How do you get rid of bowling balls you don't use anymore?

[Hammer]

Do you put them into recycling? I was just wondering how folks in this Forum get rid of bowling balls that are not needed anymore.

[fordman1]

Leave them at the center.

[boatman37]

The one I had that was cracked went into a dumpster. The rest get left on the rack at the center

[Aslan]

They get retired to my bowling ball rack...where they usually sit for awhile until they ultimately crack.

I try to keep them around in case I need them for a tournament of sport patterns or something like that.

When I moved from California to Iowa, I left several at my home center pro shop and they sold them as used balls. I didn't get a cut or anything...but I wasn't gonna move them across the country and it kept me from having to just throw them in the dumpster.

Some pro shops will take them and sell them as used. They make $10-$15 and $50-$100 on filling/drilling. The center will usually take them. Some centers and pro shops might also donate them to youth teams...especially if they are newer models and NOT 16lbs (one of my problems).

[JasonNJ]

I know a bunch of coaches so I usually donate them to their teams.

[TCJ]

I have given away several of them, traded a couple of them, and kept others. I use my equipment for a long time so it's not like I have a steady supply of used bowling balls that I no longer want.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

I give a good bit to the youth that typically can’t afford the higher end stuff

[six6guy]

I give a good bit to the youth that typically can’t afford the higher end stuff

I do the same, both in the past and recently. I give to the coach actually, and let him determine who can best use it.

Brad

[classygranny]

I give a good bit to the youth that typically can’t afford the higher end stuff


I do the same, both in the past and recently. I give to the coach actually, and let him determine who can best use it.

Brad

You guys are lucky....it seems our youth teams, high school teams are "too good" to be accepting used balls. Drives me crazy. I would love to find someone to donate to. I can't just leave mine on the rack as I use the IT thumb.

[jaypeesmith]

I might have to start leaving some on the rack. I can't find any youth team to whom I can donate mine, either.

[ALazySavage]

You guys are lucky....it seems our youth teams, high school teams are "too good" to be accepting used balls. Drives me crazy. I would love to find someone to donate to. I can't just leave mine on the rack as I use the IT thumb.

Classy, when did Arizona start with high school bowling? When I was out there you would have a school or two that had it as a club, but there wasn't any competitions (granted this was the 2000s) - glad to hear that this has started.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

I do the same, both in the past and recently. I give to the coach actually, and let him determine who can best use it.

Brad

One of the coaches actually has a pro shop in his garage so I give them to him and he plugs and drills them for free to give to different youth bowlers. A lot of the stuff they get have less than 10 games on them lol

[six6guy]

One of the coaches actually has a pro shop in his garage so I give them to him and he plugs and drills them for free to give to different youth bowlers. A lot of the stuff they get have less than 10 games on them lol

I don't think the coach I support charges the kids, he owns & runs two pro shops which are both thriving. He coaches for both juniors and special olympics kids, so I know there is pretty much always somebody who needs one. I tend to see one or two year old balls when the kids practice on Saturdays, there is some older stuff in the mix but mostly newish.

Brad

[vdubtx]

I know one of the high school coaches so I donate to his team.

[MajorPhoenix]

HS Coach here, give me all of them! I have players who can’t afford a ball, and we can get discounts to get them fitted. I promise they’ll be used right.

[Aslan]

HS Coach here, give me all of them! I have players who can’t afford a ball, and we can get discounts to get them fitted. I promise they’ll be used right.

What about 16lbers?

[MajorPhoenix]

I have some beefy kids on my team lol. My top 2 use them.

[Phonetek]

Well I have a could of cracked Storm balls that were comfortably sitting loose on a couch in my living room for a few weeks. They both split all the way around within a week of one another. Climate controlled room with no windows.....go figure. Trash can or recycling bin? Needless to say I'm glad they were given to me because after seeing that I won't be buying Storm. My Rip'd and Venom Shock were sitting right next to them and they didn't commit suicide.

[Albundy]

How does it crack if kept in room temperature..unless you don't do that?

[Phonetek]

I haven't a clue. They weren't even on a hard surface. That room is just as much room temperature as the rest of my house. Bad luck? I dunno....it just left a bad taste in my mouth for Storm products now. The smell just isn't good enough.

[Amyers]

I haven't a clue. They weren't even on a hard surface. That room is just as much room temperature as the rest of my house. Bad luck? I dunno....it just left a bad taste in my mouth for Storm products now. The smell just isn't good enough.

Truthfully this can happen with any ball. I've had them crack from all brands it happens. Seems to happen more with balls not being used much. I've got cracked hammer, storm, and brunswick balls at home to pick from lol.

[Phonetek]

It certainly makes the investment for a new ball much less attractive being as touchy as they are now. Never had any of my old plastic or urethane balls do that. Well, except for the one that fell and broke my wife's foot a few years ago which I've talked about before. That was an unusual circumstance though. It seems unless you use them all the time and take great care to maintain them they are short lived. Then if you bowl with them too much they are short lived. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Meh...it is what it is though. The cost of being in the sport today I guess.

[boatman37]

I had a Storm Sync that sat on an office chair in my basement office and after a few weeks it was cracked the whole way around with about 1/8" gap in the crack. In fairness I got it used so no telling it's history or how many games were on it.

[J Daisy]

As a beginning bowler with a limited budget, I've found thrift shops and flea markets to be great places for secondhand balls. Donating the bowling balls to a local thrift store or Goodwill might help somebody who's really looking for them to get a good deal.

The guy who is teaching me to improve my game uses a $2 thrift store find alongside his $200 bowling balls when he bowls league, and I know two other bowlers with their first bowling balls coming from thrift stores and flea markets. That seems to be the go-to place for people just starting to seriously get into the sport. I'm still keeping my eyes out for good ones to add to my own arsenal.

[chrono00]

My balls are a mixture. I have a storm virtual energy, frantic, and ebonite warrior I bought brand new. I also have a comlumbia 300 swerve that a guy in my league didn’t want anymore, so he gave it to me. And I recently picked up a virtual gravity and crux off the rack at my alley, that have spans close to me, but I need to get tighter finger grips in them before I have any hopes of throwing them.