TS question - sporting goods

[Joe777Cool]

I often see many sets of old skis, ice skates, golf clubs etc. Anyone have any pointers for spotting some hidden gems when it comes to thrift store sporting equipment?

Joe

 

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[Tallone]

We don't get much cold weather stuff in Florida so I can't be much help with the skis and skates. I have purchased a couple of sets of golf clubs at auctions and done OK, but not great, with them. Besides the obvious condition issues, I look for big name brands (Callaway, Taylor Made, Nike, etc.). I understand old, wooden shaft golf clubs are highly collectible but I have never seen any in the wild. Some models of baseball gloves by Rawlings can bring big money but I'm sure this is limited to particular models and I don't know which models bring the big money. I see baseball gloves at yard sales all the time but every time I check into the value I am disappointed.

 

[gino22]

large sporting goods have been fairly consistent burns in my experience. there are the occasional gems to be found, but caveat emptor unless you are intimately familiar with the equipment and know what possible faults to look for, or the price is just too good to pass up. i get nervous around any equipment where breakage could lead to a nasty accident.

am not a lawyer and am not sure if you could be held liable for injury due to faulty used equipment, but i would prefer never to be on the receiving end of that kind of complaint. i would personally have any protective or potentially dangerous equipment inspected and certified by a professional before reselling.

research the major brands and, more importantly, research what is current. naturally, you have much better odds with clean, current items. forgive me if i'm stating the obvious here, but i was tempted to buy a lot of sporting goods when first starting out and ended up barely breaking even with a LOT of time wasted. this is one area where you really have to know your stuff, or be quick on the draw with the smartphone. just my 2 cents.

 

[Baltimore]

Sporting goods at thrift stores are pretty risky. I've never seen a piece of equipment that wasn't beaten into the ground or cheap to begin with. I'd say don't even bother with skis, they depreciate extremely fast, and the chance of finding skis nice enough that they would retain any of their value is pretty much zero. Nice skis get bought by people who would never donate them to thrift stores, and even if you found a pair of mid-level skis from two years ago they still wouldn't be worth selling online. Skis are kind of like cars, unless they are brand new and the current model year, depreciation is lightning fast. Unmounted, New skis from 2012 probably sell for less than 1/4 of what they went for brand new, I could probably get a pair for $100 from a ski shop, especially now that it's spring. So yea, don't mess with skis. Same with ski boots, too much risk, and they are super heavy. Skates are hard too, you pretty much never see ones worth anything at thrift stores. Jerseys can be great, but there are 25 worthless ones for every remotely valuable one. Look for ones with sewn lettering, not screen printed. New looking soccer, football, and baseball cleats can be good if they're Nike or Under Armour and in good (nearly perfect) condition.

Hope that was helpful, I rambled for a sec there.

 

[My Precious]

When it comes to sports equipment it's the newer the better for most things. Condition is everything. I posted a couple years back asking if anybody else sold used equipment to "Play It Again Sports". I have a $91 check in my pocket right now from them, it was probably $20 I spent at GS this summer, if that. I usually get back $5 for every $1 I spend. I can easily profit $150 a month from them and I can't get out every weekend with my work schedule plus it is winter here for 6-7 months. You need to follow the seasons and school sports. They don't buy ski's in the spring but I buy up all I can and store it until the season rolls around. Right now skis, skates, snowboards, CC skis are huge, but it's almost time to get out the cleats, ball gloves, golf clubs. Skateboards are huge too but even a nice vintage one will sell. Protective things such as baseball helmets I stay away from because they become outdated but shin guards for soccer I buy, they don't out date. Older aluminum baseball bats won't sell. Ski's are very tricky too...it's because of the bindings. Ski techs will not mount or adjust bindings that are outdated. Every year ski companies update their bindings on an Indemnified Binding list, if the bindings on the skis you are looking to purchase are not on this list do not buy them. The list is for up to date, good bindings. Play It Again will not purchase skis with bindings that are not on the list, and if you sold them to someone you could be liable if they are injured. Here is a link for bindings... indemnified ski bindings 2013-2014.

 

[Bassmaster96]

Someone mentioned the wood shaft golf clubs, and those are worth some money. Make sure it is the wood shaft, not just a wood club head.

 

[Baltimore]

Yep, play it again sports and the like are great, especially for hockey and soccer stuff where I live. You have to be able to acquire your merch for very little though, because they aren't super generous. Also inspect your items very well, they will nix it for the tiniest little thing, and then you'll be stuck with a bunch of not quite perfect cleats or whatnot. I'd say go to a play it again sports next time you're somewhere that has one and look around, see what kind of things they have, even ask the people working if there's stuff that they're actively looking for. If you can figure out what flies off the shelves there, you can have a more narrowed view of what to look for while thrifting.

 

[palidin20603]

DeMarini Ultimate Weapon 34" 28 oz Slowpitch ASA Softball Bat Slow Pitch | eBay

Demarini softball bats! Cash all day long. See youtube for the College Picker, he turned me on to sporting goods. BTW I am not college picker. HH

 

[palidin20603]

Sold for $43 plus $9.95 S&H!

 

[Beachkid23]

I had a soft ball bat sell for $100 around christmas. Don't remember the name off hand though.

 

[palidin20603]

I had a soft ball bat sell for $100 around christmas. Don't remember the name off hand though.

If you remember let me know! These bats can be 2-3 times your money at the TS!