eBay Watch: March 2012

So welcome to eBayWatch, March 2012 edition. First of all I have to take some time to thank each and every one of you for writing in with your condolences at the passing of my father. Whether it was here, on Facebook, or via email, every message has helped me get through this, so thanks to all of you.

As for eBay, well things have just gone fucking nutzo over the last few months. There are no bargains any more. Everything is blown up. Ordinary decks are going for mad money, and the premium decks are going super big. It doesn’t help that everybody who finds an old deck throws it up with a BIN of $800, no matter if it’s a piece of crap or not. So that’s not helping things! Sellers with good decks look at that and put their stuff up for even more! The whole market is getting out of whack. Reissues going for over $500? Common decks going for $300? Count me out of this madness!

This month I’m gonna review a book and a CD. The book is “Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone”. Yes he died years ago, but he left very extensive diaries, and he must have started this book before he passed but never finished it, so it was up to his wife and friend to finish it. It’s a very short book, so if you’re not much of a reader don’t let that scare you off. Johnny kept voluminous notes and diaries from the very earliest days of the band, and this reads much as a diary would. Short sentences, very much to the point. Not much emotion and no real embellishments. The early days of the band get the most ink, with the later days very much glossed over, but there is still some fascinating, amazingly honest stuff in here, including his own battle with cancer at the end of his life. Johnny was always the businessman of the band; the sensible, down to earth working class anchor around which Joey and Dee Dee could rotate. Without him the band would probably have imploded after a few years. Some of the things I found really fascinating were that Johnny always had a figure in his head for when he would retire: $1,000,000 and he made it and more. So no, the Ramones never made huge amounts of money, but they were always comfortable. Also, things like the band’s choreography on stage, and how aware Johnny was that the band was aging, so the later albums have no clear photos that show their faces. It’s a great read, so pick it up.

The CD is the first self-titled release by Dan Vapid and the Cheats. If you don’t know Danny Vapid, he was the original bass player for Screeching Weasel, and has been through most of their incarnations. Plus he has been the leading light in bands like The Riverdales, The Methadones and Sludgeworth. So if you have heard any of those bands you will know what to expect with his new band. Fifteen bursts of Ramones inspired goodness. The songs are short and to the point, most clocking in at two minutes or less. Some of the songs are basic rock and roll, almost fifties inspired, but there’s nothing wrong with that! Personal favorites are “Devo on Speed” and “Ooh la la”, but all the songs on here are great. It’s a great album from a fun band.

60s, 70s, early 80s.

First up this month is this Flite Airborne Skates Mark Lake signature model from 1979. It has the original wooden tail dome still attached, and has the clear pizza grip on top showing the red top stain. The Mark Lake sig is right up on the nose. It’s in decent used condition: everything that matters is still visible. It sold for $600.

Next we have this Banzai aluminum complete from 1974. It’s all complete and original, and comes straight from the original owner. It was ridden a few times and then put away, probably because he spiked his ankle with the nose and couldn’t walk for months! The wheels and are the original Banzai Strokers, and the trucks are Banzai too. It sold for $399.

Have I featured any deck more than this one throughout the years? It’s the Dogtown Wes Humpston “Big Foot” and we see it a lot. This one is in very nice condition, and I really like the red fade at the edge of the deck. The graphic is all there, and the Town & Country and Protec stickers give it a feeling of ancient history. It sold for $1,000.

And here we have a very nice looking Hobie fiberglass complete from the mid 70s. It is truly mint and looks like it came from the toy store this morning! It has black Lightning trucks and what look like original OJs, but they are actually rip-offs in a different smaller size. The seller is also throwing in some clear red 70s era wheels too! It sold for $379.

And here we have another Hobie complete, but this is the much more collectible fiberglass waffle model from the 1960s. It comes complete with the original trucks and Hobie Super Surfer clay wheels. The sticker is nothing to do with the board and might be one of the earliest skateboard stickers in existence. It says “Member NSC, National Skateboard Championships 1965” on it. It’s in great condition and it sold for $800. Guaranteed to give your collection instant really old school credibility!!!

Here we have a Caster Tom Inouye fiberglass complete from 1980. It comes complete with Trackers, Tracker risers and Alva wheels. It has a lot of scratches and dirt, but it is actually in really good condition. The top is super clean, and there are no real dings. I bet it would clean up beautifully! It sold for $570.

Here we have a G&S Doug Saladino “Pine Design” from 1978. It comes complete with Tracker Ex-Tracks and PP Bones wheels. It ahs obviously been ridden, but is pretty clean for its age. The plastics did their job, really protecting the board here. I really like the different colors of the plys in the wheel wells. See that? Strip off the mismatched plastics and you would be left with a really nice looking skateboard. It sold for $455 on 8 bids.

And here is another classic complete. This is a G&S ProLine sidecut team deck with ACS 800 trucks (see the printing on the grinding surface? So silly!) and G&S Yoyo rollerball wheels. Hell, the trucks and wheels alone are worth the price of this auction! Much as the decks above it’s a very solid used deck with virtually no dings or major defects. It’s a great looking complete, and indeed they must have sold this as a complete because he features a G&S ad in Skateboarder with this exact same setup! It sold for $510 on 13 bids.

Here we have yet another complete, but this one is a very early Santa Cruz 5-ply deck with Bennett Pro trucks and Sims Pure Juice wheels. This one is pretty well used and abused, but is still a nice example of an original Santa Cruz deck. If you could get the Bennett and Bones stickers off, this would actually look pretty decent! It sold for $154.

And finally from the 70s this month we have this Variflex “Ten” complete from 1979. I’ve never seen the deck before, and it truly is hideous, from the unimaginative shape to the horrific graphic to the 70s top graphic and pizza grip. It really is a mix and match of the worst of the eras, and shows how Variflex was truly behind the curve when it came to skating at the turn of the decade. Other companies were experimenting with different materials, different shapes, different manufacturing techniques and routing etc. to make the deck lighter. But not Variflex! This is made even more interesting by the trucks which apparently are Indy Stage I hangers on Tracker baseplates. That sounds like a recipe for disaster to me! It sold for $300.

Mid 1980s

So first up in the 80s section this month we have this Vision Agent Orange from 1984. It’s in good used condition, and is in an unusual yellow colorway. I like the vintage stickers here too: The Thrasher, Shred Vision and Agent Orange stickers are all classics, and I had them all on different decks. It sold for $300.

Here’s a beauty! It’s a Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “Dragon on Bearing” from 1982, his first ever graphic. It’s a classic flat pig, and is in very good used condition. The gold graphic is super bright on the red dip. It sold for $599.

And he we have another pig, but this is the Zorlac Big Boys deck from 1984. It’s in NOS condition, which is very unusual for an early Zorlac, and although the yellow dip looks weak here, it might look better in person. It’s good to see that this deck has held its value, because it sold for $1,650.

Now this one was a real surprise. It’s a NOS Schmitt Stix Bryce Kanights “Gargoyle II” from 1988. The grey stain with green and blue graphics is great, but it is a reasonably common deck that was in the $300 range a year ago. At some point this deck must have become very desirable because this one sold for $860.

Now this one is a real beauty! It’s a G&S Neil Blender ‘Snake and Lattice” from 1984. It comes complete with Trackers and Powell wheels. The red stain is super bright, and the primary colored graphic really pops. It’s in very good used condition. It sold for a measly $228, which seems ridiculously low for a deck of this quality and I’m sorry that I missed it! I like the “Fly Powell Peralta” sticker on the tail too!

And here’s another G&S Neil Blender This is the “Rocking Horse Dog” from 1987. It’s in very good used condition; in fact the bottom is virtually flawless apart from the ugly sticker! The blue and yellow colorway is plain but interesting, and overall this is a real winner. It sold for $680 on 8 bids.

And staying with the Neil Blender theme, we have this G&S Steve Claar “bunny” from 1988. Why Blender? He did the graphics of course! This one is wonderful! I adore the graphic, and the red stain is bright and shiny. It’s just an off the wall, awesome looking deck, and it sold for $335 on 12 bids.

So here we have a really nice Alva Bill Danforth “Nomad” mini from 1986! This one has the killer black to teal fade and is signed by Billon the tail in silver sharpie. It’s in good used condition and it sold for $275.

Now here’s one you don’t see everyday. It’s a Tracker Adrian Demain “Face 1” deck from 1988. It’s mint in shrink, and features the killer manga style graphic. It was actually ahead of its time, and although some may not like it, I really dig it. He is a super nice guy too, very humble. This sold for $250.

Here we have a truly exceptional Schmitt Stix Steve Douglas “Brewed in Harrow” deck from 1988. This is probably the greatest colorway I’ve ever seen for this deck. The baby blue dip is beautiful, and the yellow label with red works really well. It’s NOS; never gripped or mounted, a truly excellent deck. It sold for $216, which seems like a real bargain, especially when judged on the next one.

And here we have another Schmitt Stix Steve Douglas, this being the “Keyhole” model from 1989. It is in NOS condition, and is in a great looking deep red stain, with silver keyhole and yellow and pale blue accents. It is an excellent looking deck, but this normally sells in the $300 range. So imagine my shock when this one shot up to $788 on 19 bids. Yes, almost $800!

Here is a Zorlac John Gibson “Cowskull” mini from 1985. This is a very rare deck in any condition, so to fins one in NOS condition is a true find. The colorway is kind of plain, but most Zorlacs of the time were. I had a full sized model and it was blue dip with yellow demons. This one sold for $1,001, which actually is incredibly cheap when you consider that the Schmitt Stix deck above sold for almost $800.

Here we have a Tracker GSD “Pterodactyls” from 1988. It’s in NOS condition, and is in a black dip colorway that I have never seen before. As with all auctions from Larry Balma it comes with a host of extras, which this time includes vintage Tracker stickers, Tracker antenna balls and a Thrasher magazine from May 1983! The extras alone are probably worth $100! It sold for $374.

Here we have a Santa Cruz Jeff Grosso “Toybox” from 1988. It’s in good used condition. It’s the later model with the “Original Formula” top logo not the regular SC top logo. The colors in the graphic are still nice and bright, and work very well off of the dark stain finish. It went for $380, which seems very cheap for a deck of this quality.

And here we have a Powell Peralta Nicky Guerrero “Mask” from 1989. It is one of those PP decks that used to be unwanted and super common, but people have discovered that some of those 1989/1990 PP decks actually have great graphics, and they are rapidly becoming very scarce. This one is mint and in a superb orange stain, and the red, white and black graphics are really bold. It’s a beautiful looking deck, and would look great on any wall. It sold for $300.

Here’s another from Larry Balma. It’s a Tracker Lester Kasai ‘Oak leaf” mini from 1987. It’s on a strange mottled purple stain, which looks like a factory second to me, but is interesting nonetheless. This one comes with 12 Lester stickers, Tracker antenna toppers and a Transworld Photo Annual from 1986! It is NOS and it sold for $153.

So here’s a Schmitt Stix John Lucero “X1” from 1986. Yes it’s got a mangled tail and has a lot of wear to it, but it still looks pretty damned good, right? There is a solid quality about this deck for some reason, and the wear works on this graphic because its supposed to look like an old door anyway! I also dig the Lucero stickers on the tail. It sold for $300.

Here is one you don’t see every day. It’s a G&S Chris Miller “Footprint” from 1985. It’s in really good used condition, so good it looks almost NOS. The big yellow tail block is G&S too, and is a design that I’ve never seen before. The griptape is clean and the colorway is unusual. Overall it’s a very solid collectible deck. Not the greatest graphic, but it is rare. It sold for $344.

The Powell Peralta Lance Mountain “Future Primitive”. Judging by the way this one has skyrocketed in price, this has to be one of the most collectible decks out there. Apparently everybody wants one! This mint, red 7-ply full size one sold for $2,000 on 12 bids. It is gorgeous and still in shrink!

Here is a Sims Eric Nash “Bandito” from 1987. It is the rare early model where if you squint at the smoke you can imagine that it says “Fuck You” instead of Eric Nash. For that reason the graphic was reworked within weeks. This one is NOS and in a really nice burgundy stain. It’s a very rare deck, especially in this condition. It sold for $721 on 11 bids.

Here we have two of the same deck. It’s the SMA/SC Natas Kaupas “Panther Bulldog” model. Both are NOS and ungripped etc. They have storage scratches etc. but are amazing looking. The top one is in a purple dip and is my favorite of the two. It has the SC logo in both truck areas, where the bottom one only has it in the back holes. It sold for $1,126. The white dipped version sold for $1,203. I’m betting that it looks far better in person than the photo shows: the graphic looks washed out in the pictures. So there you go. That is the price of an NOS Natas bulldog panther. Between $1100 and $1200.

Here we have a Santa Cruz Steve Olson “Checkerboard” from 1982. It comes complete with Indy stage IIIs and blue Kryptonics C-65. It has been drilled for rails and tail, and he deck does have a lot of wear particularly on the nose. However, the top has been regripped with a SC dot sticker, so it looks really good. It’s a totally iconic graphic, and it doesn’t come up often at all, so the fact that it reached $500 didn’t surprise me at all. It might not be as rare as the previous two Olson checkerboard graphics (racing stripe and Circle logo w/ checkerboard), but it’s still a doozy.

Here is a very rare Alva deck, and one that seems totally out of line with everything else coming from Alva at the time. It’s an Eddie Reategui ‘Dolphin” from 1985, and it comes complete with Gullwings and PP Bones Threes. It is Eddie’s first pro model. The graphic is plain: just his name really, with some white and green lightning bolts. Yes it looks totally thrown together in about 5 minutes, which is odd because most Alvas of the time had a really strong graphic design sense. This is in good used condition with most of the wear being on the nose and tail, which is typical. This sold for $162 on 13 bids.

Here’s a Powell Peralta ‘Skull and Sword” team deck from 1984. After Ray Rodriguez left Powell they just took his name off of the graphic and continued to sell it as a team deck. And why not? It is on of the most influential and iconic skateboard graphics of all time! This one is interesting as it is printed with the top art on the bottom and the bottom art on top of the deck. Yes, that is the top side of the deck! A misprint like that would kill the value you would think, but not here. The deck is NOS and super clean. Apart from the screen-printing fuck up that is! It sold for $1,225 on 15 bids.

Here we have a Madrid Mike Smith “Monkey” from 1986. It comes complete with Madrid Underground trucks and Madrid Fly wheels. The owner was very careful with the color scheme on this one. He matched the white trucks and lapper with the white dip of the deck, and the lime green rails and tail guard with the lime green wheels. It is a very nice looking complete, and I’ve always had a soft spot for Mike Smith’s graphics. He never seemed to take himself too seriously. It sold for $250.

Here we have a Town & Country “Leopard Logo” deck from 1987. It was from the second wave of T&C decks along with the Ken Park and Johnee Kopp, after their surf-influenced graphics had pretty much ended. T&C was being distributed by Vision at this point, so that might explain the change in graphic direction. It comes complete with Trackers, Kryptonics wheels and Ugly Stix rails. It sold for $560 on 2 bids.

Here’s a Powell Peralta “Vato Rat” from 1983. It’s in the awesome silver dip with red and black graphics: a totally rad colorway for this deck, and arguably the best one. It’s an absolute beauty: NOS with some storage scratches but would look fantastic on any wall. It could be the centerpiece of most collections. It sold for $1,553.

Here’s a deck I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. It’s an Uncle Wiggley “Vicky’s Street” team deck from 1987. The controversial graphic features a 1950s hood with a knife to a girl’s throat, and the words “They said it could never happen on… Vicky’s Street”. I assume it was their attempt at humor while trying to come up with graphics for a street deck. It pretty much sucks, but had the epoxy/Kevlar construction so common in Uncle Wiggley decks. It ended up going for $204 on 7 bids.

Here we have the totally classic Zorlac “Double Cut” team deck from 1984. It is probably the most iconic Zorlac graphic, and is on the totally excellent double cut shape. The yellow dip is vibrant and bright and the overall graphic style is simple but effective. The simple black and white graphic and red type work really well here. This deck is in very good used condition, and although I hate stickers on decks most of the time, here they accentuate the deck and tell a story. Well, maybe not the Misfits sticker, but one can assume that the original owner rode Indys, had Pro Designed pads and maybe rode Alva wheels. It sold for $449.

And finally from the 80s this month we have these two NOS versions of the Zorlac hammerhead shape and graphic. First up is the “Devil Fish” from 1986. It is NOS and on a bright yellow dip with lurid white and pink devil head and flames. The graphic actually sucks really badly in my opinion, but I know some really love it. It sold for $961. Love it or hate it some skateshop actually wouldn’t stock it because of the satanic image, so Zorlac changed it to the much tamer “Fish Head” the following year. They also modified the shape a little too, making it less hammerhead like and straighter. It sucks all the way around really, because I remember this deck being massive and heavy with no redeeming features at all. The Fish Head sold for $570.

90s-present day

Here we have an NOS Almost “Round Three” team deck from 2004. It was brought out to publicize the release of the video of the same name. It has been signed by Daewon Song and Rodney Mullen, the two stars of the video. I’m not one for new school flippery trickery, but even I can admit to being impressed with that video. It sold for $500.

Here we have an H-Street Sal Barbier “In Da Hood” slick from 1992. It is NOS and very rare, but you now what I’m going to say: this isn’t a graphic, it’s a photograph! Somebody remind me, is that pose from an album cover or movie poster or something? This one sold for $325.

Here’s an SMA Tim Brauch “Aliens will fuck you up” deck from 1994. The artwork is by Thomas Campbell whom I’ve never heard of, but I’m assured is a bigwig in modern art circles. The graphic is playful and fun, and the colorway is light and fun too. The deck is NOS and signed by the artist on the top side. It sold for $168.

Here’s a Powell Peralta Steve Caballero “Rockin’ Dragon” from 1991. Steve liked to feature his classic dragon logo doing some of his favorite pastimes on his deck graphics, and this time it is playing the bass like Steve. The deck is NOS and even though the colorway doesn’t rule, it’s still a fun graphic. I like the fact that the cord come out of his bass on the bottom and continues on top of the deck, connecting to the amp graphic that is on the top side. It sold for $910 on 27 bids.

Here we have a Santa Cruz Jeff Kendall “Lounger” deck from 1992. It’s a slick and I must admit to never having seen it before. It is NOS and must be pretty effing rare. It sold for $455.

Here we have a Powell Peralta Mike McGill “Stinger” from 1991. It is the mini model and is seven ply in case you were wondering, but I think boneite was long dead by then anyway. Actually this might have been an early version of the deck from 1990, because later ones had 8 holes in the front, not the standard 4 holes. This one is NOS and looks good in the natural wood. It ended up going for $400 on 18 bids.

Finally here’s a Plan B Danny Way “Pipe Bomb” from 1992. It is NOS but has some storage scratches. I don’t know of any other pro skater who has had so many pro decks with shit graphics! I can’t think of a single good Danny Way graphic, and he must have had close to 100 different graphics! It sold for $399 and that must have made the seller very upset, because he said that he bought it for over $1100 6 years ago. I guess some decks haven’t gone up in value! Or nobody cares about Danny Way’s shit graphics!

Assorted Crap

So first up in the miscellaneous section this month we have this NOS set of Bennett Pro trucks, straight from 1975. They have the rare “waffle” baseplates with no chips or cracks! They are completely original, even down to the washers and bushings! They sold for $147.

So how does a super grimy, stretched out, pink old t-shirt grab you? Yes it has the rad Bones skating skeleton on it, but still, this thing looks like it would be better served in the rag bin than on your back, but rest assured, this is eBay and anything skate related form the mid 80s will sell. As was the case with this garment: it sold for $180. I hope the buyer gave it a good disinfecting.

So a few years ago Madrid made a limited number of reissues of Marty’s skateboard from Back To The Future. Let’s get this straight: Valterra sucked then and it sucks now. So this is a reissue of a piece of crap, much like Nash reissuing the Executioner or something. But that didn’t stop 11 dopes from bidding on it and getting it up to $677. Jesus Christ people!

So here’s a decent looking set of used Indy Stage Is. They have a little grindage but nothing terrible. The bushings look shot; in fact one bottom bushing is missing. The nuts are gone too. But still, those can be replaced, and overall they are in pretty good shape. They sold for $238

Here we have a set of Kryptonics CX-66 wheels. They are mint and in green which was the hardest durometer for the old Kryps. These have been stamped as “cosmetic defect” but I can see nothing wrong with them. They are big, bright and beautiful. They sold for $430.

So this dude decided to sell of his sticker collection. He had the collection inside a loose leaf binder, which has helped to save the condition, making them look minty fresh. He has 179 stickers from the 70s through the 90s, a couple of patches, and some posters and comics. He has an interesting mix of rare stickers and more common ones, but the rare ones are really exceptional. Of particular note are the 70s Dogtown and 80s Zorlac and Santa Cruz: there’s some real beauties there! They collection sold for $1,200 on 21 bids which I’m sure was a real surprise to the seller. But I’m sure a lot of you at home right now are looking sideways at your sticker collections and seeing $ signs, am I right?

So for the last few months I have featured an 80s Thrasher t-shirt that went for ridiculous cash, and this month is no exception! This one is the Thrasher “Thrust” t-shirt. It’s a yellow, Hanes Beefy-T in a size medium. AT least the seller washed this one, and it looks to be in decent condition. It sold for $199.

And finally this month we have this custom pair of old school Vans Sk8-Hi shoes from 1980 no less! They were custom ordered with that specific pattern, sole and laces, so there might not be another pair like them in the world! They are blue checkerboard on the outside of the show, red on the inside. They are in very good used condition and they are a size 13. They sold for $248, but tell me, what do you think the buyer did with these? Is he going to wear his $248 pair of shoes down to the skatepark? Or are they gonna sit in a box somewhere? Hmm.

See ya next month.

-Neil