worst surf shop on the northern beaches??

[loco4olas]

a bit off topic but still surf shop related.....
anyone ever notice that all the surf shops on the northern beaches/ sydney generally stock the same stuff, but go to qld or even just to wollongong and the range of clothing you see on the shelves and on the kids around is markedly different?
though it doesnt stick out like dogs balls, if you havent noticed it take a moment to observe and you will..... spose' kids like to belong in their identical uniforms.....
personally the only thing i ever buy from surf shops is surfboards. the others are all just fuggin kiddin emselves. not only is it the exorbitant prices for goods produced in china but the stupid fuggin designs!!!! who was the dumb cnut whoever approved this 'splattered graffiti' style? the style that ruins good clothing with ridiculous graphics. you may notice a lot of it still sitting on shelves or at the 'backyard sale'......
i always look forward to target and k-marts new seasons range of unmarked, quality and reasonably priced 'fashion'. (hey, at least it really doesnt matter if i rip it , stain it or lose it..... often i even double up on items i know i will wear a lot.)
..... if only they shaped boards......

having said all that, i think the best surf shop on the northern beaches would have to be second surf opposite bunnings near the bakery. get a 1/2 decent custom for cheaper than anywhere and their second hand boards are reasonably priced.....and oh.... did i tell you about the clothing..... i recently bought a pair of functional boardies and 2 shirts (without stupidly large graphics) for $65.......beat that ......

the only tshirt i would like to own that has anything to do with the 3 large manufacturers of the surf clothing world is the one that says...

QUIK
RIP
A
BONG
.....only a shareholder knows the feeling.....

Smokin


Matt

[Jamoe]

I don't live on the northern beaches so will avoid expressing an opinion, but I'm all for this sort of discussion.

If all the real surfers just stopped buying from the worst offenders then we get better service and products all round, or they go out of business.

Sadly i dont think it matters to much if we do or not, I think for a lot of surf shops these days real bonafide surfers are not the main or biggest spending clientele, thus we are not shown as much interest.

on the flip side this could see little niche specialist surfshops flourish, but i think since everyone wants to be a "surfie" the majority of them just want to flog boards to unsuspecting victims at outrageous prices and pressure them into buying a $70 t shirt on the way out

[loco4olas]

Sadly i dont think it matters to much if we do or not, I think for a lot of surf shops these days real bonafide surfers are not the main or biggest spending clientele, thus we are not shown as much interest.

on the flip side this could see little niche specialist surfshops flourish, but i think since everyone wants to be a "surfie" the majority of them just want to flog boards to unsuspecting victims at outrageous prices and pressure them into buying a $70 t shirt on the way out

Again, I'll place a plug in here for Boardscape at Avalon-they are definitely a niche surf shop-being a core surf shop amongst all the glossy fluff.

Matt

[nthnbeachesguy]

Ha ha ha this is a funny thread. I dun buy boards from surf shops, very occasionally i will grab some clothes, a dvd, some wax or deck grip. Im fortunate enough to have friends in the industry and so can mostly avoid paying reriptail prices. Dun mind the store opposite manly high to get clothes occasionally and the monsoon tsunami in newport the owner is cool and always has a chat when i go in to grab wax etc.

I thought i heard that surfection had been sold and they were all becoming Quiky Boardriders stores???? Might be wrong but if thats the case they wont be keeping much boards in stock anymore. Brian at surfection in Mona was always a nice guy, didnt mind dealing with him when i was younger, went there a year ago to get some booties and didnt leave for over an hour after telling him i was off to the mentals that year, had a lot to say and tell me bout it, he has been there for the last 8 years running or something.

There are still guys in the shops who when they have sussed out that u do and can actually surf are pretty cool but they r in the minority. I luv having some 19 yr old twit who has been surfing for 2 years try and sell me a board ha ha ha. Not a big fan of the joints, they have become way to commercial and full of "cool" types.

Best surfshop i remember was Mullets in Newport, used to go down there all the time to look at boards and drool and get a copy of Freesurf, anyone remember that??? Grommets dream, a free surfing Mag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[barrington]

ok let's hear it ... and please give reasons why ...

for me it's 'dripping wet ' @ manly ... they just sell absolute crap & don't give a shit what you buy as long as you buy something ... most of their boards are crap quality from what i have seen & been told ... production line DHD's & other odds & sods ...

they also flood manly with kooks of all varieties ...

Heres another warning re Dripping Wet....couple years back I left my board (6'3" mccoy nuggett) with them to sell on consignment. They said theyd phone back when sold.....called em a few times then went round there about 6 months later. They'd sold it couple months earlier but conveniently forgot to tell me. The shop assistant told me he couldnt give me the money....had to be by cheque from the owner himself.....got the owners number and called him a bunch of times but he never got back to me. I've since been travelling so its a bit hard to get back and sort out......my own fault I guess for not camping out on his doorstep and sorting it out but it shows the kind of bloke you are dealing with and the business ethics he follows.

[Clif]

Dripping Wet....couple years back I left my board (6'3" mccoy nuggett) with them to sell on consignment. They said theyd phone back when sold.....called em a few times then went round there about 6 months later. They'd sold it couple months earlier but conveniently forgot to tell me. The shop assistant told me he couldnt give me the money....had to be by cheque from the owner himself.....got the owners number and called him a bunch of times but he never got back to me. I've since been travelling so its a bit hard to get back and sort out......my own fault I guess for not camping out on his doorstep and sorting it out but it shows the kind of bloke you are dealing with and the business ethics he follows.

one word: DODGY!

[mandoora]

The first time I could afford a brand new stick I went and saw Dripping Wet, just coz I was passing by. This was many years ago and I don't know what, if anything, has changed, but I was so impressed by the attitude of the staff there:

- I was looking at everything they had in stock, and at this stage could have been sold any rubbish off the rack... BUT

- The dude in the store was stoked that I was buying a new board and he went to many lengths to make sure I got a good board for my experience and size. HE DIDN'T HAVE ONE IN STOCK so he didn't just sell me something off the shelf to make a sale... He actually told me to cruise around to the other stores and see if I could find something with the dimensions that he had in mind for me and if I couldn't to pop back in later in the arvo and he would see if he could find one for me.

- I looked around and couldn't find what I was looking for. I went back to Dripping Wet about 3 hours later, and the dude remembered what we were talking about, made a call, got stoked over the phone and ran out of the shop... I followed him out to the foot path and he had run up the road to a truck loading bay and came running out of the truck holding a brand new Stedman Spyder over his head, with the same dimensions (not exact but very close) as he had sent me looking for around the local stores.

- He then gave me and excellent price and threw in wax, leggy, grip etc.

Basically, if the staff there still have this kind of enthusiasm for getting people surfing then I would go back to Dripping Wet any day. (There are just other stores that I am closer too more often)

[Sandwiches]

Interesting thread.

For me personally, it’s about who you are giving ya money too. What role does the people you are buying from play in the surfing community as a whole? Those independent shops like Wicks, Aloha at Manly etc put back into the grassroots of surfing, and they’ve been doing it for a long, long time. Looking after the groms, local boardriders etc. It’s those shops that nurture the talent until some big brand sponsor signs em up – not that that is a bad thing, it’s just the way it is.

It’s those smaller local shops that give the 10 year old groms a free block of wax, stickers etc. when you are young that sought of thing is huge. Would you ever see those big money hungry credit card swiping shops in numerous shopping complexes do that. No way mate, it throws their stocktake out…

[unmployed]

they all just as bad as each other, try hard guys and girls that more often than not dont even have the slightest idea of how to surf and what its about yet reakon they have all the answers and seem to think its cool to yell them out across the shop and make themselves look like the idiots they are.

[Clif]

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 1:21 pm Post subject:
they all just as bad as each other, try hard guys and girls that more often than not dont even have the slightest idea of how to surf and what its about yet reakon they have all the answers and seem to think its cool to yell them out across the shop and make themselves look like the idiots they are.

???

[tootr]

I'll also put in a plug for Bevo at Boardscape - just don't start talking about twin fins!

Line Up at DY gets a serve. The guy goes on and on - My girl tried to wholesale him some clothing and all she got was an hours worth of 'born again' ranting and raving.

Six ounce glass at Bondi look awesome -havent visited yet but check the site. The boards look like A1 topshelf alternative equipment.

[Longygrom]

no offence to any of the owners or employees, but Line Up really is, for me the worst surf store. Its just appaling with the qualityof the products. One fo the dudes tryed to sell this kid i know who had been surfing for a little under 2 years, a 6'8 shorty with a squretail, some fat mans board, and the kid was 12 years old lookin for a grom board

[unmployed]

all surf shops are the same on the northen beaches..... the staff more often then not have no idea bout surfing, and because they work in a surf store they think it is their duty to yell out comments that makes them sound more retarded than they look... get some education and a real job

[Clif]

and what would a "real" job constitute umployed - arbiter of eductional standards, employment relevance and the like. we're all just grist in the mill my friend.

get your point re: being heroes yelling across shop though.

[unmployed]

a job that doesnt involve ripping off the consumers just to make a buck, whres the heart and soul off the local surf shops..... $4 for a block of wax, when will they stop????

[pig champion]

Interesting thread.

For me personally, it’s about who you are giving ya money too. What role does the people you are buying from play in the surfing community as a whole? Those independent shops like Wicks, Aloha at Manly etc put back into the grassroots of surfing, and they’ve been doing it for a long, long time. Looking after the groms, local boardriders etc. It’s those shops that nurture the talent until some big brand sponsor signs em up – not that that is a bad thing, it’s just the way it is.

It’s those smaller local shops that give the 10 year old groms a free block of wax, stickers etc. when you are young that sought of thing is huge. Would you ever see those big money hungry credit card swiping shops in numerous shopping complexes do that. No way mate, it throws their stocktake out…

timmy hanrahan at aloha manly is a legend for doing this sort of stuff ... he has my utmost repsect & i am always keen to shop at aloha ... having said that, i will only buy from there when timmy or pauly evans are working ...

[Longygrom]

I work in a surfshop and im a student just getting some extra cash. I think i have an idea of surfing i have been surfing for 10 years