How to sell your surfboard: a quick guide

Take decent photos

This is the single biggest thing. Lay the board on a clean surface - grass, concrete, a white wall - somewhere with good natural light. Avoid shooting in the dark or with a cluttered background. Take a shot of each side (deck and bottom), one of the nose, one of the tail, and close-ups of any dings or repairs. Buyers expect some wear. What they don't want is surprises.

You can upload up to 10 photos on BoardLoop - use them. More photos means fewer questions, and fewer questions means a faster sale.

Fill in the specs

Length, width, thickness, volume, fin setup - fill in everything you know. These are the first things a buyer looks at when deciding whether a board suits them. If they can't find the specs in your listing, they'll move on to one where they can.

Not sure of the exact dimensions? Check the stringer or under the tail pad - shapers often write them there. If you genuinely don't know, say so rather than leaving it blank or guessing.

The fin setup matters more than people think. A buyer who surfs a thruster doesn't want to discover the board only has a quad box after they've driven across town to look at it.

Be honest about condition

Everyone rates their board a little higher than it deserves. Try not to. A board listed as "very good" with a buckle crease is going to disappoint someone in person, and that usually means a wasted trip and a failed sale.

Dings, delamination, pressure dents, yellowing - mention it all in the description and photograph it. Buyers who are fine with wear will still buy a banged-up board if they know what they're getting. The ones who want something pristine will filter themselves out, which saves everyone time.

Price it right

Pricing a second-hand board is the part most people overthink. You paid a lot for it new, you've taken good care of it, it still rips - all true, and none of it changes what the market will pay.

When you list on BoardLoop, we show you a price range based on similar boards that have been listed in the same category and condition. It's based on real listings, not guesswork - so if your price is way outside that range, it's worth asking why. Boards priced at the lower end of fair value tend to sell quickly. Boards priced optimistically tend to sit.

If you're not in a rush, price it where you're happy to wait. If you want it gone, price it to move.

Write a description that helps

The specs fields handle the technical stuff, so use the description for context. Who shaped it? What kind of waves is it best in? What surfer does it suit - a heavier intermediate or a small aggressive goofy? How long have you had it and why are you selling?

A few honest sentences about how the board actually surfs is more useful to a buyer than a list of adjectives. "Fast down the line, a bit stiff off the top" tells someone more than "great board, loves it, just upgrading."

Set your location

Buyers search by location. If your listing doesn't have a suburb or area set, you're invisible to anyone filtering nearby. You don't need to put your exact address - just the suburb or area is enough. Most buyers want to pick up in person and will be looking for something within a reasonable drive.