Best items you found at thrift stores (Goodwill)?

max

max

Legend
Honestly, here's how I started:

(a) dental procedure nearly knocking me out with tranquilizer. . . I decide it's safer to go into the nearby Goodwill and kill time there rather than to try to drive home woozy.
(b) they gotta lotta books. I'm happy. I buy a half dozen and waste an hour or so, letting the painkiller wear off so I can drive home safely.
(c) I go there every so often to look at books, and find they have cheep CDs.
(d) AND occasionally tennis racquets worth a swing. My best find was a great shape Rossignol F200 gray; very heavy. Much prefer the Pro Kennex Silver Ace.
 
max

max

Legend
Oh wait, the BEST thing I found was a New Testament in the Jerusalem Bible translation: good translation with good language; Tolkien, I think, was on the translation team, IIRC.
 
Slingerland61

Slingerland61

New User
Found this very nice ProStaff 90BLX for $3.99.
...now I gotta figure out what to string it with. [emoji41]
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K

Kevo

Legend
RDM said:
Spotted this unusual Bancroft today. It had a patent pending spiel along one side, I assume for the shape, as the construction was nothing special - wood with graphite overlay. It was so flexible I could literally bend it in my hands.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a frame I could play with. I can flex my F230 across my chest or thigh with one hand on the top and the other on the bottom. That's my new test for whether a frame find is something I would consider taking home. If I can't bend it it's out of my stiffness range. :)
I guess if I ever start lifting weights I might have to change my test methodology. I wonder if anyone can bend a Pure Drive across their thigh?
 
Slingerland61

Slingerland61

New User
Well, how about that. I’ve been looking for one of these for a very long time.
A St Vincent Pro Staff 85. JUQ under the “W” on the white butt cap. The finish is a little scuffed up and it’s pretty dirty, but there are no major gouges or dings.
The price says $6.99, but it was purple half price day, so I paid $3.49. I feel super lucky and I can’t wait to clean it up and hit with it. [emoji41]

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A

aced_Tezuka

Rookie
Slingerland61 said:
Well, how about that. I’ve been looking for one of these for a very long time.
A St Vincent Pro Staff 85. JUQ under the “W” on the white butt cap. The finish is a little scuffed up and it’s pretty dirty, but there are no major gouges or dings.
The price says $6.99, but it was purple half price day, so I paid $3.49. I feel super lucky and I can’t wait to clean it up and hit with it. [emoji41]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Man that's awesome! That's been my white whale for years, albeit I haven't gone to a thrift store looking for rackets in years. I had the idea of starting again but felt that maybe they've been long gone and put up on the gw auction site everytime they pop up but now I have hope! Enjoy!
 
Slingerland61

Slingerland61

New User
aced_Tezuka said:
Man that's awesome! That's been my white whale for years, albeit I haven't gone to a thrift store looking for rackets in years. I had the idea of starting again but felt that maybe they've been long gone and put up on the gw auction site everytime they pop up but now I have hope! Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Happy hunting!
I’ve been blessed by the Pro Staff gods this week! This PS85 today and a minty PS90 BLX 5 days ago.
It’s a Christmas Miracle. [emoji1787]


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Sanglier

Sanglier

Professional
Slingerland61 said:
I feel super lucky and I can’t wait to clean it up and hit with it.
Click to expand...

You should have picked up that Match-Mate Graphite as well. Not nearly as sought-after as the PS85 and a bit fragile, but from the same time period and super easy to play with. Its design lineage can be traced back to the first Mid-Plus (per today's definition) frames of 1978, with features and specs (super light weight due to paper-thin walls, extended length, open string pattern) that didn't become common until a decade or more later, making this one of the first "modern" frames.
 
Slingerland61

Slingerland61

New User
Sanglier said:
You should have picked up that Match-Mate Graphite as well. Not nearly as sought-after as the PS85 and a bit fragile, but from the same time period and super easy to play with. Its design lineage can be traced back to the first Mid-Plus (per today's definition) frames of 1978, with features and specs (super light weight due to paper-thin walls, extended length, open string pattern) that didn't become common until a decade or more later, making this one of the first "modern" frames.
Click to expand...

Huh. I’m not familiar with that racquet. I did pick it up and it felt good, but then I saw the PS85 and nothing else mattered. [emoji38]
Maybe I’ll check back tomorrow.


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A

aced_Tezuka

Rookie
Slingerland61 said:
Happy hunting!
I’ve been blessed by the Pro Staff gods this week! This PS85 today and a minty PS90 BLX 5 days ago.
It’s a Christmas Miracle. [emoji1787]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Oh god that's amazing as well! It's in amazing condition. Totally hating you right now haha I was inspired to go out thrifting after reading and coincidentally picked up a Bancroft Player's Special like the one from your profile pic! Other than that another woodie being the JK Autograph and a Dunlop Black Max so not bad today. Definitely not as good as a BLX 90 and SV PS85 tho! But now I'm scared since I might have reawakened the racket addict in me.
 
Slingerland61

Slingerland61

New User
aced_Tezuka said:
Oh god that's amazing as well! It's in amazing condition. Totally hating you right now haha I was inspired to go out thrifting after reading and coincidentally picked up a Bancroft Player's Special like the one from your profile pic! Other than that another woodie being the JK Autograph and a Dunlop Black Max so not bad today. Definitely not as good as a BLX 90 and SV PS85 tho! But now I'm scared since I might have reawakened the racket addict in me.
Click to expand...

Nice to see we understand each other. Haha
I good luck taming that racket addict beast.

Hmmm... I really would like another Players Special, guess it’s back to GW for me. [emoji41]


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joah310

joah310

Professional
Henry Hub said:
Wilson Ultra Kevlar 95, picked up for a top end £15 in the YMCA on the Kings Road. There was also a Pro Staff Classic SI which may still be there for any other London-based collectors.

From doing a bit of digging, @retrowagen is a fan of this one. The tapering of the beam from the handle is an interesting look and it’s in great nick so looking forward to a hit.

f786b9b713a22d158a055dfac2d2b4ad.jpg
Click to expand...
It looks like a mix between normal ultra 95 and a profile 2.7
 
coachrick

coachrick

Hall of Fame
joah310 said:
It looks like a mix between normal ultra 95 and a profile 2.7
Click to expand...
Strung quite a few of those in the last century. Kevlar, FPK and a few other variants. Very fragile paint job and grommets were a bear(but could swap among the various models). Those gray/white leather grips were slick!!! I mean slippery slick, not good looking slick ;) None were particularly stiff...nothing like a Profile 2.7
 
A

aced_Tezuka

Rookie
Guys... you won't believe it. So I decided to take a quick visit to some local thrifts on the way to the gym for the heck of it trying to satiate my recently reawakened racket addiction and maybe find a Pro Staff or some nice box beam. You know, the usual. I make my way to the back of the store in the sports section and notice a stack of rackets. Last time I went there was only one racket, a Hyper Pro Staff which I wasn't a fan of the pj so I skipped over it but this time I had a lot of hope this time since there was finally more than one!

https://imgur.com/Pn7ARzb
photo may or may not be a recreation of what I saw LOL

My jaw dropped. In the bottom of the stack I notice something. Something I never thought would happen. I saw a box beam, a black matte frame, the word "midsize", and most importantly that iconic red and yellow piping! This is it guys! This racket that I've been chasing for 7 years since I was a high school sophomore after I fell in love with vintage rackets and its history finally came home with me.

https://imgur.com/Ovn1nOH

I finally copped my tennis thrifting white whale. It was $8 but SA is just handing out 50% coupons all month with every purchase. It's been a long journey and really fun finding other great vintage rackets but now I can finally die in peace. Not a St. Vincent but a Chicago PS85 with a GUI on the buttcap. Interestingly it says "demo" on the side but seems to be actually decaled onto it. Seems like it was last strung in '88 with Prince Synthetic. I would judge it to be in pretty good condition for a demo racket! Overall I'm really happy! Sorry for the long post but I just had to express my excitement. I would like to dedicate this to Slingerland61 because I think his post gave me luck haha.
 
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R

Racket Crazy

Rookie
coachrick said:
Strung quite a few of those in the last century. Kevlar, FPK and a few other variants. Very fragile paint job and grommets were a bear(but could swap among the various models). Those gray/white leather grips were slick!!! I mean slippery slick, not good looking slick ;) None were particularly stiff...nothing like a Profile 2.7
Click to expand...
They are pretty sweet rackets. I picked up a few variations of the tapered beam Ultra series rackets last year at various thrift stores. I don't know which models were made for the US market and which ones for the foreign market though, because one of them was an Ultra Ceramic FP... so no Kevlar in the mix like the FPK. Never heard of that one growing up in the US. I only remember the Wilson ads marketing the Graphite, Kevlar and FPK models in the late 80's.

Also got an Ultra Graphite in addition to the Ultra Kevlar and FPK. I think I liked the feel of the Ceramic FP the best.

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R

Racket Crazy

Rookie
Now to add some of my own finds from the last period of time. I will post more in the coming days. Haven't been so active as I was earlier this year... in part because I have SO MANY now that I have to kinda tone it down and make critical choices about which rackets to take home with me.

Some rackets though... doesnt matter how many you already have. Adding another one, or another version of the same one to the collection never gets old. Case in point... one of the all time holy grail rackets... Fischer Vacuum Pro 90 (made in Austria). Saw this at the thrift store 2 days ago and couldn't believe my eyes. In great shape... only a few paint chips at the top on one side of the frame. Grommets were great (looked like original strings on the racket). Cost was peanuts. Picked this frame up together with another Head (made in Austria) frame and a tennis bag for a mere €5!!!

One thing that was quite peculiar was the weight of the frame. The strung weight (no overgrip or anything) was 368g... so just around 13 ounces. Officially they should be 330g unstrung, so dont know what is going on there.
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NicoMK

NicoMK

Hall of Fame
Racket Crazy said:
Some rackets though... doesnt matter how many you already have. Adding another one, or another version of the same one to the collection never gets old. Case in point... one of the all time holy grail rackets... Fischer Vacuum Pro 90 (made in Austria). Saw this at the thrift store 2 days ago and couldn't believe my eyes. In great shape... only a few paint chips at the top on one side of the frame. Grommets were great (looked like original strings on the racket).
Click to expand...

OMG! Beautiful :eek:
 
NicoMK

NicoMK

Hall of Fame
Racket Crazy said:
One thing that was quite peculiar was the weight of the frame. The strung weight (no overgrip or anything) was 368g... so just around 13 ounces. Officially they should be 330g unstrung, so dont know what is going on there.
Click to expand...

Well, at that time even Fischer had a tolerance of +/- 6-7 grammes. It was even written on their frames. They corrected this a few years later with higher CQ and, even later, with their "no tolerance" thing : each frame identical.

Are you sure there's no leather behind what seems to be an overgrip? Leathers are heavier. I can see something brown on one of your pic and these Fischer -- correct me if I'm wrong -- had white grips… I see nothing white in there.

And… the dampener itself may weight around 4-5 grammes… so… By the way too bad this Fischer doesn't have the GOAT dampener, the little white Fischer logo. Gorgeous :love:.
 
Slingerland61

Slingerland61

New User
aced_Tezuka said:
Guys... you won't believe it. So I decided to take a quick visit to some local thrifts on the way to the gym for the heck of it trying to satiate my recently reawakened racket addiction and maybe find a Pro Staff or some nice box beam. You know, the usual. I make my way to the back of the store in the sports section and notice a stack of rackets. Last time I went there was only one racket, a Hyper Pro Staff which I wasn't a fan of the pj so I skipped over it but this time I had a lot of hope this time since there was finally more than one!

https://imgur.com/Pn7ARzb
photo may or may not be a recreation of what I saw LOL

My jaw dropped. In the bottom of the stack I notice something. Something I never thought would happen. I saw a box beam, a black matte frame, the word "midsize", and most importantly that iconic red and yellow piping! This is it guys! This racket that I've been chasing for 7 years since I was a high school sophomore after I fell in love with vintage rackets and its history finally came home with me.

https://imgur.com/Ovn1nOH

I finally copped my tennis thrifting white whale. It was $8 but SA is just handing out 50% coupons all month with every purchase. It's been a long journey and really fun finding other great vintage rackets but now I can finally die in peace. Not a St. Vincent but a Chicago PS85 with a GUI on the buttcap. Interestingly it says "demo" on the side but seems to be actually decaled onto it. Seems like it was last strung in '88 with Prince Synthetic. I would judge it to be in pretty good condition for a demo racket! Overall I'm really happy! Sorry for the long post but I just had to express my excitement. I would like to dedicate this to Slingerland61 because I think his post gave me luck haha.
Click to expand...

Congrats on finding your white whale! ...and thanks for the photo reenactment. That looks like it’s in really good shape. Enjoy!!!


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R

Racket Crazy

Rookie
NicoMK said:
Well, at that time even Fischer had a tolerance of +/- 6-7 grammes. It was even written on their frames. They corrected this a few years later with higher CQ and, even later, with their "no tolerance" thing : each frame identical.

Are you sure there's no leather behind what seems to be an overgrip? Leathers are heavier. I can see something brown on one of your pic and these Fischer -- correct me if I'm wrong -- had white grips… I see nothing white in there.

And… the dampener itself may weight around 4-5 grammes… so… By the way too bad this Fischer doesn't have the GOAT dampener, the little white Fischer logo. Gorgeous :love:.
Click to expand...
Its not an overgrip you see on the photo, but possibly a replacement grip, but I will still remove it and see whats under it. I also didn't weigh the racket with a dampner... which is why I said that the bare racket weighed 368g ;-) . My teal colored Austrian Vacuum Pro 90 had a light tan leather grip on it as original, not white. I will check it out later and update it as I know more [emoji106]

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R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
NicoMK said:
Well, at that time even Fischer had a tolerance of +/- 6-7 grammes. It was even written on their frames. They corrected this a few years later with higher CQ and, even later, with their "no tolerance" thing : each frame identical.

Are you sure there's no leather behind what seems to be an overgrip? Leathers are heavier. I can see something brown on one of your pic and these Fischer -- correct me if I'm wrong -- had white grips… I see nothing white in there.

And… the dampener itself may weight around 4-5 grammes… so… By the way too bad this Fischer doesn't have the GOAT dampener, the little white Fischer logo. Gorgeous :love:.
Click to expand...
The Vacuum Pro midsize was available in a heavier, LM weight as well as the more commonly seen 330g L weight.
 
NicoMK

NicoMK

Hall of Fame
R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
No links to share. Fischer’s project manager from the years 1988-1993 was a personal friend of mine; this was information he shared with me. The LM was rare; there was not much demand for it and it was only available through the point of time in 1992 or 1993 when Austria production concluded, and production shifted to Taiwan.
 
Henry Hub

Henry Hub

Professional
I had my annual tear round south west London today. Slim pickings compared with last year but there were still a few scores for the total outlay of £15.

MegaAge M2 - a wannabe PSC 6.1 in excellent condition. Given that this was apparently a UK outfit I’m surprised this is the first time I have ever seen one of these (in the shops or on the courts).

a11276eb1d2174d12cef0c14d9d4838e.jpg


Dunlop Muscle Weave Tour Pro 95. An odd one, this. It is not a constant beam like the standard MW200G - this flares out to the top of the frame. It also seems to have a PWS in the throat. As ever, early 2000s TTW contributors solve all mysteries - the thinking on this one is that it is an old tour pro 95 in an MW paintjob.

de63767612c7e6c100d9c19bb66ecb70.jpg


Rossignol Johan Kriek in a proper Phantom of the Opera state (by which I mean I would not offend your eyes by showing you the other side of the racket).

8a2067b840fdac46b540beda52b8abf5.jpg


Finally I found this around @retrowagen ’s old gaff in Mortlake - I’m fairly confident that it’s not his as I cannot imagine he would have parted with this one!

74d239aa52edddbfe369dcf19538e824.jpg


Passed up on a PK copper ace, Yamaha Hi Flex, Mizuno Pro Diffusion (with its Prestige Tour-like handle), Babolat drive z tour and Soft Drive Woofer.
 
Last edited:
R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
Henry Hub said:
I had my annual tear round south west London today. Slim pickings compared with last year but there were still a few scores for the total outlay of £15...
...I found this around @retrowagen ’s old gaff in Mortlake - I’m fairly confident that it’s not his as I cannot imagine he would have parted with this one!

74d239aa52edddbfe369dcf19538e824.jpg


Passed up on a PK copper ace, Yamaha Hi Flex, Mizuno Pro Diffusion (with its Prestige Tour-like handle), Babolat drive z tour and Soft Drive Woofer.
Click to expand...
Gosh, is it grip size 3, @Henry Hub ? Could be one of my oldies... Mortlake is a stone’s throw from my old digs in SW14.
 
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Henry Hub

Henry Hub

Professional
retrowagen said:
Gosh, is it grip size 3, @Henry Hub ? Could be one of my oldies... Mortlake is a stone’s throw from my old digs in SW14.
Click to expand...

It is indeed a size 3! There was also a time capsule in the form of the flyer below stuffed into the bag, suggesting that the owner was either a junior taking lessons in 1993 (the first year after 1988 with a Monday 19 July) or was the mythical Chris Warren himself...
509d43b367f6ebaab720423ad01a43c6.jpg
 
dak95_00

dak95_00

Hall of Fame
More than I usually spend but the paint is cool and the racquet is in very good condition....

I paid $40 for a Babolat Pure Aero Stars & Stripes at a Play It Again Sports. I’ll mess around with it.
 
Frankc

Frankc

Professional
Nothing special - just a truly new looking, without a scratch, Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph Woodie with cover, $4.99... Too many good spirits in place: my size in prime time, 4 1/2,L & I had just finished watching Mac and Vitas in that gorgeous USO Open semi, 5 sets (and Vitas wields one so skillfully here)...
 
AlexR

AlexR

Rookie
Dunno why, but I’m a sucker for the crossbar. Apparently this is a Gamma Tradition 20 mid. Even came with the cover! A little rich at 8 bucks but... crossbar. ETA- wow, apparently photobucket is trash now.
B972F73B-14CB-464D-BE13-942B877D8D6E_zpsc5eacsh7.jpeg
 
dak95_00

dak95_00

Hall of Fame
AlexR said:
Dunno why, but I’m a sucker for the crossbar. Apparently this is a Gamma Tradition 20 mid. Even came with the cover! A little rich at 8 bucks but... crossbar. ETA- wow, apparently photobucket is trash now.
B972F73B-14CB-464D-BE13-942B877D8D6E_zpsc5eacsh7.jpeg
Click to expand...
Use the Tapatalk app to upload pictures and even post.

I’ve owned that racquet. It’s a good one. The paint is very susceptible to chipping. If yours doesn’t have any or many, you’ve got a good one.
 
AlexR

AlexR

Rookie
dak95_00 said:
Use the Tapatalk app to upload pictures and even post.

I’ve owned that racquet. It’s a good one. The paint is very susceptible to chipping. If yours doesn’t have any or many, you’ve got a good one.
Click to expand...
Nope, it’s super clean actually. even the head guard is in good shape
 
AlexR

AlexR

Rookie
dak95_00 said:
Use the Tapatalk app to upload pictures and even post.

I’ve owned that racquet. It’s a good one. The paint is very susceptible to chipping. If yours doesn’t have any or many, you’ve got a good one.
Click to expand...

Got tapatalk. Here’s a better pic
1dded7ab445e54ee42a70f19d9b6e739.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
AlexR

AlexR

Rookie
BlueB said:
Just picked another Dunlop Max 200G, in mint condition. No leather grip, though.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Can’t believe in all my checking over many years I haven’t found a 200G worth buying. I know I’ll get one some day, they made so many of them.
 
dak95_00

dak95_00

Hall of Fame
Not a tennis item but I picked up a game used football from the 1992 Hall of Fame Bowl. It was 1-1-92 Ohio State vs Syracuse and was $2.99 which I think was a steal. Odd thing to find.
 
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