eBay Watch: July 2008

July was a pretty status quo month. Nothing went super high, but prices weren’t low either. Lots of stuff went for over a thousand, which is my barometer. Australia is super hot or collecting right now: there’s lots of great decks going that way, and some great collections being put together. I guess the weak dollar is good for something.

This month’s Baywatch is fueled by Duerr’s Bramble Seedless Jam, and podcasts form Alternative Press magazine. World Market has started carrying my favorite English jam, so that is great for me. World Market is a great store. I’m not sure if they are all over the U.S., but if you have one near you, check out the food and drink aisles. I certainly don’t read Alternative Press magazine: I find it annoying and superficial. However, the podcasts that they put out once a month are exceptional. Sometimes they interview bands, and depending on the band that can be interesting or pathetic. However most of the time they interview people in the music industry, managers, publicists etc, and that reveals a side of the music industry that you never see, and one that is really interesting, especially now. The way music is sold has changed dramatically in the last 2 years, and to hear about the struggles of the major labels because they couldn’t adapt is fascinating. The majors still don’t get how the internet has changed the purchasing of music, and they are still not board with selling digitally. A lot of the smaller independents are, and they are doing well. Bands are marketed differently now, and the live performance as a revenue-generating tool is more important than ever because bands can’t rely on percentage of CD sales or big advances anymore. It’s a rapidly changing playing field, and the details are amazing.

OK, onto the meat.

60s, 70s, early 80s.

Hey, no Sims Dave Andrecht this month! Instead let’s start with a huge bang! It’s a Powell Peralta Britelite from the late 70s. Before they released any pro boards Powell just released team boards, and this is one, complete with Trackers and green mini cubics. More than that, it is right from Stacy Peralta’s personal stash: he rode this board. It’s signed on the tail, and the graphics are perfect. No real dings thanks to the nose and tail guard, which are long since gone. The seller says that it’s a “grail of the highest order”, and I guess he’s not lying. How does $3,249 grab you?

And from the same period comes this NOS Sims Lonnie Toft 10” model, complete with Tracker ex-tracks and Sims Comp II wheels. It’s all totally cherry: the wheels have never touched cement. Man oh man, how did a thing of beauty like this never even make it outside? $1,426.

Now these obviously did make it outside! They are vintage Hawaiian skateboards from the late 50s/early 60s, and both feature Duke Kahanamoku, the famous Hawaiian surfer. Both are complete with the original trucks and clay wheels. The blue one is a long board, while the red is shorter and has a dodgy wheel. They both are in rough shape, but come on; they are getting on for 50 years old! The top one went for $1,200, while the bottom one went for $900.

Here’s a Kryptonics Micke Alba complete from 1979. It might just be the most annoying auction of all time because the seller offers no details at all apart from “A rare classic skateboard”, and then includes about 20 huge, hi-res pics so that the auction takes about 5 minutes to fully appear. I would love to know the history of this board. The deck is rare and in pretty good shape, but the trucks appear to be generic Tracker knock-offs (there is nothing on the baseplates at all), and wheels are Variflex Street Rage. The mounting bolts are about 2 inches long and there are no riser pads, suggesting that this was never ridden this way, but was put together at some point with the cheapest components. Whatever the story, it sold for $803.

Here’s a G&S Variflex Steve Cathey signature model deck from around 1977. The bottom is plain yellow with no graphic, which is why I’m not showing it. It’s new old stock, and is gorgeous. It has a slight kicktail, and is 5ply. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Cathy model Fiberflex before. Awesome. $650.

Here are two Z-Flex Shogo Kubo Z-Woodys from 1978. Try saying that fast twice. They are both in great shape, but the top one is the pick of the litter because of the many period stickers and the killer Z-Groove wheels. The trucks are Trackers obviously. It appears to be in better shape too, and it went for $1,200,

This one isn’t bad at all, and the buyer actually got a great deal on it. It has Trackers and red Kryptonics. It’s a little more scratched, but it’s all still there, and while the Kryptonics and Tracker stickers might not have the cache of the Town and Country ones, they are still period. This example fetched $565.

The Sims Taperkick 27” model. Like the seller says, “an amazing piece of craftsmanship”. It’s never been drilled, and it still shines just like it did when it was new in 1977. Just look at those different strips of exotic hardwoods. Beautiful. $639.

Say what you want, but the Flyway helmet is a classic of early skate design. Those helmets are simply badass. It’s a large and all of the padding appears to be there, so it could be worn if you like, but if you want to buy a flyaway to wear, then it’s much easier (and cheaper) to order a custom one from VonWolf. This is a work of art and should be put on a shelf and dusted occasionally. But first kindly remove the stupid as hell and non-period Independent sticker! $333.

Mid 1980s

Here we have 2 different versions of the Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “dragon and bats” graphic. The yellow one is from 1986, while the penis shaped one is from 1987. The yellow is NOS but has storage marks, while the black is supposedly minty fresh.

The colors on the black are excellent: the bats are a metallic purple, and the whole thing just glows and is super vibrant. The yellow one went for $401, and the black went for $462. They both shipped from Australia but from different sellers. Weird coincidence.

OK, so just recently Santa Cruz reissued their second version of this classic Corey O’Brien “reaper” graphic. The first was on a white dip (which yellows really fast by the way), and the newest one is on natural wood, but early reports say that it looks cheaply done, and there is no top graphic either. Come on Santa Cruz, up the quality on these reissues please. You are charging a premium price for these too. Anyway, that isn’t affecting the price of the originals obviously. This original still in its shrink went for $1,136. This sucker is consistent.

Now, if you’ve been reading this column for anytime at all, you know that I always say, unless they are valuable, remove all stickers. Well on this Vision Gator complete from 1986 I may just go against the grain. This has assorted stickers on it, and for some reason I think that they really add to the value here. First off, the colorway on this is superb. The purple and yellow is simple but super-vibrant. I love it. The rails and tail guard have done their job: it doesn’t look like there’s a scratch on this. It’s complete with Tracker 6 ultra light trucks and Vision Proton wheels.

It even has Thunderbolts (I know, most of you don’t know what those were) and a custom grip tape job. The stickers include a Santa Cruz dot, a Tony Hawk screaming skull, a SC Bullet, Thunderbolts and Naval Air Test Center (?). $360 seems like a steal for this. Or maybe I’m crazy.

It never ceases to amaze me that somebody can put up a premium deck on eBay and expect high bids with the shittiest picture ever taken. I mean look at this! It looks like it was thrown out of a moving car and a photo was snapped as it fell to the ground! Blurry, and it doesn’t show the tail. Oh yeah, It’s a Santa Cruz Jeff Grosso “demon” from 1987. It’s NOS, blue dip with “glow in the dark” yellow paint. It has some storage scratches, but has the sweet flip-tail. That’s a nice looking deck, but come on, better pics please! Of course, what do I know, because it sold for $1,450. I guess the buyer saw enough

Here’s a SMA Jeff Hartsel from 1989. AOS lists it as a mini, but this clearly a full size model, because it says “Full” on the bottom right scroll. It’s NOS, but does have a ton of storage scratches. Still, it’s a rare deck with great graphics. The Hartsels were always graphically profound and told a lot about the man. $463.

This is a Powell Peralta Tony Hawk “screaming skull” from 1987. It is pretty striking in the yellow dip: one of the best colorways for this deck IMHO. Actually this deck used to be on my wall. I bought it for $199 about 5 years ago and sold it for $250 about 2 years ago. This one sold for $610. Damnit damnit damnit. I hate myself.

Here we have a Powell Peralta Tony Hawk “birdclaw” from 1989. It’s NOS, apart from the Tony Hawk autograph on the tail in silver sharpie. The more I see this deck the more I like it. The graphic is super detailed as you can see from the blow-up. It’s awesome on this white colorway too. That is one great looking deck. $1000.

This is a nice Santa Cruz Jason Jessee “Neptune” mermaid tail. It’s been drilled for tail and rails and has some dings, but is really in great condition. I really like the colorway of this one: the army green stain really helps the graphic to pop, and the two-colored mermaid is a nice touch. It sold for $435, which is an awesome price for an OG Neptune.

This one is for all of you that think that you can’t buy a great NOS 80s deck for under a hundred dollars. Sure it’s not mint, it has scuffs and scrapes, but it is a 1984 Madrid “explosive” team deck. It’s bright, and the paint splatter graphic is awesome. It is the perfect deck to start a collection. $99 was a great price for this.

Here we have a Metallica deck “collection” for sale. First is the “classic” pirate Zorlac Metallica from 1988. It features the funky-ass shape that Zorlac was famous for at the time, with the pirate logo in green and orange, vibrating off of the blue dip. Even though I think Metallica are useless tools, this is a splendid deck, and a great snapshot of time. $510.

And here’s the second Zorlac Metallica deck from the same seller, this one being from 1989. It has a blue wood-stain, and again features graphics by Pushead. The funniest thing is that the seller describes the graphic in great detail, even though he has tons of pictures: my friend, if we can see the image we don’t need you to describe it. I don’t like this one half as well. The top one screams Zorlac! This one screams, well nothing really. It went for $636.

The more I see old Chris Miller graphics, the more impressed I am. This is a great example of his Schmitt Stix graphic from 1988. It’s the full size version, which is the more desirable one. I’ve never seen it in this Christmas colorway before, but I really like it. It’s odd, this deck was never set up or gripped, but it does have discoloration on the topside where some large stickers were placed. I really wonder what the story behind that is. Anyway, it sold with a BIN of 800 Australian dollars, which at the time was about $773, but now comes out to be $697. I guess the Aus dollar is going down in value.

Here’s a Powell Peralta Rodney Mullen “mutt” from 1982 It’s Mullen’s first graphic. The seller shows some close-ups of the dog graphic. I must admit that I’ve never seen it close-up before, and it’s different than I thought.

Take a look. I never knew that the robot dog had a power cord for a tail for example. Pretty cool and super detailed. It’s a used deck, but very clean. $1,228.

Here’s a really nice SMA/SC Natas panther 4 from 1988. It’s the Humpston “bulldog” version. It’s never been used, but does have storage scratches etc. Actually from the pics it’s tough to tell the color of this deck. Some of the pics in the auction show it as being purple, while some like this one show it as being a bright blue. Maybe it’s a magic deck. $1000.

Wow. A Walker Skateboards Mark Lake “Nightmare” from 1985. Truly an 80s classic, and often showing up on a lot of collectors Wanted lists along with the Sims Pharaoh. Bruce Walker even signed the topside of this one. Just looks at that shape! I had forgotten just how phallic this one is. Taped and mounted at one time, but no holes and the graphic is perfect. It’s exceptional in a kitschy sort of way. $400.

And here’s a Santa Cruz Duane Peters from 1983. It only came in black, and for some reason completely went away from the striped graphic that he is most known for. Compared to most of his SC decks, this one is very graphically weak, almost harkening back to the 70s. It came out at a strange time, right as skating was at its lowest point, just before business started booming again. It’s still a Duane Peters though, and as such demands a high price. This one is mint and flawless. $680.

Here we have two Sims Jeff Phillips “breakout” decks from 1985. The top deck is unmounted, and would be NOS if it weren’t for the white rails that have been mounted for some reason. The graphics really pop off of the white stain. This is a super clean and bright deck. Very nice. $516.

Below that we have another version of this deck, this time in a black dip, complete with green Gullwing trucks and black Kryptonics csi. The board is used, but barely, and is in great shape. Personally I prefer the white to the black, but I guess because the black isn’t drilled for rails it will display better. The black sold for $560.

This SC Salba “tiger” went for far less than expected. The Salba tiger was been on fire recently, commonly going for over a thousand. This very nice, mint, dark wood stained model only went for $798. A change in the market or a blip because of over saturation? Who knows? I guess we’ll see next month if this dip stays in effect. Or it could be the brown stain that killed this one.

Now this Santa Cruz Spidey from 1987 is strange. Spideys hardly ever come up, especially with a graphic as intact as this one. However, there seems to have been a lot of fading in the graphics here (the yellow looks white), and the seller does admit that some restoration work has been done. All that said however, it is still a Spidey and the graphics are all there. The black and white nature of the graphic almost adds something to it actually. I’ve also never seen a black dip Spidey before. I like it. It sold for just $305, which I think is a steal considering the mint spideys have gone for well over a thousand dollars. I’m actually very surprised that SC didn’t reissue this graphic instead of doing the Slasher and Roskopps again and again.

Aah Kevin Staab. A skater of dubious fashion taste, and friend of guys in The Cult. Liked to dress like a pirate in photo shoots. Skater of big hair, big kneepads and busy, colorful graphics. Well, here’s two of his finest. The top deck is the Sims Staab “pirate” mini from 1988. It’s in “flawless mint condition”, and is super bright. It went for $810, which was almost $300 less than they Buy It Now, but I think that’s about right.

And here is his big brother. It’s the Sims Staab “pirate” full sized model. This is the ore famous graphic of the two, and the full size is always more desirable. The colorway isn’t the best on this one: I prefer the light dips because the graphics pop more, but it still went pretty high, selling for $1,030. It was from the same seller, and again, is “flawless mint condition”. That’s still less than the BIN, so maybe his prices were a little hopeful.

Last month we talked about lesser-known pros that you’d never heard of. Well it doesn’t get much more obscure than this. Who knew that Variflex even had a pro team in the mid 80s, let alone put out pro models? Not me, but here’s the proof. A Hideously cheap looking deck for a pro named John Warren. Never heard of him? Well you have now. I’m surprised that it even sold at all, but it did, for $50.

90s-today

Bill Danforth has had some great graphics throughout his career. He’s had some outstanding, iconic graphics in his time. This isn’t one. It’s a Bad Boys Club “American Nomad” model from 1991, and boy does it stink. It looks like it would be more at home on the cover of a tractor pull program. I guess the burly wrestler type is supposed to be Bill, but he looks more like one of The Highlanders. Horrible. Take it away and destroy it please. $315.

And here’s a New Deal Steve Douglas “drunks” deck from 1992. At first glance it sucks, but when you look at it again, it has some innate charm to it. The green swirls are an interesting touch. It might have been his last pro deck before he moved to the other side of the desk. $147.

Boy, this one is just skyrocketing in value. It’s a Powell Mike McGill “aquarium” street deck from 1991. Just a couple of years ago it would barely break $200, like most Powell decks of the early 90s. Something happened over the last 2 years though, and this one has become VERY desirable. It is bright and maybe it appeals to fish fanciers. It went with a Buy It Now of $550, so it could well have gone higher if the bids had continued.

I really like this graphic. It’s a Plan B Rodney Mullen slick from 1994. I’m not sure what the story behind the graphic is, or who the artist is. It’s not on AOS, and the seller isn’t saying much. It is rare, and went for $593. The comments on this auction are excellent. One bidder offers the seller the princely some of $70 for this and another deck if he ends the auction early. Seventy whole dollars! Wow. Maybe he’s bidding with 1922 dollars

Here’s a World Industries Steve Rocco III deck from 1990. It is the third one of the Pooh Bear series, and is very rare. This one isn’t mint, but is in great shape. I don’t like the colorway, but try finding another! $1,025.

This is an Ed Templeton hand-painted deck from 1995. Ed gave it to a skate shop owner, and he’s had it until now. Personally I don’t like Templeton’s artwork, but I can still appreciate what he does, and obviously, being a one-off, this is very desirable. $510.

Assorted Crap & Reissues!

Charles Bronson! Fuck yeah! I featured this same board a few months ago and we got a lot of feedback on it. Well, it’s back! It’s fiberglass with a clear layer of grip stuff on the top. A lot of cheaper boards in the 70s came like this, but few had a picture of Paul Kersey from Deathwish on them! Yes, that was his character’s name. That’s a great, great movie. The first one was anyhow. Did you know that they cranked out 5 of them? Anyway I digress. This only went for $76.

And talking of movies, this is a prop from The Lords of Dogtown. It’s supposed to look like a vintage fiberglass Zephyr complete, but it’s actually plastic. It has vintage trucks and wheels, but a plastic deck. How much would you pay for this prop from a recent, crappy movie? Certainly not more than an original would go for right? Well, I would agree, but somebody paid $510 for this plastic poop. Yuk.

Now this, this is something! It’s a hunk of 80s crap/iconic piece of pop art, depending on your sensibilities. Yes it’s an MTV Max Headroom Coke branded complete. And boy is it complete, because it comes with copers, lapper, tailskid, nose guard and rails. The thing is mint, and let’s face it, it’s awesome! The graphics actually look like a sticker slapped on a Variflex deck, but who’s quibbling. $51!? Are you freaking kidding me?

Yes, the Gonz put out a poetry book in 2002. You don’t believe me? Well here’s the proof. I’m sure it’s just as excellent as his artwork is. I wonder how many misspellings? Does he do that shit on purpose I wonder? Maybe he’s a genius. He certainly is a genius on the board, but off it? Who knows? I guess he must be because he gets people to actually spend money on his crap, while I sit alone doing this crap for free. $25.

And to finish up this month we have this. A battle of the crappy bands, or at least their skateboards! In the red corner corner we have the toothy threesome that is Hanson. Thrill as they “Mmm Bop” you to the ground. In the blue corner we have those masters of middle of the road white ska/reggae/general crap, Sublime. Who will win this gargantuan battle of the no-hopers and suburban scenesters? Why, it’s Sublime in a squash match. Not one person bid on the Hanson complete, probably because it started at $299, and also because all of their fans have grown up now. The Sublime deck went for $515. Some of you need to turn in your wallets, because you obviously can’t be entrusted with money. Let the hate mail flow. . . .

See ya next month.

-Neil