eBay Watch: September 2008

September 2008. The economy is really starting to contract. The housing market has been sucking for ages, and now banks are failing and the economy is streaking towards recession. Skateboard prices are not immune. They are starting on a downward trend, which will continue for sometime I would imagine. It’s a really good time to buy, not so good if you are a seller.

This month’s Baywatch is fueled by Warburton’s crumpets, and by the second album from Teenage Bottlerocket. It’s called “Warning Device” and is 100% fun fun fun. Their first album “Total” was great, but this one is even better. If you like the Lillingtons, Groovie Ghoulies, Screeching Weasel or the Riverdales then you will love this slab of Ramonesy brilliance. If you don’t, well, there’s not much I can do for you. Seriously, these songs will have you tapping your foot and singing along like you’ve known them your whole life. I’d single out some tracks, but that’s impossible because they’re all great. Superb stuff.

 

60s, 70s, early 80s.

This complete comes from Steve Caballero’s personal collection. It’s an early 80s version of a Santa Cruz Duane Peters. The front cover of the “Skateboarding’s Crown Jewel” DVD features Duane doing a backside air on this deck, and that’s competition coverage from Colorado in 1979, but that deck has 8 black stripes and routed channels. They must have gone to 5 stripes and dropped the channels at some point. Anyway, it’s his first pro model, and comes complete with Indys (stage 3 I’d say) and 65mm radial OJs. It’s obviously been used a little, but is in awesome shape. It’s featured in Disposable on page 137. It went for $1,530, which seems low to me.

Now here’s a 1970s classic. It’s a vintage G&S Fiberflex with Bennett truks (yes they spell it like that) and Road Rider 4s. It’s basically mint, never been ridden, although one wheel does show wear. Seriously, this is one sweet chunk of 70s nostalgia, just like you saw it in the skate shop in 1977. It went for $760

At one point in the late 70s and early 80s, Variflex was a real company, and had probably the best pro team out there. From that period comes this Eric Grisham deck. Yes, graphically it looks very much like Sims decks of the period: routes with the company name inlaid, and the skaters name down the center. It’s a really nice snapshot of the time and looks to be in great condition. This one appears to be the second version of his first pro model: it doesn’t have wheel wells and is concave. $307.

Phil Edwards was the first pro surfer to endorse a skateboard apparently, and this is his first model. It is in “like new” condition, so if you are into this kind of thing it will be your grail. There’s not much else to say about it really. $602.

And here’s a vintage Santa Cruz team deck with maybe the biggest wheel wells ever put on a skateboard deck. Just look at the size of those half-moons! Ridiculous. I guess for those super wide wheels of the time that was necessary though. It’s from the 70s obviously, but being 9×30 I’d put it at 1978. As was typical of decks of the period it has graphics on top covered with clear griptape. Nice. $600.

OK, if you want a set of 70s wheels to go on that old deck that you just bought, you can’ go wrong with these. It’s a set of super rare vintage Blackhart double conical wheels in magenta. They are well skated, but still look to be in pretty good condition, and you certainly don’t see them every day! The Buy It Now was $329, and obviously they went for that, and pretty fast too.

Mid 1980s

OK, most popular decks from the 80s are now priced out of most folks reach. SO what are you to do if you want your fix of 80s lumber? Either scour Garage Sales, or start buying decks from lesser-known/foreign pros. A lot of folks are starting to do that, and you are starting to see decks that were going or $50 a few years ago now reaching the $200-$300 range. This Santa Cruz Soren Aaby is a case in point. He was a pro rider from Denmark, and although not well known, his deck has the killer combination of a nice shape and intricate, well-designed graphics. This is a very nice deck. I don’t love it in this colorway, but still a nice score. $199.

Here’s a G&S Neil Blender “snake and lattice” complete from 1984. It has Trackers and generic wheels on there. The deck is in decent shape actually, and after the trucks and plastic are taken off will probably clean up pretty well. However, the white dip appears to have yellowed, and I’m not sure anything can be done to fix that. Still, for $224 that is a pretty rare Neil Blender deck.

And speaking of Blenders, here is a beautiful G&S Blender “Picasso” mini from 1987. Now sometimes folks ask me why would anybody put a skateboard deck on a wall? My response is that the artwork on the bottom of skateboard decks is just as valid as the artwork on any other medium, and I defy anybody to look at this deck and tell me it isn’t so. This is a beautiful piece of art, and I don’t care whether it’s on the bottom of 7-plys or hanging in an art museum. This is awesome. $357, all the way from Bath, England.

OK, so Powell Peralta is reissuing this deck in this exact colorway in the next week or two. Knowing that, did it decrease the price of an original? Now this one isn’t mint, but that graphic is in great shape. It does have the hole drilled through the middle, meaning it was probably made into a clock at one point, and it has some kind of funky sticker in the back truck holes. Still it’s all there isn’t it? It would display very well. $495.

Here’s a Santa Cruz Duane Peters from 1985ish. It was his last pro model on Santa Cruz before he left for Circle A and then Skull Skates. It looks to be in great condition, and although the graphic isn’t very exciting, it is a Duane Peters, so that adds instant worth and collectability. $457.

Now this one surprised the hell out of me. Unless it’s a Gonz, Vision decks don’t normally go too high, and especially not for one of the less heralded guys like John Grigley. This one is from 1987 and is the “death mask” model. Apparently the artwork is totally custom, with “chicken scratch and wet blends” printed by the screener. Yes the stain etc is unusual, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s an ugly graphic on an ugly colored deck. Personally I think it’s the epitome of a $250 deck, but what do I know because it sold for $800.

John Thomas was one of those Alva pros that you’d heard of but never knew why. He didn’t appear in any of the big videos, he didn’t get that many shots in Thrasher or Transworld. I’m quite sure he ripped and all, but in the Midwest we never actually saw him ripping. Much like Jim Murphy or Chris Cook. This was his first graphic from 1986, known as the ankh. It’s in great condition, and I really like the yellow stain. The dolphin tail is sweet too. $255.

Now we all know the Powell Peralta Tommy Guerrero V8, and then the flaming dagger, but this is the 3rd variation of that graphic, the “iron gate”. Graphic wise, this is actually by far my favorite of the three. There is something a lot more refined and sophisticated about it: the flaming dagger always struck me as juvenile. This is a really nice example: the rich purple stain really works with the gold and white. I like this a lot. $280.

By way of example, here is the earlier flaming dagger. It appears to be on a metallic silver or pale blue dip, it’s tough to tell from the poor photos. It is a very nice example of this deck, but it is gripped, so I’m wondering if it was one of those completes that oldschoolskates was selling a year or 2 ago. This was one of the models they had, but of course they’ve long since sold out. Anyway, it went for $660.

Ah yes, 1986. Skating was all the rage, and so were loud skate fashions, and break-dancing inspired graffiti art. Keith Haring was a New York artist famous for his use of bright colors and human figures. It made sense that he would blend all of the elements together by producing his own line of skateboards, and sure enough, here we have one. Of course it has neon green gullwings, and I must admit that I like the graphic a lot. It certainly has a sense of movement and life to it. A positive vibe. You might never see another like it. $330.

This deck is a prototype Bad Boys Club Bill Danforth deck. It has no top graphic and was the first shape: only a few hundred made it out on this shape. The seller should know, as it was none other than Bill himself. $225.

This Santa Cruz Christian Hosoi deck from 1990 just keeps going up and up in value. It must be something to do with the simplicity of the graphics and the killer shape. I also like flat black. Even the tail logo kicks ass. It was his last deck on SC, and probably one of his finest moments. $469.

Here’s one you don’t see every day. It’s the Schmitt Stix Andy Howell “pyramid” from 1989. It is used, but the graphic is totally there, and it looks to be in great condition. The graphic is super detailed with lots of different stuff going on in there. A lot of folks have this one on their want list. $423.

Now here’s one for you Europeans. It’s a Titus Skates Hans Jacobsson from 1988. Titus was the biggest company (it may still be?) in Germany, and had its share of pros that you’ve never heard of. Did Hans have an unreasoning fear of chefs? Maybe, because this graphic is just odd, but still, I thought you’d like to see it. Both Titus Skates from Germany and Deathbox from England were local companies with great skaters. $200.

This is an Schmitt Stix Joe Lopes “crystal ball” from 1986. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in this silver dip before. Very nice, and very unusual. It is kind of beaten up, stress cracks and scuffs abound, but still it is a very striking deck. The graphics really pop off of the silver. Brilliant and bright sums it up I guess. $355.

Here we have what may just be the worst long board ever produced, but it may also be the first commercial long board. It’s a Madrid 40” long board from 1982. If you were in any doubt what it is, the artist was kind enough to tell you: LONG BOARD. See, it says it right there. However, long board it might be, but they still put a tailskid on it so you could do wheelies if you want. Say what? I guess at least Madrid was thinking out of the box though, give them some credit for that at least. $211.

This is a Powell Peralta Lance Mountain “family” deck from 1989, with graphics penned by Lance’s little boy. He’s not so little now of course, he’s a pro (?) himself for somebody I believe. This was Lance’s 4th pro deck, (3rd for Powell) and I must admit that this one has really grown on me. I used to hate it, but now I really like the idea of the later graphics from the original Bones Brigade members. Of course, the brilliant silver dip really helps this deck. It is awesome looking. I think that shiny silver could make anything look good, maybe even the Hawk pictograph. OK, maybe not, but you get the idea. $183.

Now I don’t get surprised that often anymore, but this one shocked me. It’s a Dogtown Aaron Murray “Fingers” model from 1988. Everything rocks on this deck, from the intricate tidal wave graphic, to the crazy shape, to the kanji characters. It’s the epitome of collectible, and I thought would demand a price of at least $400. No, it sold for $275. $275? That seems ludicrously low to me. It is used, but only just: a couple of chips and dents, but face it, the graphic is in great shape.

And here’s a perfect example of why I think the Murray above should have gone for more money. This is a Sims Eric Nash “bandito” from 1987. It’s his first graphic, and this is the first version of his first graphic, that was pulled because the writing in the smoke appears to say “Fuckn’ a” or “Fuck you” and not Eric Nash. Squint and you’ll see it. It was quickly changed and Eric Nash was printed on top of the smoke in black. Anyway you slice it, the graphic is juvenile, the colorway unimpressive. Eric Nash collectors are probably very hot over this deck, but to most of us it’s a blah deck. $401?

This 1987 Schmitt Stix Ripsaw is a very collectible deck, which is unusual for a team deck. I think it is due to the unusual shape: money bumps all over the place: and the simple but effective graphic. Schmitt also put out quality wood and innovative concaves, and that helps too. This one is in a very desirable orange stain. Very nice. $660.

OK, we go from an understated, modern looking simple graphic to this early 80s monstrosity. It’s a Kryptonics Ripstick from 1984. Yup, a vulture plucking an eyeball from a ridiculously oversized skull, and for some reason the skull still has blood in it. It was just the thing to get an 11-year-old dweeb excited. It’s the kind of graphic that got Stacey s upset at the beginning of Future Primitive. With its bright pink dip it is totally obnoxious all the way round. Awesome and yet frightful all at the same time. $430.

Here we have 2 examples of the Santa Cruz Salba “witchdoctor” deck from 1988, and they show the difference that color can make. The top one is in a hot pink dip that a lot of folks think is the best colorway for this graphic. The bottom one is the teal version. Both appear to be in NOS shape, not mint, but close to it. The pink one went for $910, whilst the teal went for double that, ending at $1,800.

I must admit, the colors of the graphic do pop more from the teal, but still, huge difference, and that’s why providing a true price guide for old decks is so impossible. Would you price a NOS voodoo at $900 or $1,800? How much would a white one have gone for?

Here’s the Powell Peralta Ray Underhill “cross and chain” deck from 1989. For years these decks were classed along with the Steve Saiz totem pole, and could be had at multiple online stores for $70 or less. Now all of a sudden they are a hot item, and have even been reissued by Powell. Why the sudden interest? Well, I can think of one reason, is that crass of me? It’s sad of course, but wouldn’t make me want to buy this deck. This one went for $200. Nice colorway.

So you had your Vision Street Wear button-down shirt, baggy pants, shoes, plastic watch, beret and fanny pack. What better to complete your VSW look than a Vision Street Wear deck? Man, I never even knew that this thing existed! And if you were in any doubt, it is “Built Street Tough”! Guaranteed to get you ass kicked when you showed up at the neighborhood spot back in the day. Still, it’s got something. $250.

90s-today

This is a G&S Brian Howard deck from “the early 90s”. Sorry I can’t be more exact, but it’s not on AOS. If I had to guess I’d say 1991 judging by the shape and because he went to skate for Planet Earth in 92. You might have noticed by the logo that at some point G&S went to simply & in that period too. They seemed to stop making pro decks completely by 1993. Anyway, this went for $375.

Here’s a Blind Mark Gonzales from 1991. The graphic is obviously a swipe at Powell Peralta who Blind was feuding with. The famous Skull is holding a banana instead of a sword, and the top graphic is even more of a rip, with the Powell ripper skull in the stocks. It’s a true classic from a monumental time in skating when the new guard was pushing the old skaters and companies out of the way. Never set up, never skated. It has some scratches, but that’s it. $1,300.

And the Hook-Ups decks just keep going up and up. This “Mandy Maid” deck from 2001 went for $395. Prices have doubled on Hook-Ups in the last year, and I must admit, if somebody had them all, that would be a pretty great looking collection to see.

So this deck is from the “other Guerrero” who skated for Powell Peralta, Nicky Guerrero from Denmark. It is his “Time Tripper” model from 1992, and is actually a very intricate and nice looking graphic, as you can tell from the larger picture. This was his third model on Powell following 4 on G&S. It’s still in shrink and is mint. $350 seems fair.

Now this is a beauty. It’s a Lucero Ltd. Ben Schroeder “crash test dummy” deck from 1991. John Lucero did the graphics and was quoted as saying that this was one of his favorite graphics of all time. Lucero Ltd was his company before he started Black Label, but he already had the elephant graphic. $405.

I’ll take that $405 and raise you one, as this Powell Peralta Mike McGill 1991 “aquarium” went for $406. The natural stain really makes the colors of the topical fish pop. The only thing better would be a black one, and I heard that one of those went privately for over a grand.

And I’ll take that and raise you $4. This mint SMA Julian Stranger “low-rider” from 1991 went for $410. It’s in a beautiful deep purple stain, and looks great close up. Speaking of Deep Purple, I saw a show on them recently. I was very disappointed to learn that their “classic” “Smoke on the Water” wasn’t actually an analogy or anything. It was literally about a fire they saw while they were staying at a hotel by a lake. How fucking lame is that? Dumbasses.

Here we have a World Industries Jovantae Turner “napping negro” from 1993. I guess it was supposed to tell us something about racist attitudes and stereotypes: he’s sleeping in a field of watermelons and fried chicken. Is it sardonic and clever? Naah. Personally I think it’s really obvious and incredibly lame, but hey, that’s just me. $800.

Assorted Crap & Reissues!

The Grosso “devil/angel” graphic has been reissued a couple of times by Black Label now, but before that it was reissued about 5 years ago by Santa Cruz as part of their “30 f*ckin’ years” series. It was pretty limited, and you actually don’t see the Santa Cruz version too often. As reissues go this one is pretty sweet actually. They did a nice job. This one is mint in shrink. $178.

Thrasher has put out some classic t-shirt designs over the past 25 years, and this is no exception. They were lucky to have a lot of very talented artists and designers at their disposal, and none other than Pushead himself penned this design. It’s the “Skate Outlaw” graphic on a long sleeve from around 1988. The shirt looks to be in good condition and is a size large. $232. I always wonder what folks do with the vintage soft goods that they buy for big cash. Does it get worn, or is it put in a drawer, forgotten until the yearly Memorial Day barbecue, when it gets pulled out, put on, and ignored by the folks who wouldn’t know Thrasher from Transworld?

OK, in 1986 skate “fashion” still hadn’t hit the main street. If you saw a kid walking around in a pair of Vans you knew that he skated, simply because you couldn’t pick them up just anywhere. You really had to look to find Vans, or mail order, and what a chore that was pre-internet. Anyway, in 1987ish a new footwear company joined in the fray, a company called Airwalk, named after Tony Hawk’s trick. These were super hard to find, so you knew anybody that had the shoes with the big A was core. Of course, after a couple of years they dropped the A logo and started making the huge, hulking high tops, and then they sold out and were in every store in the country. But these, these are the original design Airwalks, new old stock, discovered in an old box. They are size 11, and perfect, even coming with the original sticker. I had a pair of plain royal blue ones, just like this, which I mail ordered from California. They fir perfectly which was a miracle! Anyway, it’s not just me getting nostalgic over these: they went for $510. Not bad.

See ya next month.

-Neil