eBay Watch: March 2009

March 2009. OK ok, I know I’m weeks late with this. Shit, I could be doing the April one! But hey stuff happens; sometimes you just don’t feel like sitting down in front of a computer for 6 hours on a weekend. I had contemplated not doing this anymore, but I do enjoy it, and it seems from some of the comments I’ve gotten, you guys like it too. Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement, by the way. I’m always open to complements and to bribes too if need be, so send your old decks along! And I know that you all want me to make these longer, but realistically I have to shorten them. They started off with about 15 decks, but every month they get longer and longer. This month is the longest yet, clocking in at 62 items and over 5,600 words. These are starting to feel like college term papers! So I might settle on about 40 items in the future. That should allow them to come out in a more timely fashion too.

And now, a word from your sponsor. You might notice that there are no reissues featured this month. That isn’t an accident I won’t be covering reissues on here anymore, at least not the foreseeable future. I reserve the right to change my mind, but I just don’t see it happening. I think some of the companies (I’m looking at you NHS) are seeing the inflated prices that “limited” reissues are going for and so are making more and more of them at higher and higher prices. I won’t take any part in encouraging their greed by making it easy for them to do their research. It also encourages the greed of noob collectors who think they are going to immediately turn a “limited” reissue, so they snap them up at the inflated prices. So no more reissues in this column.

No music sponsor this month, no, something far cooler. This month is brought to you by the LG Network Blu-ray Disc Player. Not only is it a very reasonably priced Blu-ray player, it also can stream YouTube and (get this), Netflix movies. If you have Netflix (and if you don’t you should), you probably have seen that some movies on there can be streamed instantly. Well, this Blu-ray player allows them to be streamed directly to it so you can watch them on your TV instead of having to huddle around your computer. It is super easy to set up, and it’s just a brilliant idea. Other Blu-ray players can do it too, but this one was the cheapest, and also the best from what I saw.

60s, 70s, early 80s.

Hmm, this is annoying. The seller of this Alva Leopard complete doesn’t collect or ride skateboards; he just “has an eye for antiques”. He bought it at a garage sale, did a little research (here maybe, damnit!) and sold it on eBay for $699. For some reason I find that highly offensive. Skaters finding bargains and selling them on is one thing, but money hungry, yuppie garage sale freaks finding our bargains is another thing entirely! Hands off! It’s complete with Trackers and Wings conicals and a ton of period stickers. Nice.

Ok, is this a joke? Here we have a Banzai anodized aluminum (or aluminium as my countrymen say) skateboard. It is complete with Banzai trucks and Stoker wheels. It’s in as new condition, just as if you got in a time machine and went back to 1976 and bought this at Sears. It’s a great period piece, but I still would consider it a novelty item, much as the complete polyprops are. I guess this is very collectible though. It had 19 bids and sold for $865. Say what? Wow.

Here’s a Dogtown Wes Humpston Big Foot complete from 1978! It features the Dogtown fade stain that was later incorporated by Alva. This one is a particularly nice fade from red to natural. It has Tracker trucks and alternate color 65mm Dogtown Rock and Rollers. The deck has some wear, but hey, it’s over 30 years old. The thing still looks great, and the color-coordinated wheels are a very nice touch. $815 seems very fair, even more so when you consider that the Banzai above sold for $50 more!

Well, if March proved anything, it proved that those of you who think that the big money is only in 80s decks are very, very wrong. The relics from the 70s and popsicles from the 90s are making a big push, and deserve their place along with the 80s decks. Take this 1979 Sims Brad Bowman for example. It doesn’t have flashy graphics, and unless you skated in the 70s, it doesn’t have a famous pro name on it. Yes, I know, us old guys all know who Brad Bowman is, but most kids who started skating in the 80s or later will have no idea. So, for this mint, undrilled Sims deck to sell for $2,000 is startling, but shows that there is a big demand out there for classic 70s decks.

So you thought that was an anomaly? Well think again, because here’s another. It’s a Sims Superlight in near mint condition. I’m assuming it’s superlight because it only had 5 plys, and the middle ply looks thicker, like it’s some kind of composite material. Whatever the deal is, the deck is rare, and again sold for $2,000. And not to the same buyer either.

OK, let’s go back even earlier. Here we have a Hobie “Super Surfer” with clay wheels. I’m guessing it’s circa mid-late 60s? It’s made of laminated strips of oak and walnut, and has the original Hobie clay wheels and loose bearings. It’s 25” long and has no kicktail. This chunk of history sold for $76, which seems like a real bargain. Guys jump on the 60s now, because it can only go up!!

OK, back to the late 70s. Here we have a Caster Wally Inouye complete from 1979. It is a fiberglass deck with what looks like Independent stage II trucks (Cloud bushings) and G&S Rollerball wheels. The wheels are perfect, with no flattening out at all. Man, there is like no contact patch on those wheels. Those must have flown, but would have sold out super easy I’m guessing. The board is in good used shape. The graphics are all there, but are ruined by some of the generic stickers of the day. I don’t mind the Skateboarder Mag and Independent stickers, but the “Stoned” and “Smoke ‘em” stickers have to go. The Vans sticker could go bye-bye as well. Still, it’s a nice piece! $882.

Ok, I don’t have much to say about this because I must have featured the classic Z-Flex Jay Adams model more than any other deck I’ve ever covered. This one is red and undrilled, but that isn’t why it’s here. It’s here because it went for $1,338.

Aah. Yes, I like this one a lot. I could see Alan Gelfand learning his ollies on this before he got his own model. It’s a Powell (no Peralta yet) team deck from 1979, complete with Trackers and Powell Bones wheels. The trucks have not only the Tracker copers, but they also have the Tracker lapper system. It appears to be built into the riser pad, a technique that The Bird would take on. It has 2 tail domes and a nose guard, and the vintage stickers really add to this complete too. This is an awesome complete. $630.

And speaking of early Powell stuff, here’s a Powell Quicksilver complete with Gullwing Phoenix trucks and Sims Pure Juice wheels in lime green. Even the bearings are collectible: Sims 608 Racing bearings. This complete is pristine, never ridden. Every piece of it is a reminder of the glorious 70s. Sorry to swear Randy, but this thing is fucking awesome. It even has the price sticker still on it! $795 seems cheap for this.

Damnit, I lost my notes on this complete! It appears to be some kind of solid oak Team Pepsi deck, along with unknown (3 screw hole) trucks and what looks like Sims wheels. I’m bummed I lost my notes because I want to know what the story of this bad boy is. Dig the very slight carved out of one-piece kicktail! Just for you Randy, because I know how much you love Pepsi! $375.
(Arrrgh! Let’s go get cokes! – K.ed)

Weren’t the 70s great? Here’s a full on Evil Knievel jumpsuit-inspired hunk of 70s crap, I mean fiberglass. Yup, it’s the Super Flex, I’m guessing because it was super flexy. That kicktail actually looks pretty steep, but very short. That thing is awesome. And silly. And flexy. $34.

OK, you want 70s fiberglass? Well here’s your 70s fiberglass! Yes, it’s the Trax “aloha shirt” deck, along with Trax trucks and clay wheels on the front and Cougar Sports wheels on the back. Dude, just looks at that print job! Surfers, hula dancers, Tikis, this deck has it all! It’s seriously boss, and if that wasn’t cool enough, it has cork riser pads. If you can find a better example of 70s fiberglass, send it along! It sold for $89, all the way from the land down under.

Mid 1980s

First up in the 80s section is this Alva team deck from circa 1985. These were hand airbrushed by Mondo Beck, so no two were exactly alike. Admittedly it isn’t the coolest design in the world, but hey, it was done with love, and not by some damned heat transfer machine. Never mind that, who among you noticed the trucks? Yes, they are cheapo Action II trucks, but not that. Who noticed that indeed they are mounted backwards, front and back? Now that is incredible. I’m guessing that this didn’t perform too well? Didn’t steer as expected? Good god. $215.

Here we have a Santa Monica Airlines/Rocco Division “Think Crime” team deck from 1988. Yes, it was Rocco’s own division of SMA that would later form into World Industries. Supposedly the wood on these was bloody awful and they would crack as soon as you looked at it. Maybe that’s why they are rare. How rare? This went for $686, which is a lot for a generic team deck.

Ok, this is a Bad Boy Club Bill Danforth “Long Neck” from 1990. It’s nothing exceptional really. I include it because I don’t think I’ve ever included one before. Plus I think it might have been from Bill’s private collection, but the notes are missing from this one, so I’m going from memory. $200.

We might disagree on a lot here at Baywatch, but one thing we can all agree on is that Gator is a murdering scumbag. However, that isn’t stopping his decks from jumping in value recently. It might be the notoriety, it might be the millions of different colorways, but something is making these things explode. This complete has typical light wear, but still went for $535. It has Gullwings and Bones Threes, and appears to be a first run Gator, with both front and rear wheel wells. That dates it to 1985. With the trucks and plastic removed this would be a pretty sharp looking deck actually. Pull that crappy Powell Peralta sticker off the tail and you would be set.

I loved some of the funky color stains that G&S did in the late 80s, and this is no exception. It’s a Nicky Guerrero “Cyclops” from 1988. The graphic is pretty crappy, although some like it, but the wood stain is that star here. I love that yellow to green fade. Just love it. And for $102 you can’t go wrong. Nicky is from Denmark I believe.

And talking of Guerrero, here’s a Powell Peralta “flaming dagger” from the American Guerrero, Tommy. I hadn’t planned on featuring one of these again for a while, but the colorway on this one is exceptional. I just love that bright lime green dip. While it looks great in the pictures, I bet that it looks even better in person. Powell had a way of making the colors super vibrant. It’s the less desirable pointed nose version, but it still went for $557.

This is a SMA Jef Hartsel full sized model from 1989. It is mint and in purple stain. The Rasta colors would look better on a dark colored deck, but it’s still an impressive piece of lumber. This sold for $455.

I’ve still yet to read the full story on this deck. It’s a Christian Hosoi hammerhead from 1985, but it features a Nash-like baby dragon breathing fire. The graphic is so pathetic that it almost defies description, and it almost seems like one of those bootlegs from the Far East. All I can guess is that it was a mini deck and aimed at little kids? Anyway, this one is signed, and I couldn’t see Christian autographing a bootleg! It sold for $450.

Now this one really surprised me. It’s a Vision Marty Jimenez “bat” from 1988. The graphic is pretty cool, especially if you like batman, but Vision decks don’t normally go super high, it’s a mini, and he’s a lesser known pro, and normally you would have a $200 deck. Now before you get angry, I’m not saying anything bad about Marty’s ability. All I’m saying is that he isn’t as well known as your Hawks and Hosois. Anyway, this sold for $510. It is a really nice colorway though. The colors scream off of the grey stain.

This is a funny one. It’s a Schmitt Stix John Lucero “X1” from 1985. It’s a classic graphic in one way, but it looks totally cheesy and “nash-esque” in another. Totally craptacular when you look at it, especially in this baby blue dip. Despite being set up, the deck looks flawless, and looking at the trucks and wheels you can see why: they have clearly never been used. At one point it had tail and nose bone, but those are long gone, leaving behind only the sex bolts. It sold for $400, which I can’t decide is either a great price or a total rip-off.

OK so this is a Jeff Grosso “bad trip” from 1990. It was on Lucero skateboard, a short-lived company that would morph into Black Label. They were even using the elephant logo back then. This one is a prototype, as it has the sun behind the ragdoll. The official version dropped the sun and put the elephant graphic between the wings instead. It’s never been mounted, never been gripped. It’s a very nice piece of history at a very big price: $1,500

And here’s the World Industries Jesse Martinez “baby brawlers” from 1990. It’s a very odd graphic to begin with, but what’s even odder is that it doesn’t say his name, or the company name on the bottom of the deck. The top graphic has it, but the bottom doesn’t. I supposed it’s a commentary on how we teach racism to our kids? Come on, I’m reaching here. You come up with a better interpretation! $410.

Like the Tommy Guerrero above I’m getting pretty tired of showing the Powell Peralta Lance Mountain “Future Primitive, but like the Guerrero above, I couldn’t resist it in this lime green colorway. The light blue is an interesting choice for the lettering color, but all in all it is a great looking deck. $769.

Outside of the yellow v1 Natas model, this might be the rarest of all of the Natas decks. It’s the very hard to find SMA Natas Kaupas “face” model from 1986. There was only one short run of this deck, as it was supposedly released without any graphical input from Natas. The seller actually got very lucky with this one, as the tail is well shredded, and the nose is bonked, but the graphic is all there and almost perfect! The rails really did their job here. Looking at it you can see why few were made and even fewer purchased: in 1986 if you walked into a skateshop is this really the first deck you would buy? My guess is that a lot of these were sold on closeout: that’s how I got the SMA Fast Eddie model, which was actually a similar shape to this one. Anyway, this deck is super rare, so for one to come up is cause for celebration. $510.

I don’t normally care for the Powell Peralta Per Welinder “Nordic Skull”, but this one is sweet. It’s from 1987, and there’s not much not to like here. It’s his street model: he also released the same graphic on a freestyle deck. I love the shape of this deck, money bumps and flat nose and all. It’s a real slice of the time. Plus the pink dip screams, and the runes look great in black. The blue and white helmeted warrior really finishes this one off in style. Damn this thing is sweet. $724.

And from very intricate and sweet we go to very plain and dull. It’s a Sims Steve Rocco freestyle deck from 1984. I think I remember reading that the artist was influenced by a couple of album covers he had lying around for the graphic. He used lettering from a Blondie sleeve and the checkerboard idea from the Specials first album. At least that’s how I remember it. It must have been in Disposable, but I’m feeling too lazy to go check right now. The color of this deck is odd, because the wood is so dark. If you squint it looks like a cigar with a brightly colored band around it. It’s in perfect condition and somebody must have REALLY wanted it, because it sold for $750.

And talking of Rocco, here’s a much later deck of his. It’s a SMA Rocco Division Rocco II deck from 1989. This thing is really nice. The pink wood stain is muted, and the green and blue pastels are very soothing. It looks to be in perfect condition too. It’s childish and sophisticated all at the same time. Just check the blow up of this one, and I’m betting that it’s far better in person. $1,050.

OK, somebody explain this crap to me because I just don’t get it. I normally wouldn’t feature a SC Roskopp face because I think it’s butt ugly and crappy, but the price of this 1987 model meant I just had to show it. It’s been set up and ridden (although not much admittedly), but it does have a lot of sun fade: just look at the place where the risers where. That shows how vibrant it used to be. It’s still bright, but nothing like it was. There doesn’t appear to be any scrapes or dings, but the fade is enough to drive me crazy. Oh yeah, that and the shit graphic. It’s the limited Blacktop series, which might account for the price I guess. This used deck went for $1,002. Yup, over a thousand dollars.

OK, Santa Cruz could do over the top like the deck above, or they could do totally plain and boring like this one. It’s the standard issue Santa Cruz team rider “10 series” deck from 1983. It’s the R/S C model, which stood for Ramp/Street Concave, so they were sold to be versatile, ride everything decks. The 10 means 10” wide I assume. Yes it’s plain, but it has a lot of charm and history, and there are very few NOS ones like this out there. My first real deck was a SC “street skate” from 1984 that was very similar to this except in yellow with tire tracks. Anyway, it sold for $365.

At least 2 of these Sims Kevin Staab “pirate” decks from 1988 went off in March. I’m showing what I think is the best example. It’s NOS and full size in a rare white dip. This one actually looks better than most. The only one better I think is the yellow dip. Still, I can’t really take this deck seriously because it looks like a Nash or Galaxy graphic to me. It’s too big and bold and in your face. Or something like that. Plus, for a full color deck it’s very monochrome. There’s way too much green. They could have really gone to town Brand X style on this, but they didn’t. $660.

Normally I think that sellers should remove all of the plastic on a board before selling it, but here is the exception to that rule. It’s a Powell Peralta Steve Steadham “spade” from 1985. The colorway on the deck is fantastic; the red and blue lines really give it a sense of fluidity and movement. They also frame the gold spade and skull perfectly. It comes complete with Indys and Sims Street wheels and a ton of plastic. We have bright white tail dome, rails, nose guard and even copers! The copers appear to be those z-copers that weren’t round like the Indy copers were, but were actually flat and angled. All of the white actually seems to frame the deck somehow, and it really gives you a feeling of history. I like this complete a lot. $732.

OK, it feels like the tenth month in a row that I’ve featured a 1985 Dogtown Stonefish, but they just keep on getting better and better! I really like the red dip on this one, and it might be the first I’ve seen in that colorway. I dig the blue lettering. Nice, but it does seem like the price is going down. This one sold for $346, while the blue one last month sold for $660. That one was in slightly better condition than this one, but still. A really beaten up black one sold in January for $203, so I guess the red one just isn’t getting any love apart from by me.

Wow, look at the previous side by side with this one… Dogtown made them both in 1985, and they appear to be exactly the same shape. This one of course is the Suicidal Skates (Dogtown) “Possessed to Skate” model. It’s the same deck that “sold” for $3000 in January, but of course it didn’t really sell for that. There was a rift in the collector community and one collector hit the BIN because they were disgusted by the high price, never intending to pay. So here it is again 2 months later, and this time it sold for $688. It’s a shame it didn’t sell for $22 less. You do the math. With the nose bonks and the rail holes etc that seems like a fair price.

And here’s a Madrid “X Team Rider” from 1985. Now this one really surprised me, it went far higher than I thought it would. It was Lucero’s graphic originally, but when he left to go to Schmitt, Madrid decided to keep the (classic) graphic and keep putting it out, just sans Lucero’s team, much like Sims did with the rising sun Kamikaze/Hosoi deck. So yes, it’s a classic graphic, but it isn’t the original and it doesn’t bear a pro’s name, but I guess that doesn’t matter because it sold for a large $750. It does look nice on the blue dip though.

90s-today

First up is this Birdhouse “Ape” series from 2002. Remember that remake of the Planet of the Apes movie they did a few years back? Man that sucked balls. Anyway, I guess this series was based on that. This is the full series, and the Lasek is signed by Bucky. If you were wondering who all was in the set we have $1,300. Vinny Vegas, Bucky Lasek, Jeremy Klein, Brian Sumner, Willy Santos and Tony Hawk. The final deck features all of them. Series decks are a cool concept, but the artwork on this one is uninspired and the colors are weak. It could have been far better than it is. Still, the set fetched $1,300.

Here we have a Powell Peralta Steve Caballero from 1991. The Steve Caballero dragon has been shown numerous times throughout the years. In the early 90s they started putting it in different costumes and poses that show stuff that Steve was into. It’s a neat concept actually. This is my favorite: it’s the leather jacketed, bass playing dragon, reminding us of Steve’s time in The Faction. It is a real slice of the times: the shape is bordering on popsicle, but not fully there yet, and the wheels are starting to get to that ridiculously small size. Even though this is a complete, and deck appears to be almost perfect. No noticeable dings or scratches. $325.

And speaking of members of the Bones Brigade, here’s a Real Tommy Guerrero slick from 1992. It is part of the costume series where the riders dressed up. Tommy is supposed to be fat Elvis I guess. I can never understand why whenever people want to dress as Elvis they always go to fat, 70s jumpsuit Elvis instead of cool, 50s hillbilly cat Elvis. That makes no sense to me. On its own it looks kind of goofy, but with the rest of the series it probably looks all right. $365.

So, from some of the most recognizable graphics and shapes of all time we went to this. It’s a Tuff Skates Christian Hosoi deck from 1991. This is the “Cross” model and is completely forgettable in every way. What was I talking about again? It’s complete with Tracker Aggro Street Tracks (?) and Santa Cruz Slimeball Spewage wheels. Plus I can’t forget the hideous baby blue rails and tail guard. For some reason I just can’t take this thing seriously. $300.

Now this I like. It’s a Girl Skateboards Rick Howard deck from 2001. It’s part of the “modern” series which is very difficult to find in any shape, let alone mint like this one. I love the simplicity and the clean lines of this deck. It’s hard to put into words. I just like it. Hat’s enough. $308.

Here’s a World Industries Jeremy Klein “Mario” from 1991. This is from the second run of the deck. The first had a gap at the top, but on the second they moved the graphic up so that it bleeds off the edge. It is NOS, never set up or gripped, and the green stain is really, really nice. $650 was the winning bid.

And here’s another World Industries Jeremy Klein. This one is from 1992 and is the “candy bar” graphic. Yes, that is a giant sized chocolate bard chasing away the “nasty” vegetables that I assume Jeremy had been told to eat. It’s a pretty funny graphic, and again has never been set up or gripped. I’ve only ever seen this deck in the blue dip as shown here. Funnily enough, it went for the same $650 as the Klein above, but to a different buyer. Strange that.

Here’s another series, and this one was obviously some kind of dig at Birdhouse, but I don’t know what the back story is, so maybe somebody can fill me in? This series was put out by ATM Click in 1996, and was called Nerdhouse “Strictly for Cash”. So they were pissed at Birdhouse for something and thought they were money-grubbing sellouts. At least that’s what I get from this. The series of 3 sold for $1,800, but it must be said that the buyer had zero feedback, so who knows if it was on the level. Maybe it was Tony Hawk bidding it up because he’s still pissed about it.

And here’s the Blind Henry Sanchez “Claudia Schiffer” from 1992. The artist Sean Cliver designed this graphic while working for Powell, but after he was let go he took the idea with him to World Industries, and it was made into a series of 5 decks, all with the same graphic but a different name on each. The Jason Lee is probably the most well known, and this might be the least known, and the rarest too. NOS and $837.

Assorted Crap!

First up are these Lazer trucks from 1979ish. Brand new and ready for ripping. Check out the height, the raised grinding surface and the shaped baseplates. I’m thinking those are ripe for snapping actually. A real snapshot of truck technology of the time. $263.

How cool is this thing? It’s a promotional poster for the “Continental Surf Skater” and is clearly from the mid 60s. Tommy Ryan looks like he’s about 10 years old, and apparently it was “as advertised on TV”. This thing is rulin’ and would be even better if you had the board it’s talking about in your display too. $30.

And here’s another great piece of old memorabilia. It’s The Skateboarder lunch box from the mid 70s. The kid in the blue pants looks like he’s riding the yellow Bahne that’s in the Bargains section! It even comes with the thermos. $31.

You want a frightening before and after all captured in a single image? Well here you go. It’s a custom Jay Adams model, modeled and autographed by Jay. It’s a new board, probably made by SMA for Jay. I think the graphic was an advert for an early 80s SMA Jay model. There is no other info available for it. $339.

OK, here’s the very first Valterra ever featured in BayWatch! It’s the Valterra “Skate Zombie” from 1987. Used, but let’s face it, the crap trucks and wheels that came with it probably didn’t allow it to be used much! The trucks didn’t turn and the wheels didn’t spin so what damage could you do? Ram it into a wall maybe? That would explain the nose damage. Anyway, there it is in all of its glory. The shape is amazing. It’s like they took the nose off a hammerhead and the money bumps off a Dogtown web. Classic. $23.

Bargains!

  After declaring last month “this section is here to stay!” I might have to change that in the future. It is simply getting really hard to find decent bargains out there at the moment. The only stuff I could find in Feb was 70s stuff or completes. We’ll have to see how March plays out.

Yes, this Santa Cruz Jeff Grosso “Acid Tongue” is well used, the graphics is still almost all there, and it still looks like it would display nicely. The colorway is excellent: the teal background really allows the orange, yellows, and pink to really scream. At $38 you can’t complain at all.

Not all bargains need to be used decks: here’s a Alva Dave Duncan “tiger” from 1988. NOS and mint, and stunning in pink. It was an excellent bargain at $77.

And here’s another NOS score. It’s a Bad Boys Club Reese Simpson “peanut butter cup” from 1990. It’s not the best graphic in the world but it is a late 80s deck in NOS condition. $76? You’re having a laugh.

Here’s a 70s Bahne fiberglass deck complete with Bahne trucks and Road Rider 4 wheels. Shit, the wheels alone are worth more than the price that this complete went for! It’s a really nice sample of mid 70s skate culture for an unreal price: $78.

Remember Jimmy’Z? They made high priced skate/surf clothing in the mid and late 80s. Their shorts fastened with a velcro band around the top and were highly impractical. Think a high-end Vision Street Wear. Anyway, who knew that they made a line of decks, but I guess they did, because here’s one. It features their famous “woody” logo, and although it’s used, the graphic is in perfect condition. This might be a nice addition to your Town and Country or Maui and Sons collection. $51.

A few months ago this Santa Cruz Claus Grabke “All Around” model was going in the $200 range. It was one of those decks that was at all of the online stores for $70, and then dried up everywhere, causing panic. I guess things have come back to earth, because this NOS one sold for $78.

And speaking of NOS, here’s a NOS Alva Mario Rubalcaba “voodoo doll” from 1990. It’s a rare deck, but this shows that rare doesn’t always equal big $$, as it sold for $81.

And his further illustrates that point. It’s a Planet Earth Ken Park “Solar System” from 1991. The graphic is tastefully done, and the graphics really pop nicely off the natural finish. It’s a nice looking deck, so for it sell for a paltry $40 is pretty amazing.

And if you want really cheap, then this used Alva Eddie Reategui went for $20. Yes it’s not a rare deck, and like Lindsay Lohan it has been screwed and mounted numerous times, but the graphic is all there and it would be a fine deck for a starter collector. $20. Are you for real?

Steve Caballero has had a ton of pro models in his time, maybe more than any other pro skater? Some of his graphics have been timeless classics, and some have been totally crap. This “BSA gas tank” from 1991 falls more on the crappy end of things, but it isn’t terrible, and I like it in this green dip. Yes it’s plain, but it gets the point across, and for $36 it was a real bargain.

I have always loved this graphic. I love the bulging eye face, and I like the snakes. Blockhead always had simple, interesting graphics without being clichéd or copycat, and I always appreciated that. This is the Sam Cunningham “evil eye” model from 1988. It is used but not abused: take the pink plastic off and you’d have a really nice wall hanger here. For $77 you couldn’t go wrong.

See ya next month.

-Neil