Buying and selling safely

Inspecting a used board

• Check the rails, nose and tail for open dings. Any crack that reaches the foam lets water in.
• Press around the deck: soft spots or delamination (the glass lifting off the foam) are hard to repair.
• Look for brown or yellowed foam under the glass, a sign of water damage.
• Check the fin boxes or plugs for cracks, and that fins screw in firmly.
• Sight down the stringer from nose to tail to check for creases or a broken board that's been repaired.

Meeting and paying

• Meet in a public place in daylight, or at the seller's shop. Many surf shops are happy to host.
• See the board before you pay. Pay in person with cash or an instant payment app once you're happy.
• Never pay by wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency or a “shipping agent”. These are the most common scams.
• If you're shipping, use a service with tracking and buyer protection, and get clear photos of every ding first.

Spotting a scam

• The price is far below what similar boards sell for.
• The seller can't meet, is “overseas”, or pushes you to pay before seeing the board.
• They want to move the conversation off Surf Trader straight away or send you a link to pay.
• As a seller: a buyer offers to overpay and asks you to send back the difference.

See something off? Use the Report button on the listing. New sellers' first listings are reviewed, and listings with several reports are taken down for review automatically.