Surf Shop Experiences

welcome to the retail surf shop mindset


what have y'alls experiences been?

[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif] worse than that[/FONT]

 

No one owes you anything...your not special.
That's how it rolls.

 

No bro deals.

 

Yeah depends on the shop and who you know. The times they offered less they were prob trying to get rid of it to make room for new inventory. Was it Real Surf Shop by chance? Usually bigger shops are like any retail store. It's like trying to go to Macy's and asking the salesperson who works for $8/ hour for a discount.

 

yeah bigger the shop the worse the employees in my experience. shop by me with one man show- nicest guy ive met. brave new world- uhh let me get my boss

 

That may sound a little harsh but look at it this way.
Do you expect the shop owner to give his employee the day off just to cover your savings?

 

That sucks. Iv never bought a big name board. At least not new.

The shop i go to i absolutely love. The two main employees know me from the water. First time i went in was to order my first custom from them. Long story short i was recognized as that guy who's always the first guy in the water. Got the custom. Went back for a second a few months later. Same board but smaller. Daily driver and step up ate the same board in my quiver. Just diffrent sizes. Any way they took like 100 off. Got my custom mini. Same deal. Took money off without me having to ask. At this point any big purchase from there gets discounted.

What i find really cool is this. Although it's small. My last custom i had my girl pick up since i was stuck at work and wanted it for the swell the next day. Well after grabbing the board for her he realized that's my board. Started talking to her about my other boards. The fact that he recognizes and remembers not just my face, but my boards is pretty cool. Makes me feel like I'm not just money walking in the door but instead a valued customer who they enjoy working with when creating a custom.

 

Just speculation but I'm sure it was Real as they are the only ones that sell Chill's around the area and they never give you a deal on anything. Buy a new $800 board and you still have to pay $2 a bar for wax. They are the department store of surf shops. Massive inventory but won't budge on price. Other places will work with you most of the time or at the very least, give you free wax and serious discounts on other gear after you buy your board. There are a few good souls that work there though. They just arent in charge of pricing and discounts.

 

I think in general shops do not make a lot of money selling stock boards like that (except for popouts). You will probably be luckier if you convince them to throw a leash, traction pad, a t-shirt for free or for them to give you a good discount on fins

 

I went into a local surf shop and they tried to sell me a Wendys tray with a leash attached. Then the store manager tried to flup my girl, the manager was a girl ( A D-1 fine girl ) After some strong negotiating I left with a threesome and a Womber Catch Surf board, then got mega action

 

Answer is: Don't buy off the rack. Go straight to maker/shaper and get what you want. Most will send board straight to your house, if you order, for instance, from California, etc.
Custom boards are always the best. Always. No exception.

And, btw, as an edit, that surf shop sold that Chilli within 1 hour to someone else for their asking price. Surfing is "in". They sell everything soon after arrival at the shop.

 

Went into a place up the road from me and was ignored...no, "how are you doing today"...I hate going into a shop without a nice greeting, especially when they are right there...just a pet peeve of mine. Went in again cause I busted a fin and the person didnt know the difference between fcs and futures. Told them I needed fcs and kept handing me futures and told them there is a difference. She looked at me kinda dumbfounded. Still , not a big deal, just irritated me slightly.

I will give them another shot...cause they are very convenient. Maybe I just caught them on a couple bad days, one being when they first opend up. Me and the wife love coffee too, tried that when we went in the first time...darn coffee was the hottest cup I ever had...maybe they worked that out too.

 

If you're down that far go just a little further to Natural Art in Buxton and get the Buzbys to make you the right board.

 

I have a shop kinda like that literally a 2 min walk from my apartment. The owner actually grew up next door to my father and uncle's, back before he opened the shop and he was building boards in the garage. Now the kids run the show. They are knowledgeable, but im always treated poorly. Well maybe not poorly, you do get a greeting. But talked down to which is a pet peeve of mine.

I told this story on here once. I went in for gloves. I know my suit, gloves, and boot sizes. Iv been wearing rip curl exclusively for years now. No need to try anything on. So anyway i went in for gloves knowing exactly what i want and need. My 3 mils are gloves, 5 mil lobster claws, and 7 mil mittens. I forget what i needed but they didn't have what i wanted. Lady walks up to me and asks if she can help. I asked if they had any rip curl whatever mil i was looming for in whatever style i wear that mil in. Very specific. She continues to pick random gloves up and trys explaining the difference between lobster claws and mittens to me like iv never surfed before. It's not a big deal, but it annoyed me. I'm in there allot and habe been going there for over 10 years, it's clear (or should be clear) that I'm not surfing for the first time. There way over priced anyway so i stopped going.

Night and day difference between that shop and the shop i now go to that i mentioned before

 

If its a big name board and new model there may be a policy from the manufacturer that all shops are supposed to adhere to regarding pricing. They are also much more willing to discount after boards have sat on the rack for a while. Boards have a shelf life before they lose that eye popping bright white look and once a board starts looking dingy compared to other fresher boards on the rack the shop will have a harder time moving it. They'd rather get it out the door before that happens.

 

I know the shop of which you speak. Good for you giving them a shot, I refuse to. When they first opened they were interviewed in the paper and the owner commented that he opened the place because he "he felt it was time to give back to the community". When I read that I swore I would never set foot in there.

 

REAL core guys are REAL..did brett barley try and sell you the board? when will he come back to the forme and ask for more votes?

 

Scott, Carol, Curtis, they will not bs you. I would not set foot in REAL if my life depended on it. Well, maybe if my life depended on it.