By the way, epoxy is fiberglass. For some reason people are told that stuff like NSP's are epoxy (which is true, but not accurate), which they are really injected epoxy. Epoxy is simply resin, what it's used with makes it what it is. I'm not bad mouthing NSP's by the way, that actually might be a good choice.
Do you have any friends who surf? (and know what they are looking at on a board? there can be a sweet surfer, who doesn't know crap about boards, or a crappy surfer that knows boards pretty well [that second one is me
] ) If so, you can drag them along. Just look for any cracks, squeeze the board feeling for any delam spots. A delam spot will go down very easily and come back up once you let go. Any brown spots or darker yellow spots mean that the foam has gotten water in it and now is corroding. These spots will probably be pretty soft. You may see "pressure dings" on the deck, that are from the heels, hands, faces, etc. Those are normal, but an excessive amount or very deep ones you want to avoid. Also, look at the stringer (wood in the middle) and see if it is higher than the rest of the board. Yes, it's in the middle, so it's the highest point, but if you close your eyes you shouldn't be able to find the stringer. If you feel a bump over it, go to the next board.
An eye for detail and a bit of what to look for and you could pick out a decent board.
I'm gonna say no on the foamie. Fun for the first 2 hours, then you out grow them in skill.
