It'll be the same story as usual.... Gear was bought and paid for before the dollar went up thats why its so expensive....

Still I don't think anyone ever pays anywhere near RRP for new boards do they?

Where you been lately swoosh? Am Having trouble with availability of specific product as well as price (Must be the GEC)

No Einstein equation, that why I said all other being equal, until someone can provide those figures I can't include them, but if you have the details happy to recalculate

Yes expensive, but we do expect prices to rise. What annoys me is my 2004 boards had a stronger construction than the current ones.

Now they are a little lighter each year (as they think we demand continual "improvement" each year) but with the same construction methods, so in many cases are much weaker. I've repaired plenty of boards and some of them are pretty skint on materials lately

I also think anyone who buys a new board has rocks in their head - last year's board NEW at the shop right now is $1000 cheaper and you know what you are getting as all the reviews are out there. You can't base a board choice on manufacturer's stuff like "feeling the vibe of full carving manoeuvres at higher speeds than ever before" and all the rubbish they write.

PS manufacturers: I don't want a wave board 200g lighter than last year. We reached optimum construction years ago and I'd rather have a 2005 ish weight board as they actually lasted......
And I don't want to hear that it does everything better than last year. We are not dumb and know there are tradeoffs with shape.
I want to hear "0.5mm more vee through the mid section and 2mm less rocker than last yaar but with a shorter planing flat" or similar. Not 1970's disco buzzwords and fruity model names.

Don't get me wrong, I am not accusing anyone, or suggesting impropriety. Like anything, the cheaper stuff is the more people buy, I am just wondering were the line is? When does expensive become TO expensive?
For example, take a JP pro edition listed at $3000 would you buy it? Now same board, only now it's $2400 would you buy it ?

I am not interested in whether or not you would by JP, or a pro edition .... It's just an example.

How many more windsurfers would there be if it was say 20% cheaper (for example)

I know prices rise, I know politicians lie, these are certainties in life.

Freight shouldnt be an issue as Jp at least and prob most boards are made in Thailand which is a lot closer to here than Europe.
I would doubt that any international company would be stupid enough to base thier import/export arrangements out of europe, at least i would hope not but you never know. Most dinghy and kayak stuff made in Asia that I am aware of gets shipped straight from the factory in Asia to the country of order.
Also while Im on my horse, I thought most consumer items were decreasing in price due to manufacturing improvements ect.
Mark if you want a better quality board look into the OES ones. Im not a guru on windsurfing but as a boatbuilder i can tell you that the materials and process that guy uses is a lot better than other production boards. (No i dont know him or get any kick backs by the way)

divaldo said...

Arent all orders placed out of europe, hence the dollar not being that strong? Hence prices a bit higher?

I don't know, but for about a year the Aussie dollar has had a heap of bang for the buck, buying more pounds, euros and us$ than for many many years.

Its all relative, Id easily spend 3 grand on a board if I made more money.

DrJ said...

Supply and demand is actually only a factor when there is a disparity between the two, for instance when supply cannot meet demand prices go up, conversely if demand is lower than supply prices go down. The biggest impact on prices is likely to be the presence or absence of competition and the effect this might have on supply.

The economic factor that is related to quantity / volume discounts is related to economies of scale, but globally we should benefit from these anyway since, as I understand it, most boards come from the same factory anyway so the economy of scale is there .

Would you like to do my assignment for me?

fletchk said...

DrJ said...

Supply and demand is actually only a factor when there is a disparity between the two, for instance when supply cannot meet demand prices go up, conversely if demand is lower than supply prices go down. The biggest impact on prices is likely to be the presence or absence of competition and the effect this might have on supply.

The economic factor that is related to quantity / volume discounts is related to economies of scale, but globally we should benefit from these anyway since, as I understand it, most boards come from the same factory anyway so the economy of scale is there .

Would you like to do my assignment for me?

I think he just did.
Cut n paste is your friend

You will pass for sure, trust me.

I don't think that windsurfing is really that expensive.

The board you bought for say $3K will either last a decade, or be worth $1500 trade at the end of the season, if you buy another $3K board next year.
Importantly, once you have that board, there is no "per use" cost attached to it. Sail it for an hour or ten hours, won't cost you a bean, not even board wax.
I don't count reasonable fuel costs, as it's a given that I'll get off my butt and do something on the weekend.

Personally, I don't buy new boards every year.
Yes, If I went and bought 3 new boards every year, and trashed them so they were worth nothing by the end, it's gonna get pricey.

All the bits and pieces, sails, booms, extensions add up a bit, but they also last for decades too, so that cost gets defrayed over a long period. I'm still using stuff I bought 15 years ago.

If you are going to wreck gear, yeah, it's gonna get expensive, but try racing and crashing a motor-bike and see how much that costs you, as an alternative.

fletchk said...



Sadly it has to be about the price of rice in Sri Lanka.
I just realised that price and rice rhyme so mabey i should record it as a rap song, might be worth extra marks. Just need to find a word that Rhymes with Sri Lanka....

Wanka rhymes with Sri Lanka
Now you've got no excuse to write that rap song

My 2 cents - I don't think the retailers are milking it - I'm glad they haven't shut down the windsurfing stock lines.

Considering kite surfing is much more affordable and popular / gear fairly simple - they'd be doing better trade from that.

Kitesurfing is to Windsurfing, what body boarding is to surfing - they are half the price and almost anyone can do it.

Agree with your comments.

Support your local!!

jermaldan said...


Drew a small comparisson based on a new 2010 Starboard Rio.

UK cost: $1056 (after removing VAT 17.5%)
AU cost: $1599

You may have forgotten:
- duty
- GST
- bank fees
- and most importantly, service in case you have an issue with the board... I doubt your local shop will be happy to do anything about a board bought overseas to save maybe $300...

If we don't support the local shops, that's the end of the sport