Surfing Waves

Hey guys I’m hoping that maybe some of you can give me some helpful information. I haven’t surfed before and want to know what a good board would be for me. I am 5’10” 150 pounds. I have been to a few surf shops but they have all told me different things about what size board to get…. One told me a short board from like 6’6” to 7” and another said nothing under 8 feet for a beginner. (Keep in mind I’m in jersey so the waves aren’t huge) I have also been recommended a bic. I don’t really know much about those boards except that they are plastic and wont ding very much so I can sell it back to the store where I bought it if I want to upgrade. But why have a heard so much about people getting a bic then selling in a few weeks when they get a little better at surfing.
Help I don’t know what boards to look at because I have been told too many different things. (I am going to rent one in 2 weeks when I have a weekend off and hopefully that will help with my decision)

Ok i read that and have been recomonded Bic's and NSP's, but are they both both horrible boards? It seems like everyone just has their own prefernece, but i havent been on either so what do you guys think.

Well I am new too. My uncle is letting me use his short board which I have found really hard to learn on, but I am pretty persistant so I will not quit until I learn it, but I am also in florida, and have a wide variety of places I can go and surf. I am pretty sure long boards can catch just about any wave there is, so it would be good for two things. 1) Learning, 2) Catching the waves the jersey shore throws at you.

Let me know if this helped at all.