How much is that snowboard in the window? The one with the beautiful...er...sticker?

July 15, 2008 3:23 PM

Pricing a used snowboard for resale/auction: Please Help!!

I'm on the board of directors for a local theater company, and each year we do a live/silent auction for fundraising. I'm constantly bugging my friends to give me their stuff - so that we can auction it off and keep paying our stellar staff!

A friend, through her employer*, passed on to me a used snowboard for our group to auction off. Here are the details:

Brand: K2
Model: Eldorado
Size: 163

Boots: appear to be a different brand? "Switch" brand?
Case: Dakine brand

I have googled the hell out of this board, but do not find it. It appears to be older than 07-08 season. But, I'm out of steam. I'm not a snowboarder, and know (or care) little about this stuff.

Tell me, hivemind, what would be an appropriate minimum auction price for this board/case combo? Would $100 be too much?

Also, relatedly: do people just not buy used snowboards? I don't find a huge market out there, so it's worth asking. Perhaps there's something inherent in snowboarding (and/or personalizing one's board) that makes second-hand purchases ill-advised or taboo.

Help? Comments? Thanks!!!

*The board was abandoned at her employer's office building; after contacting everyone on staff, no one claimed it; so, they were going to give it to Goodwill when my friend asked if she could pass it on to me.

posted by CitizenD to sports, hobbies, & recreation (2 answers total)

I think that $150 or so seems about right for a "garage sale" or craigslist price. I mean, it's not like if you win, you're being outfitted with boots that, you know, fit you, and a board that's big enough for you (see how much it changes based on height, weight, and usage at this calculator). You're getting whatever this board is. So you've immediately narrowed down the potential buyers/riders. Plus you don't get to pick out a board that speaks to you graphic sensibilities or that's tuned for the riding you do (backcountry or freestyle).

You also don't say what kind of shape it's in, so I'll just assume that it's in excellent-to-good shape (without damage, stickers, case appears new and not worn or torn).

There is a big market in used snowboard gear since it's expensive to buy. The question is, are the attendees of your silent auction either people who go snowboarding (young, in shape, white kids) or do they know people like this for whom they'd feel okay buying this thing. I think that if the auction is attended by a lot of moms, a lot of 16 year old kids might say "mom, I can't tell without looking at it" and mom would then have to pass on even bidding.
posted by zpousman at 3:56 PM on July 15, 2008

I recommend splitting the item into 1) board+case and 2) boots. This way you're opening up the auction items to people who already have boots but just want/fit the board (#1) or just want/fit the boots (#2) in addition to those who are just starting out want both.

do people just not buy used snowboards
People do but usually only high-end boards. At the lower end of the market, it's better just to buy a new board. New boards are released every year so it's easy to pick up a cheap, low-end board that's 1 or 2 seasons old. Whereas used boards are usually banged up and thrashed by the previous owner.
posted by junesix at 5:09 PM on July 15, 2008