Well my update is I now have 2 customs and couldn't be happier

Well I just bought into this market and initially I was willing to pay $1100 for a pretty good quality board. Looked at the NSP Coco at $1800 and thought a bit much but wanted good weight and strength, then I trialled a Naish, loved the look of the Mana and payed over $2k for board, bag, paddle and I had said I would not spend that much!!! I never considered the cheap $800 ones they were heavy, and looked cheap, but not everyone will do that and they want cheap. Having run my own business I know it's hard to pick but you need to meet YOUR markets needs and wants!

I bagged the price hike in that original thread. So now I'll have to eat my words.
I just purchased the new 2016 falcon race board. Certainly not cheap but that's my first "brand new" board in the 2/3years I've been paddling. I thought Long and hard about a custom race board from one of the Gold Coast guys which would
Of saved myself some cash though In the end happy to support my local shop owner who I also call a mate. Every little dollar he gets he needs to survive in this tough retail market.

But it does go good. Doesn't it?

some are better than others.....

Too much is when people stop buying them. Which business mode do they want to follow? Volume and cheap, expensive and elite. They are the two ends of the spectrum and each company will have their own necessary volume and price point and all are trying to maximise profits. Call me a Marxist, but the only reason a company has any pretence to caring for the customer is simply to maximise return patronage (nothing wrong with that - I got a free leggie recently). But I reckon be under no illusion - they will be charging as much as they think the market can bare and if demand goes up you can bet prices will too.

As with most things based around money, a law of diminishing returns sets in too. Is a $2900 three times as good as $800 board? I would think not, but many people will think any improvement in performance is worth the extra cash.

Plus, never underestimate the importance of branding. There are cool brands, prestigious brands, serious brands - none of which are probably that different to each other.

Me? When I can buy a new 10' longboard for $1500, I reckon anything over about $2000 for a surf SUP is taking the p**s.

But what do I know? I only have one SUP (brushed carbon Evoke) that I bought for $1400 with a cover delivered to my door. I can't be taking it seriously with that board and price hey?

petedorries said..
But it does go good. Doesn't it?

I think it goes good. only paddle so far was the 20k marathon haha.
I am looking fwd to getting it out on the moreton bay down winders as soon as the winds get good again.
I'm confident it will go better than good. this shape has to be the best design yet from fanatic.
seemed to pick up those little bumps on thursday with ease with out having to move around on the board much at all.
will need to learn to surf it in the surf with the pin tail though.

laceys lane said...

AndyR said..

petedorries said..
But it does go good. Doesn't it?

I think it goes good. only paddle so far was the 20k marathon haha.
I am looking fwd to getting it out on the moreton bay down winders as soon as the winds get good again.
I'm confident it will go better than good. this shape has to be the best design yet from fanatic.
seemed to pick up those little bumps on thursday with ease with out having to move around on the board much at all.
will need to learn to surf it in the surf with the pin tail though.

you know as much as I love my maliko in my mind its more a surfing dw er board, long spread out bumps, low and high wind and fast in the flats. pretty good all round race board.


but I need a se, ese, ne windy messy bumpy back washy, short period type board to go with the maliko and ive been asking around a lot. even 2 or 3 nsw crew god forbid and the fanatic 14 x 26.25 looks like being that board.

We getting off the topic but the falcon 26 with ur Maliko 24 coming could be a good quiver for awhile.
I wonder if a slightly recessed deck on a falcon would feel right.

Howdy Again Trend Setters,
I put my 2 cents worth into the original thread and happy to do so again. My thoughts haven't changed really after this time passing, reading what ever I can and also watching other people. I simply don't have the coin to purchase the big name boards! Pure and simple!! I can't really see how it's justified re production etc to be 3 times dearer than the other "cheaper" brands.

Yes I admit I don't have a clue re business and making them and just look at the end $$ figure, but I guess I'm not alone there. R&d has been talked about but unless you're pro does that really matter in a conversation. Don't get me wrong, when I catch a wave in my view I'm Tom Carroll shredding it up and need all that performance. But the view from the beach, I'm an overweight, short, middle aged bloke getting the odd barrel and cutty but mostly getting smashed!

If you're on here often having a read you would see I'm a proud owner of a Surfboard Warehouse "evoke" in carbon (actually I'm on my third through upgrade purchases) and will shout it to the world. It has more performance than I can use, extremely solid board and the service from the company is second to none!! Even better is I can buy 3 for the price of other big name boards!!! I have other of theirs and extremely happy and plan to get a runway too when I sell one of my old ones to make up some $$.

What am I trying to say.... Shop around and don't be afraid of trying other boards not from the "big 3" as IMO you're being stung. You will save thousands!!

I stand by my comments re Surfboard Warehouse and have had nothing but excellent service and they make great boards that last and they back their products. There are also many other happy customers here in the breeze too.
Just to confirm to the doubters, I'm not employed by the company in anyway or get free boards. I've paid for every one but just a happy returning customer and reckon credit should be given where deserved!!
Cheers Whitey.

AndyR said..

laceys lane said...

AndyR said..

petedorries said..
But it does go good. Doesn't it?

I think it goes good. only paddle so far was the 20k marathon haha.
I am looking fwd to getting it out on the moreton bay down winders as soon as the winds get good again.
I'm confident it will go better than good. this shape has to be the best design yet from fanatic.
seemed to pick up those little bumps on thursday with ease with out having to move around on the board much at all.
will need to learn to surf it in the surf with the pin tail though.

you know as much as I love my maliko in my mind its more a surfing dw er board, long spread out bumps, low and high wind and fast in the flats. pretty good all round race board.


but I need a se, ese, ne windy messy bumpy back washy, short period type board to go with the maliko and ive been asking around a lot. even 2 or 3 nsw crew god forbid and the fanatic 14 x 26.25 looks like being that board.

We getting off the topic but the falcon 26 with ur Maliko 24 coming could be a good quiver for awhile.
I wonder if a slightly recessed deck on a falcon would feel right.

Good Lord NO!!!!

laceys lane said..

AndyR said..

petedorries said..
But it does go good. Doesn't it?

I think it goes good. only paddle so far was the 20k marathon haha.
I am looking fwd to getting it out on the moreton bay down winders as soon as the winds get good again.
I'm confident it will go better than good. this shape has to be the best design yet from fanatic.
seemed to pick up those little bumps on thursday with ease with out having to move around on the board much at all.
will need to learn to surf it in the surf with the pin tail though.

you know as much as I love my maliko in my mind its more a surfing dw er board, long spread out bumps, low and high wind and fast in the flats. pretty good all round race board.


but I need a se, ese, ne windy messy bumpy back washy, short period type board to go with the maliko and ive been asking around a lot. even 2 or 3 nsw crew god forbid and the fanatic 14 x 26.25 looks like being that board.

Little bird told me you'd been showing interest Lacey. The 26 is right up your alley.

There wasn't much swell at Nationals but I loved the 24 Falcon. I still believe the 26 will be the good all rounder though....so I've got that also. Particularly in bigger swell.

Glad you enjoyed it Andy R. You were pretty pumped at the start. 26 worked well for you.

...and Lacey the recessed deck...watch this space. A few things already being discussed in the design area for next year considering some of us have had boards for a while now.

The reality is that boards a year old are selling much cheaper. You can pick up last year's model Falcon for around $1600 which is pretty good value.

ActionSportsWA said..
Hi Peeps,

As the initiator of this thread, I feel I should post where we are at right now.

We made some huge decisions in the aftermath of the Winter pricing. We ended up dropping one brand, have throttled back severely on the high end race gear although having said that, I believe the new Fanatic Strike is the fastest flat water board currently available and the Falcons have been doing really well too, so I guess from the results thus far the money IS worth the performance if you are at the cutting edge of racing and need that little bit extra to make the difference.

We have also dropped much of the niche wave boards and only order in less popular sizes or extra expensive products on customer request. On a positive note though, we have populated our racks with some of the more affordable budget range from the big brands and have gone light on with the middle and top tier constructions of all brands in SUP.

To the credit of the big manufacturers, they have produced some pretty amazing products at realistic value for money, so we, and our customers are pleased with the offerings.

Happy to say that the value is still there as long as you can sit comfortably knowing you haven't bought the top end construction. This shouldn't matter to most as few are in need of the top level of anything when considering their ability.

All good in 2016, not gone, just changed.

Happy paddling all

DM

Great summary of how the good shops have catered to customer need. For our sport to prosper we need to support our local retailers. They're the guys who support the events, clubs and lessons. There are a lot of guys selling cheap stuff but I haven't seen one of them support a club, a race or do anything to promote the sport and see it prosper.

laceys lane said...

NNSUP said...

laceys lane said..

AndyR said..

petedorries said..
But it does go good. Doesn't it?

I think it goes good. only paddle so far was the 20k marathon haha.
I am looking fwd to getting it out on the moreton bay down winders as soon as the winds get good again.
I'm confident it will go better than good. this shape has to be the best design yet from fanatic.
seemed to pick up those little bumps on thursday with ease with out having to move around on the board much at all.
will need to learn to surf it in the surf with the pin tail though.

you know as much as I love my maliko in my mind its more a surfing dw er board, long spread out bumps, low and high wind and fast in the flats. pretty good all round race board.


but I need a se, ese, ne windy messy bumpy back washy, short period type board to go with the maliko and ive been asking around a lot. even 2 or 3 nsw crew god forbid and the fanatic 14 x 26.25 looks like being that board.

Little bird told me you'd been showing interest Lacey. The 26 is right up your alley.

There wasn't much swell at Nationals but I loved the 24 Falcon. I still believe the 26 will be the good all rounder though....so I've got that also. Particularly in bigger swell.

Glad you enjoyed it Andy R. You were pretty pumped at the start. 26 worked well for you.

...and Lacey the recessed deck...watch this space. A few things already being discussed in the design area for next year considering some of us have had boards for a while now.

The reality is that boards a year old are selling much cheaper. You can pick up last year's model Falcon for around $1600 which is pretty good value.

Some recess is good but hope its not going to be a canoe.

Well im getting one. Many thxs to those who helped me including sam parker/windsurfandsnow who has dw ed this falcon and the maliko. His unbiased option was gold.

also steve from gold coast sup and surf fx crew.
we are lucky to have such good shops in oz.

Going have every condition covered between these two ripper boards

NNSUP said..

ActionSportsWA said..
Hi Peeps,

As the initiator of this thread, I feel I should post where we are at right now.

We made some huge decisions in the aftermath of the Winter pricing. We ended up dropping one brand, have throttled back severely on the high end race gear although having said that, I believe the new Fanatic Strike is the fastest flat water board currently available and the Falcons have been doing really well too, so I guess from the results thus far the money IS worth the performance if you are at the cutting edge of racing and need that little bit extra to make the difference.

We have also dropped much of the niche wave boards and only order in less popular sizes or extra expensive products on customer request. On a positive note though, we have populated our racks with some of the more affordable budget range from the big brands and have gone light on with the middle and top tier constructions of all brands in SUP.

To the credit of the big manufacturers, they have produced some pretty amazing products at realistic value for money, so we, and our customers are pleased with the offerings.

Happy to say that the value is still there as long as you can sit comfortably knowing you haven't bought the top end construction. This shouldn't matter to most as few are in need of the top level of anything when considering their ability.

All good in 2016, not gone, just changed.

Happy paddling all

DM

Great summary of how the good shops have catered to customer need. For our sport to prosper we need to support our local retailers. They're the guys who support the events, clubs and lessons. There are a lot of guys selling cheap stuff but I haven't seen one of them support a club, a race or do anything to promote the sport and see it prosper.

In defence of one of the guys selling the 'cheap stuff' as you have referred to them (and I'm not affiliated with them in any way) they have been a supporter of our club's activities and recently supported our winter series. They've been quite a supporter of social based events for years now.

It also depends on your market. Some are keen to sell their products to hard core racers and surfers, some sell a lifestyle that includes a board and a paddle and there are a whole lot in between.

I've bought from stores where you know the product comes with fantastic service and you happily pay for that, and I've bought from a store where the service was non-existent and story after story came with each delay of the delivery of the product I bought when a straight out 'sorry, but we can't deliver your product until X..." would have been the best approach by far and there are some that are just plain shifty, selling someone a board that wasn't even close to being fit for purpose, but was in stock.

So while I'd love to say you get what you pay for, it's not always the case...

I'm surprised no one has mentioned big brands have better resale yet?

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Browse/Stand-Up-Paddle/Wave-Cruising-Boards/

25 pages of boards "holding" their value...

just can't sell them..

at least when you buy an $800 board and it doesnt work out you'll be able to flog it for $500 only lose $300...

Or you can buy a $3500 board, and lose $1500 the moment you walk out the door of the retailer

if you really want to support local, support your local shaper or buy second hand help out a fellow SUPer