| When buying golf equipment online many people think | | | | used club inspection and certification process, (2) no |
| of eBay (particularly for used clubs) and the 'major' | | | | questions asked returns policy, (3) 12 month warrantee; |
| online golf stores. However, there are many more | | | | and (4) shipping damage guarantee. |
| options available for buying golf clubs online. | | | | While many of the big online golf stores sell used golf |
| AUCTION SITES | | | | equipment as well as new, there are a few online |
| Yes, there's eBay, and it really can't be beaten for | | | | stores that sell only used: |
| online auctions. eBay is unmatched for choice and | | | | USED ONLYo Callaway Pre-Owned - sell other |
| volume. However, it's possible to get stung on eBay if | | | | brands too, eg Nike, Titleist, Ping, TaylorMade. Offer 12 |
| you're not careful (see the tips section below). Here | | | | month warranty, money back guarantee and 90-day |
| are some other auction sites you might want to try:o | | | | buy-backo TaylorMade Pre-Owned -14 day money |
| Online Auction (US) - I found about 200 golf items | | | | back guarantee and 12 month warranteeo Golfbidder |
| available for auction here. Mainly golf balls, gloves and | | | | (UK) -7 day 'no quibble' returns policy, 12 month |
| other bits and pieces.....not much in the way of clubs. | | | | warrantee and some good buyer's guides to help you |
| May be worth a looko Golfbidder (UK/Europe) - mainly | | | | choose the right clubs |
| sell secondhand golf clubs, sourced from golf club | | | | USED & NEWo Golfsmith - 30 day returns policy. |
| professionals from around the UK (a small % are | | | | No warrantee - they defer to the manufacturer's |
| sourced directly from the public). While most clubs are | | | | warrantee (which has probably expired!)o Edwin |
| sold as 'Instant Buys', some are auctioned. There are | | | | Watts Golf - 30 day returns policy. No warrantee - |
| usually 30-odd items being auctioned at any one time | | | | they defer to the manufacturer's warranteeo Direct |
| and you may be able to pick-up a good dealo Grays | | | | Golf (UK) - used clubs sourced from trade-ins at Direct |
| Online (Australia) - sellers on this site are mainly | | | | Golf stores. 14 day money back guarantee. No |
| manufacturers, distributors or retailers trying to move | | | | warrantee |
| excess or slow moving stock......not consumer to | | | | AMAZON |
| consumer auctions. Not necessarily a bad thing as this | | | | The Amazon marketplace is big........very big. And there's |
| reduces some of the risk, but it also reduces the | | | | a good range of new and used golf gear here. |
| range. While there were only about 40 golf items for | | | | Amazon's marketplace is a bit like eBay in that sellers |
| auction when I last looked, there were some good | | | | (big and small) register with Amazon to sell their new |
| deals. Worth a look | | | | or used golf equipment. The difference is that the |
| I would generally avoid buying new golf equipment | | | | items aren't auctioned, they're sold at the advertised |
| through online auctions. While you can take some | | | | price. It's also a bit less risky with Amazon's purchase |
| precautions, it's difficult to know whether you're getting | | | | guarantee - they'll refund your money if you don't |
| the genuine item or just a knock-off. Large, recognized | | | | receive the item you paid for, or if it's not what you |
| eBay sellers are probably an exception. | | | | expected. |
| MAJOR ONLINE STORES | | | | Amazon also offers a free subscription to Golf Digest |
| There are quite a few well established online golf | | | | or Golf World if you spend more the US$25 (US only). |
| stores that stock a huge range of equipment and | | | | Check out Amazon Golf. |
| have a lot invested in their brand. Some are better | | | | EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER SITES |
| than others, but you shouldn't get any surprises and | | | | There's really only one top club manufacturer selling |
| you should expect quality service, prompt delivery, a | | | | online, and that's Callaway. The others, such as Titleist, |
| refund policy and plenty of information for buyers (eg | | | | Ping, Nike, etc obviously have websites to market their |
| buying guides). Some of the better ones include:o | | | | gear, but generally sell clubs through retail stores. |
| Golfsmitho The Golf Warehouseo Callaway Golfo | | | | A few manufacturers (listed below), while not selling |
| Rockbottom Golfo Golf Outlets USAo Golf Discounto | | | | equipment online, provide information and tools that |
| Austad's Golfo Golf Galaxyo Snainton Golfo Online | | | | would be helpful to online buyers:o Titleist - Titleist |
| Golf | | | | provides really comprehensive description of their |
| ONLINE GOLF FORUMS | | | | products (incl. Vokey wedges and Scotty Cameron |
| Some great online golf communities have formed over | | | | putters), as well as a catalogue of their previous |
| the past few years and you can now choose from | | | | models. There's also some information on spotting |
| literally dozens of online golf forums to be part of. | | | | fake Titleist gearo Ping - the Ping site has an online |
| Some of the larger ones have an area for buying, | | | | club fitting tool that would be useful if planning to buy |
| selling and trading golf equipment. | | | | Ping equipment online elsewhere. Ping also has some |
| Because golf forums are small(ish) communities of | | | | information about spotting fake gearo Odyssey - here |
| people with a shared interest, it's a pretty supportive | | | | you can find a pretty good online tool to find the right |
| and safe environment in which to buy and sell | | | | putter. You can buy Odyssey putters from the |
| equipment. If you're not sure whether a seller of golf | | | | Callaway websiteo Callaway - can buy equipment |
| club is genuine, you can simply ask other forum | | | | direct from Callaway at their online shop |
| members. | | | | ONLINE CLASSIFIEDS |
| There's a lot of combined knowledge in these forums, | | | | Online classified sites are another option, mostly for |
| so the bad apples get found out quickly. | | | | used golf clubs. The local classified paper has moved |
| I reckon these are the best and they have a very | | | | online, so it's very likely that you'll find a classifieds |
| active buy/sell/trade area:o Golf WRX - approx. | | | | website for your local area. While you may not find the |
| 79,000 members (primarily US)o Golf Magic - approx. | | | | biggest range of golf clubs, if the seller is close by you |
| 77,000 members (primarily UK/Europe)o iseekgolf - | | | | can drive over to check the clubs out. |
| approx. 75,000 members (primarily Australia) | | | | Craigslist hosts classified ads that service the entire |
| USED GOLF EQUIPMENT STORES | | | | globe, so you should also have a look here. It's the 8th |
| Stores that sell used equipment are a very good | | | | most popular website in the US, with around 50 million |
| alternative to eBay, classifieds and other online auction | | | | unique visitors per month! |
| sites. The larger used online stores will often have: (1) a | | | | |