Somewhat sadly, Surfstitch are little more than a front for Rip Curl and Billabong, and those companies attempts to “stitch up” the online market ( nice pun, don’t you think? ). The whole “two guys from the northern beaches” story they are peddling is an insult to people’s intelligence… this has six figure MacBank backing ( they also own Surf Hardware International… e.g. FCS / Gorilla Grip brands ) if the rumours are to be believed. Go to the Rip Curl website and click on “buy online now” and see where it leads.. then try the same thing on the Rusty, FCS, Otis Eyewear or Palmer’s Surf websites. Nuthin’ suss there… huh? This IS their online store… with all the anti-competition and retail price maintenance bundled up nicely in one convinient location.

As you can imagine, when the business plan for this little venture was floated back in ’06 times were much rosier in retail. I would say the monthly sales targets mooted back then are now a pipe dream, given the pending economic maelstrom.

It’s not surprising Surfstitch have been marketing hard… they have some of the deepest pockets behind fashion retail globally propping them up. We can only hope this bold experiment fails, opening up opportunities for independant stores to get in and start selling these brands at prices that aren’t artificially inflated by surfing’s cartels.

In the meantime, you’ll find ebay and online sellers in the US that can ship the same brands to Aus in as little as 5 days for below Australian retail. =)

We have corresponded briefly before re photographic equipment but not for some time. I just want to say that I have grown DEPENDENT upon receiving my daily Aquabumps email. I am an investment banker and in these extraordinarily challenging times, you cannot imagine how therapeutic it is for me to spend a minute or so casting my eyes over the waves, the water, the surfers and not to forget, the beach babes you capture in your lense(s). Some of the photography is simply awesome and I have successfully recruited friends of mine who live as far away as Boston to also subscribe and enjoy the daily ritual!!!

Keep up the great work

Jeremy Ingall