The best magazine
•CCS
I have a soft place in my heart for CCS. They do this cool thing where you can call them up, and they'll send you a free color catalog. When I was a young skater, I would carry the CCS catalog everywhere, and drool over all the cool stuff that I wanted, but could never afford!
To be honest though, CCS is easily a top online skateboard retailer. They're very trustworthy, and have done so well that now CCS has shops in some malls. Which is strange, because they start to look like other mall skateboard chains ... weird how this all works out, isn't it? (read The Problem with Mall Chain Stores)
CCS has a MASSIVE selection, good customer service for an online store, and they always have some kind of sale or something. They also seem to constantly be giving things away, so the site it worth a look no matter what your view of them is! I'd suggest at least getting the free catalog. It's pretty sweet!More »
•A1 Skateboards
These guys offer skateboard parts, pre-built completes (that's a complete skateboard), custom skateboards, clothes, videos and even ramps. They have a good rating, and are registered with several online buisness associations, so they should be trustworthy! They also ship worldwide, so that should help you guys out there who have a hard time getting new skateboards. You can follow them Facebook, and catch wind of A1 Skateboards sales and stuff, too, which is handy.More »
•Warehouse Skateboards
Warehouse Skateboards is another reliable online retailer. They're a serious business, and you can trust them to get you the products you order. One thing that Warehouse Skateboards offers that sets them apart is live chat, if you have any questions! Warehouse Skateboards is trying to bridge that customer service gap between online stores and real brick-and-mortar skate shops. This is a great step, and they can help you with any questions you might have. They also have deals fairly often, and offer a satisfaction guarantee - they promise that if you don't like what you get, they'll return your money with no hassle! That's a great promise (though I doubt that they'll be fine with, "I broke my deck"...!)More »
•Tactics Boardshop
Tactics is a great online shop to buy from. They bend over backwards to give you good customer service. They offer returns up to 60 days after purchase! They also have a toll free number to call, or you can email them, or send smoke signals, carrier pigeon - you name it! These guys want to make sure that you get the help you need.Tactics also gives away 1$ out of every $100 they make to non profit organizations. That adds up to a lot, and it's more than any other online skate shop that I know of is doing!More »
•Individual Skate Brand Websites
A lot of skaters miss the obvious - most skate brands sell their gear directly from their websites! So, if you're looking for an Element skateboard, why not visit the Element website? It's that easy. You won't usually be able to do anything like mixing brands this way, but if you have a favorite skate brand, this is the easiest and most straight forward way to get it.
A lot of skate brands who are well known for one thing, like decks, also sell completes with their own special wheels, along with other brands for things like trucks, bearings, etc. These brand completes often end up looking very cool, and you can get a great deal on them. The downside is that sometimes some of the parts will be pretty unimpressive, as opposed to you building your own skateboard and picking the best deck, best wheels, and best trucks out there. The upside is that it's a lot cheaper to buy a branded complete!
If you're looking for specific brand websites, here's a huge list of skateboard brand websites. And if you know of any that you'd like to see added, just email me and let me know!
Source: ...