Second Hand Golf Equipment Business Booming - Pro's and Con's?

[GolfSpy TCB]

Stats Show Golfers Are Turning To The Second Hand Market For Equipment | Golf Monthly

 

Golf can be expensive - especially if you want the latest and greatest from the major OEM's Equipment Releases promising "Bigger / Better / Faster / Longer / More".  

Last season's "MUST HAVE" is this season's closet queen as it is replaced by the current offerings and many golfers choose to offset their cash outlay by trading in their used equipment for a better home.  This is where the Second Hand Equipment business steps in.  

Have you traded or sold your used equipment?  Have you purchased used equipment from private sellers, or Second Hand distributors?  What do you see as the Pro's and Con's of used equipment?  Let's discuss the forum's thoughts here!

[ejgaudette]

I have used both 2nd Swing and bought things from private sellers on WRX. So far things have been good. Actually currently only my 3 wood and putter were bought new. The irons I bought in a private sale and they were in exactly the shape described. Also have had good luck with 2nd Swing and meeting expectations on condition. Obviously the biggest con is that you can't get fit, so you need to have a handle on your specs and some idea of the clubs performance. Of course the lower prices are always great.

[cnosil]

7 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

Have you traded or sold your used equipment?  Have you purchased used equipment from private sellers, or Second Hand distributors?  What do you see as the Pro's and Con's of used equipment?  Let's discuss the forum's thoughts here!

I primarily deal with used equipment and have both bought, sold, and traded. I have used eBay, golf forums, second hand distributors, and my local golf shop.   

I buy largely because of the cost savings over new equipment.   I don’t use eBay very much anymore simply due to the fees associated with the transactions and the higher potential for counterfeit merchandise. My local golf shop is great; they have always done higher volume in the used club space, allow you to demo used clubs for a few days, and give reasonable offers for trade in clubs;  they are basically my go to when buying clubs.   
 

 I sell on golf forums simply because there is a golf specific audience and I get better prices for equipment especially lesser known brands.   I do buy putters through this avenue simply because you find more boutique and interesting putters than you generally find in golf shops or second hand sites.   

 

here are my quick thoughts on pros/cons

PROS:

• lower cost
• no cost trial periods with my local store.
• Everyone really plays used clubs…hit a club once and it is now considered used! 
• Generally don’t have to tape it up to hit in store 
• great deals on unique one or a kind items…it’s a treasure hunt. 

CONS:

• finding exactly what you want may take some time.  
• equipment condition if not bought in a store; do the photos and description match up.
• when selling dealing with lowball offers and the window shoppers that back out on agreed sales price.
• shipping costs and fees when selling clubs 
• low trade prices. Yes, I understand the reseller has to make money too.   

 

Things like not being able to try, counterfeit, doesn’t fit me/wrong specs, are also limitations of buying new online so that isn’t a used club specific thing

[tdroma98]

Have purchased used/pre-owned driver, irons & wedges.  Have traded in clubs (much to my wife's delight) for my last driver & iron set. Callaway Pre-Owned irons are pretty darn good shape. Just wasn't going to pay $499 for a new driver or $1,200 for set of irons.

As for wedges, like what Cnosil mentioned above under "Cons": Finding exactly what you want may take some time.  He's right. Willing to take a little bit of time to cut my cost in half at times.  Also, if unsure about a wedge brand or style & bounce, buying a used at much lower cost enables to figure out if the wedge fits my play.  I've been able to weed out certain shafts & club styles buying used.  To be honest it seems I always going back to Vokey wedges. Intrigued by MyGolfSpy recent testing of Taylor Made wedges! Never have played Taylor Made Wedges. Going to keep an eye out for TM wedges

[Golf2Much]

I think @cnosil did a great job summarizing the pros and cons of the used club market.  Personally, every club in my bag, with the exception of my Evnroll putter, was purchased used or warrantee upgrade of a used club.

Driver:  Ping G400 SFT:  a Ping warrantee-related replacement/upgrade from the used Ping G30 driver I bought that developed a crack in the head (It had to be fatigue and I don't hit the ball that hard).  Since they didn't have any G30 heads left, they offered me upgrade the G400 SFT (which was the previously released model) for about $120.  Great customer service.  I also purchased two new or used lighter weight shafts with adapters from eBay to see if I could optimize distance 

Fairway woods: Callaway Heavenwood, 3 wood and several shafts from Callaway Preowned.  I've found the condition of their clubs to be better than advertised in their descriptions.   They even offer the ability to regrip clubs as well as change the length and lie of the clubs they sell (for a nominal fee of course).   I've also purchased several sets of irons and woods for my friends from Callaway Preowned.  They were all ecstatic with the condition and pricing of the clubs. 

Ping G 7 wood and hybrids purchased used from a high-volume eBay sellers with high positive comments.  I've been lucky in that every eBay transaction of a used club yielded positive results.  Always as or better than described and no counterfeits (that I'm aware of). 

Ping G30 irons:  purchased used six years ago from 3Balls.com.  They were in great condition.  6-PW with an AW with Fujikura graphite shafts for $382.  After five years, I sent them into Ping to have them refurbished.  When they came back, they looked like new!

Edison wedges:  All three wedges were customer returns that Edison resells at a discount.  All three were bent to fit my desired lofts and lies.  

Evnroll putter:  My only club that was purchased new.  

Thinking about the range of clubs that I currently have as "backups" stored in my shed, every club and wood shaft was purchased used from one of the above-mentioned sources.   That includes several sets of irons, a few fairway woods, a few hybrids and of course a handful of drivers.  The only other clubs I currently own that were actually purchased new at a retail establishment was my set of original Ping Eye 2's (square grooves and all) irons that were bought in the early/mid 1980's.  

If I do look to purchase clubs in the near future, I will not hesitate to take advantage of the used club/secondary market for clubs.

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Count me as a second hand buyer for most things. Although I did get new irons they were sub70 so the price was much cheaper then others. I also normally go with demo drivers and such from courses or proshops as the values are often just too hard to pass up. 

[GolfSpy TCB]

I like shiny and new as much as the next guy, and I am the exact demographic for club manufacturer's marketing campaigns.. 

1. I Golf.
2. I am in Awe of the Pros ability to bomb drives, stick greens and drain putts
3. My subconscious (and sometimes conscious) mind has a special place dedicated to believing the marketing from equipment manufacturers promising me a better game with this year's equipment.
4. I have a misguided yet small belief that my wallet will help my golf game significantly.  

But sometimes the kids need new shoes lol, and with my crew that is 5 pairs at a time.

So I have utilized the used market for clubs in my golf life.  Sometimes to try a different brand I'm interested in, or to see what all last year's hype is about, sometimes just because they are pretty or the deal is too good to pass up haha.  My all time favorite irons were purchased used (MP33), and I have filled in pieces to my game bag over the years with used clubs... usually in the fairway woods area of my bag.  Most recently, I added the L.A.B. DF 2.1 to my stable of putters from someone that was ready to pass it along to another player.  

Having said all that... I'm also fairly impatient, and if it is something I can't stop thinking about, I will most likely buy/order it new... so I don't have to wait for the specs I want to become available on the used market, though I usually look there first just in case.  

The one thing I have decided not to buy used, are wedges.  I went down that path in years past, but to me, there is no place that groove wear is more impactful than my wedges.  So for that I budget for wedges each season (sometimes only one is needing replacing, sometimes more than one... but there is nothing like a crisp grooved wedge  ). 

It was on the used market that I decided the Mizuno HMB 20 wasn't for me.  And also how I found that the Srixon ZX Fairways are every bit worth the money to complete my set with new (2 purchased used and only the 7 wood purchased new).  

Is there a performance drop by moving back in years/models... MAYBE the farther back you go, but I do believe that for 99.999% of amateur golfers... the performance difference between clubs - if fit well to the player - are non-material.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Love the used market for a lot of things. My wedges, hybrid and 3W are all used.

There is plenty out there used and while it came be difficult to get exactly what you’re looking for, it’s very rare I don’t find it at some point….which can be difficult in the “I want it now” market lol.

There are also benefits to buying new with discounted deals….I got my driver brand new and was 20% off on golf balls.com which I wouldn’t have gotten for that price a year later.

also my irons were bought new from TM but they do military discount so again was a good deal.

There are deals to be found on both ends, just depends on what we are willing to wait for….my new driving iron I just bought I missed out on an eBay bid and the golfer “buy it now” came over me and I went and got one new at PGASS the next day

[tdroma98]

Golfspy_TCB: The one thing I have decided not to buy used, are wedges.  I went down that path in years past, but to me, there is no place that groove wear is more impactful than my wedges.  So for that I budget for wedges each season (sometimes only one is needing replacing, sometimes more than one... but there is nothing like a crisp grooved wedge  -

Golfspy you are correct about the wedges and grooves. I did break down earlier this year and purchased a brand new SM8 SW to replace an SM5 SW and it certainly was refreshing having new grooves. Found a close out on previous models, brand new, but wait & take risk you may not find the grind & bounce you want
It seems and tell me if you agree, the nickel/brushed steel (now it's jet black) faced heads seem to not wear like a Tour Chrome or Raw. Maybe just trying to rationalize not spending the money for a new 60 degree.  LOL

[GrahamB1967]

So far (touch wood) I have been pretty lucky using eBay in the UK. I principally use it to experiment without paying retail and have managed to find a couple of gems.

My Srixon Z785 and its current shaft were both 'as new' where as my PING Crossover 20* driving iron and Scotty Phantom X were both still in their wrapping.  Only slightly less straightforward purchase was the Newport 2 Studio Select.  The head is genuine (though refurbished with a custom infill) but the shaft and grip were not Scotty.  Looking back, the seller never said they were and only had one shot of the full club, all the rest focusing on the piece of sculpture that is the head.  Luckily I have no intention of selling it on and can take it as it is, an exquisite piece of golfing engineering.

I now spend quite a bit of time researching both seller and club specs before bidding but I suspect I'll be back  browsing again soon! 

[tony@CIC]

This is a great thread. While I've never bought 'used' equipment, I have bought equipment that is advertised as in very good condition from Global Golf. In both cases, the equipment was last year's model and must have been purchased originally as excess stock from the manufacturer as both heads were still in the plastic wrapping and had absolutely no signs of use. I guess that being a lefty helps in this case as the OEM built too many left hand heads. I also recently bought a shaft on ebay. The Fujikura shaft I originally bid on I lost to a high bidder of $65. Turns out the ebay store had a second identical shaft which I bid on shortly after and won at $43. 

[GolfSpy TCB]

37 minutes ago, tdroma98 said:

Golfspy_TCB: The one thing I have decided not to buy used, are wedges.  I went down that path in years past, but to me, there is no place that groove wear is more impactful than my wedges.  So for that I budget for wedges each season (sometimes only one is needing replacing, sometimes more than one... but there is nothing like a crisp grooved wedge  -

Golfspy you are correct about the wedges and grooves. I did break down earlier this year and purchased a brand new SM8 SW to replace an SM5 SW and it certainly was refreshing having new grooves. Found a close out on previous models, brand new, but wait & take risk you may not find the grind & bounce you want
It seems and tell me if you agree, the nickel/brushed steel (now it's jet black) faced heads seem to not wear like a Tour Chrome or Raw. Maybe just trying to rationalize not spending the money for a new 60 degree.  LOL

Maybe a bit of both TDR haha.  I haven't spent a lot of time with brushed steel...maybe I should.. I tend to lean toward tour chrome.. Haven't gone down the raw path yet... but @GolfSpy_APHrecent raw iron set from sub70 have me looking in that direction.

A the first few shots with a new wedge is like taking that first drink of a scratch made vanilla coke.  After the first drink you always remember how amazing it tastes - sending all the taste buds into a frenzy, then spending the rest of the meal trying to recapture that first taste feeling.  Yep - I need a new 58* now.

[tdroma98]

Get that new 58 in the bag!! LOL

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

59 minutes ago, tdroma98 said:

Golfspy_TCB: The one thing I have decided not to buy used, are wedges.  I went down that path in years past, but to me, there is no place that groove wear is more impactful than my wedges.  So for that I budget for wedges each season (sometimes only one is needing replacing, sometimes more than one... but there is nothing like a crisp grooved wedge  -

Golfspy you are correct about the wedges and grooves. I did break down earlier this year and purchased a brand new SM8 SW to replace an SM5 SW and it certainly was refreshing having new grooves. Found a close out on previous models, brand new, but wait & take risk you may not find the grind & bounce you want
It seems and tell me if you agree, the nickel/brushed steel (now it's jet black) faced heads seem to not wear like a Tour Chrome or Raw. Maybe just trying to rationalize not spending the money for a new 60 degree.  LOL

Second this (only reason I had used was because they were from @GolfSpy_BOSand I knew the groove condition) and typically the price isn’t drastically different even a year removed

[vandyland]

In the past year I have purchased 2 drivers (ebay), 1 5 wood (2nd swing), 1 putter (2nd swing), 1 wedge (purchased new). So 80% of my purchases in the past year was used equipment. 

I traded in a putter and driver to buy my used LAB 2.1 putter and that was a good experience, albeit the trade in values were a bit low as you would expect. I also sold a used golf bag but I did that local since shipping that thing was prohibitively expensive. 

Also one other positive on dealing with a store like 2nd swing, they shipped me a 5 wood that was snapped in half when I got it. Due to the condition of the box I could tell it was UPS' doing. I sent them a picture and they let me pick out another 5 wood that was around the same cost. No charge for shipping either way. I thought that was very cool. 

Edited October 7, 2022 by vandyland

[GolfSpy TCB]

1 minute ago, vandyland said:

In the past year I have purchased 2 drivers (ebay), 1 5 wood (2nd swing), 1 putter (2nd swing), 1 wedge (purchased new). So 80% of my purchases in the past year was used equipment. 

I traded in a putter and driver to buy my used LAB 2.1 putter and that was a good experience, albeit the trade in values were a bit low as you would expect. I also sold a used golf bag but I did that local since shipping that thing was prohibitively expensive. 

I have used 2nd Swing for some of my used purchases, which I like because they have a decent return policy with a window long enough to give the clubs a good test run to make a decision.  The shipping back and forth is a bit of a hassle, but the customer service there has been really good to me.  

[GolfSpy TCB]

41 minutes ago, tdroma98 said:

Get that new 58 in the bag!! LOL

I know... not only are my grooves needing an upgrade, but the TM MG3's are taunting me!!!

[Reesedw]

I usually buy new, Which i have not done for a few yrs.. Hence the 4yr old clubs in the bag.. Have never played better, and still play consistently better than before the Cobras.. Prior to a few drivers mostly new, 1 exception was, I played with a guy in league who bought a brand new driver Taylor made Super Tri, that he used 2 rounds and 1 range session, and could not keep in on the course he would slice or hook it like crazy.. anyhow he offered it to me for $150.. So after i used it for a round and loved it i bought it.. 2 weeks later at league he brings the matching 3 wood, could not hit it either so he gave that one to me.. those are really the only used clubs i have bought.. 

[MaximoNolan]

It's interesting to revisit this thread after a year and see how the second-hand golf equipment market has evolved. The trends in golf equipment can change rapidly, and what was a ""must-have"" last season might have shifted yet again.Reflecting on the pros and cons of used equipment remains relevant. For those who haven't explored this option yet, it's worth considering the potential cost savings and the opportunity to find quality gear that suits your game.If you're still interested in second-hand golf gear, https://sacfleamarkets.com/ could continue to be a useful resource for finding budget-friendly options and connecting with sellers who specialize in golf equipment.

Edited December 7, 2023 by MaximoNolan

[GolfSpy_APH]

I think there will always be a place for second hand clubs and value in those purchases. Won't be for everyone but if it means saving s bit so they can play more it's definitely worth while in my book.

[BringerofRain]

I have had no luck on the second hand market. I unfortunately left a PXG Gen 2  pitching wedge and an 8 iron  on the golf course over the last year and the secondary market is almost double the price of the brand new one I bought in fall of 2020. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

42 minutes ago, BringerofRain said:

I have had no luck on the second hand market. I unfortunately left a PXG Gen 2  pitching wedge and an 8 iron  on the golf course over the last year and the secondary market is almost double the price of the brand new one I bought in fall of 2020. 

Thats weird, should be some sites out there offering at least the pitching wedge for a good price. I could see the 8 iron being a little more difficult to find though. 

[Josh Parker]

5 hours ago, MaximoNolan said:

It's interesting to revisit this thread after a year and see how the second-hand golf equipment market has evolved. The trends in golf equipment can change rapidly, and what was a "must-have" last season might have shifted yet again.

There are several online sellers around me that purchase big lots of equipment and the savings are pretty good. They will even have current models at times. 

[Headhammer]

A lot of cottage businesses in our area selling used clubs/sets, and as mentioned, I have seen some used clubs commanding new pricing. The mini-drivers from TM are constantly priced near their original retail on FB & CL and you have to wade through the plethora of counterfeits. 

[Parshooter36]

Every club in my bag is either used or certified preowned.  Come to think of it, I'm not sure I have ever paid full retail for a club. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

I, too, have been a regular purchaser from the second hand market. Global Golf has always been my go to (Taylormade Preowned when they still ran that site, too). I have always received clubs in nearly new condition, and IMO you just cannot beat the value. If you've got the budget and means to regularly buy new, that is awesome! I just have always had a hard time doing that because I know how much money I can save on "outdated" clubs a year after they release lol.

[StateOfMyArt]

I got interested in used equipment watching Stacked Golf on YouTube. Now I have no fear in looking for and picking up a few clubs here and there to try out. My game is all over the place anyway, new or used, so I can't blame the equipment. But I do suspect the operator is a major factor. 

[tony@CIC]

I use Global golf - bought 2 clubs in the past 5 months: a like new Stealth 2 driver and a Ping 425 hybrid also in like new condition. Both were bargains since you could hardly tell they were hit before. Also, Global Golf just opened a store in the Tampa area. We stopped by there a month ago and my wife picked up a 919HM 6 iron which she has been bugging me for months. It was in near perfect condition and even had the same Recoil shaft as her other irons and at a much lower price the new. 

[BringerofRain]

8 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Thats weird, should be some sites out there offering at least the pitching wedge for a good price. I could see the 8 iron being a little more difficult to find though. 

I thought it was weird too. I didn’t think it would be to hard to pick up a used PW either. I can definitely put most of blame on myself for losing it and  being cheap but when I see new PXG irons going for $109 and eBay selling it used for $130 plus shipping it’s hard to commit. 

[Fred Mitchell]

My driver, FW and hybrid all Ping were new and so were my T300 irons along with the 2 wedges. the 1st Taylormade DHY [5] was bought off Ebay used in fair condition to see how I would hit it and figuring I would be able to resell it and get most if not all my money back, the 2nd DHY [4] was bought straight from TM. I have 5 Scotty Camerons including my gamer all bought used and most were banged up refurbish clubs bought at a low price because of it and I am doing the work myself. I have the usual assorted "extra" clubs some were used and some new. Now that I finally have the fairway wood [7] going straight and high I need another one to replace the hybrid as I am not consistent with it and the DHY is heavy enough out of the rough stuff to take over that chore. I want a adjustable hosel and decent head size which tends to be costlier so I may have to go the used route right now.