eBay Watch: July 2010

Boy, my comments last month sparked a lot of discussion didn’t they? I want to thank Michael Brooke, the owner of Concrete Wave for taking the time to come on here and answer some of my criticisms. We might not agree on the quality of the content or the average age of his readership, but his passion for the magazine came through, and I really hope that the next few issues are as compelling as he says that they are, and that the magazine can find its way again. I think my final comment on the subject would be that you can’t appeal to everyone, and if you try to do that you will end up with a mediocre product that nobody feels excited about. I think you have to know your target audience, and the put out compelling content that will appeal to them and build a buzz. And thanks to everyone else that contributed comments too.

I got some other strange comments last month too, and they lead me to re-state exactly what this column is about, and what it isn’t. I have been intrigued by the eBay phenomenon for over 10 years now, and started covering skate decks about 10 years ago exactly. I don’t cover everything; I cover auctions that interest me, decks that I like, and decks that sell for what seem like absurd sums. It’s my choice what I cover and what I don’t cover. There is no rhyme or reason to it, there is no science. I don’t cover certain decks or brands because I’m paid to do so. I don’t cover certain things to make my own collection more valuable. If my column is used by others as a measuring stick for what their decks are worth then so be it, but be aware that eBay is a fickle beast, and values can shift monthly and sometimes even weekly. So to sum up, there are no ulterior motives here. I cover what interests me, and hopefully what interests you. If I missed something that you think was a big deal, or you see something coming up that you think I should, then by all means send it in. But I won’t cover your auction just because you ask me to. And here’s a hint, good photos with large blowups are getting to be key. I won’t cover stuff anymore if the picture is small and blurry, no matter how interesting the deck is. And oh yes, I can make mistakes in my descriptions, so if you see one, feel free to comment and set me straight. This is a learning experience for all of us.

Anyway, this months BayWatch is brought to you by The Creepshow and their 2 great albums ‘Sell Your Soul” (2006) and “Run for Your Life” (2008). Actually, I can’t believe that I haven’t featured them before as they’ve been in my cars playlist for at least a year. So what do they sound like? They are a female fronted Canadian horrorbilly act, similar to but better that The Horrorpops. Where The Horrorpops can sound very goth at times, The Creepshow keep it simple and do what a psycho band should do: sing about monsters and vampires and zombies etc. The songs are short, catchy and punchy. Most importantly they, they have a sense of humor about the whole thing, and that’s a big plus. Of the two albums I like the first one “Sell Your Soul” better. I find the songs are catchier, and it’s generally more focused. It has three classic songs on it, “Zombies Ate her Brain”, “Cherry Hill” and “The Garden”. I also prefer the original vocalist, Hellcat to the new one. The original singer, Jen “Hellcat” Blackwood left after the first album, but was replaced by her sister Sarah “Sin” Blackwood. Hellcat sounded like a deranged Gwen Stefani, where Sin sounds more, well, normal. The third album will be out in October and they will be touring throughout the U.S. with it. Check ‘em out.

60s, 70s, early 80s.

First up this month is this Sims Dave Andrecht 8-ply stinger from 1979. It’s the pre-concave model, and is a full 11” wide. It comes with Independent trucks and Sims Street wheels. It is in pretty sorry shape: it’s obviously seen plenty of action through the years, but it is still an iconic setup, worthy of your consideration. Put it this way, I’d be proud to be the owner. It sold for $306, and might make a mighty fine looking restoration project.

And in the same vein we have this Sims Brad Bowman “Superman”, again from 1979. It’s a much cleaner complete than the Andrecht, but it still has some miles on it obviously. It comes complete with Lazer trucks and Dominion wheels. Now the insets didn’t come red like that, so an owner has clearly taken a red marker to the routed parts, but I have to say that it doesn’t look bad. It actually fits with the theme pretty well, and the bright red wheels are a nice match. Overall it’s a really nice 70s complete, and sold for $616.

And here’s a super clean 70s complete. It’s a Dogtown Wes Humpston “Bulldog” from 1978, and comes complete with Trackers, Tracker risers and Alva conicals, 3 in green and one in orange. The deck is super clean: actually it looks like it was setup but never really skated. A shop demo perhaps? Inexplicably it has three Alva stickers across the middle, much like the original owner didn’t really want a Dogtown, he wanted an Alva instead, and this was the closest he could come. Maybe his parents came back from the skateshop with the wrong thing? Anyway, I would rip those stickers right off, but I might leave the Dogtown wing sticker by the back truck. This super nice complete sold for $500.

Man, this is the month for 70s completes! Here’s a Logan Earth Ski Bruce Logan complete with California Slalom trucks and Henry Hester Road Riders. This thing is super clean! I’d almost call it NOS, but it has a big old split in the top of the kicktail. Still, the bottom of the deck is primo, and the trucks and wheels are minty. The trucks have the name raised along the surface, which today would seem pointless because it would get ground off in the first session, but back then a few companies did that. It sold for $249, which seems very cheap to me.

And here’s another rare complete, or rather a pair of completes from the same seller. Both auctions feature the same deck, but one is super clean and the other has been ridden hard. The deck is an early (1979) Powell (before Peralta) team deck, the top one in a deep orange, and the bottom one in yellow. The orange one is complete with Trackers and Tunnel Super Rock wheels, and looks barely ridden. Those stickers need to go of course, as vintage and nice as they are, but even so, it sold for $600. The yellow one has Trackers and Variflex Express wheels. I especially like the super early lapper on there. Look carefully; it’s a thin metal bar that looks like a wrench attached to the kingpin and screwed into the deck. The wear on the deck is from all the curbs the owner probably went up, thanks to his lapper. It sold for $600 too.

So you want rare? Well try this California Free Former Ty Page Professional complete from 1977 along with the original box for goodness sakes! The thing is totally mint, and the box is even in great condition! In my 10 years of doing this column, this is one of the most amazing things I’ve seen. I remember seeing these in skate shops in the 70s, so this brings back all kinds of memories. It’s flipping awesome, and it went for an appropriate price: $2,520, but damn, I think it’s worth it!

Mid 1980s

So let’s start off the huge 80s section this month with this gorgeous second generation Vision Agent Orange stinger deck from 1987. It’s mint apart from one scuff; never set up or gripped. It is super clean and bright, and while it’s not as outstanding as the original Agent Orange deck, it is still pretty damned fine. It sold for $463.

Here we have a G&S Neil Blender “Faces” deck from 1987. It is in NOS condition, with just a couple of paint smears and dings. It is truly a phenomenal graphic from one of the most influential skaters of all time, and to see a mint one like this come up is an unusual thing. It sold for $352.

So here’s a Sims Buck Smith “Sun Face” from 1988. This is the best colorway for the deck. The awesome rich green stain allow the pinks, yellows and blues to really pop, making the sun look even more deranged than usual. It’s an outstanding looking deck, and is one of those mid-level decks that is still pretty affordable, and yet really adds pop to any collection. This one sold for $283.

Holy shit! Take a look at this Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “Full Dragon” from 1986! It is absolutely stunning! It’s in a great looking baby blue dip that is neutral and yet eye-catching at the same time. And then you have the red type and red and gold dragon, both of which contrast beautifully with the background. The white fill in the claws and horns and whiskers are an added bonus. It’s NOS, and is probably one of the only ones in the world in this shape and in this color. Decks like this are the reason why we collect and why we love old skateboards. It is truly exceptional, and it sold for $2,700.

So here’s my first time showing this deck, and it’s actually the first time I’ve actually ever seen it. It’s a Toxic Skates Ken Fillion street model from 1989/90. The graphic features a giant rhinoceros being ridden by a little native chappie, and it’s running down other natives. It’s not great, but it’s a first for me, so I figure that you probably haven’t seen it either. It seems to be in an orange/yellow woodstain, which is fairly eye-catching actually. It is NOS; never mounted or gripped. This is the first deck I’m showing this month from the industry bigwig who sold off part of his collection in July. Buckle in; this is just the tip of the iceberg!

Here’s a H-Street Art Godoy “Sea Serpent” from 1988. This one is actually pretty damned rare. It is the full size, but the more commonly seen H-Street Godoy is the mini version that has a different nautical graphic. It has a devil looking creature and a snaky looking sea serpent or something like that. Like I said, you hardly ever seen this one, and it’s in pretty good shape too. It’s not been gripped, and although it’s got some storage marks and scuff etc, it’s close to NOS. It sold for $128, which is a bargain in my book. I would have bid on it if I’d seen it in time!

Ok, but let’s get back to some of the big hitters from the collection. Here’s a Vision Tom Groholski “Robot” from 1986. As you can see it’s totally mint, and is in a breathtaking yellow dip. You rarely see this deck at all, let alone in a fantastic colorway like this one. This is not something you see every day, believe me. It sold for $409.

So he was not done with the Groholski sales by a long shot. He put up two Vision Tom Groholski “Jersey devil” decks from 1985 back to back. Both were mint, which again is incredibly rare. The top one in a black dip went off first, fetching $949 on 32 bids, and was closely followed thereafter by the even more impressive white dip that fetched $1,264. As the seller says, this is the holy grail of many collectors, and for two mint ones to go off in 1 month is unheard of. Now look at the two models. See any differences? Look at the deck that the devil is holding. The black one has a top graphic that says Vision. The white one does not. It doesn’t mean anything; I just thought it was interesting.

So who was another underrated mid 80s pro that rode for the Vision/Sims/Tracker stable? Why how about GSD? So here are some minty fresh GSD decks for you. First up is this absolutely fantastic Tracker GSD “Fish” from 1988. It’s mint and in a rich deep red stain. Like a lot of the other decks this month, you hardly ever see this deck, let alone in this kind of condition or colorway. It sold for $283.

And here’s two more mint Tracker GSD decks. This time it’s the “Eye see pterodactyls” deck. The top one is a natural wood stain fading to white on the tail, while the bottom one is a strange dark brown to white fade. The top deck is the better colorway in my opinion, but it sold for only $213, while the darker one sold for $320. They are both very striking decks though, and either would look great on the wall. Another unique deck from the inventor of the boneless one.

And keeping with the auctions from this guy we have this Vision “Hippie Stick” from 1985. It’s in great condition, even though it has been factory gripped. That almost adds to it actually because the grip has been cut wavy to match the wavy top graphic, so it really looks nice and professional. The green colorway is superb, and even though the screening isn’t perfect here, on this trippy deck it doesn’t matter too much. This sold for $256.

So breaking away from those auctions for a minute we have this Jimmy’Z deck from 1985. Yes they were a surf-clothing manufacturer (and still are?), but the interest in the skate community was great enough that they put out a couple of generic looking skate decks. This one features their classic “ford woody” logo, and is NOS, never been gripped or mounted. There were actually a couple of versions of this deck. This one that has hardly any nose and a generic shape, and a later model that has the same graphic but has all kinds of funky cutaways etc. The decks were made by Madrid for Jimmy’Z. It sold for $362.

I’ve never understood the attraction of this deck, but it always sells for a decent price. It’s the Vision “Joker” from 1989. Actually, reading the description here I learned some stuff that I didn’t know before. I guess that this deck was never officially released in the USA because of licensing problems, so it was a Europe only deck. And also the seller says that the teeth, eyes and logo light up under blacklight. So now you know all of the secrets of the Vision Joker. It sold for $621.

Here’s a Circle A Fabian Kravetz “Tricycle Kid” from 1988. It’s mint and in a natural woodstain. I’ve always liked the main graphic, but it doesn’t feel finished to me. It should have some kind of background or something else going on. If he were on a long road or something, bleeding off top and tail, that would work. This freestyle deck sold for $133.

And now for something totally classic! It’s a Sims Lester Kasai splat from 1984. The deck has never been gripped or set-up, but has been well scuffed throughout the years. It has plenty of marks both top and bottom, but the dayglo graphics still really pop off the white dip. S-One has just put out a helmet with this graphic on the side, and I must say that it looks pretty striking on the side of a white helmet too. A classic always stands the test of time I guess. This deck sold for $218.

Here’s a Santa Cruz Micke Alba “Tombstone” deck from 1985. It’s in the best colorway for this graphic I think, the bright yellow dip with the gray and black tombstones shadowed in bright blue. The deck is in NOS condition, never having being gripped or set-up. Yes there are some surface marks, but overall this is a very very solid deck. It sold for $400.

Chris Miller has had some outstanding decks throughout the 80s and 90s, but he’s had his share of stinkers too, and I think that this Schmitt Stix “Faces” deck from 1989 falls into the latter category. I know what he was going for, but he just doesn’t pull it off here. The graphic is too muddled and busy, and the typography is weak too. It’s mint, but the purple stain just isn’t working for me either. I don’t like it at all, but some did because it sold for $480 on 22 bids.

Now this deck clearly needs no introduction, as I’ve featured the PP Lance Mountain “Future Primitive” so many times, and to tell the truth, I was planning on not showing one for a year or so. But I found the colorway on this one so outstanding that I had to show it. The lime green stain with black cave drawings shadowed in light blue is a work of genius, especially when you add the grey splotchy shadow. The whole package just feels so right somehow, it all works beautifully. The lime green Gullwings and black risers and Cross Bones are a nice touch too. It sold for $500.

Now you might not find this one again! It’s a Sims Eric Nash “Pumpkin Man” prototype deck from 1989. They tested this graphic but ended up going with the wholly inferior “Pumpkin w/ flowers” for the production graphic. Maybe this one looked too evil or something? Anyway, a red dip and green graphic always works, and it’s no different here, especially with the orange pumpkin and the baby blue top hat. The entire piece looks fantastic, and I can’t believe that they didn’t go with this graphic. The only problem I have with it is the empty space on the tail; it looks like they left something out, but apart from that it is an excellent looking deck. It sold for $450.

Looking at this SMA Natas “Bulldog” I’m not sure how it made the cut this month. Yes it’s a nice looking deck, somebody’s grail no doubt, but I’ve featured it so many times over the years. It’s never been set up, and has never been gripped, but it does have a lot of storage marks: chips, scratches and scuffs. The deep red dip is seductive however, and it is a handsome board overall. Enjoy it because I might not show another Natas for a while. It sold for $570.

Now this on the other hand, it’s very rare when I feature a NOS 1986 Vision Old Ghosts “Guardian”. It has never been gripped, and it’s probably as minty as you can find. It’s on a dark grey wood stain, and the blue to pink fade and yellow crosses really pop off of the background. The colorway really is superb, and even though I didn’t like the graphic when I first saw it in the mid 80s, I really appreciate it now. It sold for $728.

And here’s a mint condition Sims Jeff Phillips “Breakout” from 1985. It’s the second version of the graphic, the first having straight on type with no shadow, and a bigger, straight Sims logo. This one is on a black dip as you can see, and I have to believe that there is something wrong with the camera, because I’m sure that the yellow and pink pops in person: it looks washed out here. I’ll tell you something. So many grails were scored this month, because a lot of people want this deck, and for it to come up mint and in this colorway? Well Christmas came in July. It sold for $676.

Here’s a Zorlac Todd Prince “Frog King” from 1988. The green woodstain is beautiful on this deck, really contrasting well with the orange and yellow flames. And then you have the green frog coming off of the flames: the thing almost looks 3d! The stained models seem to have more detail in the flames and in the frog; the dipped models I’ve seen look far less detailed than this. It’s a very sharp looking deck, and it’s NOS, the only blemish being a screening problem in the flames which is covered up by the Scott Stanton sticker I guess. It sold for $205.

Now here’s a novelty! It’s a Schmitt Stix Ripsaw mini model from 1987. The deck is in NOS condition and is in an outstanding colorway, but that isn’t the novelty here. The top of the deck has a whole “Dedicated to Kevin” poem on there written in Sharpie, and illustrated with all kinds of sketches and doodles. The handwriting and sketch style looks a lot like Tod Swank’s work, so I’m putting the blame on him! Getting back to the deck though, it is typical Schmitt Stix quality. I’ve always liked the shape of this deck, I think it was one of the first to have these crazy ridges all down the side, and check out the routed top side by the tail. It does look like a factory second because the tail looks higher on one side than the other. Just what is the real story behind this deck? It sold for $215.

Here’s a Santa Cruz Rob Roskopp ‘Eye” from 1989. It’s in a very interesting blue/purple colorway, and is NOS with the regulation storage marks and scuffs etc. A suspicious man would wonder why the photo doesn’t show the nose or that tail, but I assume that everything is good, because the deck has never been mounted or gripped, so I’m sure it’s fine. This sold for $571.

So here’s a G&S Billy Ruff “Chalice” complete from 1985. It’s obviously been setup and ridden, but I’d have to say that it is in exceedingly fine shape. The graphics on the bottom are basically untouched, and the rid dip still appears to have a shine to it! Sure there are a couple of dings and scratches, but I’ve seen decks that have never been setup in worse condition that this! The trucks are Indy 169s and the wheels are two-tone (red and black) G&S Yoyos. Personally I would remove the pink tailbone and the pink Rip & Tear sticker, and that would leave you with a fantastic 80s complete for only $305.

And speaking of Billy Ruff, here’s another later model. It’s the G&S Billy Ruff “Clown Puppet” from1987. It’s in an excellent yellow to green woodstain horizontal fade, and the fade looks even better on the topside than on the bottom. It is NOS with just a couple of blemishes; it’s basically a beautiful deck. Interesting colorways like this certainly add value, because this one sold for $1,075, where other NOS versions with more generic colorways have sold in the $300 range.

Here’s a stunning colorway for this Sims Buck Smith “Sun and Moon” from 1987. It’s a natural wood with bright pinks, purples, yellows and blues. It is a very busy deck, and there’s maybe too much small stuff going on, but the screening job is perfect, and it is a wonderful splash of color. It’s NOS, never gripped or mounted. It sold for $665.

And now we get onto the Staabs. If you are a Staab collector, then July 2010 was a watershed month, because so many fabulous Staabs went off all in a 2-week period. Let’s start with this Sims Staab ‘Pirate” mini from 1988. It’s in a dark green stain, and the fluorescent inks really scream off of the dark background. Much like the deck above, we have yellow, orange, pink, blue, and even gold on the boat etc. This is an incredibly complex screen job, and it looks just great. It is mint, and sold for $900.

And stepping back a year or two, we have 2 NOS versions of Staab’s first pro model, the Sims Staab “Mad Chemist” from 1987. They are both from the same seller, the mystery man of July. They are both NOS, never gripped, never mounted, and while neither looks that great here, I’m guessing that they look much better in person. All of his photos are kind of washed out. The top one is in a gray woodstain and sold for $1,030, while the green woodstain went higher, selling for $1,325 on 22 bids. The gray one sold first, with the green a week behind it.

And then we have the Sims Staab “Pirate” full size from 1988. We have 2 of those, a green woodstain, and a fantastic blue dip. The green one is handsome enough, but the blue dip is stunning. The colors that look muted on the green one come to life on the blue one, and the blue fits in with the whole seafaring, nautical chart thing. Both are NOS, a few scuffmarks, never mounted never gripped. The green sold for $1,080, while the blue sold for $1,301.

So let’s move on from the Staab love. Here we have a Suicidal Skates (Dogtown actually) “Street Cycos” team model from 1984. It predated the Suicidal Tendencies “Possessed to Skate” by a year or so, and the shape is definitely more pig than fish tail. It is used but not abused; the dayglo green plastics have done their job well! It comes complete with Venture trucks and Powell Peralta threes. The lapper is snapped off, as most did within a coupe of days. There are some dents, gouges and scratches, but overall this deck is in super solid shape, and as obvious as the graphics are, it is highly desirable, and in fact sold for $1,200.

Once upon a time you could get this Santa Cruz Mitsugu Toyoda deck from any number of online stores for less than a hundred dollars. Boy how times have changed! Now this one is super nice, still being mint in shrink, and in maybe the best colorway, but it sold for $407, which shows how desirable this graphic has become. The dip on this deck looks flat here, but is actually a harlequin pearl that shifts color from purple to blue depending on the light. Very nice indeed.

Here’s an H-Street Danny Way “Questionable” deck from 1989. It’s mint, still in shrink, and in a very deep red woodstain. The colorway is a little Christmas I have to admit, but it’s simple and to the point like a lot of the mid period H-Street graphics. It sold for $306.

Here’s a Dogtown “Web” team model from 1986. Oh how I wanted this deck back in mid 86. They had one at the skate shop in white, and I was drawn to it by the side cuts as much as the spider graphic. I didn’t end up getting it, I got a yellow SMA Natas I one instead, because in the end I decided that this graphic was just too cartoony and for the little kids. I was right, and that Natas deck was my favorite deck ever, and would go on to become one of the rarest decks of all time. If only I would have known! Anyway, this Web has been mounted, gripped and ridden, but it’s still in very good condition, with just a few scuffs etc. the metallic blue dip is very nice, and the colors are still very bright. It sold for $300.

Here’s a totally mint in shrink Powell Peralta Per Welinder “Nordic Skull” street model from 1987. It’s the Boneite version, and is in a super bright (screaming!) pink dip with blue and white skull. This is a totally classic graphic, and I never get tired of looking at it. Even the runes and Nordic looking snakes at the bottom are great. They reissued this recently in very limited numbers, and they sold out in no time, with prices on eBay hitting ridiculous levels for a reissue. That just proves how well loved this graphic is. This sold for $800.

And finally in the bumper 80s section we have this Tracker Dan Wilkes “Dinosaurs” deck from 1987. It’s never been gripped or mounted, and is in NOS condition: it has a few scuffs etc but nothing major. Now, I know that some of you collectors out there will look at this and wonder where the hell I got this from, because you search for “Wilkes” constantly and didn’t find this. Well, that’s because the seller didn’t know it was a Dan Wilkes, so the name wasn’t in there. It simply said ‘Dinosaurs Deck” in the listing. Yup, bummer, and even more of a bummer because this great looking deck with an awesome colorway sold for only $190. Damnit!

A few people have gotten on me for my clear dislike of mid-90s decks, but I think in my defense at least I show them. And you’re right, I don’t like them, and this deck might show why. I mean look at it! The graphic is freaking awful. It’s confusing and poorly rendered. It looks like something an art student might come up with in their freshman year when they think they are being terribly clever, but in reality it’s just a fucking cliched mess. Oh yeah, it’s a Television Steve Berra slick from 1993. It sold for $760.

Here we have a Powell Peralta Tony Hawk “Machine Gun Mouse” from 1991. Now I really like the red woodstain on this one. The wood grain looks great, and the space in the graphic allows it to be seen. I don’t like the graphic, but overall it’s a handsome deck. It sold for a large $1,515 on 41 bids from 14 different bidders.

OK, so I have no idea why this one went so cheap. It’s a 101 Natas Kaupas ‘Sock Puppet” from 1994. It’s been setup and ridden, and so it has some wear and tear, but is in good condition overall apart from some tail wear. Like most of the 101 Natas decks it is rare in any condition, so for this one to sell for only $265, well, I’m puzzled.

Here’s a H-Street Sal Barbier “hands” from 1990. I would have put it in the 80s section, but we are so 80s heavy this month that I’m putting it here instead. I think it was Sal’s first pro deck, and is featured in a natural wood here. It’s a solid, nice looking H-Street in NOS condition. It sold for $300.

Gosh Mike Vallely has skated for a lot of different companies! He went through 2 or 3 different companies in 1991 alone! This is the “mammoth” his first deck on New Deal in 1991, right after he got pissed off at World Industries and left them. I guess he got pissed off at New Deal too, because within a few months he’d formed his own company YV with Ed Templeton. It’s in great used condition, and is in a grey woodstain with super bright red green and yellow graphics. It’s a nice looking graphic, and the shape isn’t quite yet the popsicle, but is getting there. It sold for $318.

Look, I’ve had enough. I’m not going to rant and rave about how shit this graphic is in every way. It’s ugly, obvious and lazy. But it’s a Plan B Danny Way “Hannibal” slick from 1992, so it’s rare and desirable apparently. It sold for $2,000. Am I crazy? Does anybody out there agree with me or am I on my own here?

Assorted Crap

SO here’s another one of those Powell Peralta World Tour 89 team jackets. I swear, they must have made about 50,000 of these, but they must have made them all made at a factory in Munchkinland, because apparently they don’t make regular sizes. This one isn’t even a small, it’s an extra small, and so if you have a 2 year old, then this is the jacket for you. It’s a nice looking jacket, but come on. Maybe next month I’ll have a micro-small for you, just perfect for your hamster. This went for $1,276 so somebody is going to try to squeeze their fat beer belly into this I guess.

What to do with the vast amount of skate bits and bobs that you’ve found during the years? Sell it on eBay of course! Here we have a large collection of different 80s hardware, all still in original package. We have Tracker lappers, Tracker riser pads, a vast selection of Powell plastics of all kinds, Santa Cruz copers, Gullwing and Tracker pivots and bushings, and even some underpads and recaps. If you were thinking of starting a shop that sells a lot of old school stuff, this would be perfect actually. It sold for $219.

Bargains

Starting off the Bargains section we have this Vision “Animal Skins” deck from 1983. It looks to be in good shape and has never been setup, but up close there are some scratches, gouges and scuffs. Still, just looking at this picture, anybody would be happy to have this on the wall, especially when you see that it only went for $58.

Here’s a Skull Skates Duane Peters “stick man” from 1989. It’s obviously used, and there are a ton of scratches across the middle of the graphic, so many that I wasn’t going to show this deck at all, but the price was so low that I am. You could have had this deck for $23. Some of you might say that is about right, but it is a Skull Skates deck and it is a Duane Peters.

Here’s a classic first run Vision Gator complete from 1985. It’s in the classic pink and black colorway, and has wheel wells front and back. It’s got 5 original 80s stickers on it, and the noteworthy thing there is that they are all vision stickers! A Gonz, a Groholski, a Joe Johnson, and two generic Vision ones. Remove those stickers and you have a decent looking used Gator, or keep them on for that authentic look. It is complete with Gullwings and Vision wheels and sold for $80.

So here’s a NOS Eppic Eddie Gomez “Sun worship” mini from 1988. It’s in a black dip, and even though Eddie Gomez is not particularly well known and the graphic isn’t great, it’s still an NOS deck from 22 years ago. The shape is interesting with the super pointy nose. It’s an oddity, and for that, collectible. It sold for $65.

So every month I seem to feature a Blockhead in the bargains section, and July 2010 is no different. As per normal it’s the Blockhead Jim Gray, this time complete with green and red Trackers and Powell T-Bones. It’s in very good used condition; the graphic looks basically untouched actually. Remove the trucks and tailbone and you’ll have a great looking Blockhead deck for only $36.

And this one is just ridiculous. It’s a Dogtown Lucien Hendricks “crest” from 1989. It’s been gripped but never skated, and the deck is clearly in NOS condition. The graphic is super clean, and pops from the natural wood. Not the most exciting deck, but at the very least the shape is nice and it would make a great rider. So surely it’s worth more than the $21 it went for?

Now normally most decks in this section go for less than $100, but that’s not the rule. It’s a bargains section, so I’m including this Powell Peralta “ratbones” complete in that category. It’s been ridden, but is in the excellent condition category. The deck is very clean with come scuffing and scratches, but overall it looks great. The only aberration is the hideous orange rails, which need to be taken off and burned. Everything else matches, from the white Trackers to the black Rat-Bones wheels. The red dip is a highly desirable colorway for this classic deck, and NOS this could fetch close to a thousand dollars. This complete sold for $202, which seems very affordable.

And finally this month we have this Tracker “Street Specimen” team deck from 1989. It’s NOS, and comes from the same seller as the rest of the outstanding 80s decks that went off in July. This one is one of those generic 80s decks that you either loved or hated at the time, but at least 9 people loved it enough to bid on it. It ended at $56, which is for sure a bargain for a NOS Tracker deck

Seeya next month.

-Neil