The Board Broker

One of the definitions of a broker is “a person who functions as an intermediary between two or more parties in negotiating agreements, bargains, or the like.” http://www.dictionary.com

There are other definitions that include some form of commission and since I haven’t made any money being a “surfboard broker” I left those off. Though, I guess if my buddies buy me breakfast for finding them a surfboard that must be some form of commission?

Today, it seems, I mostly buy surfboards second hand. I just bought my 9’0″ Walden Magic Fish poly-urethane fiberglass through an ad I placed on Craigslist to sell my Tyler. If you’ve read previous blogs you know how it came about, but needless to say, it’s a used board.

My 6’0″ Fineline Quad Fish, also poly-urethane fiberglass, I bought from a friend who didn’t want it anymore. That is one fine board!

I’ve had new boards, but bargains come with buying used, or at least bargains can be found on Craigslist.

That’s how I found Gooch’s latest longboard. The second one I’ve found for him in the last 4 or 5 years. This one is a 9’0″ Walden Magic Model 3 epoxy made by Global Surf Industries (GSI). It was brand new and he got it for almost half of what it would have commanded in a surf shop! Gooch had to travel about 40+ miles to get it, but in the end it was an awesome deal on a board he had been wanting for a couple of years.

Gooch’s previous longboard (he still has it for his kids) was also found on Craigslist by me. That time he was just looking to replace a heavy, slow, water-logged fiberglass longboard. What I found was a 9’2″ NSP epoxy longboard. I believe they’re made by GSI, too. It was a super deal at the price he paid for it. I surfed it a couple of times, which is why Gooch was in the market for a Walden Magic Model 3: he got to surf mine (at the time I had a 9’0″ Walden Magic Model 3 epoxy by Boardworks [BW])while I surfed his. (This is something Gooch put together of The Rev, Spock, himself and me on that NSP board.)

Rip Van Ronnie’s dream board happened to be that same Walden Magic Model 3 epoxy from BW (they only came 9’0″), too. He had ridden one a few times and really wanted one. A friend of my uncle’s had one and at the time it was just sitting in his garage. He was riding an 8’0″ Kane Garden Orca epoxy from BW. I just asked him if he’d be willing to sell the Walden to RVR and the deal was struck, just like that!

Baby Gorilla rides a 10’0″ Robert August Mike Doyle epoxy from Surftech. I happened to purchase that one brand new in a surf shop way back when I had money. After a car change, it didn’t fit inside the car anymore, and I was probably still looking for “that” longboard. BG was interested in it because like Gooch, he had a slow, heavy, waterlogged longboard that was ready for recycling. I also happened to help him into a sweet deal on another Robert August, a What I Ride 9’6″, but that’s a long story as to why he doesn’t have that one anymore. It’s also a sad story.

Before the “Mike Doyle”, I had a 9’8″ Kennedy single-fin, regular old poly-urethane glass. Glenn Kennedy is a shaper who’s been around a long time and my uncle buys his boards brand new from him. In fact, I got this particular one from him. When I got the Mike Doyle, I sold the Kennedy to none other than the Rev. So that board also stayed in the family of friends I surf with. The Rev has been surfing it for a long time and it’s still in great shape. I really liked that board when I had it, too. The Rev also has a 9’6′ Walden Magic Model epoxy from BW that he got because he had liked my Walden epoxy. That board has had some issues and is relegated to learning to surf duties. But his daughter happened to buy my daughter’s 7’9″ BIC Wahine epoxy when I gave my Walden to her. So we keep the tradition going.

Recently, BG called me “the board broker” and suggested I write one of my blogs about it. So blame him for this one. 😉 Thanks for the ideas, BG.

I hope you find your deals and bargains out there when you most need them.

Thank you and God bless,

Surfer Yoda