Second Hand Bowls – Why Buy Second Hand and Top Tips on How to Buy

Buying second hand bowls is a cost-effective option, especially if you are new to the sport. Bowls World sell a wide range of second hand bowls including Almark, Henselite, Taylor, Drakes bowls and other bowls manufacturers for lawn bowls, indoor bowls, short mat bowls and outdoor bowls.

Here we shall look at the benefits of buying second hand bowls over and above a new set, and provide top tips on how to choose your bowling balls.

Second hand bowls – click here to buy second hand bowls from our online shop.

Why Buy Second Hand Bowls?

If you are a first time bowler, or if you want a replacement bowl but do not want to pay the full price, one good option is to buy second hand bowls. Some of these bowls are in great condition and are as good as a brand new bowl.

You can pick up some real bargains on the Internet and indeed in our own bowls equipment shop. With the average price for a second hand set at £50, this could mean you make a saving of well over £100.

Bowls do not wear out but they can become chipped over years of play. However, this will not affect the running line of your bowl, unless they become very chipped or cracked. This means you can get some really fantastic second hand bowls, which play just as well as a brand new set.

There are many benefits to investing in your own set of bowling balls – there is certainly a feel-good factor to owning your own bowls equipment and it can also improve your game. This is because you get used to your own bowls: their weight and grip and you adapt to playing with them and come to know what to expect from them. This ensures you know how your ball will react, when you are playing that all important shot!

Certainly, once you join a bowls club, even if you are just playing socially, you will need your own set of balls. This is because bowling balls are only supplied by clubs to beginners to try out before they join. Sometimes bowls can be borrowed by other players, but they will normally need them when they play.

Buying Second Hand Bowls From Bowls World

Bowls World offer a part exchange system so we sell all types of second hand bowls, which have been traded in by our customers for new sets. There are a number of reasons that players trade in their old set for new bowls. For example, elderly players often change to smaller sized bowls because they find it hard to hold the set they are playing with. Also players often trade in their black bowls so they can buy coloured bowls, or even swap between different coloured sets!

Our site is updated every week with second hand bowls stock, so it is well worth keeping track of what we have, or alternatively contact us direct on 01473 – 217787 as we may well have what just what you need.

Although we can’t make promise to source second hand bowls for our customers, we will take players names and addresses to look out for particular sets for them, but we are bound by what our customers trade to us.

Why Buy From Us?

There are many advantages to using Bowls World to buy your second hand bowls. All our second hand bowls stock come with a photograph and a detailed description of the sale item, including make, model, size, colour, age, grip weight and price.

We fully explain the condition of the balls which we grade poor, fair, good, very good and excellent.

Bowls World also mention any chips and won’t sell balls that will affect the running condition. Another advantage to using Bowls World is that we offer free postage to people in Scotland, England and Wales. Next day delivery is offered on some items.

In addition to our second hand bowls, we also feature in this section of our web site any surplus stock we get in. On average, we get one or two sets of surplus stock a week in winter and three to four sets during the summer months, but the same amount sells out. This means you need to act fast if you see a surplus stock item you like on our website as it won’t be about for long.

Most experienced bowlers will buy new unless they are just looking for a bargain such as the ex demo bowls we sometimes have. Here you can pick up an ex demo set under 2 months old for a saving of £25!

If you are not happy with your bowls for any reason, you can return your purchase for a full refund.

Do’s and Dont’s When choosing Second Hand Bowls

If you are a beginner, you may need to know what to look for when choosing your second hand bowls. Here are our top tips on buying second hand bowls:

Size – This is the most important thing to get right. A good idea is to try our different sizes at a local club. Otherwise, as a general rule sizes 0, 1 & 2 are the most popular ladies’ sizes and sizes 3, 4 and 5 are the most popular gents sizes. A bigger handed gent will go for the size 5’s and bigger handed ladies’ will go for a size 2, or even a size 3.

Make and Model – This is not too important when buying your first second hand set as you can change this when you know exactly what model you need for your type of playing surface.

Age – Bowls can last a lifetime but must have a Worlds Bowls Official Stamp on them to indicate they have passed the WB test and are approved under their ruling. If you are playing national competitions, they need to be stamped every ten years. However, if you are just playing locally, this is not necessary.

Grip – Most players prefer to play with a gripped bowl, which have small indentations around the outside. 95 per cent of the bowls we will sell are gripped, but some players prefer to have a plain bowl, which just have rings around the bowl.

Weight – Weight is not really important when choosing your first set of second hand bowls. Generally heavyweight bowls are used indoors and medium weight bowls are used outside. However, this is only a rough guide and both weights can be used for both games.

Colour – The colour of the bowl that you buy comes down to personal taste and makes no difference in the running of the bowls. Bowls come in a wide variety of bright colours, as well as black and brown.

The top tip for buying bowls, second hand or otherwise, is to get the right size, so you don’t slip when delivering it. Then you must practice, practice, practice your delivery technique, line and length. Once you have mastered this, you can think about the best make and model to suit the playing surface where you will play most of your games.

Always buy from a reputable company or from a company that you know will return your product if you are not happy with it.

Martin Curtis, of Bowls World said: "We are always getting customers who have purchased second hand sets from Ebay and trade them in for a new set because they can’t get on with them but they can’t be returned on Ebay if they have been described incorrectly.

Another problem is if the person selling them does not play bowls so they don’t know what they are selling and may give misleading information about the bowls."

For this reason it is always best to buy from a Bowls Specialist where you will get the correct information and they can be returned for another set if you don’t get on with them.

Second hand bowls – click here to buy second hand bowls from our online shop.