Do all Play it Again shops suck as bad as mine

[jsykes 35]

I have an almost brand new pair of Graf G70s. I wore them for a couple months before finding the TO and having it fit me better, so I stopped using the Grafs. I decided to take them to the local Play It Again since I need cash and am not using them. They offered me $90 for them.

WTF? I see them suggested time and time again to sell old gear and get decent money for it, but c'mon, these are in great condition, cost $550+ new and they want to offer me $90? I realize they need to resell them and make money, but they can probably get $300 or more for them easily, I'd of been happy with $200 to just ditch them and not have to sell them on my own and that would leave them plenty of room to make some cash.

Do all of them suck this bad and if so, why do I see people getting "good money" for their gear.

[Scotty 8]

All of them are different and operated by different people.

They have to re-sell it and also understand that most people going into a Play It Again aren't going to be in the market for a pair of $300-350 skates, regardless of how new they are or what they originally cost. You want good money for them? Try Ebay.

[Brian Harte 1]

Quite simply, they are going to buy as low as possible, and sell as high as possible.

Seems like a last possible option for you as a seller.

[JoeyJ0506 192]

What do you consider "good money". Also, you have to look at the culture in the area you live in, are people in the area likely to buy something used? It's the same deal with GameStop. They're not going to give you a ton of money because it cuts into their profit margin.

You have to also consider that there is not that much interest in Graf skates. As seen here and elsewhere they have massive Quality Control issues, and are probably way behind in the market behind Bauer, Reebok, Easton, etc. So, while the skates may have cost you $550, the demand may not be so great that they can flip them for the $330 you think you can get for them. You have to also realize that they're selling them as "used" in store, which means, like a car, their value has fallen significantly as soon as you walked out the door with them. All this contributes to them offering what you may not consider to be a fair price.

They really bank on people just wanting to get rid of their gear with the added bonus of getting some cash in exchange. I've done it with all my old xbox(old and 360) games. The thinking being, "I'm not using them anyway, I don't want them here, might as well get them out and get some cash for them while I can."

[jsykes 35]

Oh I realize that and I've worked in retail and bought and sold used items before, so I know how it works and this just seemed like serious lowball. I've sold other things to this store and took very little money just cause it was old stuff I didnt need and anything I got was OK, but still thought it abnormally low.

I just see PiAs recommended here and other places and people saying they got good money for stuff and it just seems this one is really on the low side.

I guess I'll go through the pain of selling them on my own.

[JoeyJ0506 192]

I guess I'll go through the pain of selling them on my own.

eBay. You'll have to pay the fees, but if you reach all those people, and are willing to wager that they'll draw some good bidding. They should sell at well above the $90 PIAS offered you.

[jsykes 35]

Yup. Threw them up there today and took a chance with a first listing and put decent pricing on them. If they dont sell I'll bring them down a bit but I know in the end I'll get more than dumping them at PiA.

As I said, I'm mainly surprised since I've read stories of folks getting better money and was just surprised at what I got offered.

When I worked with used goods, if it was well used, but decent shape, we sold it for half of retail and would offer between a half and 2/3 of what we'd sell it for. If it was almost new, we'd sell for about 2/3 of new pricing and still offer half to 2/3 of what we'd sell for.

In this case, they said they'd sell for half and would offer 1/3 of that price.

Anyway, just curious what others thought of PiA and how well they do.

[JoeyJ0506 192]

I think there's only one left in the Pittsburgh Area (Greensburg I believe?). There were a ton of them around here in the mid to late 90s a couple holding on until 2005 or so. I really do not see them doing that well with the advent of eBay and Craig's List. The last one that was near me was really full of crap. It looked like they were not training their employees to recognize what to be looking for in gear, and they were buying stuff that was just beat to hell, or really old/outdated. This went for baseball, hockey, soccer, etc. etc. It certainly did not help the staff was comprised of, "skaters," that spend the majority of their time lounging in the back room, I can only imagine how much stuff was stolen by unattended customers, or the employees themselves. It actually was burnt to the ground by a disgruntled employee in the end.

All in all, I think it is a dying breed. Most people are really grossed out by used sporting goods, and as I said eBay and Craig's List really have to be significantly cutting into their client base (people that don't mind used stuff). I think those two factors alone may be to blame for your unsatisfactory experience. It's just far easier to reach a larger amount of buyers cheaply than it is to justify making peanuts on something you know is much more valuable.

[xrickyb86x 1]

lol. OP, ever been to Gamestop? It's how places like this work.

[Demangone 0]

I think there's only one left in the Pittsburgh Area (Greensburg I believe?). There were a ton of them around here in the mid to late 90s a couple holding on until 2005 or so. I really do not see them doing that well with the advent of eBay and Craig's List. The last one that was near me was really full of crap. It looked like they were not training their employees to recognize what to be looking for in gear, and they were buying stuff that was just beat to hell, or really old/outdated. This went for baseball, hockey, soccer, etc. etc. It certainly did not help the staff was comprised of, "skaters," that spend the majority of their time lounging in the back room, I can only imagine how much stuff was stolen by unattended customers, or the employees themselves. It actually was burnt to the ground by a disgruntled employee in the end.

All in all, I think it is a dying breed. Most people are really grossed out by used sporting goods, and as I said eBay and Craig's List really have to be significantly cutting into their client base (people that don't mind used stuff). I think those two factors alone may be to blame for your unsatisfactory experience. It's just far easier to reach a larger amount of buyers cheaply than it is to justify making peanuts on something you know is much more valuable.

There's one in Greensburg and one in West Virginia that are both relatively equidistant to the Pittsburgh area. They do sell some newer equipment and I think they do fine for lower income areas or for parents who aren't sure if their kid will actually stick with a sport. They used to do outright purchasing and consignment. I think the consignment got them into some trouble. Anyone who has sold, or tried to sell on craigslist, would probably be more than willing to take a loss and just sell to Play it Again. The thing that I like about the PIAS is that you can find some really oddball stuff and at times, some really good deals, but it's never a place that I visit with the intention of finding a specific item.

[halfmoonyote 0]

Chadd can attest to this...the PIAS that is right around the corner from his old store in this town is flat out awful. Not only is the staff unhelpful and apathetic to their customers needs, their gear selection is the absolute worst. It's all overpriced, mid range type stuff. I can't believe some of the gems that have been posted on here that have been found at PIAS in various parts of the US. The one is this town would NEVER have anything pro stock, or anything even remotely high end for that matter.

[Stryker 37]

I was offered 40$ for a pair of X:50's that I bought a month and a half ago, playing about twice a week...

[xrickyb86x 1]

We have a few in San Diego. One of them is shocking when you step inside. Not only is there hockey selection terrible but the whole store is pretty bad. It blows my mind when I see they're still opened. Another one out here is awesome. All new gear from skates to stick to pads. Prices are reasonable and they have told me they'll price match Hockey Giant (since the HG warehouse is in town and allows will calls). They're pretty slim when it comes to high end sticks but they stock up on low end and woodies for all the beer leaguers. As far as buy back prices, they're all bad.

[jsykes 35]

This all seems a little more reasonable then. I got the impression from some threads on various sites that these stores were doing pretty well and were great places to buy and sell gear. Its good to hear its not only mine. LOL I figured I'd give it a shot, oh well, it missed.

[yrhmblnr8r 69]

I was offered 40$ for a pair of X:50's that I bought a month and a half ago, playing about twice a week...

Stryker, I'll give you $41. jk

Jsykes,

The PIAS in my town is my lhs. I hit them up for sharpenings and usually browse the sticks while I wait. I got lucky once and found a Dolo for cheap, but they still have some overpriced (imho) gear. When buying, they research online and write up the purchase/trade-in price as a percentage. Others in the area have looked at my stuff and gone, "Uh, how about $10?" Not exactly scientific. Years ago, I bought a shaft at one PIAS, didn't like it, then sold it to a different PIAS for what I paid.

I think your PIAS low-balled you, but the bottom line is that they're going to offer as little as possible. It's the trade-off for the convenience of avoiding eBay fees and shipping.

[zachary 2]

They really do lowball you almost every time. I have a buddy who works there and he says they offer as little as possible.

[fastbrother7 0]

Yeah the play it again sports here is great in terms of what they offer and the prices, but just like any other business, the idea is to make money. Giving someone $400 for a pair of $550 skates isnt conducive to their style of business. While the offer is pretty lowball, if I owned the shop, I would most likely offer the same. I mean the way the margins work its double on used items at a minimum. So even if you bring in a brand-new pair of total100s, you wouldnt get $800 for them, you would most likely get about $225 or 250 at best. Keep in mind the actual cost on total100's isnt the normal half that people think, it well over that. eBay is your best bet for big-ticket items to sell.

[JR Boucicaut 3810]

No offense guys, but this thread...

PIAS are individually owned and operated franchises. Which is why a PIAS in Michigan will be better hockey-wise than one in Florida.

The key to PIAS buying (on the store's standpoint) is to pay 20% of what you think you can sell it for. So that is why they are going to low-ball you on purchases, especially if it is in a non-hockey region. If you are okay with that, by all means, but don't hate on them for following a sensible business strategy.

[the_game 452]

Back in the day when I worked at one, the process was, price the item X.

Cash option was 20% of X (the lowest option).

Trade option, for store credit was 48% of X.

Consignment was 60% of X, if the gear sold.

I could tell a million stories about 'deals', 'scams', and other misdeeds but thats for another day. The bottom line, stay away from PIAS.

[Seven6 0]

You have to keep in mind they are locally-owned stores that are run very differently in every city.

Most of the ones in Canada are pretty decent hockey stores and the ones in my city are great hockey stores. One of them is a complete pro-shop carrying everything up to the TO. The problem in a lot of other markets is that hockey isn't their number one category and unfortunately doesn't get the attention it needs.

In terms of buying used gear, they are up front that every offer is a percentage of what they can sell it for. They tell you exactly what they will retail it for and give you a value for cash (30%), a higher value for a trade (40%) and an even higher value on consignment (50%). Obviously you'd get quite a bit more selling them personally but the cost involved there is you are the one holding the goods, doing the work and taking the risks involved.

The problem with selling higher end gear is that if they don't carry $500 skates brand new at a certain location then they aren't going to have too much traffic looking at used skates in that price range to begin with whereas ebay etc have an unlimited audience for those products. A $350 used skate sticks out like a sore thumb if the highest price on their new wall is $250 etc.

While any lhs is far from perfect, its tough to paint them them all with the same brush based on one individually run store in one city. Just my 2 cents.

[Jarick 5]

I found one that's great for cheap old or used gear, but would never sell them anything.

[fastbrother7 0]

Yeah, and they do okay, the PIAS here is one of the top 3 in the nation in sales.

[TBLfan 25]

I don't really get this thread. Everyone goes to PIAS to find great deals on used equipment... so you expect to be able to buy a pair of elbow pads for near to nothing but expect that they're going to pay you a premium for your used gear?

[xrickyb86x 1]

I don't really get this thread. Everyone goes to PIAS to find great deals on used equipment... so you expect to be able to buy a pair of elbow pads for near to nothing but expect that they're going to pay you a premium for your used gear?

I don't think that's what the OP is implying. He seems to just be unfamiliar with this type of business practice. Everyone else in this thread seems to be agreeing with each other on the topic.

[TBLfan 25]

I don't think that's what the OP is implying. He seems to just be unfamiliar with this type of business practice. Everyone else in this thread seems to be agreeing with each other on the topic.

That was kinda my point, I was addressing the person who started the topic. People normally don't look at things from the store's perspective, just from their own.