October 2008. The economy is totally in the toilet. The stock market is plummeting by triple figures daily, people are being laid off, and stores are closing. Folks just don’t have the discretionary income that they had even a few months ago, and this is evident on eBay. I’ve never seen a month like this. I was hard pressed to find 40 decks to put on here because so many decks didn’t meet their reserve or had zero bids. Sellers, if you want to sell in this Market you’re going to have to lower your prices, be realistic or you’ll end up paying eBay fees for nothing. Buyers with a few hundred dollars in their pocket are suddenly able to afford decks that were totally out of their price range just 60 days ago. It’s a crazy time. Buckle up because October was a bumpy trip.
This month’s Baywatch is fueled by Trader Joes Sea Salt Caramels, and by the Joe Strummer documentary “The Future is Unwritten”. The caramels are exceptional. They are covered in dark chocolate and topped with sea salt. The salt combined with the sweet is an amazing combination: they literally explode with flavor in the mouth. Amazing. The Strummer documentary is interesting and infuriating, all at the same time: much like the man himself apparently. It’s long and sprawling, with tons of interviews and never-before seen footage, but I found it unsatisfying on the whole. After 3 hours I expected to learn some stuff I didn’t previously know about Joe, but I didn’t. (Apart from the fact that he liked some craptacular music at the end. Techno? Raves? You have to be fucking kidding me!). If the recent spate of music documentaries has shown us anything it is that fact that our musical heroes are always flawed, just like us, and that is in full effect here. For example, Strummer totally dropped all of his old friends when the Clash came around. Dropped friends he’d known for years cold because they didn’t have the right haircut. Uncool! Also, whenever he is shown in interviews from back in the day he appears to be acting a role. He looks the part and talks the part, but he always looks like he’s thinking about something else entirely. He never looks comfortable in his own skin. I also found it interesting that Jones and Headon are interviewed extensively, but no Paul Simenon. What’s up with that? Overall I’m glad I saw it, but I can’t say that I could recommend it.
Anyway, onto the reason why you are here.
60s, 70s, early 80s.
First up is this Variflex Edie “el gato” Elguera complete from 1979. It has Tracker magnesium trucks and wings wheels with no coning. It comes complete with Z-Flex rails and a monster Woody “Space Plate” tail guard. It’s in great shape, and is a total blast from the past. It was his first graphic and is one sweet ride. $731.
And here’s a Powell Peralta Alan “Ollie” Gelfand from 1981ish. It’s not mint as it was drilled for plastics as you can see, but they did their job well because there isn’t a mark on the graphics and the nose looks perfect. The yellow stain is striking, and the wheel wells are deep enough to eat cereal out of. This is very, very nice, but $599 might be kind of high for a used model, nice though it is?
And here’s a better version of the above, this time in a red dip. Shit, look at that thing! The red still shines like crazy! It’s not mint because it too was drilled for rails, but the holes don’t even go all of the way through. Let’s face it, this was obviously never skated on, so for all intents and purposes it is NOS. I don’t think you’ll find it much cleaner! $700, and that seems about right here. An iconic deck.
Mid 1980s
OK, so here’s the only $1k deck this month. It’s a G&S Neil Blender “coffee break”. It’s “NOS and in immaculate shape” according to the seller, and even though it’s a mini, it is still a major grail to lots and lots of collectors. The teal dip isn’t great, but the graphic is still exceptional. $1.030.
And here’s another grail to Santa Cruz collectors. It’s a Santa Cruz bullet team deck from 1986. Of course he team decks don’t have the pull of the pro models, but still, this simple and yet effective graphic has a lot of admirers. It was probably a little cheaper than the pro models back in the day, because it has no top graphic, which is unusual for SC decks. It went for $300.
I remember seeing a photo of a Doc Marten clad Bill Danforth in a vintage skate mag. The caption read, “Big booted Bill Banforth boing a backside bifty-bifty”. That always amused me no end. He might have been skating this deck in that picture. It’s an Alva Bill Danforth “candles” deck from 1987. Mint condition, burgundy stain.
Very, very nice. Look at the details in the enlarged graphic. $345.
Here’s a team model Dogtown “Born Again” from 1984. Dogtown had just been resurrected from the dead, and this was one of their first graphics in the second generation of Dogtown. It clearly isn’t mint or even close to it, but it’s still a rare deck in pretty good shape, so the price of $600 isn’t a surprise.
And here’s another Dogtown. This one is a Dogtown Eric Dressen street model form 1988. I’ve always liked this Dressen. It has the traditional Dogtown cross and wings, along with some other nonsense going on in the blue areas. It’s a complete, though what it’s complete with will remain a mystery, because the seller offers absolutely no detail in the description. They look like Indys and SC wheels, but that’s all I can tell. The complete has tons of weird stickers, but I’ll tell you what, the buyer got a great deal here. Look at the deck carefully: this thing was hardly ever ridden. The nose is perfect, and the tail has a little wear, but basically the graphic is flawless. Take the rails and stickers of: score, especially for $152.
Here’s a classic deck for ya in a classic color. Obviously it’s a Vision Mark Gonzales from 1986. No wheel wells, so it’s not super early, but it’s still a mint first graphic Gonz. Mint apart from some surface scratches, and in a very nice pink stain. $764 seems about right.
But this one seems awfully low. It’s a Powell Peralta Tony Hawk “birdclaw” from 1989, and although it is a used deck, the graphic is almost perfect, and the colorway is awesome. This is a deck that has exploded in recent months to the $750-$1000 range, so for this to go for $192 is a major shock and a great score for somebody.
Now this is the last time I’m going to show this deck for a while because it’s plain and dull and because I have little to say about it. It’s a 1983 Sims Christian Hosoi “rising sun”, his first pro model. It has the epoxy E on the top graphic, and is in good shape. It is gripped, and obviously had full plastic on it at one time, although they’ve done a nice job of removing that, and there is no discoloration under the risers as happens sometimes. Like I say, there’s not a lot to say about this deck, as 99.9% of them out there look exactly like this. $471.
But this Hosoi is a beauty, and I see something different every time I look at it. It’s a Santa Cruz Hosoi “collage” from 1988. The graphic is incredibly complex, with tons of stuff going on in there. When you squint at it and look from a distance however, it’s supposed to all come together and you’re able to see Christian skating. I’ve never seen it, but I guess it’s in there. Nice red dip on this one too. $621.
So what’s the deal here? I don’t see any Schmitt Stix Andy Howell pyramids for months and months, and then suddenly we get 2 back to back! The one last month wasn’t as nice as this one though! NOS (some storage scratches) and pink wood stain? You’re kidding me right? That’s a very desirable board, a total grail for some. $560. Very nice.
OK, here’s a perfect example of the plummeting price of decks in October. It’s a Santa Cruz Jeff Kendall “jagermeister” deck from 1990. It is arguably Kendall’s most sought after deck, and easily goes for over $1k mint. Now this one isn’t mint, but look at it, it’s in great shape. The graphic is all there: some minor wear on the tail and holes for rails. Big deal. Great colorway: the graphics really pop off the silver deck. So this should go in the $500 range right? Nope. $286. Are you effing kidding me? Under $300 for a good condition Jagermeister? Wowzer.
Here are two very similar decks. They are Santa Cruz Jason Jessee “Neptune” decks, both having the sharktail graphic, which is unusual in itself. They are also both lightly used, so they are very comparable. Which color do you like better? Well the red went for $400, and the green for $560.
Personally I prefer the red, but the red does have the J of Jessee scraped off the graphic, so maybe that is why. They are both very nice looking decks though: I’d be very happy to own either of them.
And here’s it’s smaller sibling, the Santa Cruz Jason Jessee “sungod” from 1988. This sucker is perfect, and the graphics really pop off of the black dip. It’s almost the perfect example of this deck, so it’s no surprise that it went for $683, which is the normal price for this deck. Is the green colorway better? Maybe, but this is pretty kickass.
Now this is classic. We have two decks. Both Santa Cruz Jeff Kendall “snake” models from 1989. This deck has gotten really popular in the last year, and it commonly goes for over $600. The top example is a mint deck in green wood stain. It’s a fantastic looking deck in this colorway, and went for $650, which is normal. The second deck appears to be orange, but the photo is terrible and really washed out, so it’s tough to tell. It looks NOS, and I would still expect it to fetch at least $500. However, due to a mistake in the listing it sold for $55 Buy It Now. Yes, you read that right, $55. The seller mistakenly listed it as a dust-to-dust reissue, and if it were, $55 would be about right. However, this deck clearly isn’t. It is in color and the truck holes tell you that’s it’s original from the 1980s. So this price isn’t indicative of the bad economy, it’s indicative of a mistake by the seller, and that can happen at anytime. It’s unfortunate, but it’s the kind of mistake that every buyer hopes to find. Wow.
Here we have a Santa Cruz Tom Knox “Ghoul” from 1989. This is one of the best examples of this deck that I’ve ever seen. The red/orange stain is really striking, and really adds a feeling of warmth to the fire graphics. It’s mint and still in shrink so $350 isn’t a surprise here.
Here are two different colorways of the Powell Peralta Lance Mountain “crest” graphic. This is an underrated graphic, but it is starting to catch on. The top one is in a colorway I’ve never seen before. The yellow dip is absolutely gorgeous: stunning. I love this deck! $306? You’re kidding me, right? This is a $500 deck, easily. The bottom one is in a more common, but still striking black dip. This one is still in shrink. $326. The graphics really pop off the black, but I still prefer the yellow one by far.
Now this is a beautiful Powell Peralta Mike McGill “skull and snake” from 1989. It has the snakeskin background in blue, which works perfectly with the full black dip. Awesome, simply awesome. The green and red on the graphic are almost fluorescent on that background. This sucker is perfect. $750.
Here are two NOS examples of the fifth version of the Natas panther from 1989. The top one is in a natural wood stain, and the bottom one is on a red stain. Which one do you prefer? The red is really nice, but there is something simple and striking about the natural one.
The natural one went for $660 and the red went for $800. Both prices are a little low, but not outrageously so.
And here’s a Santa Cruz Natas version 4, this one also being known as the bulldog Natas because Wes Humpston penned the graphic. Outside of the original yellow Natas, this might be the most sought after of the SMA vintage Natas decks. It’s NOS on a rich black dip, and the graphics really pop. Man what a great looking deck this is. It’s no surprise that Designarium, Natas’s company is reissuing this graphic in the next few weeks. Good luck finding one though: it’s limited to 500 decks, most of which are already spoken for in preorders. The real thing went for $886. Again, lower than usual but not cheap by any means.
Ok folks, this is the mind boggler of the month, even more so than the Kendall snake above. This is the same Santa Cruz Salba “voodoo” that sold for $1,800 last month. The buyer must have needed to turn it for quick cash, because here it is, up again after only a few weeks. However, he would have been sickened by the downturn in prices, because this one went for a paltry $687. Yes, it does have some surface scratches etc, but it’s a great condition voodoo in the much-admired teal stain. On the worst day this should be a $1,000 deck, so the $687 is really low, but when you consider that the seller made an $1100 loss on this in 3 weeks, then that is mind-boggling. Apparently he made similar losses on some other decks that he went high on in September too. That is crappy.
This Santa Cruz Salba ‘tiger” went low too, but nothing like the above. It’s on a dark purple stain, which is unusual and very striking. There are a lot of them out there, but this is still a very striking graphic, and on a rare colorway. The more common ones have been selling for over $1k recently, so for this one to go for $790 is highly unusual and a sign of the times.
90s-today
Here’s a Santa Cruz Bod Boyle “sick cat” from 1991. It is mint in shrink, and in a lovely Christmas colorway of red and green. It’s a pretty rare deck, even the reissue from a few years ago is tough to find. This one went for $395, which is actually pretty high when compared to recent prices. Go figure.
This is an Alien Workshop “shooters” deck from 1993. The graphic is by Neil Blender and appears to be a team deck of some sort. It is unusual, at least I’ve never seen one before, and AOS has no sales history for it. Like most Blender artwork it’s striking visually, and the shape of the deck is interesting. It went for $384, which doesn’t really surprise me, being Blender and all.
Here’s a G&S (or simply “&”) Brian Howard “Kiss” deck from 1992ish. It’s not even featured on AOS, which should say something about its rarity. It’s a nice idea for a graphic, which probably appeals both to Brian Howard and Kiss fans alike. It’s simple and yet still effective. $355.
Here is a SMA (Rocco Division) Steve Rocco “pooh bear II” jumbo sized from 1990. It’s never been set up but does have some scratches etc. See how instead of sticking his head in a pot of “huny” he sticks it in a pot of “muny”. That’s just perfect for Rocco. It just predates the move to World Industries for Rocco as a company name, so that’s historic in some way I guess. With the color blend in the honey pot, it’s a nice looking board. $400.
The highest priced deck of the 90s section is also the crappiest, which is telling in some way I guess. It’s indicative of the “graphics don’t matter, so let’s put any old shit on the bottom of the deck” artwork of the mid 90s. It’s a Blind Rudy Johnson “40oz” deck, and is complete and utter horseshit. The only interesting thing about this deck is that apparently it hung in the Steve Rocco’s office before it was given to Rodney Mullen, who in turn gave it to Jesse Martinez. It’s signed by all three of them, or so the story goes! I hope that explains the $861 price, because it can’t be the graphic!
Assorted Crap & Reissues!
So Cease & Desist is a current company that makes bootlegs of old decks and graphics and sells them in limited runs. Sol limited that they sell out almost instantly. This is the most recent deck, a bootleg of the Santa Cruz Grosso “alice” graphic. Supposedly it was limited to 50 pieces, but there is much dispute over the number that actually made it out. Most who bought one put it on eBay almost instantly, which explains the $234 that this one fetched. It looks like they did a good job with the graphic and the shape of the deck, but still, it’s a bootleg guys!
Now here’s a real reissue, and one of the few that has been done right. It’s a Madrid John Lucero “jester” that was reissued about 5 years ago, limited to 500 and signed by John Lucero. They did this thing right with wheel wells and the original shape and concave. These things look just great. This one is still in shrink, so the $214 it fetched seems like a great deal to me.
So we’ve seen t-shirts go for big money recently, but how much would a vintage tee from a lesser-known pro fetch? Well, here’s a nice looking and good condition Liberty Mike Smith shirt for you in yellow. This thing looks awesome, but I guess most weren’t looking, because it went for a paltry $30. Damn.
And you want some 80s shorts to go with the shirt? Well look no further. Here’s a pair of NOS Vision Skateboard shorts that feature the “Psycho” logo on the leg. These things are electric blue and just awesome! (Actually, I used to have a pair in black, along with a pair of Life’s a Beach “Astro” shorts in teal). How much would these have cost you? $19. Yes, that’s it. They would have been perfect for that 80s Halloween costume you wanted to put together. It’s a shame you went as “the Joker” instead, along with everybody else. And their brother. Better luck at not being a loser next year.
Seeya next month.
-Neil
