How to Price Your Gear Properly So It Sells

Pricing used goalie gear is part art, part math — price too high and it sits for months; price too low and you're leaving money on the table (or worse, buyers assume something's wrong with it). Here's how to land on a number that actually moves.

• Start With Depreciation, Not Nostalgia

It's natural to anchor your price to what you paid, but buyers don't care what you paid — they care what it's worth now. As a rough starting framework for goalie gear specifically: Like new (used 1 season or fewer, minimal wear): 65-75% of original retail price Good (1-2 seasons, normal wear, fully functional): 45-60% of original retail Fair (2+ seasons, visible wear but game-ready): 30-40% of original retail Needs work (functional but needs repair): 15-25% of original retail These are starting benchmarks, not hard rules — high-demand brands/models (current-season Bauer or Vaughn flagship lines, for example) tend to hold value better than discontinued models, so adjust up or down from there based on what similar gear is actually selling for.

• Check What's Actually Selling, Not What's Listed

Here's a mistake a lot of sellers make: they check what similar gear is listed for, not what it's actually selling for. A pad that's been listed for three months at a high price tells you nothing except that the price is too high — it's an unsold data point, not a market price. Look for recently sold or removed listings where possible, or cross-check a few platforms to get a realistic range instead of anchoring to the first listing you see.

• Price for the First 48 Hours

Most of a listing's views happen in the first couple of days after it's posted — after that, it falls down the feed and traffic drops off sharply. This means your first price matters more than your ability to negotiate down later. A gear item priced realistically from day one usually sells faster and for more than one that starts high and gets chipped away at over weeks of lowball offers.

• Factor In What Makes Goalie Gear Specifically Hold or Lose Value

A few goalie-specific factors that move the number beyond general condition: Popular sizes move faster and hold value better. Mid-range adult sizes (common catch-glove and pad sizing) have a bigger buyer pool than unusual or youth sizing — factor that into how aggressively you price outlier sizes. Masks lose value faster once certification dates age out — a mask nearing the end of its recommended lifespan should be priced accordingly, and it's worth stating the certification date upfront (it answers a question every serious buyer will ask anyway). Sets sell better than singles. A blocker and catcher sold together as a matched set typically moves faster and for a better combined price than listing them separately — bundle when you can.

• Don't Be Afraid to Say "Price Firm" or "Open to Offers" — Pick One

Ambiguity here causes friction. If your price is based on real research and you're not flexible, say "price firm" — it filters out lowball messages before they start. If you do want negotiation room, price slightly above your actual floor and say "open to reasonable offers" so buyers know to engage rather than assume it's a hard no.

• Where You List Affects What You Can Charge

Pricing isn't just about the gear — it's about who's seeing it. A goalie-specific marketplace like PadSave puts your listing in front of buyers who already know what they're looking at (and what it's worth), which generally means less lowballing and faster sales than a general marketplace where most viewers aren't goalies at all.