Mail In Wetsuit Repairs Australia
Post your wetsuit to a real repair workshop from anywhere in Australia. Free quote inside 48 hours, $15 return post, 3 month warranty.
The Wetsuit Repair Shack·
The bench · Ocean Grove
You do not need a repairer in your town. You need one with a bench and a postal address.
We are in Ocean Grove, Victoria, and a large share of what we work on arrives by post. Suits come from Perth, Darwin, the Sunshine Coast, Tassie and every regional town in between, usually because there is nobody nearby who does this properly.
The process is simple. Wash it, dry it, post it, approve the quote, get it back. Return postage anywhere in Australia is $15.
How it works
1. Wash and dry it first
This is the one step people skip and it is the one that matters most.
Rinse the suit inside and out in fresh water. If it has been living in a bag, use a wetsuit wash and follow the soak in our guide to shifting a smell out of neoprene. Then hang it in the shade, inside out, until it is completely dry. Not damp. Dry. Give it a full 24 hours before you send it.
Two reasons. Glue will not bond to salt residue, so a salty suit either delays the job or produces a weaker repair. And a wet suit sealed in a satchel for three days arrives smelling like something died in it, which nobody enjoys, least of all us.
2. Note what you want looked at
A short note in the parcel or an email with your order works. Tell us what you know about. Where the tear is, when the zip started catching, whether you are getting cold in a specific spot.
We inspect the whole suit regardless, so you do not need to find everything. But knowing what bothers you tells us what to prioritise.
3. Post it tracked
Fold it, do not roll it tight. A 3kg satchel handles a single steamer comfortably. Two suits need a 5kg.
Use tracked postage. This is for your benefit, not ours. Australia Post loses very little but when it does, tracking is the difference between a claim and a shrug.
Address it to:
The Wetsuit Repair Shack
9 to 11 Sinclair Street
Ocean Grove VIC 3226
Put your name, phone number and email inside the parcel. Satchel labels get scuffed and a suit with no contact details sits on the shelf.
4. We inspect and quote
Your suit goes on the bench and gets gone over properly. Every tear, every seam, the zip, the seals, the knee panels, the state of the rubber.
You get photos of everything we find and a fixed, itemised quote. Not a range, not an estimate that moves later. A number per repair.
That includes things you did not report. A seam that has started separating but has not opened yet, a thin patch that will blow next season, a zip slider on its last legs. You decide whether to deal with them now or leave them.
5. You approve what you want done
Fix everything, fix one thing, fix nothing. Your call, and nothing happens until you say yes.
If you decide against repairing, we post the suit back and you cover the return postage. No assessment fee.
6. We do the work
Hand stitched, seam glued, pressure tested before it leaves the bench. Glue cures for 24 hours, which is why nobody honest offers same day turnaround.
7. Back to your door
$15 anywhere in Australia, tracked, selected at checkout. You get the tracking number when it goes out.
Every repair carries a 3 month workmanship warranty. If something we fixed is not right, send it back and we redo it.
What a postal repair actually costs
Every job is listed separately with a fixed starting price. Tears are tiered by length, seams are priced by the length of the run we open and rebuild, zips are priced by the type of job, and panels, seals and bootie work are priced per job. Final pricing may vary with the condition of the suit and the extent of the damage.
Pricing
See current postal repair prices
Every job listed individually with a fixed starting price. Inspection and quoting are free, and there is discounted pricing when several repairs are done at the same time.
View repairs and pricingYour postage to us depends on your state. A 3kg tracked satchel from most capitals runs around $15 to $20. Drop-off at the shack is free if you are close enough to consider driving it in to Ocean Grove instead, and return postage from us is a flat $15 anywhere in Australia.
So a typical interstate repair, postage both ways included, still comes to a small fraction of the $520 a new suit costs. If your suit needs more than one thing done, send it all at once, because we offer discounted pricing when several repairs are done at the same time. Our guide to what wetsuit repair costs explains how the list works if you want it.
Sending several suits at once
If you have two or three suits with problems, send them together. Same return postage, one quote.
This is what most families and households do, and it is what surf schools and clubs do at scale. Our trade page covers bulk fleet work.
What we can and cannot do from a distance
Being upfront about the limits.
Works fine by post: tears of any size, seam repairs, zip replacements, seal repairs, bootie work, knee panels, panel replacement, patch reinforcement, liner repairs.
Needs a conversation: alterations. Taking in a suit or shortening arms and legs is much easier when we can see it on you. It is still doable remotely with careful measurements, but expect a few emails.
We will tell you no: suits with widespread delamination or perished neoprene. If the rubber has gone papery and the liner is peeling off in sheets, a repair will not hold and we will not take your money for it. We wrote a piece on how to tell if a suit is beyond repair, and it is worth reading before you pay to post one.
Why people post instead of buying local
Most of Australia does not have a wetsuit repairer. Surf shops sometimes offer patching, and some brands run their own repair service for their own suits only. A dedicated workshop that will work on any brand, quote in writing, and warrant the work is a different thing.
The other reason is trust in the quote. Photos of every issue and a fixed price per repair means you know exactly what you are paying for before anyone picks up a needle.
Packing checklist
- Suit rinsed in fresh water, inside and out
- Dried inside out for 24 hours, not damp
- Folded, not rolled tight
- Note inside with name, phone, email and what you want looked at
- Tracked satchel, 3kg for one suit and 5kg for two
- Addressed to The Wetsuit Repair Shack, 9 to 11 Sinclair Street, Ocean Grove VIC 3226
- Tracking number saved
Frequently asked questions
Can I post my wetsuit for repair from anywhere in Australia?
Yes. Suits arrive at the shack from every state and territory. Post a tracked satchel to 9 to 11 Sinclair Street, Ocean Grove VIC 3226 and we return it for $15 anywhere in the country.
How much does it cost to post a wetsuit for repair?
Return postage from us is a flat $15 within Australia, selected at checkout. Your postage to us depends on your location, but a 3kg tracked satchel from most capital cities runs around $15 to $20. A single suit fits a 3kg satchel comfortably. Drop-off at the shack is free.
Do I need to wash my wetsuit before sending it?
Yes, and this matters more than people expect. Glue does not bond to salt residue, so an unwashed suit either delays the repair or produces a weaker one. Rinse inside and out in fresh water and dry it inside out for 24 hours before packing.
What if I do not want the repair after seeing the quote?
Nothing happens without your approval. If you decide against it, we post the suit back and you only cover the return postage. There is no assessment fee.
Will you find problems I did not know about?
Usually. We inspect the whole suit, not just the spot you flagged, and photograph everything. Early seam separation and thin panels are the two most common surprises. You choose whether to address them, and there is discounted pricing when several repairs are done at the same time.
Is my repair guaranteed if I am interstate?
Yes. Every repair carries a 3 month workmanship warranty regardless of where you are. If something we fixed is not right, send it back and we redo it.
Can you repair my wetsuit brand?
Yes. Patagonia, O'Neill, Rip Curl, Vissla, Billabong, Xcel, C Skins, Need Essentials, Quiksilver and everything else. Construction differs between brands, which changes the method but rarely the price.
Post it in
Send a photo first if you want an idea of cost before you pay for postage.
The Wetsuit Repair Shack, 9 to 11 Sinclair Street, Ocean Grove VIC 3226. Thursday and Friday 11am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 1pm. Drop-off available when closed. Repairs posted Australia wide.
