Stumbled across this thread from UK Boards Windsurfing forum, but have linked it to here as I think its very interesting.

http://forums.boards.mpora.com/showthread.php/76636-The-shape-of-things-to-come

mmmmmm
Talk about glossing over the pricing rort

Why didn't the guy writing the post ask how can one guy built custom boards and ship them from the expensive labour country in NZ cheaper than what the third world manufacturing factory, Cobra can produce........

Which board company is spending millions doing RnD??????????

In my opinion, The Cobra factory, and the many dicks that support it don't deserve any positive press

If there is some new material, there motivation isnt to make a cheaper board for you, the boards will be cheaper to make....and still go up in price.......which is exactly what has been happening for the last twenty yrs

Australian retail should have done more to support local manufactures which they completely killed off by only supporting Cobra
and then over the yrs, they have squeezed the bottom line out of the market, and now the retailers have been screwed by Cobra and their totalitarian approach to free market........

Well done

They've done it to everything we ever manufactured. All IT work is done in India or Philippines. All telemarketing, service desks people
Now other functions follow the suit. My company is in a process of moving a number of Finance and Contract department functions to Manila.
And doesn't even make sense an more. My peers are making half of what they used to make these days, and the dollar slid 40% so the cost of labour went down significantly, and is more competitive.

So new boards are $3000+ these days, and the S/H equipment prices went up accordingly.
That will encourage new people into the sport

We'll have to hold onto equipment for a few years longer - which is not a bad thing.

How is increasing price in a shrinking market good for the manufacturers?

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hendo1 said...

Why didn't the guy writing the post ask how can one guy built custom boards and ship them from the expensive labour country in NZ cheaper than what the third world manufacturing factory, Cobra can produce........

Which board company is spending millions doing RnD??????????

In my opinion, The Cobra factory, and the many dicks that support it don't deserve any positive press

Australian retail should have done more to support local manufactures which they completely killed off by only supporting Cobra
and then over the yrs, they have squeezed the bottom line out of the market, and now the retailers have been screwed by Cobra and their totalitarian approach to free market........

Well done

And your boards are from Cobra brought from Aussie shops... Hmmm interesting!

www.facebook.com/BrunottiRDP.UK/videos/vb.1447170272275905/1541341002858831/?type=2&;theater&notif_t=like#

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Rob11 said..

hendo1 said...

Why didn't the guy writing the post ask how can one guy built custom boards and ship them from the expensive labour country in NZ cheaper than what the third world manufacturing factory, Cobra can produce........

Which board company is spending millions doing RnD??????????

In my opinion, The Cobra factory, and the many dicks that support it don't deserve any positive press

Australian retail should have done more to support local manufactures which they completely killed off by only supporting Cobra
and then over the yrs, they have squeezed the bottom line out of the market, and now the retailers have been screwed by Cobra and their totalitarian approach to free market........

Well done

And your boards are from Cobra brought from Aussie shops... Hmmm interesting!

Solid Gold.

An interesting blend of hypocrisy and irony in the post by hendo1. As a by product he is also calling himself a dick. ...........Just Saying

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Rob11 said...

hendo1 said...

Why didn't the guy writing the post ask how can one guy built custom boards and ship them from the expensive labour country in NZ cheaper than what the third world manufacturing factory, Cobra can produce........

Which board company is spending millions doing RnD??????????

In my opinion, The Cobra factory, and the many dicks that support it don't deserve any positive press

Australian retail should have done more to support local manufactures which they completely killed off by only supporting Cobra
and then over the yrs, they have squeezed the bottom line out of the market, and now the retailers have been screwed by Cobra and their totalitarian approach to free market........

Well done

And your boards are from Cobra brought from Aussie shops... Hmmm interesting!

ha, yeah i like the boards out of Cobra

that doesnt mean that I cant condemn thier distrubition restrictions and the retailers that exclusively support it

The boards are good......sometimes
I got no probs with where there manufactured by whom

Having most companies have thier boards made at one place is no probs with me....then coming together on distrubtion and completely kill off free market, not a big fan

yeah, its really cheap to make heaps of boards at a well set up secretive factory with third world wages........but I guess its cheaper to pay a guy in NZ to make you a custom. ...

the distribution of boards out of cobra is shiz
as a consumer its let to f'all difference in price and very little choice outside of that bubble...

Why cant the retailors support more brands like Carbon Art,
especially if that results in same quailty yet cheaper gear for the consumer???

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AJEaster said...

Rob11 said..

hendo1 said...

Why didn't the guy writing the post ask how can one guy built custom boards and ship them from the expensive labour country in NZ cheaper than what the third world manufacturing factory, Cobra can produce........

Which board company is spending millions doing RnD??????????

In my opinion, The Cobra factory, and the many dicks that support it don't deserve any positive press

Australian retail should have done more to support local manufactures which they completely killed off by only supporting Cobra
and then over the yrs, they have squeezed the bottom line out of the market, and now the retailers have been screwed by Cobra and their totalitarian approach to free market........

Well done

And your boards are from Cobra brought from Aussie shops... Hmmm interesting!

Solid Gold.

An interesting blend of hypocrisy and irony in the post by hendo1. As a by product he is also calling himself a dick. ...........Just Saying

Ok

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hendo1 said...

Rob11 said...

hendo1 said...

Why didn't the guy writing the post ask how can one guy built custom boards and ship them from the expensive labour country in NZ cheaper than what the third world manufacturing factory, Cobra can produce........

Which board company is spending millions doing RnD??????????

In my opinion, The Cobra factory, and the many dicks that support it don't deserve any positive press

Australian retail should have done more to support local manufactures which they completely killed off by only supporting Cobra
and then over the yrs, they have squeezed the bottom line out of the market, and now the retailers have been screwed by Cobra and their totalitarian approach to free market........

Well done

And your boards are from Cobra brought from Aussie shops... Hmmm interesting!

ha, yeah i like the boards out of Cobra

that doesnt mean that I cant condemn thier distrubition restrictions and the retailers that exclusively support it

The boards are good......sometimes
I got no probs with where there manufactured by whom

Having most companies have thier boards made at one place is no probs with me....then coming together on distrubtion and completely kill off free market, not a big fan

yeah, its really cheap to make heaps of boards at a well set up secretive factory with third world wages........but I guess its cheaper to pay a guy in NZ to make you a custom. ...

the distribution of boards out of cobra is shiz
as a consumer its let to f'all difference in price and very little choice outside of that bubble...

Why cant the retailors support more brands like Carbon Art,
especially if that results in same quailty yet cheaper gear for the consumer???

Sorry I support Carbon Art cos I like the product , the price is secondary.

^^^^^ wow, well you fell on your feet with that one

It just happens that by pure luck you get deals and support the cheapest boards on the market,

making your above comment seem a liitle....rich...

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hendo1 said..

Having most companies have thier boards made at one place is no probs with me....then coming together on distrubtion and completely kill off free market, not a big fan

You don't think that having one major manufacturer would have similar effect on prices as restricted distribution?

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hendo1 said...
^^^^^ wow, well you fell on your feet with that one

It just happens that by pure luck you get deals and support the cheapest boards on the market,

making your above comment seem a liitle....rich...

Cheap sometimes = a race to the bottom in quality, performance and durability. I value those three over cost. I acknowledge that not everyone can do this which is why there are choices.

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hendo1 said..

........Why cant the retailors support more brands like Carbon Art,
especially if that results in same quailty yet cheaper gear for the consumer???

Carbon Arts is a custom builder. Their business model is to sell direct to the consumer. That is how they are competitive. It would double the price to sell through retailers which would not be viable.

It is the same for most custom manufacturers. To sell through retailers, board manufacturers must be able to price boards out of the factory at around half the retail price or less. This means efficient mass production is necessary.

Here is another way to make a core with cardboard. Too much labour involved in this for mass production I would guess.

Here's a video of the surfboard.

There's a saying in the carbon race bike industry; "light/cheap/strong, pick any two" I wonder if the same rings true in the board building industry now?

I'd wait for any bugs to get ironed out before buying something like this I think. Too early to call it a breakthrough in board manufacturing.

Looking at the images and videos, I can only think of one word, and it's something I only like my weetbix to be : soggy

yeah, I know, sealed in resin, yada, yada, yada. There'll be water ingress eventually though...