eBay Watch: July/August 2004

The highlight this period was probably a Dogtown Bigfoot in great condition, a great Cab full dragon, and a mouthwatering early Natas. Let’s get started.

Powell

This is a breathtaking deck. The Cab full dragon is one my favorite graphics ever, but I’ve never seen it on a vivid pink deck before. It is awesome. Powell did a great job with the reissue of this deck, but seeing this, I’m not surprised that this fetched $1,666. Truly a collectors item.

There are a few collectors out there that actually reproduce their own versions of classic decks. The 1st edition Caballero below is such a deck. It’s a beautiful repro, even down to the wheelwells. Awesome job. This repro went for $338, but I’m sure that didn’t cover the countless hours this labor of love must have taken.

The rarest Powell Hawk (besides his rookie deck of course) is probably the birdclaw. You’ll see one of these for every 100 screaming skulls on ebay. This is a really nice specimen and it fetched $318.

The Rodney Mullen chess piece deck is always a favorite with collectors, and this one is no exception. Great condition, $525.

This one has come up a few times in the last few years, and it always goes for big bucks. It’s the Powell “Blind” graphic, Powell’s response to the Blind ads and decks that ripped Powell for being an uncaring corporation in the early 90s. $635.

OK, I don’t get this. This Steadham was featured in the May/June baywatch report. It was a complete then with rails and copers etc. It went for $405. Here it is again, 1 month later, but sans trucks, wheels etc. This time it went for $431. Ebay is a strange place.

Santa Cruz

Actually, I should change this section to Natas from SC, because all of the decks are Natas decks this month. First up is a true one of a kind. It is the board that Natas rode in Streets on Fire. Remember that bit in the vid where Natas lights his board on fire? Well, here it is. Too fucking cool. $500

Then we have the classic Natas graphic by Bulldog. Everyone loves this one. $765.

Fuck I would love to have this deck. I had this deck in 86, but in red. It was probably my favorite rider of all time. Now it turns out to be one of the rarest decks out there, so I’ll probably never have it again. This baby blue beauty went for $1,409, and seems cheap at that price. I also had the yellow earlier version of this deck that had no leaves. That one was a beauty too.

Alva/Dogtown/Z-Flex

Ah yes, the Mondo airbrushed hammerhead Alva decks. Our local skateshop Frames ‘n’ Thangs had a slew of these back in the day. They couldn’t give them away. I think they would give one away free if you bought another deck. Now 20 years later they are collectors items. This one went for $542. Go figure. Doesn’t matter though, I still think it’s butt-ugly.

The original Dogtown Bigfoot always holds its value. People just love this deck. This is a really clean specimen, so I wasn’t surprised when it went for $2000.

This is a real oddball. I’ve never seen another Dogtown Humpston that was painted before. Every other one I’ve ever seen has been natural wood, so I’m not sure how this white dip came about. It is really striking, despite the multitude of crazy stickers. I do like the ACS Trucks sticker on the tail though. I dig those conical wheels too. Yoyos perhaps? $503.

Vision/Schmitt Stix/Lucero

Yup, if it’s Vision time, there must be a Gator deck, right? Yes sir. Here’s a first gen Vision Gator in a lovely green/yellow two-tone. This is one of the best first gens I’ve ever seen. $565

When John Lucero left Schmitt Stix in 1990 he formed his own company. It was originally just called Lucero, later morphing into Black Label. This was one of the decks released under the Lucero name. It’s from his good friend Jeff Grosso, and it revisits the toybox theme from a couple of his graphics at Schmitt Stix. A rare deck, especially in this condition and in this colorway. $700.

And speaking of John Lucero, here’s a real rare one: his first graphic on Schmitt Stix. It’s a classic. Often duplicated, never bettered. This one was really in demand and ended up going for $1,411.

World Industries

Not much to say about this one really. Typically crap WI graphics, ripped off from somewhere else. It’s the Jeremy Klein model. $750? Somebody explain it please, because I don’t get it. It looks like something you’d see at Target.

Now here’s a good one. A W.I. Rodney Mullen “Dogs playing pool” from around 1991. I wouldn’t buy it, but it’s a clever graphic. It went for $1,414, which just illustrates how popular Mullen decks are, and how underproduced the early WI stuff was.

Miscellaneous

Now here’s a real vintage piece. A Cadillac Wheels complete, probably from around 1974. You know, Cadillac wheels! Frank Nasworthy! The first company to make urethane wheels! I guess not a lot of people know that because it only went for $305. The Mario brothers graphic went for $750 and this goes for less than half of that? Mental. (Didn’t he just steal the idea from rollerskates? -k.ed)

Ah yes, the Jay Adams Flyaway helmet. This one is a really nice specimen, complete with rainbow colors, pinstripes and highlights. Could it scream “made in the 70s” any louder? It could have been yours for $300.

Here we have this H-Street Matt Hensley for the second month in a row. In June one sold for $560. This one went for $612. Inflation I guess.

Another repeat from June! The one in June was red with blue Kryptonics wheels. This one is black with green Kryps. The one in June sold for $711. This one went for $985 even though it looks to be in worse shape. I guess some people missed out on that one and were determined not to let another one get away without putting up a good fight. The seller gained.

And finally this month we have this Toy Machine Ed Templeton. Personally I think Toy Machine stuff sucks, and I’ve never been a fan of Ed’s artwork. It looks like something Wendy the Retard would do to me, but to each his own. Someone must dig it, because this one went for $385, and it’s only about 2 years old.

More next time.

-Neil