Wakeskate Industry?

EAST COAST · Ollie Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 59 City: Orlando/Tampa

All in all...Im thinking the industry is having troubles...To much hype and product avalible and not enough people with a need to buy new boards every 6 months...I dont know it looks like rough seas ahead for the whole market ...wakeboarding included.

seven11dmd · Posted: Dec 16, 2004 5:34 pm Post subject:

interesting thought bec8uase yes, most of us dont need boards that often.

PIRATE · Guest

JUST curiouse? why do you say that?

PIRATE · Guest

better yet, that is all true and everyone would probably agree with you.

so why would schmaltz make a bomb proof board?

i think the name says it all, support your co. that are owned by wakeskaters!!!!

integrity640 · Kickflip Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 2866 City: Ocala

i know, its not realy like wakeboarding where if ur a kid u get a board evry 2 year cause ur growing. Also, if the companys are making quality boards which most of them are, there wont be a need to buy every 6 months. More people know what wakeboarding is than wakeskating.(quite a few actually) They need to do some bigass contest that will be aired on ESPN or something.

-=AlexXx=- · Posted: Dec 16, 2004 5:59 pm Post subject:

As a skateboarder, i enjoy getting a new skateboard every 6-8 months or so, that would be cool if the wakeksaitng companys made cheaper boards so that people could afford to get a new board ever few months, cuz i sure would, i know that im probly the only who thinks like this but really i dont care. Im not saying integerity is a bad company because i know some people like buying one wakeskate and stickinwiht it for ever, but to me thats like buying a pair of shoes and having them for ever, or buying a car and having it forever. I enjoy getting new and more impoved things, if i got a new board ever 6 months, they would keep getting better in the way they are built, more pop maybe, better construcutioon.. and what not, dont flame me for thinking liek think cuz its my opinon if u dont agree sorry. Very Happy

ben ray · Posted: Dec 16, 2004 6:28 pm Post subject:

-=AlexXx=-, i agree w/ you . i would definitely like just buying a cheaper (in price) board every few months than buying a 300 dollar board and have to use it for 2 years or so. I think the companys would definitely sell alot more boards .

Matt_French · Guest

...or they could cut the quality big time so that the boards snap really easy. Smash

it's called planned obsolescence, and pretty much every industry that is booming in the economy right now is guilty of it. great insight by EAST COAST. I think there might be a point where the industry will saturate and hit a wall...but i think we are pretty far away from that time. And as long as companies can keep pumping out the newest innovations at a relatively low price...i think that a % of ppl will buy new boards just to get the latest technology. but will that % be enough to support an entire industry? again...good point EAST COAST.

Matt_French · Guest

...a little off topic...

but to anyone who knows economics...

would you say that wakeskates (in general) have and Inelastic demand?

I would say that it is relatively inelastic...so the idea of a "cheap" board might not work that well...i dont think it would particularily have a drastic effect on quantity demanded. Also...i think the concept of cheap, low quality boards, degrates the sport.

L.O.W. · Faceplant Joined: 13 Nov 2004 Posts: 32 City: Lake Havasu

Pirate you are such an asssss kisser. I dont know about everybody else but I buy a new wakeskate every year cause they fall apart. I dont think making the quality worse is better for the industry. If anything they need to make them better so they do last longer.

Morphine · Backside 180 Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 1207 City: 706omg

-=AlexXx=- · Posted: Dec 16, 2004 8:59 pm Post subject:

so... hmm, u guys are saying that skateboarding has been degrated? skate deck dont last very long... they are reletivly cheap are u saying that that is bed for the skateboarding industry? i mnea i get your points but i dont see how its "degrading" the sport of wakeskating

numb · Posted: Dec 16, 2004 9:10 pm Post subject:

whoever said they get a new board(skateboard) ever 6 months
ur crazy, if u actually skated u would need a board at least ever month, in the summer i go through a board ever 2-3 weeks

CABLERIDER · Posted: Dec 16, 2004 9:33 pm Post subject:

numb, agreed, i broke a board in 5 days one time

Matt Sacchitiello · Ollie Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 68 City: oakville

Matt_French, it would depend on how responsive the demand is to change of price. I think when is comes to thing like the new LF deck or integ deck, people will be willing to pay any amount, to a certain extent. I don't think making board cheaper will help the industry grow. Growth will come with age. With saying that there are deck like the "Anthem" and the "Phriction". Flat decks with foam concave and are cheaper then your regular concave deck. Those are sick decks for people just getting into wakeska8ing that want the concave feel.

Schmaltz · Backside 180 Joined: 16 Sep 2003 Posts: 721 City: San Jose

Why not buy a new deck because the new improvments and new graphic not because it is delamed or broke... sell the old deck and get a re-sale value on it...

seven11dmd · Posted: Dec 17, 2004 1:12 am Post subject:

Schmaltz, sellling the old deck is not a bad idea....i was gonna say i cant afford to drop 300 bucks every year, but if i sold the old, then i could come close.

electricsnow · cassette Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 10752 City: Jefferton

Yeah, kind of in regards to what alexx said, and then some other comment about economics (that I don't remember), they did try to make skateboards more durable with the ever slicks and then some other thing where the board was some sort of plastic and was basically indestructable (and recyclable). But that didn't last...and it's funny because keith hufnagel said that one of his regrets from skating was riding an everslick (that was from the buyer's guide). Uhh, but I'd say one exciting innovation with skate decks is the carbon fiber they're putting in them. I dont' know how they ride, I dont' know how long they last, and I'd be interested to see how much they cost. I just think it's interesting because designs appear to be fairly standard, and now there's something new.

And basically, a serious rider is going to want to upgrade their equipment. How many serious wakeboarders ride a wakeboard from 1998? Or I guess you could take your pic on the industry, because skateboards can break and snowboards lose their camber (or could break) and surfboards dont' last forever either. I like schmaltz's idea to re-sell your decks once your done. but the only crappy part is that this stuff depreciates--at least that's what i've noticed about wakeboards. But ride what makes you happy, and if you're really psyched on who and what you're supporting, I think that's perfect. I like having something/some people to believe in...

catalyst112 · Posted: Dec 17, 2004 4:28 am Post subject:

in reference to the number of skateboards and wakeskates purchased each year: if a skateboard is purchased bi-annually the total cost would be approximately 100-150 (deck). the cost of one low low low end wakeskate might cost somewhere around 100 and the top pro models nearly at 300 now. 1 wakeskate costs nearly as much as 6 decks, so the profit is still the same even if people only buy a wakeskate every other year to every 3 years.

Im not saying there are things that have be done to improve the industry, but what topic out there right now isn't up for improvement?

PIRATE · Guest

L.O.W., yeah your boards delam cause you ride a cassete, if you rode a mans board you wouldn't have that problem Laughing