eBayWatch Special Report: The $6000 Tony Hawk

eBayWatch Special Report: The $6000 Tony Hawk

April 29th, 2002. A regular day for most people, but for skateboard collectors everywhere, it was a historic day. It was the day that the eBay member smo_king would use the Buy-It-Now option to spend $6000 on a mint first edition Tony Hawk deck. It shattered the old record, hell, it almost doubled it! There might have been more paid for a deck privately, but never has there been more paid for a deck at open auction. The seller was Vince Spiceland, the owner of Outlook Skates, a shop and company out of Virginia Beach. He had just bought the deck a few weeks previously, spending $3000 on it (see my March BayWatch report). He never dreamed that he would double his money in less than a month! The $6000 figure was a joke: he never thought anybody would actually bid that high on it. Somebody did. Will that amount ever be beaten? I’m sure it will be, but not in the near future. The market seems to have flattened out. Of course, it will be interesting if smo_king ever decides to sell it. Maybe Tony Hawk will bid on it.

What follows is a short interview with Vince that ran on Thrasher’s website for a short time. You might find it informative. "But what about copyright infringement" you say? We got special permission from the bigwigs at Thrasher to re-publish this on our web site. Or maybe wewere going to but never got around to it. Actually, those nice folks at Thrasher are probably too busy to bother with us… We hope.

Reprinted from Thrasher Magazine without permission (Doh!)

Origininally written by?????

Recently I got an email from one of our advertisers, Vince Spiceland from Outlook Skateboards. He told me that he had just sold an original Tony Hawk first pro deck for $6,000. I couldn’t believe it, but after doing some research I found it to be true. There is some serious money in collecting skateboards, but Vince is not about the money. He puts everything he earns back into his company. Here’s a little info on Vince and his collection and how he made $6,000 off one Tony Hawk board.

Name: Vince Spiceland
Age: 30
Home: Va Beach, VA.
Skating since: 1978
Favorite skater: Mark Gonzales.
Most money you’ve spent on a board? $3,000
Which board was it?
The Tony Hawk I sold less than a week later for $6,000.
Who bought the board for $6,000?
The eBay user Smo_King in Philadelphia.
Do you have any info on the person that bought the Tony Hawk board and his collection?
He is a newer collector on the circuit, I really do not know much about him.
Did you buy the board simply to make money?
I got the deck to keep, and my wife said I was crazy. I told her the only way I would ever sell it was that if I could double my money and us it to pay for the adds I run in Thrasher. She said OK as a joke list it on eBay for $6,000, so I did. I then went to bed that night woke up the next day and it was sold! I wanted to keep it but on the same note I had to pay for my adds for your magazine. So I sold it.
What board don’t you have that is most desired?
Most desired for me would be a MINT Rodney Mullen Powell Peralta Mutt. Mullen’s first pro model
Is there anything in your collection that you wouldn’t ever sell?
I would not sell my MINT 1985 Vision Mark Gonzales original pro model or my Mike McGill Skull-N-Snake Experimental deck. The McGill deck is straight from McGills collection to mine and was a deck that he used in the mid 80’s to test to determine if the shape was to his liking. This followed his original Powell Peralta PIG deck, there were two made. I have 1 of 2 and he has 2 of 2. Photo attached.
Who should be skater of the year?
Rodney Mullen.
Favorite Thrasher cover?
Nov. 1985 with Hosoi airing over a car.
Do you have the whole collection of our mag?
I have almost every Thrasher from 1984 until now.

I am 30 years old and own OutLook Skateboards, Burley Wheels & Bearings. I started my Skateboard company in 1999, here in the VA Beach, Virginia area. I started skating in 1984 and was influenced by Mark Gonzales, Christian Hosoi, Johnny Kopp, and the entire Bones Brigade. Within the last ten years I have been collecting all of the old school deck that I either owned back in the 80’s or that I wanted to own. A few years back I had close to 500 vintage decks. I have recently consolidated my collection and got it down to around 100, keeping only the ones that I really love. The 400 decks that I have sold have all had a good turnover in the profit. I have taken the profit earned from my vintage collectibles and invested right back into OutLook Skateboards. I currently have the World Record for the most ever paid for a Vintage Skateboard. I sold the Original Powell Peralta MINT Tony Hawk from 1983 for $6,000. I also was in second and third place for the highest vintage decks sold, but those records have been bumped down recently. I still enjoy collecting the old decks but mainly have all the core decks I need to complete my collection. I really go after the mid 80’s Vision’s, Powell Peralta’s, and any other old 80’s PIG decks. I also really dig the old punk rock band graphic decks, like the Vision Agent Orange, JFA, Misfits Bill Danforth Madrid Pro Model, Plan 9 Misfits Coffin Cuts, etc. A small portion of my collection can be viewed on my web site at www.outlookskates.com
Thanks and Skate & Destroy!!!
Vince Spiceland

Reprinted from Thrasher Magazine without permission (Doh!)