Collecting “old-school” skateboards: Where to find rare pieces? How to search for them? 

The community of “old-school” skateboard collectors has grown enormously over the past five years. Prices have unfortunately also followed this trend, both in original skateboards (OG) and in reissues.

Before embarking on your quest for the holy grail, here is a handy glossary of the terms most frequently used by collectors.

The lexicon of the collector of oldschool skateboards

  • OG = Original. This refers to a period model, not a reissue. Of course, the prices are very high.
  • Reissue = Model redone identically (or almost). However, the quality of the reproduction differs from one manufacturer to another. Some brands go so far as to reproduce the same shape and the same printing technique (screen printing). Others will be much less demanding (modern shape, heat transfer rather than screen printing). You should know that brands do not necessarily re-release all models in all colors… For example, Santa Cruz generally releases 4 models every 3 months, or more or less 16 models per year. If your deck is not in these models, you will have to wait for them to reissue it or for a shop to possibly still have it in stock – something unlikely with the enthusiasm that there has been around reissues in recent months .
  • SP = Screen printed. Printing technique that was used by all manufacturers at the time. It consisted of painting successive layers of colors to create the graphics on the board.
  • HT = Heat transfer. A more modern and less expensive technique that appeared in the 2000's to replace screen printing. Purist will prefer Screen Printed of course.
  • Mint = Perfect condition, like new.
  • NOS = New Old Stock. Vintage stock. Typically, the old cardboard that has been lying around at a skateboard distributor for 30 years.
  • Dead stock = New Old Stock. 

Where to find oldschool skateboards on the internet?

First of all : Ebay.com (a.k.a evil bay ;-) )

You can find everything there, reissues, originals, at all prices. Unfortunately, there are a lot of speculators there… often people who have been able to buy a model produced in few copies and who will resell it for two to three times more the next day. Ebay.com has a search tool, which is handy if you are looking for a specific model.

 

 

Then the different facebook groups. Super convenient as they are often organized geographically or by brand or type. Each group has its own rules that must be scrupulously respected at the risk of being banned.

 

Most popular facebook groups for skateboard collectors (not limited)

o   SKATEBOARD COLLECTORS  44000 subscribers
o   Skateboard collecting 16000 subscribers
o   Santa Cruz Skateboards Reissue Collectors     16000 subscribers
o   Old school Skateboard Collectors worldwide    15000 subscribers
o   SKATEBOARD COLLECTORS (Official)    14000 subscribers
o   Reissue & More Skateboard Collectors   11000 subscribers
o   Santa Cruz Skateboards OG Collectors And Trades     11000 subscribers
o   Skateboard Wheels, Trucks & Accessories Collectors   10000 subscribers
o   World Industries Skateboards buy/sell/trade      10000 subscribers
o   SANTA CRUZ AND SMA COLLECTORS NO BS !!     11000 subscribers
o   OG skateboard collecting group 9400 subscribers
o   Vintage skateboard collecting   9600 subscribers
o   Aussie Skateboard collecting    8700 subscribers
o   Popsicle Skateboard Deck Collectors   7600 subscribers
o   POWELL PERALTA COLLECTORS NO BS    7100 subscribers
o   Sale or trade Vintage Skateboard of the World   7300 subscribers
o   Skateboard Stickers for Trade and Sale   6300 subscribers
o   Skateboard collecting UK    5900 subscribers
o   Santa Cruz OG Skateboard Collectors   4300 subscribers
o   Vintage Skateboard Collecting (Original since 2011)  4000 subscribers
o   bLind World Industries 101 Plan b Liberty skateboard collectors           3900 subscribers
o   Skateboard Collecting Dot Com  3400 subscribers
o   Santa Cruz skateboard collector 3200 subscribers
o   BAND SKATEBOARD DECKS punk, hardcore, metal: display, buy, sell  3000 subscribers
o   OG H-Street Skateboard Collector            2700 subscribers
o   SKATEBOARD COLLECTING REISSUES NO BS         2300 subscribers
o   Skateboard collecting Europe     2300 subscribers
o   Blockhead Skateboard Collectors             2000 subscribers
o   Skateboard OG World-wide Collectors    1800 subscribers
o   Skateboard collecting france    1900 subscribers
o   Skateboard Collecting Og    1500 subscribers
o   90s skateboard collecting     1300 subscribers
o   Vintage Skateboard Trader         1300 subscribers
o   Powell Peralta,Santa Cruz,Alva,Madrid,Vision Skateboard collectors group        1300 subscribers
o   skateboard Collectors UK   1000 subscribers
o   SKATEBOARD COLLECTING eBay WATCH & SALES GROUP  700 subscribers
o   Skateboard Collecting Canada    500 subscribers
o   Skateboard collecting Ireland     400 subscribers

 

 

 

Meetups / conventions of old school skateboard collectors.

Dedicated forums:

o   The one from skateone.com

o   Skullandbones

The skateshops specialised in oldschool skateboard reissues like skatetilldeath.com for example :-)

 

 

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