That's tough if you don't live near Oceanside and want a name brand board :-/.ya keep in mind an $800 product regardless of margin is still an $800 product to the consumer. anyways this is good to know. i'd do a qc look over before i'd pay balance on a new board and reject if st is off.
Obviously you can go local and there are quality shapers near most places with surf, but as racer said the good ones charge $600+ for PU and that's tough for me at least to justify. The most environmentally friendly board is the one that lasts the longest after all.