Sporting Goods Reseller Says Buying Used Sporting Equipment Can Save Families 55% or More Over the Cost of Buying New

MINNEAPOLIS, MN--(Marketwire - Aug 7, 2012) -   For many students, the new school year marks the start of the school sports season -- where aspiring young athletes return to familiar sports or decide to try their hand at a new one. But the high cost of outfitting a child with equipment that he or she will almost certainly outgrow and may very well lose interest in makes many families think twice -- and then some -- about signing their children up.

"Parents are faced with a couple of reality checks when their child wants to join a school sport," said Pat Quinn, brand director of Play It Again Sports. "If a child is successful in the sport and wants to continue, chances are he or she will need to replace outgrown equipment regularly. And, if the child doesn't stick with the sport, then the initial investment in equipment may seem 'wasted.' Buying quality used sporting equipment can help parents support their child's interest in a sport without breaking the family budget."

Using representative prices from several Play It Again Stores in different parts of the country, Quinn shows that a family can outfit their budding sports star in quality used sporting equipment for three popular sports for less than half the cost of buying new.

Lacrosse - New $345 / Used $145 - savings 58%
Helmet: $115 / $60; Beginner shoulder pads: $50 / $15; Beginner Elbow Pads: $25 / $15; Gloves: $55 / $25; Head/Stick Combo: $40 / $20; Cleats: $60 / $10

Baseball - New $210 / Used $86 - savings 59%
Batting Helmet: $45 / $14; Batting Gloves: $20 / $8; Youth Baseball Glove: $35 / $15; Youth Bat: $70 / $35; Cleats: $40 / $14

Hockey - New $345 / Used $155 - savings 55%
Helmet w/cage: $60 / $30; Shoulder pads: $40 / $20; Elbow pads: $15 / $10; Gloves: $30 / $15; Pants: $50 / $25; Shin pads: $30 / $15; Stick: $30 / $10; Skates: $90/ $30

Play It Again Sports stores not only provide families with a value-price source for quality, in-season sporting goods and equipment, they also give them a way to turn last year's outgrown or discarded equipment into cash. This can help families, sports enthusiasts and teams keep children involved in sports at a time when cuts to school sports budgets with resulting pay-to-play policies are adding to the strain on family budgets.

A recent poll (http://www.mottnpch.org/reports-surveys/pay-play-sports-keeping-lower-income-kids-out-game) found that 61% of the families polled are now paying -- on average -- a $93 per sport pay-to-play participation fee because of reduced school funding for sports. This is on top of the average of $381 a year those families spend for fees and athletic gear. This pull-back in school sports funding has led 12% of these parents to decrease their child's participation in school sports.

"Participation in sports offers benefits that go beyond health and physical fitness," said Quinn. "Sports teach children about the importance of doing their personal best, working as part of a team toward a common goal, and putting in effort to improve. At Play it Again Sports, we want to help families say 'Yes' to keeping their kids involved in sports."

For more information about Play It Again Sports, please visit www.playitagainsports.com

Play It Again Sports®
Play It Again Sports® leads the nation in the buying and selling of quality used sports and fitness equipment. There are nearly 330 franchised stores in the United States and Canada. Play It Again Sports buys, sells, and trades quality used and new brand name sports & fitness equipment. Play It Again Sports is franchised by Winmark Corporation, which also franchises Once Upon A Child®, Plato's Closet®, and Music Go Round®. For more information visit www.playitagainsports.com.

Winmark Corporation
Winmark Corporation, based in Minneapolis, creates, supports and finances business. Specializing in leasing and developing franchises for retail stores that buy, sell, and trade new and used merchandise, it is the parent company of Play It Again Sports®, Once Upon A Child®, Plato's Closet®, Music Go Round®, Wirth Business Credit®, Winmark Capital® and www.WBSOnline.com. Winmark has more than 930 franchise territories and is publicly traded at (NASDAQ: WINA). For more information visit www.winmarkcorporation.com.

Winmark Business Solutions®
Winmark Business Solutions (WBS) is a subsidiary of Winmark Corporation, a multi-brand franchisor with over 930 franchised territories in the US and Canada. WBS provides small business information, tools, templates, as well as discounts from preferred vendor partnerships designed to help small business owners save time and money on operating their business. The comprehensive WBSonline.com website offers a 6,000 page business resource guide in addition to a virtual forum for small business owners to share, connect and learn from one another in the WBS PeerSphere® community. For more information about Winmark Business Solutions and their free, website for small business owners, please visit www.WBSonline.com.