Best items you found at thrift stores (Goodwill)?

R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
Visited one of my usual happy hunting grounds this evening, and was surprised to find a decent Cragin Garcia Pro 240 (with two-handed perforated leather grip), and a very nice Futabaya Maximum (with its original cover!). Also a pair of well-worn Maxply Forts, one of which was a Medium 4-3/4". Now that's a Man's racquet! (or, a manly woman's?) :) I left the Dunlops behind (I already have nicer ones); bought the Garcia and Futabaya. Not sure yet what I'll do with them; right now, I'm mostly enthused about old Fischer models.
 
B

bsiegel

New User
Black Max II

Found a Black Max II for 9.99 at a thrift. Instant Love. Played it with crappy nylon strings and it played better than my modern Donnay Golds.

Missed the power, of the Donnay, but placement much better. Impossible shots also happening more.

Ima putting on Volkl powerfibre II 17 g at 55 lbs for starters. Ill get it back tomorrow.
Wish I had some gut strings, but I'm already spending too much on tennis.

Got a Yonex r-22 light today also. It aint light. feels like a battle axe but compact. Hope I can play it.

BTW, it seems like every player i speak to these days has injuries due to poly strings. Class action anyone ? Lots of lawyers play tennis ya know.

Barry
 
S

Steve_j_theo

Rookie
I got the following:
GTX Pro/Pro Staff from Belgium/2 N-Code Tour 90's/N-code 6.1 95/2 Becker Super's/Head Elite Pro/several Max 200G's/White Star Masters/Rossignol F-200/Pro Staff Classic 6.1/Hyper Pro Staff 6.1/iPrestige Mid/ 3 wilson aggressor's/2 R-7's/R-22/Hammer Classic 5.2/2 Head XRC's/Fischer Vacuum 90/Yamaha Secret 4 & 6/Babolat Pure Drive/Pro Staff 7.1/Pro Staff Stars & Stripes 95/Chang Titanium/Head Master Pro/ and lots of lesser knowns :)
 
jonestim

jonestim

Hall of Fame
Picked up a Donnay Borg Pro Midsize in grip 3. Second one, but this does not have a head cover, has a touch more head rash and has non-original strings.

Also grabbed another Wilson Jack Kramer Staff. This one is not as nice as the one I picked up a couple months ago that was in great shape. The headguard is cracked and there are a few more chips.

Passed on a CTS Approach 90.
 
michael_1265

michael_1265

Professional
I found a minty Head 660 Calibre today. It seems like a plain-jane widebody from the early 1990s, but for $2........

Anybody ever use this racquet?

8165300488_4a278dfe34_c.jpg
 
Avles

Avles

Hall of Fame
That Calibre reminds me a little bit of the Head Orion 660 I used with when I started playing-- it was a freebie from the ex-roommate of a roommate. I was such a noob that I didn't realize that it had no grip and I hit with the bare handle for a couple of months.

I picked up a Pro Kennex Bronze Ace ($2) and Graphite Presence ($3) at the thrift store today. I have no use for these racquets and no place to put them but when I see a playable racquet that cheap some sort of primal instinct kicks in and I have to buy it.
 
chrisberchris

chrisberchris

Semi-Pro
Found two Babolat Pure Storm Teams (orange and black one) at Goodwill yesterday. They just need to grommets and they'll be 8/10 condition
 
R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
michael_1265 said:
That is a first to me. I have never seen a Babolat at Goodwill.
Click to expand...

Maybe the poster has a time machine and was visiting a Goodwill in the year 2027. In the big cardboard barrel, jammed in among miscellaneous massive-headed golf clubs, are a bunch of ground down Babolats. The donators of said racquets are in the market for the new nanobionic elbow implants. Plus, it more fun to play "virtual tennis" on any holographic video game station with virtual friends off the ultrainternet.
 
TCTEN

TCTEN

Rookie
retrowagen said:
Maybe the poster has a time machine and was visiting a Goodwill in the year 2027. In the big cardboard barrel, jammed in among miscellaneous massive-headed golf clubs, are a bunch of ground down Babolats. The donators of said racquets are in the market for the new nanobionic elbow implants. Plus, it more fun to play "virtual tennis" on any holographic video game station with virtual friends off the ultrainternet.
Click to expand...

Too good, thanks for the chuckle.
 
chrisberchris

chrisberchris

Semi-Pro
retrowagen said:
Maybe the poster has a time machine and was visiting a Goodwill in the year 2027. In the big cardboard barrel, jammed in among miscellaneous massive-headed golf clubs, are a bunch of ground down Babolats. The donators of said racquets are in the market for the new nanobionic elbow implants. Plus, it more fun to play "virtual tennis" on any holographic video game station with virtual friends off the ultrainternet.
Click to expand...

Hahaha! Yes, busted! That's exactly what happened! Needless to say I was pretty surprised to find them.
 
TCTEN

TCTEN

Rookie
michael_1265 said:
I found a minty Head 660 Calibre today. It seems like a plain-jane widebody from the early 1990s, but for $2........

Anybody ever use this racquet?

8165300488_4a278dfe34_c.jpg
Click to expand...

Michael, speaking of minty Austrian made Head widebody frames from the early 90's I found this baby at the GW for a few bucks and it looks like its never hit a ball. It also has a bit of sentimental value because I played with the Ventoris back in the day. I've never owned a frame that went through strings as fast as this beast and which prompted me to buy my first stringing machine.
I did have a buddy at the club who used the Calibre and he liked it as I recall but I never hit with one myself.

DSC02359.jpg
 
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Gonzalito17

Gonzalito17

Banned
An old Agassi purple and orange and white Nike shirt, wow what a crazy shirt. From early 90s I think or late 80s.

Prince Graphite.

Donnay Borg Pro racquet bag, holds for or five. really cool logo Donnay had back then the black and orange nice lettering.
 
Gonzalito17

Gonzalito17

Banned
Also a copy of the Marcelo Rios book The Man We Barely Knew, two Donnay Borg Pros, and a pair of K Swiss grass court shoes in Bradenton they must've been donated by a pro or a national tournament player. All this at the Bradenton Goodwill on Manatee Ave, next to Wendys.
 
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Hannah19

Hannah19

Professional
TheLambsheadrep said:
and now youre trying to sell it on the bay? for a minimum of 70 plus shipping?

2 things - c'mon man, that's kinda not cool. and also, why aren't you using it?! It's such a great racquet, I have 3 OS and would never part with them
Click to expand...

Hmmmmmm.......Why not?
I once paid 1.00 euro for a PS 95 and sold it for 110.00 euro.
We are in a crisis here......give the guy a break!!
If someone wants to pay his asking price, why not?
It's not like he's holding a gun to his head and forces him to buy it...!!
 
K

khw72004

Semi-Pro
Hannah19 said:
Hmmmmmm.......Why not?
I once paid 1.00 euro for a PS 95 and sold it for 110.00 euro.
We are in a crisis here......give the guy a break!!
If someone wants to pay his asking price, why not?
It's not like he's holding a gun to his head and forces him to buy it...!!
Click to expand...

I agree with Hannah. There is nothing wrong with reselling a racket at their current value. You would be a sucker if you got a 200 dollar racket and sold it for the 3 or 4 dollars you got it for. That would just not make sense.
 
HBK4life

HBK4life

Hall of Fame
TheLambsheadrep said:
and now youre trying to sell it on the bay? for a minimum of 70 plus shipping?

2 things - c'mon man, that's kinda not cool. and also, why aren't you using it?! It's such a great racquet, I have 3 OS and would never part with them
Click to expand...

Maybe I don't use this kind of racket? What am I supposed to do build a shrine to it and worship it? If someone wants it I'm happy to sell it to them. So maybe mind your own business thanks. Not cool. Christ almighty
 
D

Deleted member 232704

Guest
Found a Head Graphite Pro Turquoise US version 4 3/8's for 5.99 later to find out that the entire GoodWill was 50% off! So i picked it up just about $3. Condition was outstanding. Just a couple scrapes here and there. Grommets are in good standing condition. Very usable. Good or bad buy^^ ? :D
 
JZImmer123

JZImmer123

Rookie
Got a Prince Mono (like what Connors used) for $3.99. The frame was in 8.5/10 condition! Just had to change out the worn grip, re-string it, and she was good to go!

Also found a Donnay Borg Allwood in pristine condition for $2.99.

Gotta love Goodwill sometimes!
 
michael_1265

michael_1265

Professional
JZImmer123 said:
Got a Prince Mono (like what Connors used) for $3.99. The frame was in 8.5/10 condition! Just had to change out the worn grip, re-string it, and she was good to go!

Also found a Donnay Borg Allwood in pristine condition for $2.99.

Gotta love Goodwill sometimes!
Click to expand...

Nice deals. I would love to find a Mono.
 
Hannah19

Hannah19

Professional
^^^ There is a Prince Experimental on the german Bay for U$50.00......Buy Now!!
If you are not to late, that is..
 
Sanglier

Sanglier

Professional
This is only tangentially relevant to this thread, but have any of you who have teenagers at home noticed that thrifting has become a cool social thing to do for these kids? Apparently this is triggered by the surprise hit "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore, an Eminem kind of rapper from Seattle. The song only talked about old clothes, but the 'this is f- awesome" sentiment expressed in the refrain is certainly one that many of us have personally experienced, some more often than others.

At least my kid is no longer embarrassed to be seen with me at these venues, for the time being. :)
 
R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
Sanglier said:
This is only tangentially relevant to this thread, but have any of you who have teenagers at home noticed that thrifting has become a cool social thing to do for these kids? Apparently this is triggered by the surprise hit "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore, an Eminem kind of rapper from Seattle. The song only talked about old clothes, but the 'this is f- awesome" sentiment expressed in the refrain is certainly one that many of us have personally experienced, some more often than others.

At least my kid is no longer embarrassed to be seen with me at these venues, for the time being. :)
Click to expand...

The somewhat recent cool nerd cult classic movie, Napoleon Dynamite, too, had a scene where Napoleon and Pedro shopped for an awesome outfit for the school formal. I would have laughed out loud, had the scene continued past the sporting goods section, and Napoleon pulls out a 9.5/10 St. Vincent PS85, and declares, "[long sigh] What a decroded piece of crap!" and chucks it back in the cardboard barrel. :lol:
 
mpournaras

mpournaras

Hall of Fame
Got a brand new Wison Sting 85 (blue and black) for 7, and a sweet old fischer 98 n.one for 20 (almost new, I know it is not "old" but it is pre-stiff racket nonsense time)
 
M

mctennis

Legend
Sanglier said:
This is only tangentially relevant to this thread, but have any of you who have teenagers at home noticed that thrifting has become a cool social thing to do for these kids? Apparently this is triggered by the surprise hit "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore, an Eminem kind of rapper from Seattle. The song only talked about old clothes, but the 'this is f- awesome" sentiment expressed in the refrain is certainly one that many of us have personally experienced, some more often than others.

At least my kid is no longer embarrassed to be seen with me at these venues, for the time being. :)
Click to expand...

I noticed that myself. My daughters friends all went to different thrift stores for a couple of days about three weeks ago. I thought it was odd until I read this post from you. I guess it isn't so odd now.
 
michael_1265

michael_1265

Professional
Sanglier said:
This is only tangentially relevant to this thread, but have any of you who have teenagers at home noticed that thrifting has become a cool social thing to do for these kids? Apparently this is triggered by the surprise hit "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore, an Eminem kind of rapper from Seattle. The song only talked about old clothes, but the 'this is f- awesome" sentiment expressed in the refrain is certainly one that many of us have personally experienced, some more often than others.

At least my kid is no longer embarrassed to be seen with me at these venues, for the time being. :)
Click to expand...

I heard about the video on The Nerdist Podcast, so I checked it out on YouTube (I am a serious thrift shop addict). When my 15 year old son saw me watching it, he told me how uncool I was. Then, two weeks later, his friends start tweeting about the song. Suddenly, he is in the position of admitting that his extremely uncool Dad knew about a song before he did.
 
Hannah19

Hannah19

Professional
It has been over 2 months that I visited the local thrift store and today paid off: a mint Snauwaert Gerulaitis Autograph woodie and dito Maxply McEnroe.
I passed on a Caldon One in less than 6/10 condition and also left a few Snauwaert Dyno's behind.
 
R

retrowagen

Hall of Fame
Hannah19 said:
It has been over 2 months that I visited the local thrift store and today paid off: a mint Snauwaert Gerulaitis Autograph woodie and dito Maxply McEnroe.
I passed on a Caldon One in less than 6/10 condition and also left a few Snauwaert Dyno's behind.
Click to expand...
Hans, I am looking for a Boron Dyno to complete my collection of Snauwaert. That shop didn't have one of those, did it? :)

This week, I was traveling in Southern California, and found three matching Völkl Tour 10 (gen. 1) MP's, a Dunlop 200g Muscle Weave, an Estusa XJT Professional, a Prince CTS Approach 110, a Head XRC, Head Graphite Edge SE, and a nice old Davis Imperial with a Fairway grip.

Does anyone have a good source for the Tour 10 MP grommets? They are a rather CAP-like or Fischer Vacuum Pro Classic-like bumper, full-length and split into two halves.:?:
 
frinton

frinton

Professional
michael_1265 said:
Nice deals. I would love to find a Mono.
Click to expand...
Haha...I can find 1 hanging on the wall and 2 more in my Garage ;-) ...but damn if I know where is or rather who has my 4th one. I played with the Mono for close to 10 years and loved it. Only switched, because something inside the handle started to rattle... But best stick ever!
 
ctromano

ctromano

Rookie
found a nike tennis mock-polo shirt from like 2004-2005, made popular by federer and hewitt during the aussie open, got it in black, paid 4.95 for it.
 
frinton

frinton

Professional
Picked up 6 rackets for a total of 18 Swiss Franks (less than 24 $)
- Puma Boris Becker Super
- Dunlop Max 200G (with very old, but at least somewhat playable strings)
- Dunlop McEnroe Comp
- Wilson Aggressor 85 (incl. playable, old strings)
- Wilson Avenger 85 (very old, dead strings) --> http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=244785
- ProKennex Micro...white frame, with a ridiculously dense stringpattern and strings, thank god, still inside
...was a happy stop, that one :p
 
Hannah19

Hannah19

Professional
frinton said:
Picked up 6 rackets for a total of 18 Swiss Franks (less than 24 $)
- Puma Boris Becker Super
- Dunlop Max 200G (with very old, but at least somewhat playable strings)
- Dunlop McEnroe Comp
- Wilson Aggressor 85 (incl. playable, old strings)
- Wilson Avenger 85 (very old, dead strings) --> http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=244785
- ProKennex Micro...white frame, with a ridiculously dense stringpattern and strings, thank god, still inside
...was a happy stop, that one :p
Click to expand...

Looks like I have to go to Switzerland more often:)
I did find some nice oldies on the Swiss Ricardo site in the past...:)
 
v-verb

v-verb

Hall of Fame
Found a nice Spalding GC 20 with cover yesterday. $6. 368 g so it is heavy but swings real nice.

Can't wait to give it a hit.
 
2

207nytro

New User
Picked up a prince graphite 110 today. Bumper has a crack and a couple paint chips but decent shape! In my area i doubt i will find any brand new vintage rackets.
 
S

slowfox

Professional
I don't have any pics to post, but it's the red/blue one. The top of the frame has some scuffing, but otherwise the stick is in great condition. Cost me less than a sandwich... :)
 
S

struggle

Legend
was always odd how Becker had his Puma's strung, outer mains were never parallel to next string, he skipped a grommet at the bottom IIRC.
 
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