The problems as consumers, is that in a lot of places wages are not going up with the inflation of everything else. Idk what that’s like for California but it hasn’t changed since 2013 where I’m from. COVID tax is real, but I’ve been working full time throughout it all and COVID wages are not a thing. I think that’s just something to take into account when consumers talk about inflated pricing
this dude doesn't know anything about politics and the economy. he lives in a very wealthy part of Cali. He breathes hypocrisy as he leaches off of mommy and daddy.
@@rustyshackleford649 I mean he accurately brought up the fact that inflation exists, showing some understanding of economics. Most products are not going to stay the same price for 30 years. There were probably some things that reduced the price of producing skateboards, but it’s essentially the same product as was being sold in the 90s. Unfortunately inflation is real. I agree that wages aren’t high enough, but companies eventually have to adjust prices, especially when input prices rise.
It’s crazy how in such short time I‘ve become a huge fan of your channel. I feel like you’re always bringing really good and well articulated takes and arguments to the table that I hadn’t thought of before. I always find myself looking forward to what you have to say next. Keep doing you!
Yeah it's a no brainer. It astounds me how many people don't understand why there's been price increases. It's not ideal, but it had to happen sooner or later, otherwise there'd be no reason to start/continuing being a skateboard company
Except that those "ol' timey prices" were already massively inflated (5-6x) from the very beginning in the 70'ies. Also, let's not forget that the production moved to China around 2000, yet the price didn't drop. They didn't move the production out there for the sake of Chinese economy you know...
@@mikkeljrgensen3850 points well taken. Especially so, regarding the shift towards Chinese production, but I still believe that the $60-65 range is a fair ask for a quality deck. That is, when bought from a bonafide skate shop. Way less chance of getting a lemon. Usually, our crew throws in on bulk blanks so they’re not so precious, lol. You also made me realize that I should clarify that last bit. Higher prices were necessary for board companies to keep paying skaters, vid/photo, and bts crew, more so, than to generally stay in business. Honestly, who tf knows these days anyway, bet it’s not my dumbass. I’ll say this with confidence though, as long as there’s gifted haters and love letters I believe skateboarding will find its way.
Yeah, that’s just business. It sucks for us trying to buy boards. I just am at the point where I’ll cop maybe one or two pro models throughout the year, but my main decks im usually copping are my local shop decks. They are $20 cheaper, so can save some bucks when gettin a new deck. People who mainly complain never just look around, yeah it’s nice to have a pro model but if your local shop has good shop decks then get that one to save some money.
In Australia an average skateboard in a shop will cost $150 AUD, for a skater that goes through a board every 2-4 weeks it's like servicing a second car.
In Canada (Montreal area to be exact) boards have risen to a range between 80 and 100, before tax... $80 boards being the shitty brands or shop boards. Baker, FA and others are in the $100 range.
Here's a perspective on the deck pricing from a guy who lives in Russia and works at a skateshop. The currency rate is totally fucked, 1 US dollar equals almost 80 rubles (russian currency). In 2020 average rent for a one-room flat in the US was something like 1k a month (which equals almost 80k rubles), HOWEVER the average rent in Russia is about 17k rubles a month (which equals 250 fucking bucks). That leads me to the next point - decks from Europe (not top tier)/Russia based brands cost about 4k rubles (equals 55 bucks, which is fair from a US citizen perspective) and go up to 7k rubles for top-tier american brands like Baker etc (97 bucks). Once again, the price of 55 bucks doesnt look bad, but i didnt give that rent statistic for nothing. Look at that fucking ratio. Imagine paying about 1/4 of your rent (oh and by the way, average salaries in Russia are just a little higher than the rent rate) VS paying 1/20 of your rent for a skate deck. Not saying that shit to be all "oh we have it worse than you", but hey, we would love to have it the way you guys do.
We already have that. They're on the same level as some of the european brands, because well almost all of europe presses their boards in one woodshop, so the prices dont differ that much. The ratio is still crazy. Its all about the currency rate
@@bbqjuan That's because some of the best woodshops are located in Mexico, BBS is the prime example. There isnt a woodshop in Russia, and if there was one, the quality of boards would be really, really poor. For us its either Jart(HLC), which is used by the majority, or some factory in China that i dont even know the name of. Board brands (at least the ones im mentioning) have nothing to do with the prices, they all comply to the market that was formed before they even started. And needless to say, Russian economy is a complete mess right now (sorry Mother Russia), so it all just stacks up.
Dudes complaining about $60 boards. The standard in Australia has always been around $100-$120, but since covid they’ve gone up even higher, around $130-$150 mostly. FA boards for example are now $180, that’s absurd
they're in the US. 60USD is 80AUD. which is the price of most boards in the US. The only difference is that Australia has companies like poolroom and passport which have to charge 110 to function and prosper. even so I was able to get a poolroom board for 90 bucks. mainstream boards cost about the same (80AUD) in Australia since the big brands manufacture their shit in china. You also have to take into account that skateshops in australia dont make as much money as the ones in the US and they themselves have to prosper. IMO FA is becoming much like supreme and way more popular therfor theyve increased their prices (idk why tf u would want to skate a FA deck tho).
@@i-never-look-at-replies-lol you may say GH is 'not that smart'. But America has a national IQ average of 109, which is a lot higher than most parts of the world. Secondly, i wonder what you think define's a person as 'smart'? I myself have undergone several IQ tests and my average IQ is 124, with my highest developmental area being worth 134 IQ points and my lowest developmental area being around 80 IQ points. If there's anything that i've learned IQ and intellect is made up of different developmental areas and thus 1 area (for example speech / linguïstics) can't define a persons intellect as a whole.
@@i-never-look-at-replies-lol You probably think that the whole of someone's breadth of knowledge consists of what they were taught in primary and secondary school because that's true for you.
I think one thing that is missed with the skateboard decks in general is how brands from bigger companies like NHS Fun Factory are now employing Birch in their decks and not maple. I'll pay more for the maple.
If normal "pro" decks are too expensive for you, you can literally buy blanks offline for like 25$. I've been skating blanks for the last 7 years and they're fine to ride, it's all literally the same so long as it's Canadian maple.
I'm torn on skateparks because I'm old enough to remember when most parks were straight up not functional and the obstacles just weren't compatible with a skateboard Im still be pretty happy to see a "Plaza". but yeah I don't live in LA
Most communities have a survey of what obstacles the city should install or what type of park the community wants. Ya you said it. Gotta get involved in the process.
Last time I looked at parks in LA I was amazed at how many skateparks they're are. So sick. Litteraly like 1500 parks within a 100 km radius. Maybe more.
I agree gear can make you better. Personally I feel theirs a placebo effect from having a board or a pair of shoes I really like the look of, ive chucked on a new board or pair of shoes and feel like I’ve skated better or simply have had a better time then usual just due to the fact I like the way my stuff looks 🤷🏿 just my opinion
Theres a really shitty skatepark in Chicago called logan, its a northside park underneath a highway thats got tons of pigeon shit and homeless people camped around, not to mention all the ramps are wood so theres holes in every obstacle and the ramps are graffitied so theyre super slippery. There was a renovation proposed that would turn the park basically into one of those la contest training grounds.
Zeke and Luther is mad underrated. Sure it was a children's sitcom but they made skating look fun af. Best episode when Zeke had a game of SKATE with his teacher.
The supply chain mess will hit everything - Europe is starved of a lot of skate products, which, has made a ton of companies to appear in Europe, its so easy to do now - well...easy to make a graphic...im sure nobdy is nerding out over a tail size or concave. American decks are heading to equivilent to $95 dollars here, the distributors here in the UK are making a huge profit and skaters just assume none familiar brands (out of the same factory) will be junk :/
on the whole prices thing. Skateboarding is one of the least sustainable things. The wood used is specific and the wheels/bushings are made with oil based polys.. they're only going to get more expensive.
On the Solus thing, I agree Winkowski's run was really fun to watch. But honestly both Jamie Foy and Felipe Gustavo's runs were so much harder and had way more tricks. Felipe did like half his tricks switch, but did use less of the park. I actually really like that contest, its fun to see how all the different skaters use the course. Cool they included the women's section this year too. Did they announce the winners yet?
My local park is plastic pegs only and people get fined if they have metal ones, every couple hours an officer will come through and just lurk like they’re some kind of “Peg Patrol” 😂 I do agree with you that they fuck things up at parks but I personally think the $400 fine is quite excessive
lol that park you pulled the pic for when talking about fun parks is in Kearney nebraska. skated it a few times on some road trips. You were right, that shit smacks brotha
BMX bikes don't actually break skatepark obstacles, that is such a old, just wrong statement. skateboarders grind on metal, too and pegs don't even round off the edges of curbs and ledges like trucks do.
Tanner Van ,,,vark?? Not sure if he completed the solus run, But I rekon he had ,,,"for me" , the most proper version of skateboarding, As opposed to the same boring comp shit Or jock ish shit. He seems like a throwback / new school street legend
Come to Canada. Tons of fast food places are closed cause they can't find workers. It's sad. So much work here it's insane but you gotta vaccinate and mask up everywhere so up to you. I wanna move to the states so bad lately it's crazy. Even Halloween costumes are not getting here till after Halloween cause of the supply chain thing. The world is ending. :(
Most likely wheel prices are about to jump as well. Longboard industry had a jump from $40-$50 for wheels in 2019/2020 to $65-$100 in 2021. Skateboard prices are about to be on the rise even more so just get ready to keep paying more.
