Awesome news Steve. What would it take for them to make a production run of the A-Sides? Because really thats the only Soap shoe we need (Or will ever need).

Something Soap's is seriously lacking from the olden days is the style and attitude. Current Soap's just don't have that life to them ya know? They look like the Heely's shoes and don't really make a style of their own (In fact some Soap shoe models are also Heely's models :|)

yo they got some experesses at http://www.mtbz.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=mtbz&Product_Code=SOA012

nitros and groovs i think the groovs are 2 skinny and ugly

so we still have some hope

im size 3 im onley 11 years old lol

Wow, what I did I start?
First of all, thanks Mart for moving the post from forum to news. I think I will answer all of the follow-up questions here in forum though, to prevent jamming up the news section. If you decide otherwise, feel free to shift the answers over there also.

Hey Wesker:
I’m just speaking from my knowledge of the footwear biz, but to put in a new model size run of sole molds and uppers pattern cutting dies, they would be looking to amortize the costs over an expected production run of 50,000 pairs or more. I am thinking the initial order would need to be in the range of 1,000-5,000 pair to get HSL’s interest in putting in their full size run, but the sizing could be adjusted to be only an offering of sizes 9-12 or 13, and maybe they would bite at 600-1,500 pair minimums, as the total tooling outlay would be less. The reason I mentioned the T-Bone is the tooling is already there so a re-intro order should be in the 250-500 pair range, as they wouldn’t have any additional investment. Everyone can comment in the shoe section about the T-Bone and clue me into if that is a tact we should pursue.
As for the A-Sides being the only Soap shoe you ever need, I somewhat disagree. Don’t forget it is an expensive (costly) shoe to produce, most folks can’t drop US$100-120 retail on a pair, and it is a challenge to make a comfortable full-sole plate shoe when fifty percent of the sole bottom is nylon grind plate (that’s the reason the Slipknot plate on the Broadsides and the plate on the A-Sides is segmented for some sole flexibility when walking in the shoe). Yeah, you can pull more tricks in a full-sole plate but the tweekage you got on a BBK or even better on an Octane plate is primo, imho.

“Something Soap's is seriously lacking from the olden days is the style and attitude. Current Soap's just don't have that life to them ya know? They look like the Heely's shoes and don't really make a style of their own (In fact some Soap shoe models are also Heely's models :|)”.
…… HSL is just doing what a lot of shoe companies do to cut costs: uppers and soles are being used across multiple brands to avoid additional development costs … basically cross-pollination. But you also see styling cues from the Scab and Praba being used in the Groove and the Express, so it’s all good. And yes, I do miss the California edgy, in-your-face attitude. Now if they would just copy the uppers and Speedster plate onto a nuvo-Scorcher, we would all be happy campers!

SapAuthor --- Hey, Trevor:
Yes to almost everything you asked --- Southernbelt on eBay never got back to me about a bulk buy of the vintage Soaps but I know they are sitting on a good number of size 11-14, mainly 12 and 13’s. So keep watching.
HSL did get back to me on pricing and I need to hustle-up taking care of business but it is going something like this –
Step 1) Listing on eBay “buy it now” as sizes arrive (and eBay auction on the vintage style single pairs I have).
Step 2) Initially an eBay Stores step-up, hopefully morphing into a Store web page with full shopping cart, etc.
Step 3) A stand-alone, on-line web presence. If you have any suggestions, I am all ears.

And, as always, I am happy to work on a direct purchase buy via e-mail, too. So if you want to refer to me by e-mail address link, that’s cool.
Pricing on the Express will be:
· US sizes 3-5, US$45.50 plus S&H
· US sizes 6-9, US$65.50 plus S&H
· US sizes 10-12(and maybe13?), US$69.50 plus S&H, when they get here at the end of October.
Plus a pilón (Spanish in Mexico for a gratuity or appreciation) -- repeat customers get an 7.0% discount on shoe purchases … if you bought something from us before, we want to say thank you with a discount on your next purchases.
Also, HSL is supposed to be rummaging around in the warehouse on what is going to be sent over here, so we can do a gift with purchase for the first 20 pairs or so. It maybe a Soap Duck, a Big “O” VHS, or a package of five Soap stickers, but no definite answer on that one yet so we are patiently waiting!

Hey Chip:
SapAuthor already popped you on the fact that MTBZ and Skate Connection are not stocking Soap shoes either wide or deep and because of that few people can buy Soaps from them. As he said not everyone is a size three, but hey lucky for you! It has been a bit of a problem (for HSL) that they aren’t overly serious about stocking the Soap brand. I hope to give the Solidgrinders an alternative, because I’m a size nine … ! Sorry, I ‘m just messing with you a bit there, Chip!

Hey Renny:
Are you still jumping up and down? I got size nines in all three colors, yee-haw! You know what? I’m kind of partial to the White/Orange/Navy, although the Grey/Black/Royal Blue is really reminding me of the Prabas. Sorry again that the NYC Heely’s Day busted.

Ok, Derek and Mart:
I am glad I decided to answer all of this in the forum. It would have really cluttered-up the news section. As you can see, I got long-winded and wrote a book again. Feel free to edit anything you feel is either blatantly self-promoting, not necessarily relevant, and also move any piece over to the news section, as an addition to the first posting, that you would like …
And just a final thought: I’m sitting here looking at the Octane plate and the Express shoes and I am thinking there is no reason that the Octane plate can’t be remolded as an affixed plate. The contours and edges are so good. What would you think of the Chaos, Scam, or even a wheel-less Mack, re-mapped in a lighter colorway, with an Octane-style fixed plate? HSL would be able to use the already available upper and sole tooling they have. Color change is a no additional cost decision. The only additional cost would be new, size-graded molds for an Octane-style plate. Offer only sizes 9-12 if they want to minimize that cost, then you’re only talking two molds (9-10 & 11-12). It’s not the A-Side, but it could be the next best thing and I think it could be saleable to Stafferoni and Biery, without making their heads spin. I am really asking for your opinion here. I think it’s doable. What do you think?

Regards,
Steve

Steve-O, you roxzer. My email is trevorfayas@sonicandpals.com, i would love to further work out things with you as in getting a place for my viewers to get them. I also would request somehow getting more videos and pictures on my site, i can refer but my viewers are usually pretty lazy and wont look into anything unless i place it right in front of their face...I should probably put some SOAP stuff in my comics, that's a good idea...Anyways, email me and we can work things out.

Once again, God Bless you, man! *single tear*

i'll be honest, even thoguh i have my express, am (hopefully) getting those 13 ordnance, if the price is right i would get some broadsides too, although it would wait till i'm a little better (express and ordnance models are really comfy, so that way even if i dont' soap a lot it's worth it, but i hear the broadsides aren't that comfy due to the full sole plate). I'm still in my crawling steps of soap, but broadides would be sweet, if not the scorchers or A Side,

Hmm, its all very interesting. It's a real shame soapshoes arent being promoted, because i see that as probably the biggest failure. You cant expect to sell shoes without proper PR work, regardless of the number of models, accessories, options, colours etc being offered for sale.
I guess one problem is that humans love to roll. It's almost like we were meant to be on wheels. I reckon something inside of us makes us fascinated by rolling, and have a desire to move from A to B without actually walking....Kids are probably just naturally drawn to the heelys more so than soaps because soaps mean walking, and only moving from A to B via a set route along a railing, whereas Heelys mean rolling from A to B wherever you like and in any direction you like.....Trust me, its AALLLLlll psycological maaan.
AAAAAAAAAnnnnyway, Also, regarding the A-sides, i think what what steve was saying is that the majority of people out there (as in not people like us who already have the soap bug) wouldnt be prepared to pay a high cost. Think about all those kids out there with supermarket skateboards. They like the look of skateboarding, have never tried it before, dont know much, and arent gonna throw down $/£150 for a setup, theyre only prepared to pay £/$20. If all they can see if expensive shoes which do something that they have no experience in yet, they arent gonna buy them unless theyre reasonably priced.
Lets face it, any product will die if it doesnt try hard enough to draw in new customers.

I was just kidding about the Express.....i love the fact that mine dont have a bubble in them, it makes them unique

Maybe I haven't looked in the right places but I don't see where your email adress is noted. Also, how much will it cost for shipping to Sweden?

So OT, as an example a size 10 Ordnance Flint will run you US$28.70 USPS Airmail Parcel Post, 10 days delivery or US$23.75 USPS Economy Parcel Post, 4-6 weeks delivery for USA to Sweden shipment. SapAuthor is correct, if you can find a good buy out of the UK it will be more economical on the shipping costs.

thanks for the help fellas. In UK my size seems to be 9.5. I personally never used Ebay so thats why I didn't check that first. Heard some bad stuff about it (but in all fairness you mostly hear only the bad stuff about sites like that).

yeah sorry about that, I ctrl+c'ed straight outta the shoe size translator. In UK size mine is 9 (ouh check the rhymes!). Even with the shipping it's still cheaper than my old shoes, so I think I'ma run with it (absolutely no pun intended). Send me an email with info on how I can transfer the dough to confidential100@hotmail.com so I can reply to you afterwards with my info. My email don't work on my home computer though (some strange stuff) so let me know when you sent it.

thanks for trying to help but what i meant was if i order it from Go2Crew, i'll insert the cash to his bank account or send it in a envelope to him.