Keep surfing in the hands of surfers?

[BoMan]

According to The Inertia,

As surfers, we can all agree that surf shops aren’t just any ordinary shop. A surf shop is a place where you meet people that share your love for something. It’s a place where you establish friendships and build knowledge. It’s a place we can all get caught staring at a tv screen, watching the latest surf film, wondering how Wilko just chucked up that 12 o’clock backhand. That said, the online marketplace is taking business from local shapers and surf shops.

Where do you spend your hard earned $ and what’s the thinking behind your decision?

https://www.theinertia.com/surf/supporting-local-businesses-and-shapers-keeps-surfing-in-the-hands-of-surfers/

[kookRachelle]

According to The Inertia,

As surfers, we can all agree that surf shops aren’t just any ordinary shop. A surf shop is a place where you meet people that share your love for something. It’s a place where you establish friendships and build knowledge. It’s a place we can all get caught staring at a tv screen, watching the latest surf film, wondering how Wilko just chucked up that 12 o’clock backhand. That said, the online marketplace is taking business from local shapers and surf shops.

Where do you spend your hard earned $ and what’s the thinking behind your decision?

https://www.theinertia.com/surf/supporting-local-businesses-and-shapers-keeps-surfing-in-the-hands-of-surfers/

I love this quote:

"Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want." - Anna Lappe

I'm a big supporter of my local shop and loved this post, thank you!

[oldmansurfer]

Not a surf shop kind of guy myself. I like to deal directly with the shaper. I used to buy boards from a guy who ran a shop but I picked them up directly from his home/board factory. Internet buying has no interest for me.

[waikikikichan]

Having work in the surf/action sports industry for most of my life, I can tell you the surfboard is one of the least marked up / profitable items. Most shops make their money off of clothing and accessories. But that is where the on-line retailers come in. You don't want to buy a board on-line, but you could get fins, leashes, tail pad, which cuts out the local shop's bread and butter.
I also worked in a bicycle shop and that's where there's a lot of "Show Rooming". That is where shoppers visit their local shop, ask to try things on, then go home and order the same item on-line. I can't tell you how many times ( and for how long ) I help fit a bicycle helmet on somone ( or someone's kid ) and then have them tell me, "Oh, it's cheaper on Amazon ".
As a rule, when ever I visit a shop on surf trips, i buy a bar of wax.

[kookRachelle]

"Show Rooming" That is where shoppers visit their local shop, ask to try things on, then go home and order the same item on-line.

[BoMan]

My local shop does a great job of HUMANIZING the experience. I often go in just to hang out after a session. I talk with the staff about what the sandbars were doing, how high tide killed the morning swell and what's new on the used board rack. I'm loyal because they always have good people who know the break and are happy to share. I see them in the water all the time either riding for fun or giving lessons. When I'm buying they also take time to ask questions and help me choose the right equipment. SURFDOME and GSI have their place but they will never know me or the lineup.

[jaffa1949]

Have look too, how much the local shop contributes to clubs and families who come in . The Merimbula Surf shop, contributes prizes and helps the grommets move up the food chain selling and upgrading theirs and equip at little cost.
The other shop outlet owned, no prizes no community interaction, totally unpersonable , doesn't matter if what they sell doesn't suit the first timers ( it's a sale). I know who I patronise.
We also know the show roofers, another thing the show roomers do. is buy cheap knock off fins and stuff with faked branding which break and they bring it to the store and ask for the item to be returned or money back often quite aggressively. No receipt no return or refund.

Any more and there is a soap box I have to go stand on and deliver a philibuster about the human condition

[oldmansurfer]

Having work in the surf/action sports industry for most of my life, I can tell you the surfboard is one of the least marked up / profitable items. Most shops make their money off of clothing and accessories. But that is where the on-line retailers come in. You don't want to buy a board on-line, but you could get fins, leashes, tail pad, which cuts out the local shop's bread and butter.
I also worked in a bicycle shop and that's where there's a lot of "Show Rooming". That is where shoppers visit their local shop, ask to try things on, then go home and order the same item on-line. I can't tell you how many times ( and for how long ) I help fit a bicycle helmet on somone ( or someone's kid ) and then have them tell me, "Oh, it's cheaper on Amazon ".
As a rule, when ever I visit a shop on surf trips, i buy a bar of wax.

There was a shop that didn't require an hour travel time from work or home but it closed down. So I buy leashes and wax at Walmart and fins online.

[RinkyDink]

I love this quote:

"Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want." - Anna Lappe

I've been taking that to heart lately. I'm really going out of my way to avoid buying plastic. If I need a drink, I buy one in a can. If I want a pastry or something, I find a place where I can just buy the item without plastic wrappers. It's a small thing, but I've really come to despise plastic and it galls me that it's actually difficult to buy things without it.

[saltydog]

My favorite shop is a true mom-and-pop surf shop catering mostly to local surfers. There's no latest fashion items or significant souvenir goods to be found. The owner and staff are all friendly and always eager to share knowledge or just chat about surfing both at the shop and in water if I happen to run into them during my sessions. Honestly, I've never had a better experience anywhere else period, and I don't mean just surf shops. So I definitely shop local, or more like at that particular store, when it comes to most of my equipment except for the wetsuit which they don't carry what fits me best. The hard part for me is that there are a handful of local surf businesses near me that I have to choose which one to support more. Meanwhile, that reminds me that I need to pick up a fin and some wax...

[Big H]

Chilli, Volcom, Quiksilver, Hurley, Rip Curl, CI and I don't know who else have regional corporate headquarters here.....Rip Curl has stores everywhere. I have a couple of shops I go to for repairs and wax and and occasional leash, wax comb, leash cord or tailpad.....but really I don't have much to buy......fins and boards I buy second hand from Facebook listings; besides that, one of the things that I like about surfing is there isn't that much more equipment or accessories involved.

[Oldie]

In France where I surfed, most shops are dedicated brand outlets from the big names a la Ripcurl, Billabong etc. They do not have much cool athmosphere, I rather feel that ie. RipCurl tries to create an elite boutige feeling. On the other hand, my "local" shop (50 km away), is 250km away from any coast, but run by real surfers and truly cool people, and they also have a big online shop while being a cool place to be. In Netherlands, my experience is they, as a true trade nation, just try to sell you anything they have, despite being run by surfers. And at least over here, prices do not vary a lot between retailers and online dealers. So it is not so black and white and I don't I feel there is a loyal surfing family vs some bin online shops. I buy when and where I need it. Before the season, typically online as I have no shop nearby, or in my "local" shop. During vaations, I buy offline where we stay.

[dtc]

one of the things that I like about surfing is there isn't that much more equipment or accessories involved.

yet we talk about that equipment more than I think any other sport. Except maybe golf.

[Big H]

Ahhhhh.....golf.....

I used to play....was scratch for awhile until I wore out my hip. Equipment discussions among serious golfers is insane. You have balls with various spin and compression rates, drivers of all shapes, shafts that each variety comes in different flexes and can be custom trimmed to length, grips of all kinds and under wraps for further customisation.....havent even gotten into all the wedges, iron heads and shafts, fairway woods vs utility rescue type clubs, iron and wedge overall shaft weight, head weights, shaft weights, tip weights and balance points, custom lofting of iron sets for consistent gapping between clubs, club tuning and and will totally leave the putter hoodoo alone!

BTW, I was thinking about going to hit some balls again, so going through my four golf bags and various containers of golf stuff the other day I was trying to put together a set and trying to decide between the draw biased or fade biased driver shaft combinations, long irons for windy play vs rescue clubs....rescue clubs that hit lower than others and which of those, fairway woods to match the gaps for the long iron/rescuce club choice, trying to remember what the gaps were on my 14 wedges and whether to go with an extra wedge or extra wood/long iron........of my 21 putters it was always a playoff for who made the starting lineup so I grabbed a few and got a ball and had a competition on the living room carpet.



Yeah surfing has a lot of equipment to talk about......thing is the better I get the less important it seems......after you get the size of the boards you ride worked out, what size fins and combinations work for what, the wax that you like and leashes that hold up there isn't really too much else. Can still experiment but honestly I can't really see much difference now that I've sorted the basic needs out at my level. Golf on the other hand, my favourite iron set are a set of bridgestone forged cavity back, +1/2" long true temper black gold shafts with 5g tip weights and 10g weights under the grip, grip is two under wraps, heads bent between 1-3* strong and irons gapped to approx. 12yds between clubs. Those are just the irons and if it is windy then it's the mizuno MP-14s with the nippon NS Pro 1150s with an entirely different set of specs diligently worked out on the course and range........

[dtc]

but dont you have a board for small waves plus a longboard, for shore break, for full tide, for head high, for backside, for OH waves, a gun that you never use but 'just in case', the single fin, the quad, the fish, the mini sims. Agonise over whether it should be a 6'4 or 6'3 or whether your correct volume is 36.5L or 35.7L??

[BoMan]

My favorite shop writes a daily surf report. Today's was a classic.

Looks like someone forgot to put a dime in the juke box and the record is spinning. Around and round it goes where it stops nobody knows.

[Big H]

but dont you have a board for small waves plus a longboard, for shore break, for full tide, for head high, for backside, for OH waves, a gun that you never use but 'just in case', the single fin, the quad, the fish, the mini sims. Agonise over whether it should be a 6'4 or 6'3 or whether your correct volume is 36.5L or 35.7L??

Hahahahaha.......point taken though you are lumping me with a stereotype (my mate has a quiver of 27)......I like experimenting and surfing different boards is an easy way to keep things fresh when you surf a lot. One friends who admittedly doesn’t surf enough still has 9 boards and one under construction with a local shaper. Golf is crazy; you can customize and gargle stats to the nth degree......thankfully, keeping my personality and disposable income in mind, surfing can’t quite compare.

[Big H]

LOL....had to count....19 at the moment.....I have all the bases covered.......even have a board to change the oil in my car.....