5 Things You Need To Know When Buying Ping Pong Table Used

If you are a non-professional player looking for practice equipment, check out these five things you need to know when buying a ping pong table used.

If you want to practice table tennis, then a ping pong table is a must-have equipment at your home. However, brand new ping pong tables are pretty expensive, so non-professionals usually choose used ones instead.

First of all, before making your purchase, you need to determine what you are buying an old table tennis table for:

– If you are looking for a ping pong table for serious practice, then the table must meet the strict standards of ITTF.

– If you are only buying for entertainment purposes, then an outdoor ping pong table or a mini one is also a good choice.

After you have figured out your goal in table tennis, consider the following factors when buying a ping pong table used:

1. Indoor or outdoor:

If the former owner used the ping pong table indoor, it would usually be an ITTF-qualified table for practice. That table would meet the standards for bounce, size, and other factors. However, if the table were often folded and moved, it would certainly have degraded in some parts.

If the owner used the table outdoors, it is unlikely that the table is qualified as a ping pong table for practice. Moreover, weather factors would have directly affected the paint on the countertops and rusted the table feet.

2. The flatness of the table surface:

According to the Official ITTF Table Tennis Rules, a qualified ping pong table can be made from any kind of material, as long as it can yield a 23 cm bounce when the user drops a standard ball from 30 cm above the playing surface.

As such, the table surface’s flatness plays an important role in the quality of a ping pong table. After some time, the surface can become warped for used ones, possibly due to stuffs being placed on the table or when it was transported.

Warped spots on the surface are not very difficult to find, so pay attention to those when choosing your ping pong table. Another tip for you to get a good ping pong table is to look for one made from certain materials.

Now, most indoor tables’ surfaces are made from plywood. However, outdoor ones are made from more durable and solid material (metal, plastic, particleboard, or fiberglass) to adjust to various weather conditions.

These days, medium to high-density fiberboards are a popular material for ping pong tables’ surfaces as they are not easily affected by external conditions, so we recommend you look for those.

3. Legs of the table:

The table tennis table legs help stabilize the table, and the incorporated wheels make transporting it around easier. Nowadays, most ping pong tables have leg levelers so the table can stand on uneven ground.

Traditionally, there are two types of legs: the rollaway and the separated halves. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The first one is designed into a whole unit, including the surface, undercarriage, and wheels. The rollaway takes up quite a big space, so storing and transporting this type of ping pong table can be troublesome. However, it only takes one person to erect and dismantle this table.

Unlike the rollaway, the separated halves have wheels attached to the center edge, with the undercarriage made of wood or metal. This type of ping pong table is easy to move around, but it will need two people to erect and dismantle the table.

As for wheelchair players, your table will need to have legs and undercarriage positioned about 40 cm from your playing position. You can look for tables with the letter W and “for wheelchair play” written on the undercarriage or the frame.

For ping pong tables used, the leg levelers and wheels may have become rusted, even fell off, so you should check if they are damaged or not before making your purchase.

4. The paint:

As a part of ping pong tables’ surface, the paint must also meet some official specifications of the ITTF:  it must be a dark color and matt, with the addition of white lines along the edges of the playing surface; and there must be no marks nor uneven spots.

Alkyd paint, the type of paint used for chalkboards, is also used to paint ping pong tables’ surfaces thanks to its durability and resistance against scratches.

However, if you are buying a ping pong table used, the paint on the surface might have been chipped somewhat over time. You should then repaint the surface because chipped paint can change the direction of the ball when it bounces.

You can find alkyd paint at home improvement stores or Ping-Pong supplies stores. There are two colors for you to choose from: dark green and green. Remember to put on the paint using a paint roller or sprayer to get a smooth finish.

5. The price:

Usually, the price of ping pong tables used will be about 60 to 80% of their original value. If you have never purchased a ping pong table before, don’t worry, because we will show you how to choose a ping pong table based on its price. From there, you can calculate the suitable price for a used one.

Like any other kind of goods, ping pong tables’ price varies from low-end to high-end. On average, the cost of indoor tables falls between $150 – $400. Outdoor ones are more expensive, about $400 – $700. And if you have the budget, $1,000+ luxurious ping pong tables are also available.

However, if you want a ping pong table with a decent bounce and can last for a few years, then we recommend ones that have medium thickness (16-19mm). Those will cost about $250-$400 for new ones. ITTF-qualified tables with 22mm-25mm thickness will cost at least $450.

Various table tennis table brands manufacture good-quality tables at decent prices. You can check out one of the following brands: Joola, Butterfly, Stiga, Cornilleau, etc.

Now that you have known the original value of ping pong tables, we are sure you can estimate the price of used ones. You can find ping pong tables used at Amazon or auction sites, newspapers, or local websites.

Conclusion

Perhaps it’s the financial ability that makes you want to buy a ping pong table used. However, with the price range of 500 – 700 $,  you can already own a new table tennis table. 

We recommend you a trust table tennis affiliate website. You can choose the best indoor table tennis table or the best outdoor ping pong table. With the Amazon refund policy, you can experience and return the product if you are not satisfied.

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Christophe Rude
Christophe Rude
Articles: 15883

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