe of years ago that I would stop featuring Santa Cruz Rob Roskopp decks, and I have for a while, but some went off this month that I didn’t mind for various reasons. First up is this second version of the famous “monster bursting through the target” series of graphics. It comes with Indys and red Bullets, neither of which has seen any wear. The graphic is more fetching than usual because of the rainbow fade. Despite the mismatched plastics, that is a nice looking complete. $305.

And here’s the third in the series. This one looks pretty much NOS apart from the white rails. Those are easily removed however. I really like the bright blue dip on this one, the graphics really pop, and it’s probably my favorite one of the series. $383.

Now this one is something special. The G&S Billy Ruff “chalice” from 1985 goes off fairly often, but I’ve never seen a silver dip like this one before. It has a sticker on it that says “Fiber-Lam Construction” which is super rare. Not mint but never set up or ridden. This is truly a grail for somebody. Most go in the $300 range, but this exceptional example went for $1,125.

The Skull Skates Social Distortion deck always goes for decent money whenever it comes up, and this is no exception, despite the spray painted black tail. I wonder what the story behind that was? It is well used, but the graphic is all there. The seller notes that he is moving and needs to get rid of some stuff, and he can’t bear to just throw this out. That’s just as well really seeing as it sold for $255. I’m sure he was very surprised how much some of us are willing to pay for pieces of wood from our childhood.

Whenever I see a Santa Cruz Spidey go off I feature it, so here’s another one. Yes it’s really beaten up (what’s the deal with that cut up tail?) and covered with stickers, but I really like the blue dip on this one. That might be the best colorway I’ve ever seen. There was a lot of action on this one, and I’m sure that the seller was surprised to get $163. The Body Glove sticker in the middle of the deck is very unfortunate. Hopefully that can be removed with the minimum of destruction.

Here’s a Dogtown Stonefish team deck from 1985. It is complete with Tracker Ultralights and Slimeballs. The blue baseplates that match the blue in the graphics is a nice touch. You could lose the red rail though. It’s very used in the tail area, but still a highly sought after deck. I dig the Blast! sticker on the nose. I used to exchange mail with those guys. I wonder whatever happened to them. Good band.

Now I really like this one. It’s a Z-Flex “Surf and Skate” team deck from 1988. Team rider Pat Bareis is featured in an ad in the July 1988 Thrasher ripping on this deck. He signed this deck behind the back truck. You could lose the 3 stickers, as they hurt the overall look of this deck, but it’s still a nice example of surf/skate graphics. $105.

And now for the big one of the month. It seems like a Suicidal Skates (Dogtown) Possessed to Skate has gone off for huge cash every month recently. Well January was no exception. This model, although not mint is as clean as you will see. The nose and tail have been And now for the big one of the month. It seems like a Suicidal Skates (Dogtown) Possessed to Skate has gone off for huge cash every month recently. Well January was no exception. This model, although not mint is as clean as you will see. The nose and tail have been drilled for plastics, and it has rails, but still. Very clean, but is it worth the $3,000 it sold for? I’m not sure. It seems like anything with devil worshipping shit on it sells for big bucks, and that’s as absurd to me as Jesus themed stuff selling big. Or maybe it really is as simple as people love the song and are fans of the band.

90s-today

  There wasn’t much from the 90s that went off in January, at least that I thought was noteworthy. Some would disagree with me I’m sure. I get letters every month saying “you missed such and such an auction. It was awesome!” Then I’ll go to it and it’s some piece of crap slick from 1997. Sorry, those just don’t interest me at all. The shapes are dull and the graphics are crap.

So here’s a Zorlac Abrook brothers “spectre” from 1991. Pushead did the artwork if you were wondering. This looks like a fun shape to skate, and the Abrooks always had interesting graphics. This was their last model for Zorlac I believe. It’s tough to say what color the deck is because it appears that it was photographed under some kind of red light. Maybe the guy selling it was in a brothel at the time. Or maybe he as a man-whore and he got paid in decks. $295.

Here’s a couple for all of you Star Wars spankers out there. Plan B did a series of Star Wars graphics in 1993, and this is the Mike Carroll “Princess Leia” slick. These decks are super rare, and getting the set is somebody’s dream I’m sure. This mint one went for $800.

And here’s the Pat Duffy “Bobba Fett”, from the same series obviously. It’s from the same seller, but didn’t go to the same buyer. It’s mint, just like the one above. Also in the series were a Rodney Mullen (Yoda), Rick Howard (Han Solo), Sean Sheffey (Chewbacca) and Danny Way (Darth Vader). This one went for $785, so these are pretty consistent in value.

Here’s one that always raises an eyebrow. It’s the Christian Hosoi “Japanese flag” from 1991. Super clean lines, simple graphics and a great shape make this one a winner every time. Hosoi has had some legendary decks in his time, but this one might be the nicest. It’s particularly striking in the black. Awesome. $500.

This one is so hideous that it’s great. It’s a New Deal “Siamese Twin” team deck from 1991. I would guess that Steve Douglas had something to do with this graphic because it looks like other stuff of his. The funny thing about this auction was that the seller knew nothing about this deck even though he claims to run a skateshop. “Circa 1980” was his guess at the age of the deck. Ouch. $112.

Assorted Crap!

The reissues are coming fast and furious these days. As the skate companies are getting hit by the recession they are looking for ways to make quick revenue, and what better way to get old skaters to open their wallets than to give them a glimpse of their childhood? Some companies are doing a really crap job at it, but at least Natas and his company Designarium is doing it well. He is doing very limited runs of his old graphics that are screened and signed. This is the latest. It’s a reissue of his Humpston bulldog graphic, limited to 500 decks, all signed by Natas. Wes Humpston also signed a limited amount, and this is one of those. I knew this deck would sell out instantly, and I was right. This one went for $250, which is amazing seeing as it has only been out for a month or so.

And now we go from something very new to something very old. It’s a Del Mar skate ranch sticker from the 1970s. The probably gave these away when you paid your entry fee, but how many unstuck ones are left in the world? Probably not many at all. $97. Very cool.

And here’s another sticker from the same era. It was created to introduce the new line of wider Hobie boards in the late 70s, but I’m unsure if there was ever a Hobie deck called the “wide load”. Again, a real memento of skate history, and it sold for a large $122, which really surprised me.

And speaking of Hobie, maybe you could pair this team jersey with the sticker above and really pretend that you were a member of the Hobie team in 1978! It’s a Hobie Team skateboard jersey made of 100% nylon with a high neck and long sleeves. Just the thing for a 3-hour session under the hot California sun! You better make sure you wash that thing! Again, a real sign of a simpler time, when body odor was nothing to be afraid of.

As stickers go, this one kicks ass. The graphic looks better close up than it does on a deck I think. Of course it’s a Santa Cruz Salba “voodoo” sticker. Awesome stuff. $45. I have no reason to feature this other than I love the graphic. Jim Phillips kicks ass.

OK, now we have one of my favorite auctions ever. This guy is selling his REISSUE Vision psycho stick that he kitted out with matching color Trackers and full plastics. Not only that, but you get the matching Halloween costume that he made to go with it! Crazy wig, goggles, jacket shirt and tie. How brilliant/sad is that! I can just imagine the puzzled looks he got when he walked through the door: “hey Jim who are you supposed to be?” “Well, you remember the 1980s? Well there was a skateboard deck made by a company called Vision. It was a team deck but had a picture of a crazy looking guy on the bottom of it! Well guess what! I’m that guy! If we go on the internet I can show you a picture of it! Hey hold on, where’s everybody gone?” $100.

Bargains!

Well, this section looks like it’s here to stay. Actually, some of my favorite decks go in this section, probably because they are so varied. There are lots of mint decks from lesser-known pros, or used but not abused decks from the big names. OK, first up we have this NOS Toxic Bernie O’Dowd deck from 1990. It’s the vert model: the street had a shark looking up at a frog. It’s got a really nice deep green stain, and the colors of the graphic really pop off it. It’s not the greatest graphic in the world, but it is rare. It went for $66.

And here’s that G&S Neil Blender “Picasso” that I was raving about a few episodes back. This one is in a nice deep red stain, and although used, the graphic is all there. It would display beautifully, and for $75 you can’t go wrong. .

There was a time when the Santa Cruz Claus Grabke “melting clocks” was the most wanted Grabke out there. But no longer apparently, because this complete went for a measly $112. I know the deck is in used condition, but look at the deck. The graphic is all there and most of wear is around the nose and tail. Rip the trucks and rails off and you have a very nice looking blue-dip melting clocks.

It’s not just the big companies that had bargains out there. Here we have two Blockhead decks going for (comparative) peanuts. First we have the Jim Gray “lollipop man” from 1987. Used decks always look best in natural I think because it hides all of the wear and tear so well. So it is here. The graphic is all there, as is the nose and tail. It’s in great condition actually. $66? I’ll buy two please.

And then we have another Blockhead Jim Gray, this one being the “TV” model. It’s from a different seller, but in similar shape to the one above. No major damage, graphic all there. The graphic on this one is really nice. Blockhead had really good artists and a nice graphics theme. This sold for $75.

Now this one is unreal. Look, I know that GSD isn’t the most famous 80s pro out there, but he was a total pioneer I the field of street skating, and his decks were always unusual. This is no exception. It’s the Tracker GSD “Eye see Pterodactyls” from 1988. It comes complete with black Trackers and SC Bullet wheels. The plastics have done their job here because the thing is in great condition. $72??

And here’s another ridiculous complete. It’s the Vision Joe Johnson “hieroglyphic circle” from 1988. A lot of the bargain decks have odd colorways, but this one is awesome. The red and gold is truly stunning here. It comes complete with early Venture trucks and Alva speed skins wheels. The wheels were a surprise: the seller couldn’t read the graphic, but they are clearly Alvas in nice condition. Altogether this is an excellent package, so for it to sell for $89 is plain silly.

In a day when Jeff Kendall atom mans go for $500, shouldn’t his second graphic demand more respect? This is the Kendall “graffiti” deck from 1986, and although it looks black, it’s actually in a plum stain. It’s never been set-up, and although it has some storage marks, it’s still basically NOS. It went for a BIN of $100.

And speaking of Jeff Kendall, here’s his favorite deck of mine. It’s the “jagermeister” from 1990. This is a stunning graphic, and in dire need of a reissue in my opinion. Screen this and reissue it in the original shape? You’d sell more of these than that damned slasher that you keep churning out. Anyway, I digress. It’s well skated, and complete with Indys and SC slimeball wheels. This looks like it’s seen plenty of curb action. The trucks are well ground down, and the wheels are about half their size. All that being said, the graphic is still 80% there, making it still a desirable complete. $103.

Here’s a BBC Monty Nolder slick from 1991. The deck looks mint, apart from the holes drilled for the rails and tailskid of course. The graphic looks like it took about 2 minutes to come up with, but still, some people love these early 90s slicks. Of course, I’m not quite sure why one would need rails on this deck. Someone unclear on the concept perhaps? Still, ugly or not, $40 seems very cheap.

Look at me! I’m Ken Park and my decks sell for shit on eBay! Yes it’s a Vision Ken Park complete from 1988. It has Venture trucks and two-tone Vision Blurr wheels. The graphic is a monstrosity featuring some kind of crappy looking frog monster, and lettering right off of the Cult’s “Electric” album. Still, some love this cheesy stuff, and the graphic is in very good condition. The wheels alone make this an interesting purchase. I love 2-tone wheels, and these are green and yellow, a great color combo. $53.

And to prove that wasn’t an anomaly, here is the same complete in similar condition. This one has Trackers and unidentified wheels. The silver dip is actually pretty fetching on this one, it makes the graphics really pop. So it’s better than the one above. How much better? Well $8 better apparently, as this one sold for $61. Sorry Ken.

Here’s a Schmitt Stix “ripsaw” from 1987. It is a complete even though the trucks aren’t mounted. Trucks and wheels are included though: white Trackers and Schmitt sawblade wheels that match the deck. The deck appears to be in awesome shape, but this auction went amazingly low, maybe because the seller didn’t show the tail of the deck. It is noticeably absent from both the bottom and top shots, so I’d guess that the tail is shredded. $80.

And this one is just stupid. It’s an Alva John Thomas “Going Off” deck from 1989. Yes it’s not the greatest graphic and he’s not the most well known pro, but still, he was a member of the Alva posse, and the deck is mint. The deep red stain is handsome, and the rasta colored graphics are decent enough. For it to only fetch $50 is a sign of the times I guess.

Seeya next month.

-Neil