In 2015, more than 25 million kids between the ages of six to 17 participated in team sports. As high as those numbers are, the costs of these sports are significantly higher.
In fact, high-school aged athletes can cost a family an average of $20,000 annually on equipment, coaching, travel and team fees. Other research notes that up to 10.5 percent of a family’s gross income is spent on children’s sports, a figure high enough to disrupt the family harmony. And when children show a particular aptitude for a certain sport, that figure can quickly double.
Team Sports at the Top of the List
Some of the most popular sports, including football, baseball and hockey, are also the most expensive, in large part because they happen to require considerably more gear than others.
In fact, as children grow and advance in a particular sport, equipment must be consistently replaced, costing parents up to $30,000 or more for the equipment required to play one sport between the ages of eight to 18. If a child moves into traveling teams – also known as “elite teams” – the costs further increase as much as $10,000 per season.
Oftentimes, sports equipment must be upgraded simply because a child has outgrown the size, rendering like-new equipment useless well before its time. There are options to help mitigate the burden of sports expenses off a family, however, when it comes to the never-ending need for equipment.
Resale Solutions to the High Cost of Sports
Resale stores like Play It Again Sports® are the perfect solution to helping cut costs on the ever-expanding sports equipment collection of the average youth athlete.
Rather than always buying new, parents can seek out used sports equipment for their growing athlete, at a savings of 60 to 70 percent off the retail price. They can also sell back their own quality used equipment, helping reduce clutter at home while redirecting the savings back into the family.
With equipment on sale for more than half of what they would sell for new, Play It Again Sports also offers to purchase used equipment from community members for 30 to 50 percent of their sale price, depending on the equipment’s condition, demand and current inventory levels. Purchases can be made on-the-spot with cash payments, but those who choose to trade in equipment, they can receive an additional 20 percent more against the purchase of any new or used items in the store.
How Play It Again Sports Helps Families Save
Essentially, customers can create an automatic discount for themselves, and keep their home free of clutter, by choosing to exchange one piece of equipment for another, rather than purchase new every year or season. With the entire process taking an average of 15 minutes to complete, Play It Again Sports makes keeping up with constant equipment demands on a family as cost effective and seamless as possible.
Other ways parents can save on sports include budgeting expenses before the start of the season, considering less expensive (or fewer) sports, or considering recreational leagues. Even with these measures, however, if a child chooses to participate in a sport throughout his or her youth, the need for adjusting equipment to size as they grow will always be necessary. But with options such as Play It Again Sports, it no longer has to break the bank.
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