New surfboard rack - Cactus rack

cactusrack's picture
cactusrack started the topic in Monday, 4 Feb 2013 at 1:55pm

Just a quick post to let everyone know about a surfboard rack our team is making out of the Northern beaches here in Sydney. We are really excited about peoples response to it so far and would love your feedback or comments (good or bad!)

In a nutshell, our main features are:

Modular: Add or subtract storage for boards at any time

Freestanding: Move this in and out of your apartment at any time (and into other low traffic areas if the kids start knocking it about) Also, no drilling into walls.

Handmade from bamboo: We think this material looks great and adds to the high-end furniture finish. Bamboo is a great looking material that gives the rack a quality and luxurious finish. In addition, it is sustainably grown and won't yellow over time.

Quality materials: From stainless steel fasteners to the bamboo ply, our product is made to last.

Visual appeal: The rack has been designed with aesthetics in mind - so it can play well with your other furniture and be a part of your decor. It also stands on its own as a centrepiece to proudly showcase your board quiver.

All of our products come flat packed with instructions and can be assembled using an Allen key (Ikea style)

you can find out more about our product by visiting the website:

www.cactusrack.com.au or PM me

Thanks,

Simon.

jennosaur's picture
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jennosaur Wednesday, 6 Feb 2013 at 4:58pm

Just had a quick look at the website. Looks amazing. I live in Bondi, are there any around here that I could look at in person? Also, I have a couple of bigger boards (mals) will these fit as well?

cactusrack's picture
cactusrack's picture
cactusrack Thursday, 7 Feb 2013 at 8:27am

Hi Jennosaur,

Apologies for the late reply. Thank you for checking out the website and for your positive feedback. Really glad you like it!

To answer your questions, we have some on display in the Aloha surf store in Manly which would be the closest ones to you at this stage I'm afraid. Hoping to get some over the bridge soon!

In terms of your boards fitting, it really depends on your ceiling height. A standard ceiling will fit boards up to 10ft, but if you manage to have higher ceilings in your place then you would be able to fit taller boards in. Hope this helps!

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Thursday, 7 Feb 2013 at 10:16am

There are so many posters coming onto this forum with multiple personalities, is it a mental health issue or is it someone manipulating this site to sell a product.

morris's picture
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morris Thursday, 7 Feb 2013 at 10:27am

I know Shaun and as usual I agree wholeheartedly with you, how could I not? In most cases it is a mental health issue, the poor sod has to invent "someone" that agrees with his outlandish theory's on life and stick up for him when all the other posters are howling him down.
Then you have big wayne with his 28 personalities, both mental health issues and selling some thing. What's he selling? Himself.

sunny's picture
sunny's picture
sunny Thursday, 7 Feb 2013 at 7:59pm

Nice racks but big bucks! That's a new sled for them dollars.
X no deal!

donweather's picture
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donweather Thursday, 7 Feb 2013 at 9:30pm

Agreed, great idea and looks great, but feck me, the price is outrageous for what it is!!!

anna-t's picture
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anna-t Tuesday, 19 Feb 2013 at 9:01am

Bamboo looks nice...but how overpriced this thing is!

maddogmorley's picture
maddogmorley's picture
maddogmorley Tuesday, 19 Feb 2013 at 9:22am

I think you might need another model - one that suits the shed rather than the house and price it accordingly.

Don't get me wrong - they look awesome and are a nice piece of furniture but who keeps boards in the house anyway? Boards are usually wet, sandy and covered in crusty old wax which doesn't look that great in ya lounge room.

cactusrack's picture
cactusrack's picture
cactusrack Monday, 25 Feb 2013 at 9:50pm

Hi all,
Really appreciate you all taking the time to look at our product and give feedback. Price is really hard to get down (trying our best! ) considering these are hand made pieces. Out of interest, how much would you all think is a fair price for something like this?

Again appreciate your feedback :)

cactusrack's picture
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cactusrack Monday, 25 Feb 2013 at 9:57pm

The idea for these came from someone who was renting (no drilling) an apartment near the beach but had no garage or storage shed. He didn't want his boards leaning against the walls and could not find a decent looking freestanding surfboard rack, so he decided to make one. The cactus rack is the result! For those who have no choice, you can choose to display boards in style. We do recommend cleaning your boards before placing them back though :)

abc-od's picture
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abc-od Tuesday, 26 Feb 2013 at 9:33am

Now it makes sense - for someone renting. No-one with a mortgage could afford those racks.

cactusrack's picture
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cactusrack Tuesday, 26 Feb 2013 at 1:34pm

Now it makes sense - for someone renting. No-one with a mortgage could afford those racks.

By: "abc-od"

Hi abc-od,

Thanks for your feedback.

As perhaps someone with a mortgage, what would you consider to be an affordable price for these racks?

Would you be more inclined to purchase this if a more basic model was made (say for example, one for the shed as suggested by maddogmorley? ) but it was at lower price range? If this were true, what price would you expect to pay for these?

crisp's picture
crisp's picture
crisp Tuesday, 26 Feb 2013 at 5:28pm

600 bucks. hmmmm. good luck, might sell a few to the suits who surf once a month on their 9'0's.

few offcuts from the nearest site and a 6 pack of beer and I reckon most could bang one up in an arvo for less than $50.

$600 is more than I've paid for a car. at least that gets me to the surf. sometimes.

this place might not be the right audience.

lopez's picture
lopez's picture
lopez Tuesday, 26 Feb 2013 at 6:02pm

Hi Cactusrack,
I think they are great.Look good, seem strong? $600 is pricey no doubt but if you sell 50 a month you could get that down somewhat.

Hard market this one ,the whole lifestyle evolved from having very little , apart from ya dole cheque.

cactusrack's picture
cactusrack's picture
cactusrack Tuesday, 26 Feb 2013 at 7:12pm

Hey Lopez and Crisp,

Thanks for your quick replies. Was really hoping to get some real commitment on pricing though :) Even though our pricing is at a "boutique" level now, it is a product we would eventually like to make affordable to all as we move from handmade to mass manufacture.

Agree with you totally Lopez about a section of the surfing world, I'm not sure where you are located, but we are finding in Sydney a more and more diverse type of surfer.

So the above being said, the question we are burning to know is at what price would you say "yes" to a Bandito?

Here are some links below as points of reference so you can compare apples with apples.

www.epicsurfracks.com/5-board-standard.html
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-Board-Surfboard-Rack-Heavy-Duty-G-Force-/281068641080?pt=AU_Sport_Surfing&hash=item4170ff1b38&_uhb=1#ht_500wt_1378

Hopefully those links work.

Again as always, really appreciate everyones feedback (good or bad) as it really is helping us fast track our development.

maddogmorley's picture
maddogmorley's picture
maddogmorley Tuesday, 26 Feb 2013 at 7:16pm

For a board rack for the shed I think you would want to keep it around $100. Maybe $150. Reason is they are a luxury item really - I went years without anything until a mate knocked me one up in a few hours for something to do - 2 planks of wood vertical, some dowel sticking out on an upward angle from the planks and some of that black rubber stuff over the dowel. Mount it to the shed wall that gets no sun. Holds 5 boards horizontally but you could easily fit more - only limited by the height of your shed. Doesn't need to be any better - does the job perfectly.

Perhaps sell these luxury ones in and around places like Sydney and the Goldy - reckon that's your target market with high rise close to the surf. Most other places people have enough room to stash their boards outside the house i think.

They do look great tho - no doubt.

cactusrack's picture
cactusrack's picture
cactusrack Wednesday, 27 Feb 2013 at 8:27pm

Perhaps sell these luxury ones in and around places like Sydney and the Goldy - reckon that's your target market with high rise close to the surf. Most other places people have enough room to stash their boards outside the house i think.

They do look great tho - no doubt.

By: "maddogmorley"

Hey Maddogmorley,

Thanks for the reply. This is a great idea, and probably our main target. $150 is doable for a fixed wall mounted unit, but freestanding might still be a little more than this. Your right, most people do consider it a luxury, until you have one. Then you realise it becomes a necessity in taking care of your boards that you spend your hard earned on getting. Even from my own personal experience, I can't tell you how many little knocks and bumps my boards used to get before the racking days. It would always be followed by a short and sharp "sh*t" as you make your way out.

If they are stashed away though in the shed, you would really lose the need to have a good looking rack wouldn't you? and you could get away with a trip to Bunnings and a case of beer? Or would you still be willing to fork out a bit extra than your standard 2 x 4 construction to get something that looks like the Cactus rack?

deanafroth's picture
deanafroth's picture
deanafroth Thursday, 28 Feb 2013 at 9:48am

Add to your market Melbourne.

So many cashed up 'surfers' who actually would store their boards in the house. I have plenty of friends who surf from melb who have multiple boards but only use one, and deep pockets. Also a cold longish winter in vicco which keeps most of the city surfers away for longer periods of time (storage)?.

Good luck guys

lopez's picture
lopez's picture
lopez Thursday, 28 Feb 2013 at 11:17am

Hi,as far as price goes rule of thumb, add your product costs and your labour.Then double that.

Is that figure worth making them?

cactusrack's picture
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cactusrack Thursday, 28 Feb 2013 at 1:34pm

Hey guys,

Thanks again for your replies.

@deanafroth: Do you have any ideas of where or how you could find these people? are there online sites or physical places in Melbourne that would be a great way to connect with these people? Love the idea, makes perfect sense. Thanks for the well wishes, pretty exciting process!

@lopez: We hope it is worth our while, but you never really know until you find out if your demand will balance with your supply. Hopefully we can sell a few more and get some savings with higher volumes and this will make it more accessible to people. Margins are pretty low at the moment in the hope of higher volumes down the track.

Do you think a few celeb surfer plugs would help? Never know if this sort of thing gets traction. I for one don't really pay attention to celebrity endorsement, but I may be the exception?

lopez's picture
lopez's picture
lopez Thursday, 28 Feb 2013 at 2:37pm

Mate Iam keen, would want the 4 board set up $ 600 ?

aloha.

morris's picture
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morris Friday, 1 Mar 2013 at 5:37am

Here ya go mate, heaps of Melbourne surfers here, www.samesame.com.au and no doubt they live in inner citty apartments.

cactusrack's picture
cactusrack's picture
cactusrack Friday, 1 Mar 2013 at 11:20am

Mate Iam keen, would want the 4 board set up $ 600 ?

aloha.

By: "lopez"

Got any videos of you surfing? Might be a talent waiting to be unearthed! :)

cactusrack's picture
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cactusrack Monday, 8 Apr 2013 at 2:59pm

Hey All,

We have some of our racks on sale until the 17th of April or stock runs out.

Please check out www.cactusrack.com.au

Thanks!!!

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Monday, 8 Apr 2013 at 5:56pm

Spam spam spam spam
Spam spam spam spam
Spam spam spam spam

zenagain's picture
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zenagain Tuesday, 9 Apr 2013 at 1:48am

Hey Shaun, he's having a go. What are you doing?

sandspit's picture
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sandspit Tuesday, 9 Apr 2013 at 7:36am

it's definitely spam, mr cactusrack is spamming other forums too

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Tuesday, 9 Apr 2013 at 8:39am

I'm havin a go 2, at in zen. I thought it was a bit rude as that is the sole purpose for posting,

zenagain's picture
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zenagain Tuesday, 9 Apr 2013 at 10:13am

Fair enough Shaun, but sometimes as a small business owner it's prohibitively expensive to get your name out there.

I don't see anyone calling out Mark Pridmore though. If Ben or Stu took issue with Mr Cactus I'm sure something would have been done by now.