Gsi $$$?

it could be true...CI/al merrick did the same thing after dumping the anacapa line a few years back...minimized their surftech line, refocused on domestic poly production. considering the shop i work in dumped jc back in 2008 when it seemed the company was moving more offshore, i wouldn't be able to say it absolutely isn't true. if it is, that's great...a major manufacturer like jc could have a huge impact on how the industry progresses. if they choose to build their boards domestically rather than offshore, then i see that as only a good thing, provided their quality remains high.

 

Usually when something is really cheap and you can't find any info about it on the web, it's made in China.

 

Bumping this thread back to the top because I emailed JC and John himself actually responded.


Monday, July 30, 2012, 5:33 pm [EST]

Message: Hi I was wondering where your poly boards are shaped and glassed. I noticed a steep drop in their price at my local surf shop, and was curious to know if this was caused by a shift to overseas manufacturing. Thank you.


From: info@jchawaii.com
Subject: RE:
Date: July 30, 2012 9:18:16 PM EDT
To: (not posting my email here)

Aloha Nick

What surf shop are you talking about? We haven't made any boards overseas in almost 10 years but there could be some still floating around. We gave it a try almost 10 years ago but weren't happy with the results and stopped it. There have also been some rumors of counterfeit JC's from Asia. We have also stopped wholesaling our boards to quite a few surf shops because they are basically insolvent and won't pay there bills. Unfortunately these are some of the biggest shops. The economy has been hard on them and we are a small company, not a bank.

Because ALL of the large surfboard companies are now" corporate owned and the surf shops are not paying their bills we have decided to really go back to the "roots and specialize in custom boards. I was getting tired of mass production anyway, lot's of "white things". and being "semi-retired now (I only work 40 hours a week), my ego more than puffed up, I just want to know my customer and approach each board one at a time. It seems to be working well and it sure is more fun and interesting.

But please let me know which shops. We still sell to the good shops (real) and like to monitor these. They might be blems that they move cheap. Boards get worked in the racks at the shops and I refuse to take them back figuring it's not my fault they get mishandled. Hopefully there not counterfeit. We have seen counterfeits of almost every brand but despite rumors, we have never actually seen a counterfeit JC. I would love to own one. What a great conversation piece....mahalo and God bless...jc

ps...ALL of our boards are made in either our Hawaii or California factories, except when I travel to foreign countries and shape there but I watch over every one of those too...No China!

 

Good stuff, and solid response from JC

 

I had a diamond tail 6'4 walden from local shop and it was made by gsi. Held up good and price was descent. I purchased a stretch sword 6'3 brand new from real watersports website for 399$ with a free board bag... Local shapers are gunna have trouble competing with that considering the personal finance of many in this economy. If they can work with low mark up or profit margin they may survive, or hope there are those in the market conditioned to spend more or else the used/imported/online-off the shelf are going to sell. It's a tough situation for local shapers with the mix of globalized world markets, technology, and economic status that doesn't appear to have a bright outlook for the developed nations.

 

that was a great response and some good news! I think heritage in oc nj carries or carried JC

 

if you're ok w/ that, you're part of the problem.

 

used to...

 

Njsurfer I'm just part of the mentioned individuals financially unable to justify spending extra hundreds of dollars to support a local shaper...I never said I was okay with it.

 

save up. if you can scratch the $$$ together to buy a $#!tty chinese "surfboard", you can come up w/ an extra $100-200 for a good custom board from your local shaper.
saying you can only afford a crappy popout instead of a decent board is a justification for laziness.

 

not even that much, i know a bunch of local boards that are in the $400 range. think of it this way: chinese boards are about $400 because of shipping and high mark-up, without it they'd probably be around $200. a locally made board however is $400 because it's hand shaped, and they don't have to pay for shipping so you're getting a much better price compared to what it's actually worth. that and you're supporting your local economy, etc. you already know.

 

Problem is, they're not a $#!tty chinese "surfboard". A lot of them are really good boards. If they were really $#!tty we wouldn't be discussing them and almost nobody would buy one. There are plenty of boards made by local shapers with no CNC machine that aren't that great. If you exclude SUVs would you rather drive a Dodge or a Honda? Look at what's in your driveway or the label in your shoes before you berate people for selling the American worker down the river.

 

A text received yesterday from a recreational surfer who bought a locally shaped custom...

"...love it. It's my go to board... easy to duck dive and pop up (his main complaints with his old board). Very happy... It has stepped up my surfing to a whole new level. Stoked."

Another text received yesterday from a sponsored competitive surfer riding locally shaped...

"...the board is awesome!!!... Took it out last weekend during the NorEaster and loved it!... it gets vertical really easy (his main goal to step up his game) drives down the line, and is very responsive."

THAT's why people will pay more for custom.... because they want to increase their level of either fun or performance. A stock board may or may not be able to do that for you, but most people will hit the ceiling on an off-the-shelf anything... CI, ...Lost, whatever.

 

In my opinion a significant portion of the overseas boards are purchased mostly due to marketing. The companies selling these boards are corporate minded and put a lot of value in marketing. People get on the internet onto these companies websites and read about how great this board is for them and its meant for xxx conditions. Then these people walk into the surfshops, already armchair experts from reading GSI's website. The people demand these boards enough and a lot of the surf shops respond by carrying the product.

Contrast that with your local shaper who just wants to surf and make good boards, has very little acumen/desire for marketing. No wonder its tough to get by, even though they can make a superior product for a comparable price. That's probably why, like someone mentioned, most of the "local" shapes you see are from WRV, because they turned themselves into a company and realize the value of marketing. You see that with some of the American based companies such as Al Merrick, the popular ones have a website explaining different models and the people read about how great it is for them. Then they see Reynolds riding it and all of a sudden its the new trend for the summer, whether its the appropriate board for the person/conditions or not.

One guy mentioned buying multiple overseas boards and not being able to afford an American Shaped one. Those two boards combined adds up to much more than one American Shaped board. But he probably didn't know he could find local shaped boards for a not significantly more price, because they aren't marketed, and when he walks into the surf shop and sees the brand he says "what is that???". Cut back on beers for a few weekends if you truly care about the surfboard building industry and supporting the small guys who are the ones building the best boards and innovating and would be the crux of a truly sustainable/good for the environment surf industry. Spend the extra money.

 

It's pretty simple, if you want to make a living shaping / sellling boards then you gotta take your business seriously. You can't except people to just find you, the internet has changed everything. It's now a global market.

If I was a shaper I would team up with surf shops to carry my brand and have a contract that forces them to keep a certain % of the rack space for my boards, and then I would have a legit e-commerce website setup so that I can sell my boards not only locally to those that don't know i'm right up the road from them, but also to those half way across the globe that have no idea I exist.

It's 2012, those businesses who sell retail items that don't have a website will fail eventually. If you go to most websites for surf shops or shapers, it's a BS site setup by their "buddy who knows IT" and has a "nice fancy lap top", there's no way to sumbit an order on the majority of them, it appears like more of a blog site or just a business card type setup, but you can't actually buy ANYTHING.

If you want to compete with the GSI websites of the world and other major E-Tailers, then you gotta have a functional site where you can allow customers to place orders whether you are open or closed, rain or shine. I understand you want to talk with the customer and build the board specifically to their specs, and there is a way to do that, but you gotta get the sale 1st, that's where it begins.

 

That was exactly my point, the little guys aren't as good as the corporations at business, and its unrealistic to expect them to be. Sure, they could do better... but my point was as consumers we have a choice. We can either support the guys who make the best boards, innovate, and care about surfing, or we can support the people who are in it for the money.

I don't really cae to discuss what they could do better as a business obviously there are many things.. one of which is presenting the consumers with the choice.

 

in my driveway is a jeep. best vehicle i've ever owned, never given me a problem. prior to this was a nissan...constantly in need of work. every other week it was back in the shop for something else.

 

anyone know where i can get a $400 in the 757 area lol. I would like to get a copy of the RNF

 

lmao....Jeeps are still made in the U.S.A. or I should say assembled in the United States. The parts themselves can be made in Canada, Mexico, India, Japan or America. The assembly plant itself is located in Toledo, Ohio. Just food for thought

 

I drive a 2006 Jepp Grand Cherokee. Got it brand new... It's the biggest piece of crap I've ever had. Nothing but problems. I had Hondas before that and never had an issue.... But you're talking about surfboards. A hand crafted stick from a good shaper is gonna be better than china board more often than not.