Play It Again Sports

What Play It Again Sports does

Play It Again Sports is a North American franchise-based retail brand specializing in the resale of new and used sports and fitness equipment. Founded in 1983 and operated for over 40 years, the brand is a registered trademark of Winmark Corporation, a publicly traded resale company (NASDAQ: WINA) headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company runs a buy-sell-trade model: franchise locations purchase used gear directly from consumers, resell that inventory alongside new equipment, and accept trade-ins for credit toward future purchases, creating a circular-economy loop that keeps outgrown sports equipment out of landfills.

The product offering spans more than 40 sports categories including baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, football, golf, lacrosse, fitness, winter sports, and water sports. The technology stack is intentionally lightweight: a BigCommerce-powered e-commerce storefront provides online shopping, a multi-store store locator, multi-currency support (USD and CAD), and an in-store pickup option. There are no proprietary AI, data, or software assets disclosed; the platform's intelligence sits primarily in the franchise network's local merchandising and trade-in valuation expertise. Equipment supplier partnerships — notably the extended CCM Hockey agreement through 2029 plus relationships with STX, Rawlings Easton, Innova, Elan, and Impex — underpin the inventory pipeline.

Revenue is generated through transactional sales at the point of purchase, with pricing varying by product, condition, and brand. The customer base is broad and consumer-only, segmented into families with young athletes seeking affordable, outgrowable gear, price-conscious recreational sports enthusiasts, and sustainability-minded consumers attracted to the resale model. There are no subscriptions, membership fees, or enterprise contracts. As a franchise system, individual store P&L is held by franchisees, while Winmark captures royalty and franchise fee revenue at the parent level; brand-level consolidated revenue is not publicly broken out.

Name

Play It Again Sports

Legal name

Play It Again Sports (brand/trademark owned by Winmark Corporation)

Website

https://playitagainsports.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Play It Again Sports is a 40-year-old North American franchise brand, owned by Winmark Corporation, that buys, sells, and trades new and used sports and fitness equipment through physical franchise stores and an online storefront, serving families, recreational athletes, and sustainability-minded consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Used Sporting Goods Retail

NAICS

Sporting Goods Retailers (45911)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)

akta.pro primary industry

Team Sports Equipment & Uniforms Retail (CRAMABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports Collectibles, Fan Gear & Licensed Merchandise Retail (CRAMABAO)

Keywords

• Used sporting goods
• Sports equipment retail
• Buy sell trade
• Fitness gear resale
• Athletic equipment store

Headquarters

HQ city

Albuquerque

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales of Used Sports Gear: Primary revenue from buying quality used sports equipment from customers and reselling at competitive prices. The company purchases gear directly from consumers, providing instant payment, then sells the items at markups reflecting their pre-owned condition and value.
2. Retail Sales of New Sports Gear: Sale of new sports and fitness equipment alongside used inventory. The store carries both new and used items to provide comprehensive product selection for customers.
3. Trade-In Revenue: Revenue generated through the trade-in model where customers exchange existing sports gear for credit toward new purchases, facilitating repeat business and customer loyalty.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Play It Again Sports operates a franchise-based retail chain that buys, sells, and trades new and quality used sports and fitness equipment. The company operates physical storefronts across the United States and Canada under the ownership of Winmark Corporation, complemented by an e-commerce platform. Customers can sell or trade in used gear for cash or credit and purchase used and new athletic equipment across 40+ sports categories including bicycles, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, golf, football, lacrosse, fitness, winter, and water sports.

Product overview

Play It Again Sports operates as a single unified retail platform combining physical franchise stores with an e-commerce website. The core offering is a resale marketplace where customers can buy, sell, and trade quality used sports and fitness equipment. The company sells both new and pre-owned gear across 40+ sports categories including bicycles, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, golf, football, lacrosse, fitness equipment, winter sports, and water sports. The platform features a franchise model with independently owned and operated locations across the United States and Canada, supported by an online shopping cart and store locator functionality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Buy-Sell-Trade Used Sports Equipment Service A resale service allowing customers to sell unwanted sports equipment for instant cash or trade it in for credit toward other purchases. Customers can also buy quality pre-owned gear at prices below traditional retail. Available at franchise stores across the US and Canada and via the e-commerce website.
• New Sports and Fitness Equipment Retail Retail sales of new sports and fitness equipment from major brands across categories including bicycles, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, golf, football, lacrosse, fitness, winter sports, water sports, and athletic apparel. Targets consumers seeking current-model gear at standard retail prices with occasional discounts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 300,000+ hockey equipment trade-ins facilitated since 2023 partnership launch

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• CCM Hockey (Sport Maska Inc.)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026Winmark Corporation extended its strategic partnership with CCM Hockey for three additional years through 2029, continuing the resale collaboration first launched in 2023. Play It Again Sports locations facilitate hockey equipment trade-ins, enabling families to buy and sell CCM gear at reduced prices. The partnership has facilitated more than 300,000 hockey equipment trade-ins.
• Winmark CorporationcoreOthersPlay It Again Sports is owned and operated by Winmark Corporation, the Resale Company. Winmark franchises multiple resale brands including Plato's Closet, Once Upon a Child, Style Encore, and Music Go Round.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Plato's Closet: Owned by the same parent (Winmark Corporation), Plato's Closet operates an identical buy-sell-trade franchise model targeting teens and young adults for used clothing, sharing back-office, marketing and franchise infrastructure with Play It Again Sports.
• Once Upon a Child: Another Winmark-owned resale franchise brand using the same buy-sell-trade model for children's clothing, toys and gear; overlaps with Play It Again Sports' youth/family customer segment and shares franchise system economics.
• Music Go Round: Sister Winmark brand running the same franchise resale model for used musical instruments; directly comparable operating model and customer-engagement mechanics even though the product category differs.
• Style Encore: Fifth Winmark-owned resale franchise, applying the same buy-sell-trade framework to women's contemporary apparel; useful as a structural benchmark for unit economics and franchise scaling.
• SidelineSwap: Pure-play online marketplace for buying and selling new and used sports equipment across the same categories Play It Again Sports serves; a direct competitor for online used-sports demand and a substitute for in-store trade-ins.

Broad incumbents

• Decathlon: Global sporting goods retailer with broad new-gear assortments across the same 40+ sports categories; competes on price for new equipment, particularly value-tier items that overlap with Play It Again Sports' new-inventory line.
• Dick's Sporting Goods: Largest US sporting goods retailer offering new equipment, apparel and team-sport gear at full retail price; competes for the same family-and-youth-athlete customer with broader selection but no used-gear or trade-in offering.
• Hibbett Sports: Multi-brand sporting goods retailer focused on team sports, footwear and apparel across smaller US markets; competes for the same team-sports families with new-gear assortments.
• REI Co-op: Cooperative retailer selling new sporting goods, apparel and outdoor gear with a strong used-gear trade-in program (Re/Supply); a broad incumbent that overlaps with Play It Again Sports on resale of cycling, fitness and outdoor equipment.

Emerging players

• Swap.com: Online consignment and resale marketplace including apparel and accessories; an emerging platform with partial overlap on resale of sports-adjacent apparel but limited deep sporting-goods inventory.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/playitagainsports
• Instagraminstagram.com/playitagainsports

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Play It Again Sports