Tips for 2nd hand skates

[kiwiskater]

I'm sure this has probably been asked to death but I can't locate the thread...So on behalf of my brother who can't afford a pair of new skates as I did...

How does one know what to look for in buying skates online (like e-bay)? You can't often see them up close until you purchased them, he's been watching trade-me (our equivalent of e-bay) but I've knocked a couple back that look old, have big creases in the boot around the ankle or one ad has what looked like soft uppers rather than leather....

Many people don't advertise what blades the skates have with them & I ask him to pose that question to the seller, sometimes though they never reply before the auction closes...

He is tall & skinny, not at all a heavy weight

[davincisop]

Why don't you see if your pro shop has some used ones on sale? I got my first pair at my rink for $50.

[kiwiskater]

they only sell new... selling 2nd hand would detract from sales of new ones...things on this side of the globe aren't so sophisticated!

[icefrog]

Could you get measured for some skates at the proshop and then look online? Buying used skates that fit properly is hard and buying used men skates is even harder. You could check myskatingmall.com or the American ebay and ask the sellers if they will ship to New Zealand, some might if you ask.

[kiwiskater]

You could I suppose, but taking the exchange rate into account I'm not sure there is much difference... but I'll look into it, thanks

I would make him try shop stock on though if there is one thing I found is that you can be measured to fit the length of you foot but the width and overall fit of the boot is a different story - until you put them on you won't know for sure...

[fsk8r]

And don't dismiss looking at white boots. He can always paint them black, which is what a lot of boys who buy second hand end up doing.

It would also be useful to try on the shop stock of boots, even if he can't afford them to know what size he is and it will give you an idea on the width fitting as well. Possibly you can then mail order new in? There might be a slightly cheaper online shop in NZ or Australia (I'm assuming you can get reasonable shipping rates from there).