WOOD TENNIS RACKETS, Assistance, FAQs

  • GENERAL NOTE
    • I'll be glad to assist you by answering (or attempting to anwser) your questions, time permitting, for any questions via email or fax. Whenever you can, enclose a picture or a scan of the racket to save time and provide more useful information.
    • PLEASE DO NOT CALL FOR GENERAL QUESTIONS! This is a sideline operation to our ongoing business obligations. As time allows we will place FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) here as well.

  • SHIPPING NOTES
    • A note on shipping of rackets bought online. I have bought a hundred or more online and the simplest and cheapest way to ship rackets for those who don't have standing accounts with UPS or FedEx is to use the USPS.
    • You can procure two large Priority Mail boxes (free) and insert them end-to-end to create a great box for rackets. IMPORTANT: be sure to leave one of the pull-strips on the end of the box!
    • Shipping can be easily determined online with just the zip code of the recipient with the USPS online rate calculator.
    • Most rackets, without the wood presses, ship for about 1-2 pounds, depending on how heavy your wrapping is. This means a racket can go all the way from the East Coast to the West Coast for about $5.75 and arrive in about 2-3 days.
    • Therefore, it is logical to assume that a set-price of, say $5 to $6, should cover most shipping situations.
    • As to the wood presses, in most cases these can be discarded before shipping. Unless they are truly unusual, the collector won't want them either and they just take extra weight, and cost.
    • Another note, go easy on the tape inside the package! It is very frustrating to try and unravel a bunch of rackets without cutting your hands, letalone without marring the surface of the rackets.
    • NO PEANUTS! Most collectors have homes, not offices, in which they open their packages. Not only do the styrofoam-type peanuts last forever, they fall all over the floor and their electrostatic qualities make clean up quite a chore. Opening a racket box should be more like opening a present from your favorite Aunt than opening a box of paper clips from Staples.
    • A final note. Check out the picture, and/or ask the seller questions. Rackets almost always look nicer online than they are in reality.

  • FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
    • HOW MUCH IS MY RACKET WORTH? Generally speaking, there are several levels of rackets in the collector's market. Most questions i receive involve the run-of-the-mill wood racket that was actually used and was made during sometime after the 1960s. In most cases, these rackets are, depending upon condition, and condition is VERY IMPORTANT, these rackets may bring from $5 to $25.
    • GENERAL ESTIMATE OF WORTH. We will, subject to the information provided, give you a general sense as to whether your racket is worth: nothing (under $10), little (from $10 to $25), something (from $25 to $75) or potentially more (over $75) if we are given a decent picture and description. This is free when we get around to it. Exceptions may include rackets that are unused AND still in mint condition.
    • APPRAISALS. We will provide an appraisal only upon physical inspection of the item. Cost for this service is $25 for one racket, otherwise, $75 per hour.
    • WHAT IS A PICTURE RACKET? These rackets, also called photo decal rackets, have a likeness of the actual player/person on the racket somewhere, usually the throat, but also further down the handle. These are to be distinquished from rackets with a silhouette of a person that bears no resemblence to the player. These are also to be distinquished from rackets with a signature only.
    • MY RACKET HAS A MARK INDICATING A PLAYER ACTUALLY USED IT BY A FAMOUS PLAYER. IS THIS WORTH MORE? Probably not. Unless you can find some unique impression that leads to this conclusion, it is more likely that the racket was merely endorsed by the player. An identical model might have been used by the player but not the racket stamped with the endorsement. A problem arises frequently on the Bancroft BJORN BORG Personal or the Bancroft BILLIE JEAN KING Personal models. The stamp says "Used by" but this was later changed to "Endorsed by" in later models.
    • WHERE CAN I SELL MY RACKET? EBAY has a very active racket/tennis collector community. If nothing else, check out the auctions on EBAY to see what things are going for, if anything. Click here to see some racket items for sale on ebay (opens a new window).
    • WILL YOU BUY MY RACKET DIRECTLY? We are interested in buying some rackets (see our rackets wanted page) but we would need a picture of the racket before entertaining the notion. Bear in mind that we already have many models, even of the brands we collect, so your racket may be in very good condition and we may still not be interested in it at the moment.
    • WE HAVE A CLOSEOUT STOCK FROM THE 1970s, WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH IT? This really depends upon the type of store stocking the items and whether they were high quality items or not. We can't store boxes of rackets any more easily than you can. However, we might be able to help you set them up for sale. Don't send them to the dump without checking with us first!
    • I NEED 100 RACKETS, FOR DECORATION, DO YOU HAVE THEM? Possibly, but it would depend upon what you need them for. For example: Will they merely grace a wall high above the floor in a darkened bar? Will they be spray painted a common color for a background? Will they be held by a model and subject to a possible close-up shot? Of course, we have accumulated many low-end cheap rackets, but shipping alone will be costly. On the other hand, buying a bunch of nice-looking rackets means you will be paying the collector price, subject to some discount for volume buying.
    • I NEED A PARTICULAR MODEL, DO YOU HAVE IT? We may, but we would need to research it. Many of our rackets are stored in our farm in Vermont. We go up frequently but not every week.
    • WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT RACKET COLLECTING? Check our collector links page for information on collector books and collector groups.

    COPYRIGHT © 2000-2004, Clark H. Bensen. All Rights Reserved.

    POLIDATA ® Collector Guides / Clark Bensen / 3112 Cave Court, Suite G / Lake Ridge, VA 22192
    TEL: 703-690-4066 (8am-5pm ET) FAX: 202-318-0793 (24hrs.) EMAIL: info@woodtennisrackets.com.
    HOME: www.woodtennisrackets.com. THIS: http://www.woodtennisrackets.com/wanted.htm updated: 2004-Jun-10