I dont think I will ever buy brand new.. you can get basically new, used a couple of times boards second hand for a fraction of the price which suits me.
Lots of talk about aussie custom shapers, does anyone know of anyone in NZ?
Am coming to Sydney in August so might check out what Aussie has to offer!
prices just went up $100 but i can sell you a sunova sup for aud $2000, up to 9'11".d
how about the n.z. sunova dealer? no 2nd handers yet but ill do you a good deal.sunovas are strong,it is still possible to snap a sup..not many people could make a poly sup that wasnt fragile..i reckon you need skins & who knows if blanks are available..i am just guessing here.dean
I know the names of SUP shapers on the Gold Coast/Noosa/Vic/Coffs.
No mention of any SUP custom boards made in Sydney or surrounds.
Anyone have one made made here ? Happy with board ? Thoughts ?
Thanks
Select to expand quoteChrisClarke1 said..
Get a custom board. Aussie made, strong, light and cheaper. The question should be, why not go Aussie Custom!
There is a 6 week wait for customs that I looked at so its not practical for many, I agree prices are absurd for these factory popouts and we are most likely close to an economic peak in general world wide so there's likely to be a large oversupply of new SUP's at some point going forward IMHO.
There can be much (much!) more than 6 weeks wait time for the production brands too, and often some models are even not imported at all by the distributor...
I agree with Colas. In Europe it isn't unusual to have to wait 3-6 months for delivery of a production board. 6 weeks for a custom sounds like no waiting time at all to me.
The five main reasons why all people don't buy custom boards are probably:
(1) resale value.
(2) the perception that more R&D may have gone into a big brand board, so it's less likely to be a dog.
(3) lack of demo boards available from your typical shaper, meaning you can't try before you buy.
(4) lack of marketing often means that people simply aren't aware of what is on offer from custom shapers.
(5) perceived worries about warranty and back-up services from local shapers.
If local shapers were to address these issues, and could handle the extra orders that would ensue, then they would probably not be "local shapers" for very long, but would be well-known (like eg. Mark Raaphorst) in no time. But in my experience many local shapers have chosen a particular lifestyle, and this is not necessarily compatible with competing directly with professionally run international brands.
Select to expand quotemaxeaus said...ChrisClarke1 said..
Get a custom board. Aussie made, strong, light and cheaper. The question should be, why not go Aussie Custom!
There is a 6 week wait for customs that I looked at so its not practical for many, I agree prices are absurd for these factory popouts and we are most likely close to an economic peak in general world wide so there's likely to be a large oversupply of new SUP's at some point going forward IMHO.
With the Aussie dollar predicted to go to 60 cents (Age newspaper) then the imported board prices will rise in price significantly making the 6 week wait for a local brand board not that bad in comparison...
Go ask Nick Tansley at Razor.
Sounds like he just loves SUPs.......... I reckon it's worth every SUP rider in NZ flooding him with requests for quivers of SUPs
Hehehehe
Maybe I'm spoilt as my local shop stocks all major brands, rarely is there a wait for any current model/s, no one around here where I live makes custom SUPs as far as I'm aware and waiting 6 weeks and getting freight from Queensland (as I previously looked into) just doesn't float my boat particularly without testing the brand either before I buy, Id love to see more shapers making local SUP's for sure, I hope it happens as the sport matures more.
It won't take long for wholesalers and retailers to work out boards are too expensive for your average punter when they keep having to wipe the dust off them.
Supply and demand works both ways...
Select to expand quoteArea10 said..
I agree with Colas. In Europe it isn't unusual to have to wait 3-6 months for delivery of a production board. 6 weeks for a custom sounds like no waiting time at all to me.
The five main reasons why all people don't buy custom boards are probably:
(1) resale value.
(2) the perception that more R&D may have gone into a big brand board, so it's less likely to be a dog.
(3) lack of demo boards available from your typical shaper, meaning you can't try before you buy.
(4) lack of marketing often means that people simply aren't aware of what is on offer from custom shapers.
(5) perceived worries about warranty and back-up services from local shapers.
If local shapers were to address these issues, and could handle the extra orders that would ensue, then they would probably not be "local shapers" for very long, but would be well-known (like eg. Mark Raaphorst) in no time. But in my experience many local shapers have chosen a particular lifestyle, and this is not necessarily compatible with competing directly with professionally run international brands.
Not doubt that's true, and more to the point, if we all abandoned the big brands and everyone wanted local shapers to provide boards for them, the first thing that would happen is that 6 week waiting periods would become 6 months, and the shaper would eventually be forced to expand and bring in worker bees and a larger factory. That would require significant capital expenditure, a bank loan or possibly a white knight venture capitalist. If someone like Mark Cuban or Warren Buffett took a look at the business model of a local shaper, he would no doubt advise the shaper that the margins are way too low. It's good for buyers to be getting such bargains but it isn't sustainable in the event of massive expansion. But as you say, that isn't the lifestyle the average shaper desires.
'The age of entitlement is over' - thanks Joe, is that like the 'recession we had to have' back in the 80's?
Seriously though, as a retailer I understand the concerns expressed but it would appear that we as a country are in for a significant adjustment moving forward.
The dollar has headed south and the government and the reserve bank are doing there darnedest to keep it down.
The retailers and the wholesalers are caught the firing line as a 30% hair cut on margin is just not sustainable and we know there will be a period of adjustment.
There may be other variables at play but this is the overriding fact for most of us as we buy boards in USD with the Aussie pesos.
Having been here before I am still full of optimism.
1. The bulk of the market that drives the industry is not buying the high end carbon boards and are prepared to pay around $1500-$2000 for a decent board and $2500-$3000 for a decent race/touring board.
2. The big name brands still have plenty of value in the mid range where the bulk of the boards are sold.
3. The local shapers will thrive, that is good, but their lead times will blow out significantly.
4. If you buy in Spring the chances are you will pick up a board at last years pricing.
5. Other sports like cycling, golf and skiing light the way. A percentage of the market are prepared to pay top dollar to have the best gear.
6. If that is not you, there are plenty of alternatives out there from world renowned shapers like SUNOVA and LAHUI KAI that offer Carbon boards (or full Balsa equivalents in the case of Sunova) with performance boards coming in under $2000 and race boards well under $3000.
Yes there will be a period of adjustment, but look around, we are spoilt for choice here in Aus. and better off than many of our friends in the UK, Europe, NZ and elsewhere.
I think we should all just take a moment out to think of the poor starving kids in africa….
I'll bet most of them have never even tried stand up paddle boarding and if they did I bet it wasn't on the latest carbon board
Select to expand quotenosaj27 said..
Would be interesting to see if the board prices from the big brands other water sports (i.e. wind-surfing, kite-surfing, prone surfing) have a comparable price increase to SUP?
This would help to identify if the price increase is because of the low Aussie $$$ and the advancement in technology or is it just the big brands cashing in on the popularity of SUP.
Yes this exact same conversation is happening on the Kite forum right now
