Tips to help you find kids’ sporting equipment for cheap
Between sports physicals, paying for competitive leagues and buying gear, having a kid who plays sports can get expensive.
If you’re child is signed up to play fall sports or is trying out for any of his or her school’s teams, here’s where you can find athletic gear for less.
Check out used sporting goods stores and thrift stores: We all know that sometimes kids are excited to try a new sport — even have their sights set on the Olympics — only to realize a few practices in that they never want to go back. That’s good news for the rest of us because their equipment ends up recycled at used sporting good stores or the Goodwill. You can find everything from lacrosse sticks to baseball gloves to footballs that are in perfectly good condition at second-hand stores. Check to see if there is a Play It Again Sports — which has 400 stores across the country — in your city. You can also sell your child’s equipment and sporting goods to the store, whether they outgrow their golf club set or no longer have an interest in skiing.
Save through ShopAtHome.com: You can find dozens of sporting and outdoor stores through ShopAtHome.com where you can get coupons, Cash Back offers and free shipping deals. Get up to 3 percent Cash Back at Sports Authority, for example. At Mizuno Team Sports, you can get 2.5 percent Cash Back and free shipping if you spend $100 or more.
Know when to buy: January is prime time to buy sporting goods because stores offer lots of sales and discounts on exercise equipment (for all of the eager exercisers with New Year’s Resolutions). If you know your son or daughter will be playing a sport again, stock up at the end of the season. We see football and volleyball gear — for example — get marked down around the holidays.
Organize a sporting goods swap: Gather up fellow neighbors or friends for a sporting goods trade. Perhaps talk to coaches or the school to help spread the word.
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