The EVA Pad Quality is not as better as before

The EVA Pad Quality is not as better as before

Yesterday I received a message from my customer, he sent me a picture of broken, blistered and faded EVA pad on Big Team SUP. 

The Team SUP we sold him at 2023/3/30, no more than 3 years, the board body still works well, but the EVA Deck Pad is totally broken. He asked me to buy a new EVA pad and send it with his other products. He plans to replace the new EVA pad by himself.

I feel very embarrassed, because we never imagined the EVA pad could break in such a short time. Even though the customer runs a rental business and uses the boards outdoors frequently, that is not an excuse.

As a paddle board factory, we purchase EVA pads from a specialized EVA pad manufacturer, which sources its raw materials from raw material suppliers. Since I joined the industry in 2018, we have seldom received complaints regarding EVA pad quality issues. Now in 2026, factory prices have been getting lower and lower; for an order of 1000 units, the unit price can reach 60–70 USD per set.

Cutthroat competition has kept pushing prices down, leaving suppliers with no choice but to reduce costs. EVA pads are the easiest component to target for cost cuts, since problems with them can't be spotted quickly. Issues like fading, easy aging, blistering and damage only show up after long-term use.

Previously, plenty of anti-aging additives – like UV absorbers, light stabilizers and antioxidants – were added to EVA, and only brand-new virgin EVA pellets were used as raw materials. But under the current price war, high-quality EVA of this kind simply can’t be sold. EVA factories only care about cheap raw materials: skipping anti-aging additives or using recycled EVA is fine. Products will sell well as long as the price is low enough. This is a classic example of bad money driving out good money, especially with the boost from large-volume low-price sales on e-commerce platforms like Amazon.

Customization of EVA pads is only available for large-volume orders. Only when the quantity exceeds 1000 pieces can we request EVA manufacturers to supply high-quality EVA pads—made from brand-new virgin EVA pellets with all types of functional additives incorporated. Unfortunately, most of my clients place custom orders in small quantities like 10, 20, 50 or 200 pieces, and they have no other options at all. I have no choice but to make an extra EVA pad and send it to the customer, hoping this one will last a bit longer.
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