How badly does your local shop suck?

[Mile_High_Mark]

We get a lot of orders for pretty mundane stuff... mounting hardware, risers, axle/kingpin nuts, etc. It me wonder is how badly folks' local shops must suck for them to mail order what I consider basics of a decent skate shop.

[enjoisoad]

local shop ? what is this local shop you speak of?? i got a walmart around here somwhere but that's about it

[Nickle]

The owner of my local shop (actually chain store, but locally owned) is big on shortboarding, but knows very little about longboards. He carries them, and is expanding his selection, as he gets more interested. He now carries Comet, Fiberflex, Gravity, Sector 9, Carve Board, ABEC 11, Kryptos, Randals, Indys, and some more LB stuff that I can't remember. Really cool guys and gals work there. Slowly, they're getting into longboards. They definitely respect longboarding, and have tons of questions. They're just longboarding inexperienced.

[Mellow Out]

The people at the skate shop I usually go to are pretty cool but they don't know much about it. The owner was gonna let me borrow Flow but someone else had it. HE longboards too but doesn't know much about it. It's more of a skater clothes store anyways. And they don't care big hardware or spacers.

[Michael Billings]

My shop is shortboard only, but they will mail order for me. It is a sports and fitness traders so the skateshop only takes up about half the space (better than the corner they started with).

[silversurfer]

The owner of my local shop (actually chain store, but locally owned) is big on shortboarding, but knows very little about longboards. He carries them, and is expanding his selection, as he gets more interested. He now carries Comet, Fiberflex, Gravity, Sector 9, Carve Board, ABEC 11, Kryptos, Randals, Indys, and some more LB stuff that I can't remember. Really cool guys and gals work there. Slowly, they're getting into longboards. They definitely respect longboarding, and have tons of questions. They're just longboarding inexperienced.

Your local shop KILLS mine.

One shop near me is short stuff only.

The other carries a couple of complete longboards (sucky ones at that)
and nothing for trucks, wheels, ect.

There is a shop about one and half hour drive from here, near my
mom's house, that has a good selection of really nice completes
and some randal's and a few wheels and stuff.

But it could be so much better.

If I thought I could make enough $ I'd start my own shop.
But longboarding isn't nearly popular enough here, and I
wouldn't want to have a shortboard shop...

[Mile_High_Mark]

If I thought I could make enough $ I'd start my own shop.
But longboarding isn't nearly popular enough here, and I
wouldn't want to have a shortboard shop...

There's a simple way to make a million bucks in the skate/longboard market...





start with two million.

[Nickle]

SilverSurfer, this will really get you. Mile High Skates is only about an hour and a half from me. I really need to cruise up there. I just broke the output shaft in the transfer case of my Jeep. But once I get my new one in, I'll head up there. It just sucks only hitting a max speed of 65 mph, and hearing the 35's hum for the three hour round trip.

[silversurfer]

If I thought I could make enough $ I'd start my own shop.
But longboarding isn't nearly popular enough here, and I
wouldn't want to have a shortboard shop...

There's a simple way to make a million bucks in the skate/longboard market...





start with two million.

I was thinking that that would be the case.

At least in regards to a brick and mortar longboard shop in my area.
There is really no market, with the exception of me and a few buddies.
I guess I can't start a shop just becuase we don't have a good one.

So you have not found it to be lucrative at all for you?
I would have thought an on line shop might do a bit better.

[Nickle]

You can hold me to that Mark. Just remind me once in a while.

[silversurfer]

SilverSurfer, this will really get you. Mile High Skates is only about an hour and a half from me. I really need to cruise up there. I just broke the output shaft in the transfer case of my Jeep. But once I get my new one in, I'll head up there. It just sucks only hitting a max speed of 65 mph, and hearing the 35's hum for the three hour round trip.

So you can go there and buy direct from Mark?

Just skate there man, long distance skating rocks.

Uh, how many miles is it? Hour and half drive must equal all day skate
and the next day to get home. oh well...

Sorry to hear about the jeep.

[randomaction]

My local shop is a bike shop with a skate corner. No wheels under 99 duro, no wide trucks, no hardware over, an inch. Two very overpriced surfone decks. Only handy for when I want to pick up shortboard parts and I want them right now.

[Dragoon-]

lol. The shop I have around is zumiz and its about 35+min away and Ill just state this now. Zumiz sucks way over priced they feed the bam-lings. plus all they have is a few sector 9's. once I asked if they had bushings the dude stared at me for about 5 minutes then hes like I dont think we have that. -.- I think its more of a clothing store then skateshop.

man I just goto the hardware store for my hardware lol.

[some0ner]

i would rather purchase stuff from guys on the internet who know what they are selling (i.e. solidskate.com and milehighskates.com) and plus you dont have to deal with all the bull$#!^ like lines, people infront of you holding up the line, waiting for ur credit card to go through, dealing with people who dont know jack, the only thing i wont buy online is clothes.

[Mile_High_Mark]

We have no storefront. The only way we could actually afford a storefront would be if we sold softgoods--shoes, clothing, backpacks, etc. That would be an investment of around $20-30K.

Since we deal almost exclusively in hardgoods, we're bound to the typical margins. That translates into "not much." MHS pays for itself, and the associated expenses, but we certainly can't count on it to pay the mortgage, etc.

[Nickle]

That's cool Mark. I was talking about coming over and hanging at your house. Maybe I could stay over. It is a long drive back to the Springs. I could catch dinner while I'm up there. You could take me over to the Hill Top Cafe in Golden on Mile Highs expense. It would be totally cool. Think of it as a buisness investment. I'm all for it, how about you?

Just incase my sarcasm wasn't clear, I was just joking Mark.

[pinbal_wizzard]

wow nickle is a tricky one

the shops in southern cali have sector 9.
thats it
but i have one shop that gets bulldog, deathbox, and madrid oldschool decks and some custom built cruisers, but they dont even have the stuff to set up the board. its kinda lame, hence hundreds of dollars sent to places like daddies, milehigh, solidskate, etc.

[Mile_High_Mark]

I'm doing the promo budget for October. You can have a PowerBar or a small soda at 7-11...

[CRASS]

Well, mine isnt too bad. Only downside is its mostly staffed by kids, so the service is kinda shitty. Theres some stuff, but its mostly shortboard stuff or sector9 decks. It seems to be where ever i go in California, i see a NorCal sweatshirt. Who knew my city's surf/skateshop would be so damn popular.

[Ohsenbai]

Our local shop is a 17th street thats mostly a clothing store, they wouldnt even sell single nuts to us ((kinda weird cause they have a shortboard section and they assemble boards for people)) but now that I'm in Richmond the local shop is a little bit more boarding focused and they have some very knowledgable staff....just not much longboard stuff.