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My son has practically worn out the pages of his new Baseball Express catalog. He stares dreamily at page after page of $400 gloves and $300 bats. “Hey, Mom, I think I’d like a new glove for my birthday,” he told me one day. “That sounds good,” I said, somewhat relieved I didn’t have to figure out for myself what to get him this year; it’s been getting harder and harder to wring out gift ideas from my son, especially since his pre-teen years. (You’ve probably had similar conversations: “What do you want for your birthday / Christmas?” The reply is always the same, “I don’t know.”)
“Any particular brand or model you’re interested in?” I asked. I knew better than to try to pick out a glove myself. “There’s a new Rawlings Primo glove I need for when I play outfield,” he replied. (That’s another thing about baseball equipment I’ve learned throughout the years: you can’t have just one glove. There are different gloves for different positions.) He showed me the glove he’d been drooling over in the catalog. I pulled the catalog closer to my aging eyes to make sure I was seeing the correct number of digits. “$399.99?!?”, I screamed. “Are you kidding me? That’s a car payment!”
If you’ve had a similar experience with your young baseball player, then there’s no need to start filling out a loan application – not yet. There are alternatives for buying baseball equipment, and depending on the age and playing level of your son, there are times when it’s wise to consider buying used equipment.
Without hesitation, we’ve almost always bought used cleats. I don’t know about your kids, but my son’s feet have always grown at an exponential rate every year. Keeping him in school shoes is expensive enough! We learned our lesson early on in his baseball career: buy used cleats cheap because he’ll only be able to wear them one season anyway before he can’t fit into them anymore. We’ve had great luck with buying and selling used cleats with Play It Again Sports. You can also trade equipment there. The advantage of dealing with their store is you’ll always get something back from your initial small investment in used equipment to apply to your next purchase, and there’s always someone waiting to buy what your son no longer needs or can fit into. They built their business on the philosophy that because kids grow, their equipment needs change every year, and that’s why “used sports gear makes so much cents.”
It’s a good idea to purchase used gloves when your young player is developing fielding fundamentals. If your son is still experimenting with different defensive positions, then it doesn’t make sense to buy a new glove. Give it some time before making any purchase, used or new. When you think your son is starting to feel comfortable playing catcher, then buy a used catcher’s mitt. Or if your son seems to favor first base, then purchase a used first baseman’s glove. If your son has advanced to a level of play and is locked into a certain position, then it may be time to consider buying a new, customized glove for that position.
What about bats? Bats are the most complex pieces of equipment since the technology is constantly changing and improving. Do you ever notice the kid with the newest bat in the dugout is always being asked by the other players to borrow his bat? We’ve always purchased new bats every year for this reason and sold them to Play It Again Sports when the technology became outdated, in hopes that an aspiring young player wouldn’t mind. Message to sporting goods retailers: if golfers can try out new clubs in your store, then why can’t baseball players try out new bats? It’s one thing to try to read about the new technology that makes a bat so much better, but it sure would be nice to take it for a test swing.
Then, of course, there’s always eBay. If you are comfortable with bidding on used or new baseball equipment, then you may be able to save some money.
When buying baseball equipment for your young player, consider buying used equipment, especially if he is still growing physically and developing as a player. You can trade or sell back your equipment to Play It Again Sports or other buy / sell / trade businesses. When the time is right to buy new equipment, then don’t settle for paying retail – check eBay first. It is still possible to buy your player good quality equipment without having to take out a loan!
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November 28, 2006
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