Would you pay $2,000 for a new surfboard?

I remember the first ever custom I ever bought was $350 in 1986. Still to this day I've never paid more than $650 for a new custom board. In that 31 year period I've only ever had 3 different shapers ... one of them for 22 years. These current prices are just crazy to me...but I also consider the surfboard as the ONLY key element of surfing...and would pay more if I had too.

I just paid $830. Most ever.

Actually , no I have paid more for a beautiful Outer Island.

But that included a unique blank with his own fins included.

Dunno how Jims going to go $2k is a lot of dough....but machine cut finished and glassed in Indo is cheap, a few less orders.... maybe same amount in his pocket at the end of the year

Drodders your Webster 7'6" DS heavily glassed was about $780 ?

I guess if you take all the time to handcraft and finish a board $2000 would be
the going price but me personally no never.

Wonder if the tradies with 40 years experience are going to hit up Banksy for $300/hour now.

Mixed perpexed thoughts on this.
1 Apparently its hard to get good blanks in bali so he has to hand pick them or sent them from oz.Also glass and materials all sent from oz.

2- heard he has ripped a few people off and has a bad reputation of being money hungry, lending a hand and FOOD FOR DAYS at gnaraloo from someone then charging them NEAR full price for a board in return favour. not sure if true.
I once payed 1200 for a pig with bulky rails. $50 for deliveryto banks which i also had to pay the delivery driver an extra 50, im not complaining but i never saw that 50 again.
3- one of the best boards and all best standup sessions ive had were on banksys(i grew up bodyboarding shark island and guillotines so had better barrels on a lid) But one certain Mk2 was magic. handled up to 6-8 feet g-land and other indo spots. i swear you could surf all around indo with just one mk2 or mk4

4- he can charge whatever he wants.

Most i would pay is whatever gary mcneil or Josh dowling is charging these days.

"1 Apparently its hard to get good blanks in bali so he has to hand pick them or sent them from oz.Also glass and materials all sent from oz."

Yeah, but nah. Heaps of board manufacturing on Bali now, easy to get materials.

Nup over priced....did he say in the video its takes 25-30 hrs per board?
If your not making money because you have to import materials there may be some supply change issues....I must have missed the previous video where he made the boards really cheap because he was using cheap indonesian labor

I think the hard to get materials bit in Bali is from a long time ago..so many boardbuilders there now
Dylan longbottom Dave Verral L Studer so many more......
Luke Studer 'Pit Viper' a Gland or Outside Corner Gun : $480us Bali pickup with fins ?

Got a Matt Hurworth in Bali about a week ago. I'm pretty heavy footed on my boards , but after a single brief surf in flattish 1-2 foot waves the heel dents on my back foot were at least 8mm deep.

After the second surf the stringer looks like the spine of a mountain range between two valleys.

So as to quality of some materials in Bali , I'd say yeah, but yeah....shithouse.

Unless there was no glass within the resin.

If Jim is gonna charge $2,000 then he has to stop apologising for the price hike. He needs to adopt the mindset of a boutique trader who's modus operandi is this: you'll pay for this expensive item because you deserve it.

Offering dubious excuses for the price increase undermines the image of prestige and confidence that he needs to project. It strips the mystique from the object. Brewer and Lopez don't implore and plead. They set the cost - more than twice as much as Jim's BTW - and no correspondence will be entered into.

Good luck to Jim, however I think his blue collar Cronulla roots may prevent him from viewing his boards as status symbols - which is largely what all boutique goods are.

Never did find out about Jims stronger glassing technique ?

In contrast to Jim's recent marketing strategy, here's a short excerpt from Gerry Lopez' website:

"Some surfers constantly analyze their equipment, thinking of how their surfboard will improve their surfing and working with shapers to do just that. All surfers do this in some degree but many simply rely upon their surfboard builder and trust them to produce the means to the end that really never is ending but simply draws one deeper into their surfing experience. In simple terms, a surfer gets a surfboard, learns to ride it and his skills get better, to a point…to go beyond that point, he needs a better surfboard."

"This is what Grubby Clark of Clark Foam and I always referred to as the ‘sophisticated buyer’ for a new surfboard and it really doesn’t matter how long one has been surfing or even how skilled they are at it to become, more or less, sophisticated about getting a new board."

Notice how the buyer is the frame of reference? It's an implicit message that the buyer deserves the product because they are 'sophisticated'.

After being tactfully flattered the sophisticated buyer can scroll down the page and order a classic Lopez surfboard, starting price $5,000.

@Stu, are hand shaped surfboards functional art?
Would you go to a world famous artist and ask for a $800 "original"?
Its the old question a buyer asks the artist ... how much is that picture? The cost, the artist replies, well its a life-time of work.
Personally, if I could afford it I would order a board from Gerry Lopez at that price.

Are you going to stand on that art piece? Rub wax on it? Store it in a shed? Potentially it break it in two..?

Yeah, I reckon surfboards can be functional art, but looking for an analogue in the art world is misleading. Unlike a painting, sculpture, or photo, a surfboard is to be used. Sure, some are wall hangers, but really, surfboards are consumable products every bit as much as they are functional art, and there are only so many people who can throw down $2K for something that may break first surf.

Hence Jim has to aim high and appeal to those people - just as Gerry and Dick do.

PS: I'd pay for a Lopez too if I could. The salient point is that you and I can't.

PPS: I rode a mate's Lopez on the North Coast over Xmas. First time on a Lopez. Went alright...

I just wish they would come out and say that this surfboard is a status symbol, mostly for rich people.

This idea that you're paying 2 grand or 5 grand for some extra quality or to enter a "working relationship" with a shaper is nonsense. Unless you're a hedge fund trader or property developer you ain't getting custom after custom for that much money.

Jim Banks, you're dead to me. Good luck duchessing big money.

How many people are buying boards from shapers that see themselves in the premium realm as items to be considered an investment to be on sold in the future ?

How is the premium retained when you can get any board and replicate it an infinite amount of times on a machine ?

Unless it is admittedly pure investment/ collection and the shapers authentic craftsmanship outranks the pure functionality of the board .

What then when the " premium " shaper is using a machine to pump out product , does it still retain its status ?

I'm curious as to how much more enjoyment a surfer will get out of riding a board in this price range, compared to a board from my local shaper. Will my surfing improve following the purchase?

I might be over-simplyifying it but isn't a surfboard a piece of sporting equipment?

You get one, catch a few waves, it breaks (hand-shapes still snap) and you cry for about 20 seconds before purchasing another one. The board is purely a vessel for wave riding in my eyes....

Ben, your surfing won't improve but you will be more sophisticated.

Surely that's worth a couple of grand.

I'll pay anything for sophistication!

never bought a new board. most i've paid for a board is $140.

but my GF is ready to spend $2k on a board. i have a significant birthday soon, and the GF wants to buy me a new board. after a look at the dues ex machina site, she thinks all boards cost that much.
i'm going to end up with the mid-life-crisis special -- a gloss coated resin tinted board. she wants to buy me something special -- another white 5'10" rounded pin by the same shaper as all my other boards isn't going to cut it. i'm screwed!

A long term working relationship with my shaper has always made my boards cheaper not more expensive.

This where Jim's rolled the dice and taken a punt on more per board and less customers. I agree he shouldn't apologize for the huge price hike, after all it's his decision and he's obviously going for the elite end of the market, so, so be it. If I was going to spend 2k, I think I'd head off to Mitchell Rae's site and order a piece of functional art.

Haha good luck chook

ssssssh, my point is its entirely reasonable to pay a premium for a hand shaped board from a recognised shaper. I would go further and say that premium should be much higher for an internationally known shaping and surfing legend like Lopez. It comes down to how much a person is to prepared to pay.

As an aside I've been dragged kicking a screaming to art shows for many years by my better half and I can usually be in and out of most shows in 30 minutes or less but rarely, I see something I really like and sometimes we buy. The price is some ways on these occasions secondary, if you like it and can afford its a done deal.

Jim Banks boards are handfinished not handshaped - machine cut and no fucking way is there 25 hrs plus of labour in them .

Years of IP/R&D is what he wants to get paid for.
Good luck to him, his boards are great but at $2k most will pass IMO.

I wonder what the designer's cut is/was? Jim??

https://www.jahroc.com.au/gallery-category/fine-furniture-perth-wa-jarra...

Whoever put Jim Banks in the same bracket as Lopez or Brewer needs their mouth washed out

Agreed they are functional art...If Brewers are like getting a rembrandt...Jim Banks boards would be like a wall print that you can buy from mitre 10

Only 33K, Fong! Jeez, $20000 for Jim & the boys woodwork above is a bargain!

Chook get her to get you a JD that is functional art right there!!

thanks for hte tip 50y. i just had a look at JD's website. some nice shapes and art work there. way too splashy for my subtle tastes. the unknown comic was my hero as a kid. i like to create a bit of mystery wherever i go.

also, if our new mate toru had been on a generic looking white board, not a bright yellow number, he might have been able to slip back into obscurity and keep surfing sandon.

I'm happy for Jim to charge whatever he can get away with. Not sure about the quoted 25 plus hours on a board though. They seem to knock em out pretty quickly around here. Perhaps he is adding in the drying/curing time while he's out back having a beer and smoko.

I'd definitely look at Johs Dowlings boards if I was going to pay that much.

I'm on his mailing list and just got an email saying he's stopping making boards!

Seems legit from the email "But unfortunately, the undeniable truth is that the almost entirely handcrafted process of building surfboards is a very complicated and far too unpredictable one. And that even at the current prices, there are just too many headaches for the meagre returns, and so at this point in time I'm pulling the pin"

No, wouldn't pay more than $800 and I'm financially comfortable.

Shame if its true !....meagre returns ?
Jims interestingly adding more rocker to his guns for more speed ......
Never could find out Jims so called superior glassing technique ?
But looking at the 4 week old 7'0 on his insty the deck is caned ...6x6x6 Lam ?

Webster can build a D.S. glassed to last in Australia for a touch under $800 ..

I'd take functionality over art factor as I reckon most would. Pretty hard to sell a board for $2g when a lot of shapers would give you a whole quiver for the same price in Aus.

I've never paid more than $900.

Where would you ride a board like that? Unless you're in the upper echelons of aristocracy and funds are a trivial part of life you're not going to ride it on a shallow reef or a packed break etc etc

Beautiful 5'7 limited edition magic carpet twin on Jims site
Futures boxes fitted standard glass job...but for $1295 i would at least want the futures boxes set accurately !

It would appear Jim's foray into premium pricing has backfired...

Yep says he is backing away from shaping http://www.jimbanksurf.com/shop

I don't buy into the hand crafted boards novelty, sure there are 'surfers' who probably spend more time looking and talking about their quiver than actually surfing waves.. that a handcrafted board will be seen as 'cool' but there is nothing wrong with 'machine cut' they all start out as handcrafted anyway and it benefits the customer by significantly reducing production costs.

Maybe Jim should move shop to Byron or Noosa plenty of cashed up hipsters and snobs who want something that a large majority cannot afford..

I was talking to a bloke who bought a gun off Jim recently. His argument was that because it was extremely well constructed it would outlast several other boards and would actually save money in the long run.

Seems like lots of fins get set badly nowadays Udo . i reckon that you have to pay extra for good fin jobs, most of the time.
However jim Banks shapes are damn good especially for big perfect waves in indo , and hes an incredible tube rider too .
Starting price can be double in bali don't forget .perhaps some bartering about price ?

Double posted comment

Jim was offering a 5 yr no breakage guarantee.

Udo, more rocker for more speed??
Please explain

I read it on Jims insta....first pic of yellow gun.