Rant: Dealer markup on windsurf gear

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

Any good sailor from 1986 on 1986 gear is still one of the best in the water today.
Just because YOU could not windsurf then doesn't mean the gear didn't work.

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1548

I windsurfed all up and down the west coast. lakes rivers and waves. I made that gear work as good as or better than most. I was sponsored by a so cal windsurfing shop. So i could windsurf back then. If you think 1986 gear was as good as todays, than live in the past and enjoy the ride. Who really cares.
It seems that you search for anything negative to say about a person or people that you don't even know. I feel sorry for you and the people around you....

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Moderately old gear can’t be declared better- or worse-performing without specifying one’s criteria*.

westender · Joined: 02 Aug 2007 Posts: 1288 Location: Portland / Gorge

New toys are awesome. When it comes to tools, some of mine are vintage.

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

Novaan.. You, and I were sponsored in the 80's. Neither of us are sponsored NOW. Why?

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

Novaan..
1986, I got my first set of Seatrend 9' x 23" x 38cm ofo 13 lbs. Slalom boards.
1984, got my 7'6" Prodanovich twin fin wave board at 23" wide.
What's outdated?

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

margins, it's what greases the wheels of capitalism. without them, nothing much happens. want something else? maybe a move to china? provided the gov't will subsidize, right?

dcharlton · Joined: 24 Apr 2002 Posts: 414

It's taken me MANY years as a consumer to figure out if you buy the cheapest, you may save a little money at the cost of losing everything else.

I look at what my equipment goes through, punishing waves, high winds (although not as much as I'd like) and a really clumsy careless owner Wink

all while balancing performance and light weight. Truly a miracle of free market capitalism when you consider what is available to us now verses 20-30 years ago.

I still wince at the cost of sails, boards, but I also recognize the quality, engineering and skill in what it takes to create them. I still look for good deals on used stuff and get lucky sometimes, but am getting better at just buying the best stuff. Some folks get a new car every 2 years, I treat myself to a new board, all about priorities.

DC

U2U2U2 · Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 10:16 am Post subject:

I feel that the OP intent was dealer mark up.

Several have made posts that reference the cost of then and now pricing.

Using a cost of living , Cumulative pricing change calculation. The percentage increase from 1996 to 2017 is 56.23% , average 2.15% yearly.

I have the price tag on my F2 Zantos purchased new in 1996 22 years ago , it was $999.95. Cost currently of 2017 sale boards will vary so a average came to $1616.

This works to a 65% close enough, increase. Compare to the 56.23 % above.
The cost of stable things like milk, bread, gasoline , dont appear to follow this.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

A bud's early '80s Mistral PanAm cost him >$6,500 in today's dollars.

My Mistral Superlites and Equipe cost over $4,000 in today's dollars.

Many of my finest performers cost me ≤ $100 in today's dollars, and
MOST of my finest performers cost me <$200 in today's dollars.
I thus get to treat myself to new (to me, and often regarding condition) boards every time one strikes my fancy. There's very little luck involved; it takes a TON of research, time, effort, and assistance from my wife.

That also applies to wetsuits. My last Quicksilver super-stretchy, unobtanium-lined and covered, never-worn, perfectly-fitting, near-dry, steamer cost $60 because it had dirt on the arms from the factory (it washed clean). Thank you again, Second Wind Hood River.

If anything, I see a clear inverse correlation between boards' prices and the performance I prefer. The ones that cost me $2,000 recently perform better only in certain aspects. The other, even more current boards I've carefully selected and tried each year just have not impressed me. Silly me, but I prefer to pay $20 for fantastic performance rather than $2,000 for merely adequate performance. As with everything else, it all depends on one's criteria. I'm not into freestyle, I don't have ready access to glassy waves, and I don't consider a board's chronological age of any importance whatsoever.

Bottom line: Markup, schmarkup. It's not our problem unless we choose to make it our problem. If it makes the OP feel any better, my brother once worked in a menswear store that (successfully) sold mainstream shirts for 5 times what they paid for them. I'm betting Joseph A. Banks marks them up even further.