Try before you buy option?

[CASurfCollective]

I bought a board, didn't like it so sold it at a loss, bought another one, again it wasn't right so sold it at a loss, finally bought a board I liked. Altogether it cost me about $350 to try three boards before I spent $800 on the board for me.

I appreciate there are demo days but they aren't regular, some surf shops allow demoing too but very few, so wondering how people feel about lending their boards out for people just to try & see if they like it.

Most people have a good few boards in their quiver so there must be a board out there in someone's garage that could be right. We wouldn't need to spend $350 trying to find it if someone could just let us try theirs for an hour.

I get it, you could ding a board so there would need to be an agreement to pay for damage but who'd be willing? I know I would.

[Big H]

I wouldn't. I can't see any upside. Those who can't figure out close enough what will work and not work for them probably are more prone to dinging and mismanagement as most of those would fall on the less than more experienced side of things. Plus, if you formed a group, I would guess that there would be a couple of members who would abuse the privilege and try out everyone's entire quiver because they could. I wouldn't even do it for money; I'm not a rental shop and I take good care of my things, better than other people do of my things in my experience.

What you need to do is make more friends then hit them up to borrow their stuff.

[CASurfCollective]

Thanks Big H, very useful, what if the group was affiliated to others around the world? The idea being you could borrow boards where ever you went rather than paying to haul yours?

[Big H]

For the same reasons no for me....I live in Bali...if this were real there would be a queue at my door daily. Go see Big H; he's got really nice stuff! Buy a second hand board at your location then sell it; you'll break nearly even and you wouldn't have the burd n of responsibility that goes with borrowing something from someone else (though I Think that's missing from the makeup already).

[Big H]

I would think it would be an awesome deal for a guy from Quebec, Nebraska or even New Jersey. Board rentals aren't cheap in known destinations and those who live in Jbay, Bali, Hawaii or Gold Coast would be getting the very short end of the stick.

[Big H]

Further to that, what if someone borrows a board then sells it? What controls do you have to guard against that? How about more realistically, they damage the board and either do a poor repair, repair it themselves or return it unrepaired....what if they snap it and can't pay for a new one or if I lend a 10 year old CI flyer and it snaps; do I get compensated with a new one or will an agent come around me do an appraisal?

I will never work among strangers.

[CASurfCollective]

Thanks Big H I appreciate your thoughts & concerns

[jaffa1949]

There is another poster in the shore dump section that is looking at boards accommodation and stuff like an AirBnB system .
I think all the thoughts Big H puts up are valid, I've seen too many surfers and wanna be surfers in theI want the freedom to party mode and little awareness of caring for boards or accommodation.
Straight rental from a business is the surest way to go for everybody.
As for try before you buy, really the only ones that can carry that are the manufacturers, they can write off or down a certain percentage of their stock.

In an ideal world all you suggest would be great but ideal this world ain't !

[Big H]

FWIW I take the burden on myself and buy used exclusively....I am still developing and sorting out what works and those parameters keep changing....second hand I can use it, keep it, sell it, whatever....usually is break even or slightly to one side or the other.....costs nothing but time essentially.