Best items you found at thrift stores (Goodwill)?

wallymann

Semi-Pro
Oh it’s definitely a 70’s stick. Surprisingly high craftsmanship for a ‘your brand here’ frame. Two other versions are the National Sporting Goods Concorde, and the Bill Hart Top Score.

also branded "Tech-Ni-Last" --> i have one!

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davced1

Hall of Fame
Backlog #3: Prince Extender Blast. Holy crap, before spotting this at Goodwill for $4.67, I thought there was like 2 Extenders, the red/black 122sq in huge one, and the extended length Mono shaft one. Now after seeing this, I went on the bay, and found about 6 other examples of the teardrop shape from Princes lineup. What intrigued me about this one is its only standard length, and despite the shape, its only midplus. At 700 power level, its even within Princes spec range for player sticks, though I doubt it was marketed as such. (I believe anything under 800 was considered low power). Anyways, its in good shape, freshly strung and gripped. She'll get used maybe. Hopefully within the next few years lol. Anyone hit with this series before or know when it dates to?

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Please don't wait years to try this one. I have four of these with three different paintjobs actually it was the first racquet I bought in the mid 90's. I have moved on to other racquets but still like to play these from time to time even in some matches. Slices are unbelievable good with this racquet stays low with easy depth and control.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Anyone else have thrift stores that feel like they’ve “dried up”? I have a couple stores in the more affluent section of my city that I’ve found multiple great finds in the past couple years, but in the first 5 months of this year, have been utterly barren. Not a single racket for months.
 

5sets

Hall of Fame
Yes of course. Both GW and Salvos have accounts on the auction site and try to put up all their decent merchandise including racquets up on there to make the most money they can. I was combing indeed dot com and they actually have positions open for pickers. Like pickers that work for them and comb over the donations for profitable items and stop them from hitting the floor. Stuff does slip through the cracks for us from time to time.
 

mixtape

Professional
Anyone else have thrift stores that feel like they’ve “dried up”? I have a couple stores in the more affluent section of my city that I’ve found multiple great finds in the past couple years, but in the first 5 months of this year, have been utterly barren. Not a single racket for months.

I've seen more general department store racquets than the club level racquets lately. The pricing is weird because the department store racquets were $9.99-$14 and I saw a Prince Extender racquet for $3.99, which suprised me, but the matching racquet cover was $4.99. If I go back and get it, I'm going to just bundle them have them scan the price of the racquet only. Plus the racquet cover has the "P" key tool.
 

davced1

Hall of Fame
Not thrift store but picked up a Wilson pro staff k factor tour 90 off the Internet with only a few minor paint chips for 25 dollars. The seller probably had no idea what racquet that is.

So I tried it and the strings were ok Wilson NXT which I’ve heard is a good match for this racquet. My backhand slice is usually good but even better with this racquet. I owned the BLX version before but have to say I liked this better. Everything felt really solid it will have a permanent place in my racquet bag and could be my new main stick.

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slipgrip93

Professional
That’s the frame that helped me finally accept my mortality and physical decline :-D
I’m only 42 but it might challenge me later on
But I can’t really play my best with the pro staff 85 anymore so the extra 5 inches are welcome.

Nice deal for $25. I have one as a collectible from the bay.
For those of us over 40 and had used 85's or <90 size frames, the k90 could be the real successor to the ps85.
It has heft yet seems to have a characteristic smooth swing feel also that reminds of the ps85 "scalpel".
 
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davced1

Hall of Fame
Nice deal for $25. I have one as a collectible from the bay.
For those of us over 40 and had used 85's or <90 size frames, the k90 could be the real successor to the ps85.
It has heft yet seems to have a characteristic smooth swing feel also that reminds of the ps85 "scalpel".
It also has the Federer factor just looking down on the racquet between points knowing Federer had the same view during his best years makes my confidence grow.
 
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Bambooman

Legend
Anyone else have thrift stores that feel like they’ve “dried up”? I have a couple stores in the more affluent section of my city that I’ve found multiple great finds in the past couple years, but in the first 5 months of this year, have been utterly barren. Not a single racket for months.
Definitely. I used to find them in bunches. Now I find them rarely as singles.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
I just got into an argument with a guy on FB about whether or not Head made graphite rackets in the USA in the 80’s…. Idk why I bother but I was just flabbergasted that he was adamant that all of the graphites were made in Austria. And the reason some have a USA flag on them was because “those were ones for sale in North America” or they were just painted there/ finished there. Which makes zero sense but whatever.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Last night I reaffirmed my love of the Pro Kennex Copper Ace. Just a lovely piece of plush box beam goodness. Supreme control and comfort, and no slouch when you put the hammer down either. Maybe my new pick for best value racket ever made. It was cheap then, and cheap now, but feels like sticks that cost 3 times as much.
 
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Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
I just got into an argument with a guy on FB about whether or not Head made graphite rackets in the USA in the 80’s…. Idk why I bother but I was just flabbergasted that he was adamant that all of the graphites were made in Austria. And the reason some have a USA flag on them was because “those were ones for sale in North America” or they were just painted there/ finished there. Which makes zero sense but whatever.

I suppose the best retort would be the rackets that were only made in the US in the 80s, like the TXE.
 
Anyone else have thrift stores that feel like they’ve “dried up”? I have a couple stores in the more affluent section of my city that I’ve found multiple great finds in the past couple years, but in the first 5 months of this year, have been utterly barren. Not a single racket for months.
The local thrifty national red shield chain in my area brings all the donations to a warehouse for sorting. After sorting is where things get shady. The best tennis and golf stuff gets auctioned in lots to dealers and the lower grade stuff goes to the stores. My brother worked in the warehouse for 6 months before getting a promotion to driver picking up donations at personal residences. He tried to get me in to the auction but was told no because I did not have a business license. He told me that one lot he remembered was 3 Prince Borons with the leather cases in pristine condition selling for $150 about 15 years ago. Racquets were all mint, 2 had the paperwork.
 

Bambooman

Legend
Last night I reaffirmed my love of the Pro Kennex Copper Ace. Just a lovely piece of plush box beam goodness. Supreme control and comfort, and no slouch when you put the hammer down either. Maybe my new pick for best value racket ever made. It was cheap then, and cheap now, but feels like sticks that cost 3 times as much.
Damn. I just saw one the other day that looked like a totally unused Christmas present. Still in the case and as pristine as if it came from the factory.
 

Bambooman

Legend
I found a Pro Staff 'Torch with "double sleeve" carbon for less that $5 and another Pro Staff Stretch 5.1 si for $8.

I was not really sure how "Pro" they were but figured what the heck.
eta: The second one had that gummy coating over the whole frame and protection tape. I pulled the tape off expecting damage but it was pristine underneath. All the gummy grime came off with rubbing alcohol and the frame looks practically new. Also has an 18 x 19 pattern. Seems like a win so far.
 
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kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
More backlog stuff: Wilson Hammer 7.2! Another goodwill pull for $4.67. I haven't hit with it yet, but maybe I'll bring the 6.2 and 7.2 out on the same day. At only 278g strung its very light, with such a high SI number I was expecting far more heft. The 6.2 outweighs it by a decent margin. Dig the blue though. That Hammer logo was on point, looks great on everything. I didn't do the stencil, that was the previous owner. Must've been a 'serious' player if they bothered to put the old school Babolat on the strings as well. Anyone have an idea what strings these are? They look like a syn gut with an extra ribbon around it for more spin? Babolat something?

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kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Next find was at a Salvation Army store, hidden among some toy paddle tennis sets, was this, for $4.99, a 10/10, obviously never used Pro Kennex Graphite Dominator. I already have the older version, which I think someone here told me dates from 1983, so I assume this is in the '85-'86 range? It still uses a nice full body case, not the cheaper vinyl half covers of the later 80s box beams. No head guard or paragraph printed on the throat saying why this racket is awesome. But look at that original stencil, I don't think this had ever had a ball touch the strings.

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And here's a pic of my other Graphite Dominator for comparison:
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Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
Next find was at a Salvation Army store, hidden among some toy paddle tennis sets, was this, for $4.99, a 10/10, obviously never used Pro Kennex Graphite Dominator. I already have the older version, which I think someone here told me dates from 1983, so I assume this is in the '85-'86 range? It still uses a nice full body case, not the cheaper vinyl half covers of the later 80s box beams. No head guard or paragraph printed on the throat saying why this racket is awesome. But look at that original stencil, I don't think this had ever had a ball touch the strings.

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And here's a pic of my other Graphite Dominator for comparison:
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Looks like the Copper Ace mould.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Looks like someone else (with a lovely voice) has entered the foray into retro racket hitting/commentary. But I watch this and think:”why don’t any of these people have someone to rally with???” This is the 2nd racket reviewer I’ve seen where most of their hitting footage is them drop hitting balls. Like, why bother even making a video if that’s all you can do lol?

 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Sold my Yonex R-5 tonight, got $20 for it. I tried using it only twice and honestly I didn’t like the feel that much. For how heavy it was, it sure didn’t plow through shots with pace like other 80s box beams I have.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
Found this for only $11 at a PIAS, a Wilson Hyper Prostaff 5.0. Now i have a 5.0 to go with my 6.1 HyperPS. Featuring a matte PJ with a sort of exposed graphite look. With its thick rounded beam, it kinda looks like Wilson's answer to the Pure Drive. Hey look at that buttcap @Sanglier, is this tied for the latest Taiwan sourced Wilson frame you've seen at 1999?

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Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
Found this for only $11 at a PIAS, a Wilson Hyper Prostaff 5.0. Now i have a 5.0 to go with my 6.1 HyperPS. Featuring a matte PJ with a sort of exposed graphite look. With its thick rounded beam, it kinda looks like Wilson's answer to the Pure Drive. Hey look at that buttcap @Sanglier, is this tied for the latest Taiwan sourced Wilson frame you've seen at 1999?

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The bulbous oval beam, and deeply fluted shoulder joins are rather like my Pro Supex Tour Extra:

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Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
Wow that almost looks like an exact clone. What’s its weight? The HyperPS 5.0 comes in at 346g strung (which is identical to the HyperPS 6.1 I have).

338g strung, 32cm balance, but that was with a ropey synthetic grip. Probably around 346g too with a leather. The smooth oval beam seems quite rare, so I think we have a likely candidate for the Supex clone. Mine plays rather nicely, noticeably easier to hit than a 6.1, and more consistent with its 16x19 pattern. And I note yours is 16x20. I would actually consider mine for serious play, if it wasn't completely covered in scuffs.
 

Sanglier

Professional
Found this for only $11 at a PIAS, a Wilson Hyper Prostaff 5.0. Now i have a 5.0 to go with my 6.1 HyperPS. Featuring a matte PJ with a sort of exposed graphite look. With its thick rounded beam, it kinda looks like Wilson's answer to the Pure Drive. Hey look at that buttcap @Sanglier, is this tied for the latest Taiwan sourced Wilson frame you've seen at 1999?

That's a very late Taiwan-made frame indeed. By that point, Topkey was one of the largest Taiwan contractors still manufacturing anything there. All late-90s Taiwan-made Wilsons I have come across are stamped with either "S" or "K". We all know who "S" was, so my best guess is "K" stood for Topkey.

Kunnan also won some Wilson contracts in the earlier years, but "K" began showing up on Wilson buttcaps in the late '80s, right around the time Kunnan ran into financial and legal problems and had to divest from his namesake enterprise, so it probably wasn't him.

One of the founders of Topkey was Kunnan's brother-in-law, a key contributor to Kunnan's early success going all the way back to the steel and aluminum days. Everyone in the Taiwanese racquet industry was only one or two degrees of separation away from everyone else.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
That's a very late Taiwan-made frame indeed. By that point, Topkey was one of the largest Taiwan contractors still manufacturing anything there. All late-90s Taiwan-made Wilsons I have come across are stamped with either "S" or "K". We all know who "S" was, so my best guess is "K" stood for Topkey.

Kunnan also won some Wilson contracts in the earlier years, but "K" began showing up on Wilson buttcaps in the late '80s, right around the time Kunnan ran into financial and legal problems and had to divest from his namesake enterprise, so it probably wasn't him.

One of the founders of Topkey was Kunnan's brother-in-law, a key contributor to Kunnan's early success going all the way back to the steel and aluminum days. Everyone in the Taiwanese racquet industry was only one or two degrees of separation away from everyone else.
I figured it probably wasn’t a Kunnan stick. I know SanhoSun likes to mark their stamp on some Wilson frames like the Jim Courier Pro Staffs that say something like “produced exclusively by SanhoSun” on the throat. But since that wasn’t here I wasn’t sure who else it might be, but KBV standing for TopKey makes enough sense to me. I saw another identical looking HyperPS 5.0 on the bay with LCY on the buttcap and it said China on the sticker. Assuming that’s the 2000 model year.
 

Sanglier

Professional
I figured it probably wasn’t a Kunnan stick. I know SanhoSun likes to mark their stamp on some Wilson frames like the Jim Courier Pro Staffs that say something like “produced exclusively by SanhoSun” on the throat. But since that wasn’t here I wasn’t sure who else it might be, but KBV standing for TopKey makes enough sense to me. I saw another identical looking HyperPS 5.0 on the bay with LCY on the buttcap and it said China on the sticker. Assuming that’s the 2000 model year.

I am fairly certain "L" is Long-Y, another major Taiwanese contractor that produced composite frames for Wilson from early on, which became a bigger player in the second half of the '90s. They opened a factory in Malaysia in the late '80s and eventually set up production on the Mainland in the early '90s like everyone else. Beyond these Wilsons, they were responsible for the MatchMate "Graphite" and other minor-branded contract frames. Given that all Wilson contractor codes were unique, and "L" had been in continuous use since at least 1984, I don't think Wilson would have recycled the code for a new vendor, and certainly not while Long-Y was very much alive and doing well.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
I wasn't even going to stop by the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store today as they've been barren all year. But then I remembered I had to get groceries anyways and the store is right next door, so I popped in. And surprisingly, not only did they have a few interesting finds, but they'd all been priced far lower than usual, at only $1.85! That's about the cheapest I've seen at any store. I only bought one thing: This PK Copper Plus 90. Being as I was just playing with a Copper Ace last weekend, why not grab the sequel and compare. First things to note, it weighs 6 grams more than the Ace, now sports a headguard, and to my surprise, its not the same mould. They've widened the hoop a bit, so I included a side by side to confirm. Also they deleted the sales pitch on the side, so I don't know if this Plus model shares the 40/60 Graphite to Fiberglass layup of the Ace.

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Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
I see those on the bay occasionally, sometimes I get them confused with the junior frames.

It certainly has a simple looking layup and relatively light weight at 364g, but the finishing is good. As well as the great grip, what I suspect is the original spiral syngut, still snaps back on the mains and crosses. I guess that's a fibreglass overlay covering half of it, which eliminates the need for reinforced shoulders. However, it lacks the stiffness in the hoop of a Maxply making the sweet-spot feel small.

I noticed a Biarritz and a Rome too, with similar ADS 0x0 codes. Was it a series of tennis tournament locations, or just nice places to visit?
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
It certainly has a simple looking layup and relatively light weight at 364g, but the finishing is good. As well as the great grip, what I suspect is the original spiral syngut, still snaps back on the mains and crosses. I guess that's a fibreglass overlay covering half of it, which eliminates the need for reinforced shoulders. However, it lacks the stiffness in the hoop of a Maxply making the sweet-spot feel small.

I noticed a Biarritz and a Rome too, with similar ADS 0x0 codes. Was it a series of tennis tournament locations, or just nice places to visit?
I think it was a fad of the time to name rackets after perceived ‘classy’ cities.
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
I used this USTA thing for half the night, then switched to a Yonex RQ (strung with poly) and suddenly couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Launch angle was so high and everything felt off lol. Yet this simple nylon strung (and surprisingly hefty) metal widebody felt great lol. I then swapped back to it for the last 20 mins of my session.

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kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
I splurged a bit at PIAS tonight, because for me, I don't find Donnay's everyday. In fact, for some reason, this is the very first Donnay of any kind that I've encountered in my travels in my city. St. Louis is a total Donnay Desert. So I spent $25 to get this 9/10 condition WST Pro Exclusive, which according to the only other post on this website about this frame, is from around 1989-90, this racket had at least one devoted fan on this site. The frame itself is almost completely void of information about it. No tension range, balance, unstrung specs, country of origin, nothing... I have no idea if this was entry level or higher end. I'm assuming mid-range as it doesn't say made in Belgium, as I'm sure they'd mention that if it was.

Love the colors, and per usual for neon colored anything, it gets blown out and is difficult to photograph in my studio, the blue isn't as dark as it appears in these photos, though the green is certainly that bright, almost glowing. I might end up quickly ditching the original blue leather grips, honestly they feel a bit cheap and very slippery, despite minimal wear. What's with the bulging buttcap? Was that supposed to do something besides eventually get cracked like so many I see on the bay?

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wasn't sure which backdrop would help, so here's both.
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Down under

New User
I splurged a bit at PIAS tonight, because for me, I don't find Donnay's everyday. In fact, for some reason, this is the very first Donnay of any kind that I've encountered in my travels in my city. St. Louis is a total Donnay Desert. So I spent $25 to get this 9/10 condition WST Pro Exclusive, which according to the only other post on this website about this frame, is from around 1989-90, this racket had at least one devoted fan on this site. The frame itself is almost completely void of information about it. No tension range, balance, unstrung specs, country of origin, nothing... I have no idea if this was entry level or higher end. I'm assuming mid-range as it doesn't say made in Belgium, as I'm sure they'd mention that if it was.

Love the colors, and per usual for neon colored anything, it gets blown out and is difficult to photograph in my studio, the blue isn't as dark as it appears in these photos, though the green is certainly that bright, almost glowing. I might end up quickly ditching the original blue leather grips, honestly they feel a bit cheap and very slippery, despite minimal wear. What's with the bulging buttcap? Was that supposed to do something besides eventually get cracked like so many I see on the bay?

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wasn't sure which backdrop would help, so here's both.
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Beautiful racket. I like the black drop back, the colour stands out.
 

Down under

New User
I wasn't even going to stop by the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store today as they've been barren all year. But then I remembered I had to get groceries anyways and the store is right next door, so I popped in. And surprisingly, not only did they have a few interesting finds, but they'd all been priced far lower than usual, at only $1.85! That's about the cheapest I've seen at any store. I only bought one thing: This PK Copper Plus 90. Being as I was just playing with a Copper Ace last weekend, why not grab the sequel and compare. First things to note, it weighs 6 grams more than the Ace, now sports a headguard, and to my surprise, its not the same mould. They've widened the hoop a bit, so I included a side by side to confirm. Also they deleted the sales pitch on the side, so I don't know if this Plus model shares the 40/60 Graphite to Fiberglass layup of the Ace.

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I have one in teal colour, copper ace 90, 325g unstrung, can’t find any information, any ideals about stiffness? Feel soft but not such soft. Should be around 60. I’ll try to attach pic later. Got it from a garage sale. 10 bucks. Near new.
 
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