Does your surf shop "support" paddle surfing?

[1tuberider]

Does your area surf shops stock sup inventory?

My travels indicate that many do not.  Is this due to profit margin on equipment  not being enough for the inventory investment? Lack of funds, lack of space, lack of sup customers or
lack of  knowledge. 

Some shops may only order the gear when buyer purchases it instead of having an inventory which I feel is still support.  Others are still feeling it out but do you think some may just not like sup.

It looks like the sup shops that are dedicated to sup and paddle sports is becoming the sup store.  I would have thought that coastal surf shops would have been quick to buy in.  For inlanders the surf shop is pretty rare so a paddle sports shop might be their support.

What do you think? 
 

[Easy Rider]

"My" shop does.

[EastFL]

I would estimate a little less than a third of the shops in my area of Central Florida support SUP.  In those cases it seems that staff or owners are into it themselves. 

[Kendall]

Since I am new to SUP and have not surfed before I have been in several surf shops in Va. Beach and OBX doing research. I have rented boards 3 times trying to decide what is best for me. My experience is most shops carry a few boards but that is about as far as it goes.  Most of the staff at the shops are either not educated in SUP or they really do not want  to sell one (two in my case, my wife wants one also).  I have found that it is best to skip the staff and try to speak with the owners and they have always been helpful.

[pdxmike]

"My" shop--Gorge Performance in Portland--has quite a selection of SUP boards and paddles.  There seem to be about a dozen general purpose SUP boards at any time, plus a constantly-changing smaller assortment of race boards.  The staff as well as the owners paddle and are very knowledgeable.  They organized a race series this summer, which drew many of the best paddlers in the area--and also was a great opportunity to meet people and see a range of racing boards.  The shop draws some really knowledgeable customers, also, and I have met and learned a lot from some of them at the shop.

I also like that they are not just a SUP shop--they also carry gear for surfing, snowboarding, windsurfing, skating....I know nothing about these other sports, but they're all related, and a lot of people do more than one of them.  People going in to the store for one thing get exposure to the others.  Now that I have my stand-up board, I'm getting interested in surfing--SUP or otherwise--and having all the gear and advice for it available at the same store will make it that much easier and more likely that I'll try it someday. 

I read occasionally about animosity between surfers and paddlers.  I know it's a topic in itself, but having shops that cater to both--where the gear and customers are mixed together, and the staff knows both sports (or rather branches of the same sport) well, and invites everyone to the same parking lot luau parties, seems like a positive, unifying force. 

[paddlesurfwarehouse]

Check out Paddle Surf warehouse in Dana Point, Ca. and Costa Mesa, Ca. They have over 200 hundred boards in stock at all times.


www.paddlesurfwarehouse.com

[DJD1]

My local shop does SUP maybe 10 boards but most of the guys that work in there treat you like a leper if you want to talk SUP. It maybe that they don't know much about the sport so they are doing that 'I know better' guy thing but it gets a bit boring to the pt I tend to do all my reseach on line.

[dannyg]

At this point its like snowboarding was in the early 90's, finally ski resorts realized snowboarders had wallets also.  Everything changed, as will our market and the shops if they are smart.  I am sick of the folks drinking surf haterade, we are not starting wars, we are just enjoying the water.  There will always be some Barney that blows it by dropping in, going outside the swell and stealing the good stuff, its a person by person issue, not a sup issue.  They will come around if they are smart.

[SoCalSupper]

im pretty lucky- i have a quite a few SUP dedicated shops down here in Orange County-Socal-paddlesurfwarehouse is a great one-there is Becker Surf in Mission Viejo-big new Hobie store with a big SUP section in Dana Point-big new SUP store in Laguna Beach-so down here there is lots to choose from, and to be honest the local sharks dont bother me much and in the last week or so since the landlords showed up at Sano the lineup is a little thinner!

[newton333]

all shops near me suck, only one really has demo boards and rest of the shops all the boards are over 10 ft long and staff knows nothing and i get the feeling they dont even like sup.  in nj no flat earth is the only shop that has a clue all the rest blow.

[jdmotes]

 Here in N Fla; yes. Most of the 'major' surf shops in my area support and sell SUPs...                         Later,            JD

[fms]

Hey,  I live out on eastern long island . There are about 7 stores with in 25 miles and for stand up gear 3 are descent and worth checking into, and 1 of those is closed more than 1/2 the year. If your after  a short, race or down wind  board you'll  have to custom order ,or go else where for now.  My friends and I try our best to support the local shops ,but  it usually winds up being  easier and cheaper to use other resources .  If you asked, the majority of people would still rather surf  than paddle when it was going off. I think most of our shops  are just trying to avoid the risk of not being able to unload there merchandise during the 3 + months season, but they do show some support.

 I hope  it is just a matter of time before it really takes off out here and we'll have a greater selection of gear at our local shops.

[1tuberider]

I noticed while in HB surf city last June that the main street down town area had very few paddle boards in the few shops that had any.  Most were not performance models.  I did not locate the paddle board shops that have posted.  Glad they are available.  Used to be most of the surf shops in HB were near the main street and 101 areas. 

I have also noticed that the board manufacturer who makes and retails boards have embraced sup  like Hobie.  I believe Hobie even wholesales to retailers.

Went up the Or coast last weekend and checked out a surf shop.  No sup gear.  I find that this is the norm.  The area was loaded with beach breaks and I met more women long boarders that morning than men surfers.  I may have seen 2 or 3 sups on racks driving but if they were surfers they usually had prone equipment. Did I score good waves! I was the only one out riding at a beach break in front of a small creek that produced rights and lefts that were steep and hollow. Amazing people would check it out and leave good waves. Later I found a group 20-30 surfers riding some creeks and the waves quality were not something I would have suited up for. No sup their either.

Our surf shops don't stock sup inventory other than a paddle or two and the custom shop does not have any on the rack. One shop you can order a custom and the other shop you can order from a distributor who delivers to the shop.  This is support.

I don't think the reason for lack of inventory is due to sup hatred.  Most shop owners are in it for a profit.  The longer you hold out on embracing, leaves an opportunity for those who will stock the gear.  Which brings me back to my original observation that the shops who sell gear often specialize in sup and have nice inventory selection of sup but not to much prone surf product. 

Are the Australian shops full service surf shops?  Looks like DJ"s pictures of a shop (posted on another thread) and easy riders shop in Canada is how I would expect it should be.  Has everything.  I wish more were like that.  Had I found a board I liked I would have brought it home. That is how I support surf shops.






 

[outcast]

IMHO, if you have a Surf shop and do not sell SUPs, you will be outta business within a few years, unless, you can keep a core group of excellent shortboarders hanging around, and sell expensive black t-shirts with skulls/daggers to the goth skateboard crowd for their back-to school wardrobe.

Our local shops are selling both, and benefiting from each market.....it helps
put sup in the mainstream of our surf culture which is mostly kook kulture anyway

[SoCalSupper]

IMHO, if you have a Surf shop and do not sell SUPs, you will be outta business within a few years, unless, you can keep a core group of excellent shortboarders hanging around, and sell expensive black t-shirts with skulls/daggers to the goth skateboard crowd for their back-to school wardrobe.

Our local shops are selling both, and benefiting from each market.....it helps
put sup in the mainstream of our surf culture which is mostly kook kulture anyway

the part about the expensive black tshirts to the goth skters had me cracking up!