By Steve Woodfield
The winter ski season is just a few months away for the Northern hemisphere. If you’re in the market of a pair of used skis, shop online with your ReShip.com account for all of the best deals.
Not exactly sure what to look for in a pair of used skis? Here are some tips:
Skis aren’t two strips of wood that are going to warp and become unusable. The makeup of modern skis allows them to sit on the rack almost indefinitely and still give the performance they were designed for. What may happen is that manufacturers might tweak, or change, the composition of the particular model; that doesn’t make the previous year’s model any less skiable than when it was made. In other words, you can find gold in some never used 05-06 models for coal prices.
Become familiar with the skis you are checking out online. If possible, find a pair of skis in the brand and model that you are looking for, and make sure you are comfortable with the heft and feel of the skis. Remember, when buying skis online, you give up the touchy, feely part of ski shopping, but the money you save may very well counter the hugs and rubs you usually give a new pair of skis before you buy them.
Did you demo a pair of skis at the end of last season and fall in love with them, only to be unable to find a pair now? There may be some out there that are honestly advertised as demo models. You can take a chance and buy the demos that probably had more time on the snow than some grooming machines, or be flexible and look for the next model down in the brand you like. Very often these are overlooked for the “hot” model of the year that you demoed. These skis can show up as great bargains and sacrifice very little, or no, performance features.
More than a few skiers buy skis in lengths recommended by the testers in ski publications. A lot of this is strictly a fad that can go out of style the following year. If you don’t mind being seen on a super ski that is a leftover in 167cm when everybody that’s anybody is skiing in 160cm, you can save big money. A rule of thumb is the longer the last year’s ski the cheaper you can buy it.
When it comes to serious shopping for the last year brand, model, and length of your dream ski you have to be very, very lucky to find exactly what you want. The best way to get the most value for a ski you can use is to start with an open mind. Be knowledgeable about how the skis available were rated in the ski tests. Ask friends you trust, or the ski shop that tunes your skis what they think. Worst case scenario: If you buy bargain skis and don’t like them – sell them.
Be discerning. if the site you want to buy from is an extension of a real brick and mortar company that has been around a while and has a solid reputation you can be pretty sure you will be making a safe investment. When you shop online, try to get some verification of the reliability of those sites with the too-good-to-be-true prices and use a credit card, or an Internet third party bank such as PayPal if the site accepts it.
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