Shipping Transparency

Our surfboard shipping prices are going up. We know it’s not ideal. But we are still the best around!

As a company we pride ourselves on honesty and transparency every time we have any communication with our customers. We would never sell the wrong surfboard to anyone, just for the sake of a sale, and back this up with a unique ride out guarantee .

We wanted to take this same honest approach to the rise in our surfboard shipping prices.

From the 21st Feb 2022 our Surfboard Shipping prices will be as follows:

UK Mainland: £19.99
UK Highlands & Islands: £39.99
Northern Ireland, Isle Of Wight: £34.99

You Can Always Collect at Boardshop for Free

If you are relatively local or passing for a surf you can always select collect at boardshop during the checkout process. You are welcome for collection 7 days a week. Also stay for a coffee chat, and to meet the team.

Watch Ian outline why we had to raise our prices in the video below:

 

Shipping Cost Transparency

All we are trying to do is cover our costs, we make no profit on the delivery sums we charge, to highlight this we’ve done a breakdown so you can see with total transparency how the costs are calculated.

The costs involved with packing boards have increased as well, here’s a breakdown of how it works out:

Surfboard packing costs
Surfboard reinforced recycled carboard box: £5.00
Tape: £1.00
Bubble wrap: £2.00
Labour: £2.00
Total packing cost £10/board

Surfboard delivery to UK mainland (excluding Highlands and islands)
Basic delivery charge £13.90
Domestic delivery surcharge £8.33
Carriage levy £2.18
Fuel Surcharge £3.12
Subtotal £27.53
Vat £5.50
Packing Cost £10
Total cost to us £43.03 - we now charge you £19.99

Surfboard delivery to UK Highlands cost to us (AB, KW, IV etc)
Basic delivery charge £32.17
Domestic delivery surcharge £8.33
Carriage levy £4.02
Fuel Surcharge £5.67
Subtotal £50.19
Vat £10.04
Packing Cost £10
Total cost to us £70.23 - we now charge you £39.99

Surfboard delivery to Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight, other islands
Basic delivery charge £31.66
Domestic delivery surcharge £8.33
Carriage levy £3.97
Fuel Surcharge £5.60
Subtotal £49.56
Vat £9.91
Packing Cost £10
Total cost to us £69.47 - we now charge you £34.99

You can see our full delivery cost breakdown here.

Why Are Our Surfboard Shipping Prices Going Up

The cost of shipping anything is increasing exponentially right now and has been going up for a while, we’ve kept out shipping costs the same for years but now we can no longer continue to absorb the increases. We’re having to increase our shipping prices in line with the increase in costs to us.

There are several issues at play here, increasing fuel costs, increasing driver salaries, increased insurance costs, increasing road tax, the list goes on, as we all know nothing is getting any cheaper right now. We simply have to meet these rising costs.

Ugly Freight

Not as far as we are concerned but, there is also a reluctance by couriers to take what they call ‘ugly freight’ and Surfboards are classified as such. Really they all want to be processing and delivering shoe box sized parcels, there are only a handful of couriers for awkward things like surfboards, in short hardly anybody wants our business so we are at the mercy of the couriers.

The Highest Quality Surfboard Packing On The Planet

Surfboards are things of beauty and are of course fragile but we got to great lengths to ensure they are packed to be as bullet proof as possible. Our damage rate with couriers is less than 0.5%.

In addition we fully guarantee every surfboard delivery against any damage and will swap or take back any damaged surfboard for a full refund. Customers will never be out of pocket as a result of a vary rare case of damage in transit.

We use recycled boxes whenever possible, we recycle and reuse bubble wrap an average of 6 times before it loses its integrity it then goes to a recycling centre to be shredded and used in other manufacturing. We use tape with water based glue. We’re trying our best.

We Don’t Make Big Profits On Surfboards

We do get the point that if someone is paying £500 for a surfboard then why should they not expect free delivery on a high price item. But the truth is that the markup on surfboards is much lower than anyone would think. We really don’t make much on any surfboard (certainly not enough to subsidise free delivery).

In addition we pay between £10 and £20 for every surfboard that is delivered into our warehouse. We never mark our retail prices up to reflect this.

How Can Some Websites Still Offer Free Delivery?

Ok let’s tackle the elephant in the room. Any true online surf shop, based on great customer service and honesty, will charge a fair shipping price. Certain retailers, who are focused on box shifting without any level of customer service or actual surfing advice, will compensate by offering free delivery within the UK and often further afield.

This just encourages unnecessary or incorrect surfboard purchases, and the excess shipping is neither environmentally friendly, nor an ethical business practise.

If you do have any questions then please give us a shout .