How to Buy a Skateboard as a Gift

Start by determining how involved the recipient is (or is likely to become) with skateboarding. If this is going to be somebody's first skateboard, you have a number of options regarding how much money you want to spend and what quality of product you want.

Go to a big toy store if you simply want a skateboard that looks like a skateboard. There will be plenty of knockoff brands and products that come preassembled for $50 to $80. You will most likely end up with a plastic or greenwood board, trucks that barely function as turning mechanisms, plastic or rubber wheels that will barely roll, and cheap metal bearings that will rust and seize at the first signs of moisture.

Go to a large sporting goods store if you want a slightly better product. Most of these places also carry ready-to-go skateboards of moderate quality, and some carry products from the better skateboard manufacturers at discounted prices.

Go to a skateboard shop if you want a top-quality product produced by a knowledgeable company. You may get overwhelmed in there, and you may spend more money than you would at one of your other options, but you'll be getting the best products available, and you'll be supporting companies and people that deserve it.