Given that our sport is so new and gear is constantly evolving, We (wife and I) try to hold onto our gear lightly and sell sooner verses later. Currently we are about to move on from our second set of wings. Our first set of wings comprised of three different brands. We were new to the sport and was trying to figure out what worked for us. Our second set are all of the same brand, which was a nice compromise of both our needs

As we are planning to sell our second quiver, one unexpected issues has arisen. Apparently there are several team riders for the brand of wings we own, in our area. They too are selling off their wings as the new version was recently released. This has artificially devalued our wings because obviously we can't complete in price against a bunch of young folks who got their wings for free (as part of their sponsorship). I calculated that we've lost about $200 USD per wing (for 4 wings) due to the team riders under-pricing their gear.

Now we're rethinking our decision to purchase the new version of this particular brand, even though we both like the new wings. So we might be back auditioning other brands again. Am I being too much of a bean-counter? Do you folks consider resale value as part of your wing foil gear purchase decisions?

not for me to tell you where or where not to spend your money. the whole team rider thing is a double edged sword... good companies manage their team riders and local shops to make sure team riders aren't tanking the market. I also think the high resale that we saw in the first two years of winging will diminish some. There are still lots of people looking for used wings, but there are also a lot more of them out there as well as some carryover/closeout wings at the shops which wasn't the case two years ago.

of course, my situation as a retailer is a little different, but resale absolutely influences some of my decisions. Hard to rationalize buying something obscure that may have zero demand on the secondary market. OTOH, I want to ride what I want to ride, so sometimes just say F it... easier to do when buying at wholesale of course.

Also hard to pull a D/LAB for personal use when I know I could make money on it, but hey I can't let the customers have all the nice toys... need one or two for myself, too.

Thx for the feedback so far. Right now, I don't have a choice but to hang on to the wings because there is depressed demand and price for them. There are so many used ones in the market due to the team rider issue. In our local area there are 3-4 wings of every size in conditions ranging from used to brand new in the bag. I might have to take our wings somewhere else to sell. The issue becomes, do I then buy the v2 of these same wings knowing that a year from now I will be stuck again unable to sell them? Or, do I move on to another brand.

Same in our area, heaps of good secondhand wings at less than half new price, It's great for beginners getting into the sport. I wonder how those who outlayed big buck on Aluula will go with resale, eg the OR crew. Rigid handles are the go now so those expensive wings are relics and worth how much secondhand?

Given the large advances year over year and the very big demand for used gear, I am definitely more likely to cycle my WingFoiling gear, I find I'm quick to buy new models of boards/wings/foils because its so easy to sell my used gear.