How much should I pay for a used surfboard in Bali?

It depends far more on condition than on the model. Water in the foam takes a board to nearly nothing whatever it cost new, a snapped and rejoined board sells for a fraction of an unbroken one, and a board with its volume printed on the stringer sells higher than the same board without. Compare against boards of the same volume and shape currently listed rather than against the new price.

Is it cheaper to buy a used board in Bali than at home?

Usually, in the middle of the range. Boards turn over constantly here and a lot of them are sold by people with a flight booked. The gap is narrower than it is at home at the cheap end, because boards are shaped in Indonesia and a new soft top is not expensive.

Is a used surfboard worth it, or should I buy new?

Used is worth it when you want a discontinued model, when you want to spend less now, or when you plan to sell it again within a few months. New is worth it at the bottom of the market, where a beaten used board costs nearly the same as a fresh soft top, and at the top, where a custom order gets you the volume you actually want.

What a used board costs in Bali

The bands a second hand board actually sells in here, what moves a price inside a band, and when buying new is the cheaper answer after all.

Updated September 2026 · 4 minute read

Read this as bands, not as a price list

Nobody can quote you a price for a used board without seeing it, and any page that does is guessing. What follows is the shape of the market rather than a valuation: where boards cluster, and what pushes one to the top or the bottom of its band. The live answer is whatever is listed on this site today.

Prices here are quoted in both US dollars and rupiah, because the market does. A seller who has been here a while thinks in rupiah and a seller who arrived last month thinks in dollars, and the same board gets advertised both ways.

What moves a price inside its band

Water in the foam: This is the one that takes a board to nearly nothing. A waterlogged board is heavy, it will not dry out, and the repair is not economic. Everything else on this list is a discount. This is a write-off.
Repairs, and who did them: A tidy repair that is sealed, sanded flat and dry costs a board very little. A lump of resin with no glass under it costs a lot, because the buyer is pricing in doing it again properly. A board that has been snapped and rejoined sells for a fraction of one that has not, however well the join was done.
Whether the volume is known: A board with the litres printed on the stringer sells faster and higher than the same board without, because the buyer can filter for it and does not have to take a risk on fit. This is the cheapest thing a seller can fix and most do not.
Brand, and whether the model is still made: A current model from a brand people know holds value. A discontinued model from the same brand does not, even when it is the better board, because fewer buyers can look it up. Soft tops hold almost nothing regardless.
Season: Boards get cheap when people leave. There are more sellers than buyers at the end of a long stay, and a seller with a flight booked has a deadline you do not have.

When new is actually cheaper

Boards are shaped in Indonesia, and several brands people know run production here. That compresses the gap between a used board and a new one more than it is compressed at home, and it means the used price has a floor: nobody pays 80 per cent of new for a board with two repairs in it when the shaper is a half hour away.

So the case for used is strongest in the middle of the range and weakest at the bottom. At the cheap end a new soft top from a shop costs little more than a beaten one from a stranger and comes without the water in it. At the top end a custom order gets you the volume you actually want rather than the volume that happened to be for sale.

The case for used is strongest when you want a specific board that is no longer made, when you want to spend one week's money rather than one month's, or when you are going to sell it again in three months. In that last case the used board is close to free: you lose the difference between what you paid and what you sell it for, and on a fairly priced board that difference is small.

Before you agree a number

Look at what comparable boards are listed at on this site, filtered to the same volume and shape. That is the only comparison that controls for fit.
Price the repairs you can see. A ding shop quote is a real number and it is the strongest argument you have.
Decide what you would sell it for in three months. If that number is close to what you are about to pay, the board is cheap.
Do not negotiate before you have inspected it. A price agreed over WhatsApp is a price agreed on photographs.

Common questions

How much should I pay for a used surfboard in Bali?: It depends far more on condition than on the model. Water in the foam takes a board to nearly nothing whatever it cost new, a snapped and rejoined board sells for a fraction of an unbroken one, and a board with its volume printed on the stringer sells higher than the same board without. Compare against boards of the same volume and shape currently listed rather than against the new price.
Is it cheaper to buy a used board in Bali than at home?: Usually, in the middle of the range. Boards turn over constantly here and a lot of them are sold by people with a flight booked. The gap is narrower than it is at home at the cheap end, because boards are shaped in Indonesia and a new soft top is not expensive.
Is a used surfboard worth it, or should I buy new?: Used is worth it when you want a discontinued model, when you want to spend less now, or when you plan to sell it again within a few months. New is worth it at the bottom of the market, where a beaten used board costs nearly the same as a fresh soft top, and at the top, where a custom order gets you the volume you actually want.