eBay Watch: July 2012

So welcome to eBayWatch, July 2012 edition. It was an average month really, nothing really stood out at all. Maybe most skaters are busy out there skating rather than collecting! But don’t worry, things are really picking up! August looks absolutely insane so far with no sign of slowing down. So enjoy this month but just know that next month will be very impressive!

My music selection this month is from The Old Firm Casuals. Don’t know them? It’s Lars new band. No not THAT Lars! Lars Frederiksen from Rancid silly! He already had one spinoff band, Lard Frederiksen and The Bastards, but although they started well, they verged on metal nonsense by their second album. I guess it wasn’t what Lars wanted either, because now he’s back with The Old Firm Casuals. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that at first glance it seems silly that a dude from Campbell California would be fronting an oi!/skinhead band that sound like they’re from the east of London, but let’s face it, music is international these days. That kind of music might have its origins in the east end, but skinheads can be found the world over. So why not? And I have to say; they do it better than most. Lars has got it spot on here. The band is tight, and the street punk is short and to the point. The three-piece band hasn’t released an album yet: they are doing it the old school way, releasing ep’s whenever they have the songs ready, and splitting singles with other bands. I have their 3 official ep’s: “The Old Firm Casuals”, “Army of One”, and “We Want the Lion’s Share”, and put together these 10 songs would make a very good album. The lyrics are nothing earth shattering: working class anthems against the ruling class, songs about skinheads and skinhead culture etc., but they all work. Musically? Think a faster Cock Sparrer or Menace if you want to go back that far! It’s good stuff. My only complaint is the production sucks, especially on the first release. It’s tinny and sounds more like a live demo than a finished recording. Still, I like all of the songs a lot. And a special shout-out goes to The Cockney Rejects who I caught on their recent visit to Chicago. Nice one lads!

60s, 70s, early 80s.

First up this month is this red Z-Flex Jay Adams fiberglass deck from 1974. It has been drilled for a tail guard, or that’s what it looks like from here. There is some wear, but I’d say that it’s in very good used condition. It sold for $1,003.

And sticking with the bright red theme we have this Bahne complete from 1975. It is a fiberglass deck too, complete with three hole Bahne trucks and unknown wheels. This one is in NOS condition, and it sold for $650.

And here we have a Sims Brad Bowman “Superman” from 1979. This is the rarer 11” version, not the 10.25 that is more commonly seen. It has been cleaned up, and the yellows and reds are super clean. It’s in very good used condition: the nose, tail and rails have protected it from the worst damage, and he stickers wrapped around the edges are a nice touch, but have they been added presale to hide wear? Whatever the truth it is a nice looking used Superman, and it sold for a very reasonable $735.

Now this one isn’t quite as reasonable! It’s another Sims Brad Bowman, this being the “multi-logo” from late 1980. It’s a concave deck (unlike the Superman), and comes complete with Indy 169 stage IIs and Sims ‘the Wheel” wheels. It also has the original Sims Racing bearings! It was barely used (the griptape is super clean) and is as close to NOS as you might ever find this deck! Remove the Bennett sticker and you are golden here. It’s an awesome complete but it didn’t go cheap or even sloe to it! It sold for $4,050 on 86 bids. Yes sir, you read that right.

Here we have a close to NOS G&S Fiberflex cutaway slalom deck! The deck is fiberglass, and the yellow top is still super bright, as is the turquoise underneath. I like that word. Turquoise! It was set up as a display board in a shop and never ridden in anger, hence the great condition. It sold for $434.

I think this next board is Australian? It’s a Golden Breed fiberglass complete, probably from around 1976, although I don’t know much more than that I’m afraid. The wheels are marked “Roller Sports Urethane MK IV”. It appears to be completely mint and unused. It sold for $321.

Here we have a Hobie “waffle” complete from the 1960. It’s in superb condition and looks verging on mint, but the description is vague enough to cause concern. The seller claims to have stripped it and cleaned every part, which looks accurate, but then he says that it has “new graphics and wood strip” whatever that means exactly. So is it all-original? Or are you getting a Frankenstein of old and new parts? It looks so clean to be suspect but I just don’t know. The clay wheels even look brand new! It sold for $910 on 20 bids.

Here we have a Nash Ed “Big Daddy” Roth “RatFink” skateboard deck from the early 60s! It is undrilled, so obviously has no trucks or wheels, but if it did they would have been steel, bank on that! Who knew Nash was from Texas? I just assumed it was based on the west coast! It sold for $276 on 19 bids.

Here we have a very early Santa Cruz complete, probably from around 1977? It comes complete with Bennett trucks (with the plastic baseplates) and Yandall Bowl Roll wheels. The deck is wood wrapped in fiberglass, and is 28” long by 6.5” wide. It’s in really nice condition, and looks like it was never ridden. Seriously, the whole thing looks minty, hidden under the bed for 35 years fresh! It sold for $500.

And finally from the 70s this month we have this Sims Lonnie Toft 10” pig from 1979. The seller claims that there is only minor wear on the nose and tail, but the thing has obviously been sanded down! All of the clear coat is gone; the only bits left are around the logo and type! The top of the deck is super solid however. It sold for $355 on 30 bids. It was sold by the infamous got_wood who once upon a time won basically every skateboard auction on eBay!

Mid 1980s

So first up in the 80s section this month we have this G&S Neil Blender “Coffee Break” from 1986. It’s in NOS condition, never gripped or mounted, although the pink fade has faded away in the sun! There are some storage scuffs but not much really. It sold for $1,050.

Here we have another G&S Neil Blender, this being the “scorpion” from 1990. It’s NOS, but does have a noticeable warp. The grown stain is pretty ugly, but it still sold for $285. The red sticker is the official G&S sticker to show that the deck has the new C90 concave.

Here we have a Santa Cruz Bod Boyle “Stained Glass” from 1989. The deck is mint in shrink, and in a most excellent natural woodstain. Natural decks are often undervalued, but more often than not the graphic looks better on a natural deck than it does on any other. It sold for $505.

Here we have an interesting looking complete! The deck is a Brand X “Weirdo”, which is cool enough in itself, but just look at the trucks! They are a matched set of Ranalli trucks: one is orange with green baseplate, while the other is green with orange baseplate! Nice idea! The wheels are Santa Cruz Bullets. It’s a veritable Picasso of shapes and colors! It sold for $306 on 13 bids.

And here we have a Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “Dragon and Bats” from 1988. It’s really NOS, but the top has been gripped, so I’m not sure how you’d class it really. Gripped but never set up or ridden I guess. It’s a really interesting colorway: the pink stain with red and green graphic is striking, and the white horns and whiskers really round it off nicely. The griptape job deserves a mention too: it has clear tape all over, with blue tape mixed in in the shape of The Faction logo. It sold for $590.

Here we have another Powell Peralta Steve Caballero, but this is the much earlier “Dragon” model from 1982. This is his second graphic, the “dragon on bearing” being the first. This is in as mint condition as you will ever find this model. It’s never been gripped or mounted and was stored away for years, In 1996 it was taken out and signed by Steve and then the owner had it shrink wrapped, so that’s why it’s in shrink. The silver dip with blue graphic is superb, and this is just a beautiful deck. It sold for $2,495 on 27 bids.

Here we have a SMA (nhs) Mike Conroy “Fortune Teller” from 1990. It’s NOS, never mounted or gripped. It’s in the best colorway for this deck: a pink stain that allows the colorful graphic to really pop. And there’s an awful lot going on in this graphic! This is one of those decks that is probably undervalued. Mike isn’t the most well known pro, but the shapes in 1990 were really functional and the graphic is excellent. It sold for $365 but I would look for this one to start going up.

Now this might be the cleanest Alva Chris Cook “Jester” that I’ve ever seen! The yellow stain is exceptional but without being too distracting. It is incredibly clean! The deck has been gripped (very nice job too) but the deck has never been set up. There are some storage scuffs etc., but is in very good condition and it sold for $402.

Here we have a Powell Peralta Allan Gelfand “Tank” from 1980. The auction is for the deck and Tracker magnesiums only, the wheels are not included I guess. The deck is in good used condition, and the purple dip with silver graphic is striking. The pink nose and tailbone should have been thrown away years ago however: they totally ruin the lines and look of this deck! It sold for $723 on 24 bids.

This is a Powell Peralta Tommy Guerrero “Flaming Dagger” from 1986. It’s silver dip, mint in shrink! It’s the earlier, round nose model, but it doesn’t have wheelwells. It’s an awesome colorway for this graphic, and it sold for $800.

Here we have a really exceptional NOS Powell Peralta Tony Hawk “Hawk 1” from 1982. The lime green stain is just excellent, and this might be one of the best first Hawks that I’ve ever seen. It’s a great looking deck and it sold for $1,600 on a Buy It Now after being up for only 35 minutes! That would suggest that this would have gone far higher if the auction had been allowed to run. Let that be a lesson to you all. Do your research and make the BIN price higher than you would first think. If somebody jumps on it right away that’s a sure sign that it was far too low.

Here we have a Santa Cruz Jason Jessee “Neptune” from 1987. This is the first run sharktail model with the bat on the nose. It’s in solid used condition. It’s been degripped and cleaned up. It’s been drilled for rails but that’s it. The baby blue dip colorway is excellent, and even though it’s used, this is an excellent, grail-worthy auction. It went for $1,325 on 24 bids.

Here we have a Jimmy’Z pig from around 1985, complete with Gullwing trucks and Slammer wheels. It has been mounted (obviously) but never gripped, so I’m guessing that this was a prop in a skate or surf store. Shape wise it looks like an early 80s Madrid, so I’m guessing that it was made by them for Jimmy’Z. It sold for $709 on 8 bids.

Here we have a Schmitt Stix Bryce Kanights “Gargoyle 2” from 1988. It’s in NOS condition, never mounted or gripped. It has some storage scuffs, but is overall super clean, and the bright blue dip with yellow and green graphics is a revelation. It sold for $383 to a buyer from Germany, despite the fact that Germans have to pay exorbitant customs fees to get a deck from the US I believe.

Here we have a Santa Cruz Tom Knox “Ghoul” from 1989. It’s mint in shrink, which is awesome, but the seller clearly needs to buy a better camera or some better lights, because he claims this is a light blue stain, but it looks like dark grey to me! It sold for $550 on 21 bids. This is one of those decks that was fairly common and cheapish a few years ago, bit is rapidly exploding in value.

So here’s a Schmitt Stix John Lucero “X1” from 1986. It’s in NOS condition, never gripped or setup, and in a truly excellent red stain. The colorway is truly excellent; one of the finest I’ve ever seen for the X1. It sold for $990 on 17 bids.

And from he same seller we have this Schmitt Stix John Lucero “X2” from 1987. Like the deck above it is in NOS condition, never gripped or setup. It’s super clean, and the green stain colorway is great too. Not as nice as the red, but excellent nonetheless. What a pair these two make! And it sold for $1,525 on 18 bids.

Here’s a Powell Peralta Rodney Mullen “Chess” complete from 1985. It comes complete with Tracker trucks and OJ II Freestyle wheels. Its in very clean used condition, and the yellow dip is an excellent colorway for this deck. This one went for a surprisingly large $1,000 on 18 bids.

Here we have a SMA (nhs) Natas ‘Evil Cat” from 1989. It’s in NOS condition, never gripped or mounted. It has the regular storage scuffs etc., but looks great. The orange stain is nice and the blue and pink graphic is interesting. It sold for $406 on 24 bids.

And here we have an earlier SMA Natas Kaupas complete, this one being the Jim Phillips Panther from 1988. It comes complete with pink Trackers and OJ II wheels. It has pink griptape that matches the trucks, but he should have gotten pink cellblock risers too! The black dip is nice, and even though the graphic is all there, it looks cramped because of the rails. They really need to go. It sold for $610.

Now this one is a bright beauty! It’s a Santa Cruz “Oops II -Mucus” team deck from 1990. It’s mint in shrink, and in the very collectible hot pink dip. Personally I prefer some of the other colorways for this deck, the red on pink is too much for me: I prefer more contrast. But some love it I guess. It sold for $810.

Now here’s a deck you never see! It’s a Blockhead Mark Partain “Lizards” deck from 1988. It’s NOS, never gripped or mounted, but it does have some storage marks. The green stain background with orange and teal graphic is muted but totally awesome. I love this graphic, and like most Blockheads it’s totally underrated. It sold for a very low $207. This deck should be worth twice that.

And here we have a Sims Jeff Phillips “Tie-Dye Demon” from 1987. It’s been gripped but has never been setup. The color is outrageous! The white dip with blue and hot pink tie-dye background, coupled with the yellow and green graphic is simply breathtaking. This is a beauty. It sold for $1,511 on 21 bids and I’m surprised that it didn’t go higher.

Here we have a Zorlac Todd Prince “Toad King” from 1988. It’s NOS, never gripped or mounted. The dark stain is excellent, and really allows the green, yellow and orange graphic to shine. It’s an underrated graphic and one that should probably go higher than the $306 that this one went for.

And here we have a Santa Cruz Rob Roskopp “Face” from 1987. This one is NOS and id the rare Blacktop version. The colorway is dark and muted, but it is unusual and it works really well here. This one sold for $740 on 20 bids.

And finally from the 80s this month we have this Santa Cruz Salba “Voodoo” from 1988. It’s obviously been ridden a little, but the graphic is all there in its entirety. Seriously, there is practically nothing wrong with this deck. It’s been drilled for rails, but apart from some tail wear that is about it. It comes complete with Trackers and Powell Street wheels. This one sold for $500, and somebody got a real bargain at that price.

90s-present day

First up in the 90s section this month we have this Santa Cruz Jaya Bonderov “Naked Babes” everslick deck from 1992. It’s in NOS condition, never mounted or gripped. It sold for $305.

Here we have a Milk Ron Chatman “Bike” deck from 1992. It’s super rare, and this one is actually from Ron’s personal collection. It’s NOS, super clean, and in an outstanding colorway. It sold for $460.

And from 1993 we have this Plan B Rick Howard “Han Solo” deck from 1993. It’s been gripped but never ridden. Plan B had a full series of Star Wars characters but this is one of the most sought after. It has minor scuffs and scratches but nothing serious. This went for $585 on 18 bids.

And here we have a World Industries Jeremy Klein “Mario Brothers” deck from 1991. This one is mint and the very first edition of this deck: the bomb guy on the nose isn’t bleeding off the nose and the rat on the tail is small. The dark stain is nice and the graphics are super bright. This sold for $1,200.

Here we have a World Industries Rodney Mullen “Dog Food” deck from 1990. It’s never been gripped or mounted but has been drilled for tail and nose. This is the earliest version of the graphic with the dog food graphic instead of the generic World logo. It sold for $300.

Here’s a World Industries Randy Colvin “New Kids on the Block” complete from 1991. It’s in good used condition with almost the entire graphic completely there. The blue stain isn’t the best, but it’s an impressive complete nonetheless. It comes with Indys and Blind Training wheels. It sold for $331 on 22 bids.

Here’s a Powell Peralta “Roses & Bones” team deck from 1991. It comes complete with Gullwings and Powell wheels. It’s in decent used condition, but does have a lot of scratching across the middle. The seller claims that it’s super rare and never seen on eBay, but I’ve seen it plenty of times actually, so it isn’t as rare as he makes out. It sold for $300.

Here’s a 101 Gabriel Rodriguez “Grenade” deck from 1994. It’s mint in shrink and from the collection of the artist, Andy Jenkins. It’s rare and very highly sought after. This one sold for $864.

And here’s a Santa Cruz Rob Roskopp “Eye 2” from 1990. This deck is mint in shrink. This one is in a super cool red to blue fade and the nose is completely double drilled. It was the first Santa Cruz deck with a loner kick nose, and features the “Twinkick” concave! Nice one. This one sold for $405 on 29 bids.

This is a Bulldog Shogo Kubo “Dragon” from 2001. This might have been Bulldog’s first deck when they started putting out decks again. If not the first it was certainly one of them. I can remember seeing these in magazines at the time and thinking I should pick one up, but by the time I got around to it it was out of stock like most early Bulldog stuff! This went for $520 on 29 bids.

Assorted Crap

So first up in the miscellaneous section this month we have this Cooper 100 skateboard helmet from the mid 70s. This was the helmet of choice for most beginners. It was cheap and somewhat functional. Plus it looked far cooler than the bike helmets that some groms decided to wear! Originally it was an ice hockey helmet design, but Copper probably made millions by throwing a skateboard icon on it. This must be very fondly remembered because this “mint” green jobbie got 36 bids and ended up selling for $405. Now where the hell is my old white one?

And keeping with the mid 70s vibe we have this Hobie team jersey. Now, I don’t know why people in the 70s thought that a pastime that is done in the hot sun would benefit from long sleeved nylon jerseys, but I digress. And I must admit that I do love these rainbow Hobie jerseys! The closest I ever came was a pair of Hobie gloves in the same bright colors. This team jersey is brand new, never worn, and a size large as well! Damn, you could wear this down to the local skatepark next week and get, well, confused looks mainly I guess because only old farts like me would have any idea what this is! It even comes with two Hobie stickers. This sold for $295 on 12 bids.

Talking of old shirts we have this multiprint Powell Peralta t-shirt from the mid 80s. These multi-logo shirts were normally given to team riders but I don’t know the history behind this one. It’s a size large and looking by the wrecked neck I would definitely say that this has been well worn. This shirt sold for $467 on a Buy it Now. It was only up for 90 minutes!

So here we have a mint set of Sims Pure Juice Bowlrider wheels. I guess you could say that they are still mint in shrink! A little dusty but apart from that, they could have come off of the shop’s shelf yesterday! They sold for $409 on 18 bids.

And here’s a pair of Lonnie Toft bamboo/epoxy decks from a few years back. One is a regular rider and the other is an eight-wheeler. They are undrilled and ungripped and handmade by Lonnie. I think I remember seeing these advertised in Concrete Wave, and I guess I should have bought them because they sold for $1,250!

And finally this month we have this set of Tracker Extrack Magnesiums from the early 80s. They are not mint, but they are in very good condition. They sold for $327 with 18 bids.

Seeya next month…

-Neil