eBay Watch: May/June 2005

The big question this period: would the Hollywood movie “The Lords of Dogtown” push up prices, especially with Alva/Zephyr/Dogtown stuff? Well, there was certainly a lot of that stuff auctioned this time, so let’s see!

Z-Boys

Normally I’d call this section Dogtown/Alva/Bulldog, but I think that Z-Boys covers it better. This could be anything from any of the original companies, or from the companies that sprang from the Zephyr team.

Normally I’d call this section Dogtown/Alva/Bulldog, but I think that Z-Boys covers it better. This could be anything from any of the original companies, or from the companies that sprang from the Zephyr team.

First up, let’s have some real history. Here’s a board owned by Jay-Boy himself. How do we know? Why because he wrote his name on it! I’m assuming that the Z-Flex sticker was added later, but I could be wrong. Trackers and Road Riders round this out. $2,380 sounds about right.

Here’s another RARE Jay Adams deck. This one was put out by Skipper and SMA in 1983. Most were in black, but a few slipped out in purple. Plain, plain deck, but worth $700 to somebody.

Let’s stick with Jay and move to a couple of years ago. He had 1 model out on Deathbox, but this prototype Skate Nazi model was going to be his second. It never made it out officially, but Jay rode this one in some photo shoots/ads. I think Driven put out a version of this deck, but this hand drawn one is a beauty. $314.

So in the mid 80s Zephyr released a few decks again. Didn’t know that? Neither did I, but here’s proof. Nice shape on this bad boy. $800.

They don’t get much cleaner or desirable than this Dogtown Bigfoot. At least from the little bit we can see from the picture. The buyer better hope that the rest of it is as clean, otherwise he paid out $4160 for nothing, especially as Dogtown just re-released it!!

Falling just below that is this minty Dogtown Shogo Kubo. Amazing top graphics that are in great shape: not one ding. An absolute all-time classic. This looks as close to mint as you will ever find. $4,050.

Talking about decks that have been reissued but the originals still go large, how about this Alva leopard skin. The reissues are still around, but this original went for $1,081. It’s a pretty deck. They did a nice job with the reissue too.

The Z-Flex Jimmy Plummer with Trackers and original Plummer Z-Groove wheels. It doesn’t get anymore mint or rare than this. Absolutely amazing, and somebody got a steal at $1000.

The Bulldog decks are getting plain ridiculous. As soon as they release a new deck it is sold out in hours, and then they appear on eBay for big money just weeks later. It doesn’t seem right somehow, but there you go. Limited runs = big money in the collectors market. How big? This South Side Cross went for $2,600.

This black line Sacred Heart went for a more modest (but still huge considering it’s less than a year old) $810. WTF is going on? I know Wes is a legend but this is ridiculous.

Santa Cruz/SMA

If you’ve been reading this column for awhile, you will know that I love the Corey O Brien Reaper graphic. In the past they were going in the $300 range. No more. Like the Salba Tiger, they have gone up like crazy. This red stain one went for $455.

And showing how insane eBay is, this model that is exactly the same (might even be the same deck) went for $660 just a little later. I’m not quite sure what happened in the meantime to make it jump in value by over $200, but there you are.

The Grosso demon. I guess the reissue didn’t hurt the price of the original, because this one went off for $945. From what I’ve heard, the Grosso reissue was one of the worse ones SC put out. It was a crappy heat transfer, badly applied etc. Or maybe that’s just picky collectors talking!

Natas decks just keep going up and up. This one isn’t particularly rare (it’s a later model Santa Cruz), and it’s in a nasty colorway. It still fetched $1,387 though.

And here’s one that makes me really crazy. The average, not really rare deck above went for almost $1400, while this absolute corker went for only a few dollars more: $1,575. It just shows the ignorance of most of the eBay buyers and their mainstream tastes. This is Natas’s 2nd model. Very rare in this condition and in a fantastic colorway to boot. It should have gone for over $3k. Easy.

Powell

Here’s one you don’t see everyday. The Powell Peralta Beamer. Very very early. It predates all of the PP pro decks, and it might be the very first PP production deck. Mint condition. I think the beams gave it strength and rigidity. Anyway, how does $2,933 grab you?

An original Cab “Bearing” t-shirt? Must be from 1984 at the latest. Great condition. $299.

Oooh, a first generation Tony Hawk. Yes it’s a shitty graphic. Yes it’s beat to shit. Yes it has crazy stickers on it for no reason, but still, it’s an original Hawk, and there aren’t many of those around. Strip off the trucks and wheels, remove the stickers and plastic and clean it up, and you’ve probably got a great centerpiece to any collection. $1000 seems like a bargain.

Miscellaneous

A Zorlac Abrook model from the late 80s. The Abrooks were Britain’s version of the Godoys: brothers who shared pro models. They had a couple of models on Zorlac, but this one is the most popular. $200.

It’s tough to find Neil Blender decks in mint condition, at least of his more popular models. This “rocker dog” is a really nice specimen, and fetched a large $501. Black Label/Emergency recently reissued the graphic, but on some crazy oversized popsicle with a huge nose. They should have put it on this sweet shape.

And here’s an even earlier Blender: the “Snakes and Ladders” graphic. Again rare in any condition, especially mint like this one, and on a great colorway. $600.

Shit, I used to have one of these in this colorway, but mine was the full size model, not a mini. It’s the Zorlac John Gibson of course. Great condition, which is rare, because most of us thrashed the hell out of them. Zorlac was for hardcores, not poseurs, which is why their decks are so hard to find mint. $766.

Here we have one of the earliest World Industries decks, so early that Rocco was still using the SMA name on there. This is the Think Crime model, complete with a police ticket for skateboarding on the tail. It shows Rocco’s sense of humor. Rare in this condition. $450.

Here’s the Jovontae Turner “At Night” model, again by World Industries. Prominently featured in Disposable, this deck went for a huge $1033. Before that book, this probably wouldn’t have fetched more than $200, so the seller should send Sean Cliver a cut of his swag.

You don’t see these too often especially not mint. The 1st edition Jeff Phillips “Breakout” graphic. Awesome colorway, awesome deck, awesome skater. $425?? It’s even signed. What’s up with that? It’s from 1984 for chrissakes!

And here’s another in a very unusual colorway. This one is the second version of the graphic note the different treatment of the name). The neon colors boosted it to $560.

Finally we have this very unusual deck from the late 80s. never seen it before? I’m not surprised. It’s a Ralf Middendorf model made by Titus Skates out of Germany. I don’t feature European decks much, but this one is a beauty. I was going to bid on it, but it went for a surprising $300. It just shows the power of a good graphic huh?

That’s it! Later skater…