Get In The Game

Don’t think your wallet is safe just because you’ve paid team fees, contributed to fundraisers and bought coach’s gifts. Keeping up with the price of sports gear can be surprisingly expensive.

For a new tennis racquet, you can easily spend $150. A quality softball bat is between $200-$300. A snowboard, boots and winter clothing can easily add up to $1,000 in no time. And equipment for lacrosse, America’s fastest-growing sport, is, in a word, outrageous.

This article describes how to pay less for snowboards, skis, cleats, clothes, bats, balls, racquets and all the rest. There are several avenues through which you can acquire discounted sports gear, including retail chains, online stores and used-equipment dealers.

Retailers or e-tailers?
You can save during end-of-season sales at retailers like Sport Chalet, Chick’s and Big 5. As the season for a sport comes to a close, equipment gets marked down 30%-50%. But, as I was told by one dealer in used equipment, “The big chains mark new merchandise up, so they can mark it down later.”

To bypass high retail markup, you can bid on used equipment at sporting-goods.ebay.com. The problem is that it can take days for bidding to end, then several more days for equipment to be shipped to you. Also, you are taking your chances on the seller’s reliability.

The biggest problem is that you can’t try on the gear before you buy it. Fit is crucial with sports equipment, particularly shoes and the equipment used in contact arenas. Gear that’s too loose or too tight is not safe.

Used, not abused
Last summer, my family started playing tennis. My kids played with some cheap racquets lying around our garage. A tennis instructor said my son’s racquet was too small, and my daughter’s was held together by duct tape.

So I dropped by my local Play It Again Sports store (look for one in your neighborhood; other parents will know where to go). The owner’s teenage son plowed through a wall of tennis racquets to dig out a nice Prince racquet. Brand new, it would have cost about $150. Sold used, even though there was not a mark on it, the racquet cost less than $40.

The teenager told me, “We have to sell it as used because somebody bought it at another store and took it home. But it looks like they never played tennis with it.” I bought it, along with a similar racquet. At the next tennis lesson, the instructor admired the performance of the better-fitting, duct-tape-free racquets my kids were using.

Ride waves and save
You can also find big savings on equipment for board sports. A brand-new snowboard or surfboard depreciates quickly once used. If you don’t mind a small scratch or 2, you can probably save hundreds.

One thing you won’t find at Play It Again Sports is football gear. The store owner told me that the pads, helmets and uniforms take up valuable store space, and the football season is short, so it’s not worth his time to sell it. “People want to be able to outfit a football player head-to-toe at a single store. I can’t clear out the space to sell all that just for a few months.” Hockey gear shares a similar fate.

However, when the store can’t meet your needs, it’s quick to direct you to someone who can. Before a hiking trip, I stopped by for hydration backpacks. The store doesn’t carry any, but the owner pulled out the morning paper and pointed out a half-off sale on hydration backpacks at a store down the street.

A family affair
New sports gear is expensive. It seems extravagant to make major investments in equipment, especially if you only ski a couple times a year or like to knock a tennis ball around on the local court a couple times a month.

For board sports, skates, balls, bats, gloves, hockey sticks, tennis and weightlifting equipment, Play It Again Sports is a good place to save at least 50% on most gear. You can even sell your own used equipment to the store. The one near me is a family operation, run by a father and his sons.

Buying used gear allows you and your family to try different sports without making a full commitment and paying top dollar. Ultimately, having access to the gear necessary to play many different sports makes you and your children more well-rounded athletes.


David Kries is a contributing writer to OC Family Magazine.

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Sports equipment websites

> Shopping.yahoo.com (click “Sports”)

> Sportchalet.com (click “Great Deals”)

> Playitagainsports.com (click “Store Locations”)

> Big5sportinggoods.com (click “Weekly Ad Specials”)

> Chickssportinggoods.com  (click “Store Locations”)

> Sporting-goods.ebay.com (click any sporting goods category)