I just had to purchase a whole heap of plastic for an injection moulding die trial for work- the price has gone up from $10/kg to $28/kg in 4 months. The plastic is made in Thailand, the supplier is saying it is due to the cost of crude going thru the roof.

does anyone know of what type of increases we will see for the 09 boards?

sflack said...

Apparantly the boys at SHQ were saying that again due to crude the prices of the new JP boards will be nearly 3K!

There goes my plans for buying a new board!

I think they were talking about the pro edition jp's being around 3000 so maybe the other ones will be still affordable just. Maybe nows the time to get a runout model.

stehsegler said...
[br
Windsurf gear in the US for example is at least 20% cheaper than it is in OZ. Sorry, but I just don't buy the higher crude = higher board prices argument.

I think what will ultimately happen is that windsurfing will kill itself simply by pricing itself out of the market. Don't see too many kids buying a $3000 board.

I think the US and Europe have the advantage of greater population density and having many more people windsurfing and therefore the prices are cheaper.

I wouldn't worry too much about board prices though. If the boards are too expensive then the cheaper brands will find they will sell more, and the distributors of the more expensive boards will have to discount to sell their boards.

Of course if everyone wants the expensive boards and are willing to pay for them, you can't blame the shops for trying to make a few dollars.

I would think that the second hand market would tend to keep the price of new stock down too. There isn't that much difference between boards each year, so why upgrade to a board that is only slightly better but three times the price?

choco said...

Oh well the secondhand market will boom

I reckon that with all my windsurfing kit I might just about have the secondhand market sewn up. Or does anyone else also have a whole load of kit???... maybe we should all get together to regulate supply!!!

you can add to that that steel just went up 30% as well.

WINDSURFnSNOW said...

US markets prices will for sure be up in windsurfing kit this year by a big percentage and it's not just oil causing this.

I am not so sure about this... back in the early 90's the US$ was pretty weak compared to all major European currencies as well as the US$. Yet boards in the US generally sold at 40% less in the US than they did in Europe.

I don't think market volume works in this case as the US has a very very small number of active windsurfers compared to most European markets. So what gives? Are OZ dealers being ripped off by the sailboard manufacturers? Or perhaps are we now seeing the drawback of a quasi monopoly for board manufacturing kicking in.

Probably the later being the case.

First it was the Colea/Meyer and Woolworths duopoly ripping off consumers.
Then it was Telstra and Optus having a field day.
I think Windsurfboards are just the next logical step...

On a positive note... custom made boards are now starting to become a cheaper option then buying a production board.

Just face it. Australian consumers are being f...ed over by corporate greet like there is no tomorrow.

BTW, I am not saying windsurf retailers are the rip off artists in this case. I think it's a combination of manufacturers and brands trying to make up for lost market share by increasing prices and blaming it on the oil price increase.

Unfortunately the raw materials for any windsurfing product are predominantly derivatives of crude oil. So it looks quite unlikely that production costs will come down.

As for the variation in prices across the globe, let's have a look at this very simple approach:

EXOCET Cross II 07/08:
- US market, RRP US$1450
- France, RRP €1399
- Oz, RRP AUS$1998

VAT (GST equivalent):
- US no VAT
- France 19.6%
- Oz 10.0$

Exchange rate (a year ago, at the time 08 prices were decided and being conservative):
- 1 AUS$ = 0.80 US$
- 1 AUS$ = 0.60 €

Comparative prices in AUS$ excluding VAT:
- US market, AUS$1813
- France, AUS$1950
- Oz, AUS$1816

All in all the Australian market is competitive with the rest of the market even where the market shares are high (Europe). This being said, this is only representative of that particular brand.

Cheers,
Remi

I reckon windsurfing gear is generally cheaper now than what it was ten or twenty years ago. Based on medium incomes the average board probably costs about one or two weeks earnings. The average sail is probably around a week or less of medium income.

Now we have a second hand market where second hand boards and sails over five years old are virtually worthless.

well last year a lot of boards dropped in price, e.g mistral, fanatic, f2 from around $2,500 down to $2,150 mostly freeride boards and anything with carbon stayed around the $2,500 mark. this compared to a sputnik from the early 1990's at around $2,100 when they where new, so as i see it inflation has not realy increased the price of boards as the boards on the market today are built 100 times better than they where in the 90's and not realy that much more expensive. i work in the windsurf industry and find that people who are right into the sport don't mind paying this price for a board, i have noticed that the customers who do winge about the price are the ones driving into the car park in brand new $45,000 dollar cars, why not spend the money on something you love and something that makes life so much more enjoyable and you more healthy.
You could spend all your spare time at the pub buying $6 beers sliding $50 notes into a poker machine and i'm sure this bill at the end of the year would be much much higher, and so would your risk of a heart attack or liver damage, think i would rather risk sun burn..

might be a great time for people to think about customs.

what a rip.

3G for a board???? no thanks - stick to customs and get a board tailor made..

bj u might have to give up your 1 day a week job


p.s i've got 2 new (ish) boards for sale 1100 and 800....GET IN QUICK,,,unfortunatley due to the malaysion oil price index, prices will be going up very soon,

evlPanda said...

curac said...

might be a great time for people to think about customs.

Yeah, customs'll charge you 10% GST, so you're saving about $800 smackaroos which is like a free flight to Maui... hmm.

Are you buying $8000 board panda? gst on 3k = $300, your flight to maui just landed in Noumea

Pugwash said...
Is there some kind of rule about bringing back used sporting equipment vs brand new stuff

The secret (as shared by a French windsurfer I met) is to get your new board, wet the straps with salt water, chuck it in an oldish looking bag with a small handfull of sand.

New? Nope.. it's definitely been used - see.. the straps are still wet, and it's got sand on it.

Also, post any receipts to yourself rather than carrying them with the board. I've seen 'Border Patrol'.. even carrying too much documentation can get you in trouble getting into Australia!

555 said...

Pugwash said...
Is there some kind of rule about bringing back used sporting equipment vs brand new stuff

The secret (as shared by a French windsurfer I met) is to get your new board, wet the straps with salt water, chuck it in an oldish looking bag with a small handfull of sand.

New? Nope.. it's definitely been used - see.. the straps are still wet, and it's got sand on it.

Also, post any receipts to yourself rather than carrying them with the board. I've seen 'Border Patrol'.. even carrying too much documentation can get you in trouble getting into Australia!

Good idea "but" if they see the sand then Quaranteen will step in.......get your credit card out!

555 said...

Pugwash said...
Is there some kind of rule about bringing back used sporting equipment vs brand new stuff

The secret (as shared by a French windsurfer I met) is to get your new board, wet the straps with salt water, chuck it in an oldish looking bag with a small handfull of sand.

New? Nope.. it's definitely been used - see.. the straps are still wet, and it's got sand on it.

Also, post any receipts to yourself rather than carrying them with the board. I've seen 'Border Patrol'.. even carrying too much documentation can get you in trouble getting into Australia!

Even better, take a busted up $100 board with you and leave it there, then bring your new one back. Luggage shows you left with a board and came back with a board (which had salty footstraps etc)

Java said...

I checked the new prices for jp twin fin 84ltr at shq $2700 and at neilpryde maui $1899 which is about $1970aus not a bad saving i know what i will be buying when i head over to the US later in the year

Before you get too carried away I think you should check again and make a fair comparison.

The price you are quoting above from Neilpryde Maui is 2008 pricing and you're comparing that to 2009 pricing from SHQ. As has been mentioned above prices are going up in Australia due to increases in production costs (oil etc). Prices in the US will also be subject to this production cost increase as well as the impact of a weakening US dollar.

I've been in touch with Kevin from Neilpryde Maui and he confirms that $1899US is the 2008 price for pro edition boards and that 2009 pricing will not be released until 1st August but they are expected to increase by 20-30%.

So if you do the comparison again you'll see that Australian pricing is comparative to the US and if you can think beyond the short term of saving a dollar then you'll realise that supporting the local retailers will be much better for the sport, not to mention that getting a warranty on a board bought overseas will be near impossible!

Just to be clear:
2008 Pro Edition from Neil Pryde Maui = $1899US
Add 25% for increasing production costs and weakening dollar to get 2009 cost = $2374US
Add 10% for GST (they don't pay that in US but you will when you bring through customs) = $2611US
Convert into Aussie Dollars at 0.95 exchange rate = $2749AUD

Compare that to $2799 for 2009 pro edition from Australia and that leaves you with $50 to pay for postage and excess baggage (good luck). And you've got no guarantee that it'll get to Australia undamaged plus warranty claims and after sales service will be a nightmare - don't expect local retailers to support you if you've bought overseas.

that's my 2c worth - hope it helps!