Best items you found at thrift stores (Goodwill)?

BDAZ

BDAZ

Hall of Fame
Just picked up a Prince CTS Synergy 28 Midplus for $2.99. It's not in the best shape, but could be much worse, given it's age (early '90s). Love the old CTS line. Already have the DB 26 Midplus and DB 24 Midplus. The 28, by comparison, should be stiffer and more powerful. Can't wait to string it up and see. Love the color, too, which really sold me (especially for $3). Blue, gray, and silver. Beauty!
 
30T2

30T2

New User
Anyone ever heard of a wilson reflex? I found one listed for sale at my local play-it-again. It looks kinda like a ps85. Any relation? Not sure if its worth the 18$ that they're asking for it.
 
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joah310

joah310

Professional
a.benavi said:
Anyone ever heard of a wilson reflex? I found one listed for sale at my local play-it-again. It looks kinda like a ps85. Any relation? Not sure if its worth the 18$ that they're asking for it.
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Have 2 in my garage. Nice sticks but dont think they're worth 18. Imo. I think there is also an os version
 
dak95_00

dak95_00

Hall of Fame
a.benavi said:
Anyone ever heard of a wilson reflex? I found one listed for sale at my local play-it-again. It looks kinda like a ps85. Any relation? Not sure if its worth the 18$ that they're asking for it.
Click to expand...

That racquet is from the same era as the PS85 but was a $30 Walmart type racquet. It was a very good stick and you’ll never find that style of racquet at a Walmart these days. It had PWS and a leather grip. I bought one in high school to use as my backup to my Prince Graphite 90 and it was a worthy racquet.

Retail today that racquet should be no more than $15. It came new with a head cover. Mine was white with black on it. There was no bumper guard and the scuffs exposed the black graphite back in the day.

As of 10 years ago it and the Wilson Matrix had sort of a small cult following on these boards. The Matrix was the same but black with red and no PWS. I’ve actually seen some grey ones too. I purchased both in Ohio at a retailer known as Harts with these stamps you’d get at checkout to use as coupons. Think of skee ball games at the arcade. Great racquets for $30 when The PS85 was $125 and the Ultra was $150.

All of this is from memory and I drank way too much in college.
 
mistapooh

mistapooh

Semi-Pro
a.benavi said:
Thank you much for the info @joah310 and @dak95_00. It sounds like a pretty neat stick, I'll be keeping my eyes open for more examples.
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I bought one a few weeks ago for $15 to get rid of my PS85 itch. It's a very flexy stick, RA has to be low 50s or even 40s, but feels like a solid player's racket. I thought it was a good stick to have in my bag to mess around with.
 
30T2

30T2

New User
I'll be looking out for a ceramic too, although I've heard that they can be kind of harsh on the arm. Regardless, I'd love to try one out. In the meantime, I found a nice Pro Kennex copper ace at that same PIAS. I think it's a rather good looking stick, and the weight and balance feel right at home too. I ended up passing on the reflex, the 4 1/2 grip size is just too big to be playable for me.
 
coachrick

coachrick

Hall of Fame
a.benavi said:
I'll be looking out for a ceramic too, although I've heard that they can be kind of harsh on the arm. Regardless, I'd love to try one out. In the meantime, I found a nice Pro Kennex copper ace at that same PIAS. I think it's a rather good looking stick, and the weight and balance feel right at home too. I ended up passing on the reflex, the 4 1/2 grip size is just too big to be playable for me.
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Kramer Staff might be a suitable alternative.
 
30T2

30T2

New User
Does the Kramer staff come from the same mold as the 6.0 pro staffs, just with a different layup? They look awfully similar.
 
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G

GenerationTennisElbow

Rookie
My old coach played with the Kramer 85 in college. I hit with his for a little bit. Fairly powerful, with a nice, solid, foam-filled feel.
Another noteworthy entry into the field of flexy PS85 lookalikes is the odyssey comp, which I picked up at a local thrift store. Came with a leather grip, one of my favorite “for fun” racquets.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
joah310

joah310

Professional
GenerationTennisElbow said:
My old coach played with the Kramer 85 in college. I hit with his for a little bit. Fairly powerful, with a nice, solid, foam-filled feel.
Another noteworthy entry into the field of flexy PS85 lookalikes is the odyssey comp, which I picked up at a local thrift store. Came with a leather grip, one of my favorite “for fun” racquets.
581b185535d56ec557d9e1317f51439f.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
i have one of those, but never got to hit with it. Do you know how it compares to the ps 85?
 
G

GenerationTennisElbow

Rookie
joah310 said:
i have one of those, but never got to hit with it. Do you know how it compares to the ps 85?
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Haven't actually hit with the real deal ps 85, but it's definitely at least 10 ra points lower with the fiberglass layup. It might also swing a little lighter. Of course the mold is a little different, with a shorter V at the throat. I quite like the response and feel of it, but I am a fan of flexy thin-beamed racquets.
 
R

Racket Crazy

Rookie
I am not able to keep up with posting all that I find because it is simply too much...

Some of my recent finds were rackets like the Dunlop 200G Hot Melt or the Head i Prestige MP (PT57E). The latter I had wanted to get for a LONG time but simply didnt want to pay much for it. My patience was rewarded thankfully.

The pallet and grip were broken, so I needed to find a TK57 replacement pallet. Lo and behold last week I bought a bag of rackets from someone on FB marketplace for €25. Included in the deal were 2 Head Sattelite Tour XL & 1 standard length Sattelite frame in good shape. In addition was a broken Head Radical Tour 630, so I removed the pallet and placed it on the i Prestige. Now I am ready to see what the rackets can do :)

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5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
Youtek Gods have been smiling upon me......Head Youtek Extreme Pro 100 for $4.49. Lol, gotta love Discount Day ($5.99 less 25%). Someone had stashed it underneath some crappy racquetball racquets. They should have just bought it for $6.
 
R

Racket Crazy

Rookie
5sets said:
Youtek Gods have been smiling upon me......Head Youtek Extreme Pro 100 for $4.49. Lol, gotta love Discount Day ($5.99 less 25%). Someone had stashed it underneath some crappy racquetball racquets. They should have just bought it for $6.
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If someone doesn't want it for $5.99, they don't "deserve" it! [emoji23]

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
R

Racket Crazy

Rookie
Bought this last Friday... a Wilson Pro Staff Classic 6.1 95, 16x18 string pattern in really good shape.

For the Wilson aficionados out there... maybe someone can tell me how this works:

I have owned several versions of the 16x18 as well as the 18x20. Pretty much all of the 18x20 versions state "Braided graphite/Kevlar" on the frame which I have seen . However, the 16x18 frames (in North America) all just say Graphite/Kevlar. Even my Wilson racket guide which I saved from 25+ years ago lists the compositions of all their rackets and only the Pro Staff 6.0 was listed as a braided graphite/kevlar frame. However, when I pick up a ps 6.1 classic in Europe, I come across the braided graphite/kevlar info on the frame, just like this one. Did Wilson make a better version of this "classic" for the non-American market??? Or did they simply not want us to know that it was the same racket for some reason???

Things that make you go hmmm... [emoji848]
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5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
Picked up one of those last week for $6.99. I have an add on question how come some are marked Si and some are not. Is there a difference? The 16 X 18s I’ve owned have all been “Pro Staff Classic 6.1”s. I guess the earlier ones didn’t have the “6.1” on it either? I’m not that old and used these racquets from 1996-2000. Any education on the history of these would be appreciated.
 
dak95_00

dak95_00

Hall of Fame
You guys have some nice finds. I keep walking away from frames such as the Pro Kennex Copper Ace 90 (teal color), Pro Kennex Boron Ace, and Donnay Pro Cenetic. $5 is too much for any of them in my opinion.
 
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30T2

30T2

New User
dak95_00 said:
You guys have some nice finds. I keep walking away from frames such as the Pro Kennex Copper Ace 90 (teal color), Pro Kennex Boron Ace, and Donnay Pro Cenetic. $5 is too much for any of them in my opinion.
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Are they just too abundant in your area to have any value, or are you not a fan of how they play?
 
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dak95_00

dak95_00

Hall of Fame
a.benavi said:
Are they just too abundant in your area to have any value, or are you not a fan of how they play?
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They're not abundant. I already have many, many racquets so I'm trying to conquer my addiction and only buy what I'd actually use in a competitive match. I've recently found a modern racquet that might be my grail. If I buy lately, I buy because I'd like to hit with it or I think I could resell and get up to 7x what I paid. It's not worth spending $5 and waiting to get only $15. Besides, my wife will be unhappy if I get more racquets.

I did buy a racquet on eDay this week for $25 I know I'll likely use and could resell for up to $80.
 
30T2

30T2

New User
Makes sense to me. I suppose it can be easy to get caught up in buying rackets and forget to play with them.
 
U

Ultra 2

Professional
a.benavi said:
Makes sense to me. I suppose it can be easy to get caught up in buying rackets and forget to play with them.
Click to expand...

Lol, that’s like everyone on these boards. To answer your question regarding the Kramer staff, the vast majority of them were produced in St. Vincent alongside the PS85 that Sampras used and most likely made in the same mold. The only difference is that The Kramer was braided with Graphite & Fiberglass while the Pro Staff was braided with Graphite and Kevlar making the Kramer a bit softer in flex. Both are fabulous frames though.
 
U

Ultra 2

Professional
dak95_00 said:
You guys have some nice finds. I keep walking away from frames such as the Pro Kennex Copper Ace 90 (teal color), Pro Kennex Boron Ace, and Donnay Pro Cenetic. $5 is too much for any of them in my opinion.
Click to expand...

would agree with you with the exception of the Pro Cynetic. Great frame, also used by Sampras.
 
R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
Ultra 2 said:
would agree with you with the exception of the Pro Cynetic. Great frame, also used by Sampras.
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The 1986-1988 Pro Cynetic 1 (as used by a very young Sampras, as well as a bunch of other touring pros) was basically a Pro Staff 85 with a slightly different drill pattern... a fabulous racquet. They also made a concurrent version, the Pro Cynetic 12, which added some weight tuning pieces. But then in 1990, Donnay reused the name on a line of weird-looking widebody frames that were pretty forgettable. Hopefully @dak95_00 was referring to one of those.
 
dak95_00

dak95_00

Hall of Fame
retrowagen said:
The 1986-1988 Pro Cynetic 1 (as used by a very young Sampras, as well as a bunch of other touring pros) was basically a Pro Staff 85 with a slightly different drill pattern... a fabulous racquet. They also made a concurrent version, the Pro Cynetic 12, which added some weight tuning pieces. But then in 1990, Donnay reused the name on a line of weird-looking widebody frames that were pretty forgettable. Hopefully @dak95_00 was referring to one of those.
Click to expand...

It was some sort of old school thin beam racquet with a scale on the side which I presumed was for measuring the balance point. When I looked at the butt cap it appeared to be missing and there was a hole for a screw or some sort of weight to screw in there. I don’t know. It wasn’t in new condition. It looked well used. I have enough older frames.
 
R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
dak95_00 said:
It was some sort of old school thin beam racquet with a scale on the side which I presumed was for measuring the balance point. When I looked at the butt cap it appeared to be missing and there was a hole for a screw or some sort of weight to screw in there. I don’t know. It wasn’t in new condition. It looked well used. I have enough older frames.
Click to expand...
That’s the PC12. Hook a brotha’ up!
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
Prince Graphite aluminum with case and Prince Tricomp 90 1988 fiberglass with Kevlar for $6.99 each this morning at GDubs. Also a Titleist stand bag for $10.99, a new with tags Little league catchers chest protector for $7, and a vintage metal Wilson tennis ball can for $1.99, LOL
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
Although that would be fresh if there were racquets with both graphite and aluminum like a golf driver. Any such animal?
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
Almost picked up a Michael Chang Longbody Prince at this huge Spanish Bazaar thrift for $3, but it was just too scratched up. There was a Pro Kennex as well, the red one, 98 sq inch head, don’t recall the name...
 
max

max

Legend
5sets said:
Almost picked up a Michael Chang Longbody Prince at this huge Spanish Bazaar thrift for $3, but it was just too scratched up. There was a Pro Kennex as well, the red one, 98 sq inch head, don’t recall the name...
Click to expand...

Ceramic Destiny perhaps?
 
coachrick

coachrick

Hall of Fame
Loved the YY7500 back in the '70s....still have my brother's 8500 from back then ;)
The wooden pallet was in the early editions, BTW(but, you probably knew that). A Yoneyama cover would be perfect for it!!!
 
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