If you’re the average 12 year old skateboarder you probably aren’t too concerned about the controversy in the skateboarding industry over skateboard decks that are made in China. You might not even know which companies are already manufacturing their decks there, such as Dwindle.
But if you’re over 15 you might have heard about it and your main concern probably has to do with quality. “Chinese boards break easier” or “Chinese boards delaminate too fast” are things you might have heard others say.
And if you’re over 20 you might have some US pride and don’t want to see yet another product being made overseas. Maybe some people around you are talking about how this is putting some US companies out of business and their workers out of jobs.
Before we go any farther, you might want to read China - Whether We Like it or Not by Jeff Harbaugh. I’m not sure anyone understands what’s going on in the skateboarding industry as well as Jeff does. Even though this article was written in 2002 it is still quite relevant. In fact, it’s dead-on.
One of the main points Jeff brings up is that if the price of making a deck in China and shipping it to the US is substantially lower than making it in the US and quality is the only issue, then someone is going to figure out how to make a quality board in China and get it to the US. Then the question becomes whether or not people will buy it, all other things being equal. So let me ask you the question by presenting a scenario.
You break your deck. You can’t skate until you get a new one. You go to the shop and they’ve got two decks left. One is from your favorite company that happens to make decks in the US, but it’s $50 with grip. The other deck is made by a company that isn’t your favorite company, but they’re not that bad. But they get their decks from China. Their deck with grip is $40. You’ve got $45 in your pocket. You stand on the decks and they feel identical. What are you going to do?
Let’s add some complications to it. Your friends are going skating tonight, and you can’t earn another $5 until tomorrow. On top of that, one of your friends has a deck from this company that makes them in China and he hasn’t complained about it any more than he does about any other deck he’s ever had. Plus if you get the cheaper deck you can walk away with $5 in your pocket.
I’d say that chances are you’re going to walk away with the cheaper deck. And if you could somehow look into a crystal ball and know that the quality is equal and the shapes are identical, there’s about a 100% chance you’re going to get it.
What about blanks? It’s the same question. What if you could get a US blank for $30 with grip, but you can get a Chinese made one with grip for $20? When you take away the effect of branding on the decision, it becomes even more obvious that China decks are going to win out–assuming the quality factor is taken care of. That’s the big question, of course.
Am I happy about this? Well, not particularly. All things being equal, I would rather buy products made in my own country. And I have some concerns about China’s human rights violations and their use of slave labor (using prisoners, in this case, many of whom are in prison for political reasons, such as wanting the freedom to simply go to church or simply say what they want to in public).
You could get into a debate about whether buying products from China perpetuates the human rights problems or is indirectly leading to more freedoms. Perhaps the best way to fix China is to turn them from communists to capitalists. You can’t argue convincingly that capitalist countries don’t take better care of their people and the environment than China or the former USSR have.
But the point is that no matter what I think, kids are ultimately going to buy the cheap decks. Everything else is already made in Asia from shoes to your skate tool. If I don’t carry the China decks in my shop, somebody else will and I’ll go out of business. If the companies having their decks made in the US don’t start making their decks in China they’ll probably go out of business too, no matter how good their team is or how good their branding is. Price is the ultimate weapon in business and has the power to trump everything else.
But I’m just one guy with limited knowledge of all this stuff. What do you think?
I read Mr. Harbaugh’s article, just so I myself would have a better understanding of the scenario. I think its important for people to understand the industry and markets so that they are better informed consumers. To bad this is how it works. Hopefully the global economy will demand more and maybe the United States will regain a more favorable place in the competitive manufacturing process.
I honestly think china makes the best decks. When i ride their boards i feel like i get more out of how much i pay for the deck. No matter if its a blank, checker board deck, enjoi, or world industries deck china made boards are great.
I agree…..im all up for competition & good market rates. I wonder when a chinese company will take up some slack on the quality of decks coming out of there…….watch out US when that happens!
I still support British and US manufacturers…..but i remember when i was younger the canadian boardmakers took alot of my pocketmoney aswell
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well i will buy usa cause i do not want to see our companies go out of businsess…. owned
well i had 2 mini logos that sucked the big one and snapped ina month…thats only one moth paying 60 bucks….im only 14 but i skate some big stuff…..ive been wondering hey yes thier are boards being made in us and they r gonna be a lot better with stronger wood and the chinese decks suck…..but ppl know that the decks are all gonna be about 50 bucks and if more ppl know which decks are stronger and research and find out they may look into that deck and try it out so yeah i agree with u totally
where can I find a list of the companies (or brands) which make decks in china?
martian …
look no further then the wall of your local skateshop.
The fact of the matter is the industry isnt worried about their precious pros, they have 4 letters right out of 7, PROFITS is their concern !
Profit margin is what drives the industry to be so protective and offer so many excuses why you shouldnt buy a Blank deck. fact is everybody’s over there in China. The ones that are the most voiced in objection - are the ones that have the most to loose. You want to see crazyiness? The quality is 100% THERE now, pro level man. All the big boys are there and ya know what? its all high high quality wood. No delams or breakage anymore.
If you want the real truth look no further then the very same people that are protecting their brand and crying about blanks spoiling this or spoiling that. The only thing they are going to spoil is the ridiculous b.s. It will expose the real outrageous profit margins that board companies are able to make in today’s “pro deck” market.
Martian you want a list? You dont need one, its on the wall at your local shop. Preserve the culture and the reason - big business disguised as your friendly cartoon on the bottom of your deck may be lying to you.
All the big companies that are crying are full of $%#! They outsource a ton of their work load to china. China is now making 7 ply Canadian maple decks that are superb and cheap.. The mark up on a deck is insane. I don’t know how anyone gets suckered into thinking that the companies may lose money if they lower prices. If they sold the deck for $15 to the store that’s 300% profit and then the store sold it for $30 that’s 100% for the store. I’m talking with full graphics here too! So there’s the break down for ya. Now I know that a big company has alot of people to pay but come on! It’s $5 to make a deck!!! $5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wanted and asìked for a list so to avoid buying a “Made in china” deck.
For istance: does sant cruz also make its decks there?
Which brands are there? If they are all there I’ll buy simpy the cheaper, blank or not.
Black Label or Foundation (both made in the USA) , Cost the same as a Flip or Element (Both made in China). USA dollar , worth less and less.. fuel up in price . guess why? Time to keep our money home. Americans do not seem to have a clue, why these things happen. American board companies are still strong ..Foundation , toy machine , black label , powell , bacon . Independet , venture , tracker and Thunder trucks all made in California. When has China ever made anything good? Corporate runs the White house . Depression is on are list. USA made decks rule.
I dont relly like to buy decks made in China, but if i had yo i would
Were are chocolate skateboards made?
China is just @#$@… No Regulations,
Its not a US thing I’ve bought boards made in the UK, Canada and wheels from Australia.. These are true skate companys… Not a profit driven outsourcing there boards to a #@!$# hole toy company in china…
I can go on the net right now and buy 20-30 blanks for 6-8 bucks a pop go down to the local skate park and sell them for $20-25 bucks..
would do no, but I’ve seen it happen…
FYI, the Bootleg name brand boards are here its not a problem yet but it will be soon…
why should we feel sorry for any company in the US or not. they can bring the price down. their not in the business for charity so they get no charity from me.
are we supposed to solve the ecomony by the boards we buy. If buying US made boards would lead to more parks or a better local skate scene I would stay with US made boards.
I buy decks in bulk on ebay for about 17 bucks with grip and their pretty #$#$# good decks. I sell um for twenty and a kid gets to skate that normally would not ,because we don’t even have a skate shop, thus china wood is making our skate scene better.
I would rather walk than skate a chinese deck. It all comes down to this - our forfathers died for our freedom - died…!!! get it - that is a huge sacrifice to believe in something so much you will die for it. But History aside - also when you buy something that is made in china (or mexico or india or viet nam) you are selling out your brother, your neighbor, and your childrens future. Without manufacturing jobs you are left with corporate jobs and service industry jobs (government jobs included). So what the hell - go ahead buy made in china. History always repeats itself - the wheel that goes around comes around - the Roman empire fell - and the USA is on a downward slide unless we learn to put our money where our mouth is - learn to sacrifice - if you can’t find it made in the USA - try to do with out. I’m not asking you to make the ultimate sacrifice - but we need to learn to sacrifice now or suffer later. Skate or Die? God Bless America