Best items you found at thrift stores (Goodwill)?

[michael_1265]

Originally Posted by aced_Tezuka

Great condition PK Graphite Ace 110 with case for 5$ and a Black Ace 98 in playable condition for 6$ but with a 1.20$ taken off (woohoo). Also a '04 Head Duffle bag for 13$. Found other great finds but this thread is for stuff I actually brought home I presume? I have a strict limit set upon me by my mother. Lol.

It was so magical finding those PK's. Especially the Black Ace. Hopefully I can find me a PS too...

Be careful.......it's a sickness, and you will find ways around your Mother's limitations

Those are great finds.

[aced_Tezuka]

I want to start a collection. It's probably gonna consist of racquets that I can see my self playing with or ones that just look cool or in great condition. And the ones I hear a lot about. Not gonna get woodies or ones that look too oldschool for me.
But I'm perfectly content with these two. Maybe I'm just going through a stage where I just want to buy buy buy! Will it go away????

[michael_1265]

Originally Posted by aced_Tezuka

I want to start a collection. It's probably gonna consist of racquets that I can see my self playing with or ones that just look cool or in great condition. And the ones I hear a lot about. Not gonna get woodies or ones that look too oldschool for me.
But I'm perfectly content with these two. Maybe I'm just going through a stage where I just want to buy buy buy! Will it go away????

Probably not. It started for me in spring of last year. I found a T3000 and a T5000 in immaculate condition in a local Goodwill. I started finding them and putting them up on the wall in our game room. A year later, I have about 75, including a number of woodies, a few metals, and a bunch of old-school graphite. I have some great old bags and cases also. I might have $500 into it total.

If you really like tennis and the history, it's a great hobby. Compared to many other sports, old tennis equipment is a bit undervalued.

[Hannah19]

Originally Posted by aced_Tezuka

I want to start a collection. It's probably gonna consist of racquets that I can see my self playing with or ones that just look cool or in great condition. And the ones I hear a lot about. Not gonna get woodies or ones that look too oldschool for me.
But I'm perfectly content with these two. Maybe I'm just going through a stage where I just want to buy buy buy! Will it go away????

Sorry, but you're hooked for life!!
Once you have discovered the adrenalin rush that you get just before entering a thrift store, you are a goner.....!
Enjoy the rush..

[superdave3]

Just a few years ago I puchased on original Wilson Sting 110 racquet that had been hardly used at all. It still had the original leather grip and original factory strings with the Wilson stencil. Purchase price was $1.50, but then tucked inside the cover in the zipper compartment was a $1 bill, so ultimately I paid 50 cents for it. I put a new grip on it and had it restrung (strings were probably 20+ years old), and it plays great. It is amazing how much control this classic racquet has, without the almost impossible small sweet spot of the 85 SQ inch version.

[aced_Tezuka]

My friend started bashing me for trying to use my old school racket...
But w/e. I'm gonna try not going too overboard. Just gonna get them old original graphite rackets. But who knows. ahahaha.

Tried my friends Sting 2 again today. Liked it better than last time. But he declined my offer. -cries-

[SFrazeur]

I found a Donnay Borg Pro (4-3/ in great condition with head cover and strung with "Donnay" labeled synthetic gut for $2.99 yesterday.

Damn that handle is long. Weight marked as "Light/Med." I measured it at 13.3oz.

-SF

[The Hybrid]

I saw two wooden Billie Jean King Signature Editions come through mine once, but now I can keep a better eye out since I work at a secondhand/donations store now...

[zcarzach]

Originally Posted by SFrazeur

I found a Donnay Borg Pro (4-3/ in great condition with head cover and strung with "Donnay" labeled synthetic gut for $2.99 yesterday.

Damn that handle is long. Weight marked as "Light/Med." I measured it at 13.3oz.

-SF

Lucky! I just bought one on the online auction site and the darn thing has an unmentioned, yet quite severe warp to the head. Really angry about it, as I really wanted to hit with a good one (this one hits like crap because of the warp). If you'd like to sell...

[Hannah19]

Originally Posted by zcarzach

Lucky! I just bought one on the online auction site and the darn thing has an unmentioned, yet quite severe warp to the head. Really angry about it, as I really wanted to hit with a good one (this one hits like crap because of the warp). If you'd like to sell...

I've got a decent one for ya.....
Contact me via my website.......

[dlesser13]

Just picked up two pretty pristine pt280s for 50! Can't wait to restring them and have a hit.

[coachrick]

Originally Posted by dlesser13

Just picked up two pretty pristine pt280s for 50! Can't wait to restring them and have a hit.

Well done, neighbor! That was my stick for a couple of years in the '90s. Very predictable racket...nothing flashy...played great with skinny kevlar @ 45# for mains and something skinny and fun ~58# for crosses. If I wanted it to 'feel' the best, I'd likely go with a full 17ga multi or nat gut @ 58 or so.

I still haven't hit since the ortho-doc said 'knee replacement' late last year. Something like the PT might be enough to get me out there! Of course, they're now saying it will rain for the next three days!

[dlesser13]

Fancy, that's a similar set up to my own in my modern rackets. Ever since I started hitting kevlar, haven't been able to look back. Albeit I string mine much higher than 45

[coachrick]

Originally Posted by dlesser13

Fancy, that's a similar set up to my own in my modern rackets. Ever since I started hitting kevlar, haven't been able to look back. Albeit I string mine much higher than 45

Of course, so did I back when all we had was Pro Blend! The reason for the low tension is my style of play. I used to hit first serves dead flat for max speed and try to bounce the kick second serves over my opponent. The low tension allowed me to hit with touch but the kevlar/peek would 'bottom out' when I hit hard. I never had a kevlar/peek customer go back to higher tensions after I had them try the lower(Of course, not EVERYbody got in on the 'secret'). Try a hybrid of 18/19ga aramid 'something' mains @ 45 and TNT Pro Plus 17(remember the '90s ) @ 60 to see what I mean. It would be 'soft' enough to feed with all day but would stand up to some pretty big hittin' !

[Avles]

Found a Yamaha Secret 04 at the thrift store today-- paint is chipped but otherwise looks ok.

[Sanglier]

These are two of the more interesting racquets I picked up this past year while trawling through my neighborhood GW, in addition to that "Kennex Black Ace II" mentioned elsewhere:




I know the "string lock" feature is supposed to allow you to replace just one string at a time, thus making the job nominally easier and more economical, but was there some kind of special tool that one would use to install those string-holding nipples?

Racquets at this location used to be $3.59 a pop, but they seem to have caught on to the fact that there are weirdos like me out there who are addicted to this stuff, as everything is now $5.49 each, including all the empty covers that so often cause bursts of excitement to be followed by giant let-downs. Incidentally, why are there so many empty covers at venues like this??!!! Do people give away their covers but keep the racquets? Or do these covers and their contents have a tendency to part ways during the sorting process?

I go "thrifting" once a week or so, but the staff there told me there is at least one other guy who goes there every single day just to look at the racquets. So I am always picking through his leftovers, and he usually doesn't leave me with a whole lot to look at. Maybe it's better this way, as I don't have to exert as much self-control to keep this fun game from progressing into a full blown mental disorder.

[michael_1265]

Pro Kennex Graphite Comp, Volkl Servo Pro, Chemold Laver Wimbledon (Fantastic condition!), $4 apiece at a Replay consignment store today.

Sad moment though: Saw a "mint" Austrian Prestige 300 for $20. When I excitedly pulled it out of the head cover, I realized that it had been the victim of a temper tantrum, and one side of the head was caved in. A pity.

[coachrick]

Originally Posted by Sanglier

These are two of the more interesting racquets I picked up this past year while trawling through my neighborhood GW, in addition to that "Kennex Black Ace II" mentioned elsewhere:



Racquets at this location used to be $3.59 a pop, but they seem to have caught on to the fact that there are weirdos like me out there who are addicted to this stuff, as everything is now $5.49 each, including all the empty covers that so often cause bursts of excitement to be followed by giant let-downs. Incidentally, why are there so many empty covers at venues like this??!!! Do people give away their covers but keep the racquets? Or do these covers and their contents have a tendency to part ways during the sorting process?

I go "thrifting" once a week or so, but the staff there told me there is at least one other guy who goes there every single day just to look at the racquets. So I am always picking through his leftovers, and he usually doesn't leave me with a whole lot to look at. Maybe it's better this way, as I don't have to exert as much self-control to keep this fun game from progressing into a full blown mental disorder.

I am very surprised no one has commented on the Pro Staff 125...that is very rare in my experience. The String-loc Edge doesn't require a special tool to install the 'locs'...just a slight push with needle-nose pliers or similar will allow the insert to 'seat' in the barrel and the string tension does the rest. You might be able to re-use the plugs, but I'd recommend fresh ones if you have them.

I can't believe what you guys are finding. I haven't looked in a while but dropped off some stuff at GoodWill today and didn't see a single tennis racket in the place.

Regarding the covers...all sorts of ways to 'beget' extras...demos used to come with covers, replacement rackets came with covers(but you didn't return the customer cover--no need--extra cost), people used bags instead of covers....on and on. Up until the turn of the century, I didn't know of a single shop that didn't have dozens of extra covers...and no really good way to dispose of them. There were a lot of naugas who gave up their hides for those covers . If someone could actually re-cycle old tennis balls and racket covers into something useful, the world would be a better place .

[michael_1265]

Originally Posted by coachrick

I can't believe what you guys are finding. I haven't looked in a while but dropped off some stuff at GoodWill today and didn't see a single tennis racket in the place.

.

The key is fortitude. There are about six places I frequent. I hit them all on a weekly basis, spending about five minutes in each on the way home from work. Although I have "harvested" more finds from some, I have found something nice at all of them, and it is supremely unpredictable as to when something will show up. Sometimes, a particular location will run dry for four months.

[Sanglier]

Thanks for the tip on the string locks and the explanation on the covers, Coachrick. It makes perfect sense.

During all the years of dropping off unwanted stuff at the back door of that particular Goodwill, I never thought of actually stepping through its front door to have a look until last year, because I had assumed that everything inside will be just as useless as the stuff I had dropped off. It so happened that this PS 125 was sitting right there on the sporting goods shelf on that particular day...

Naturally, I was instantly hooked. I couldn't believe that anyone would buy a racquet like this, keep it for more than two decades, and just toss it out like that. One man's junk may be another man's treasure, but still, people who buy high-end racquets would presumably never think of them as junk!

A few months later, I found that "Kennex" racquet at the same store; the subsequent search for its origin led me here, and eventually to this thread, and I came to realize just how much I had been missing out on by stupidly overlooking this inexhaustible supply of cheap fixes for racquetholics. One immediate effect of this late realization is that I am now completely weaned off of Play-It-Again-Sports.

After the initial find, I made the rounds of every thrift store within a 20 mile radius of my place for a whole week to see if this was a common occurrence. unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, for my wallet and sanity), it wasn't. And clearly, not all thrift stores are created equal. The ones bordering the more affluent neighborhoods are definitely better stocked. I am told by the staff at "my" GW that during much of the year, they tend to sell what they collect locally, it's only during the peak donation seasons (spring cleaning, Christmas New-Year) that they would pool everything at their main distribution center so as to spread the goodies around. This greatly reduced my urge to explore beyond my immediate horizons, and made it easier to rationalize the high frequency of store visits to myself.

Below is the rest of my haul over the last 10 months. As you can see, nothing spectacular there (although I rather enjoy the Spalding Smasher, which was unknown to me). I guess I have averaged a little more than one pick-up per month. A good bit more than the 2-3 per year rate I was keeping via PIAS, but for about the same price. I will probably have to be more selective in the future to make this a sustainable habit however.