Consumers purchased $855 million in used sporting goods equipment in 2004, according to a newly released report by the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA). This is the seventh study done by the Association on the used equipment market and reflects only purchases of products surveyed in the Association's “Sporting Goods Market in 2005” report.
For 2003, consumers indicated they had purchased slightly more than $753 million in used sports equipment.
Used equipment for the outdoor sports (camping, fishing and the shooting sports) represented purchases of almost $503 million, the largest single category. Used exercise equipment had purchases of almost $173 million. Much of the overall increase in 2004 can be attributed to the rise in purchases of used equipment for the outdoor sports, which had were $395 million in 2003.
“With the rise in the number of sporting goods stores that emphasize used equipment sales and the growing use of auctions on the Internet, it is important for NSGA to look at this market more closely,” NSGA Vice President of Information & Research Thomas B. Doyle said. “The purchase of used equipment is a two-edged sword. It may take away from new equipment purchases initially, but it also may provide the entry point for future purchasers of upgraded equipment.”
In certain product categories, the number of units purchased is substantial. In exercise equipment, more than one million pieces of equipment were purchased, excluding small hand equipment and weight sets of which more than a half million were purchased used.
“Although the average price is not high, most of these are purchases that did not take place in more traditional channels of distribution,” Doyle said.
“Purchases of Used Sports Equipment in 2004” uses the same panel as is used for NSGAs “Sporting Goods Market” report. The report is based on a survey of 60,000 households in which 39 products were surveyed regarding purchases during 2004.
“Because of the limited number of products surveyed (e.g. bicycles are not included in the survey), the total used equipment market is much larger than the $855 million reported and easily exceeds $1 billion,” Doyle said.
