Used Playground Equipment

Although used playground equipment can often be purchased at a highly discounted rate when compared to new equipment, the actual benefit from buying used is marginal at best. Most used equipment is available through auctions at school districts. As schools buy new equipment, they most often take up the old equipment and place into storage at a maintenance headquarters. Often the equipment will sit several years, sometimes outdoors before being put up for auction. The equipment is most often damaged in every way possible. Paint scratches, rust, broken components, and missing hardware are the least of concerns. Most often the equipment was replaced as it was no longer in compliance with new federal regulations, or was a hazard in some shape or form. The playground equipment pictured was damaged while being removed from the ground. Steel posts had been stacked on top of a slide, crushing it, several posts were bent, and components and clamps were cracked. When purchasing used equipment, please realize that the equipment was installed in concrete, most likely 200-400 pounds of concrete per post. Sometimes the concrete will not separate from the post and many components will have the concrete footer attached. If the structure has specialized hardware, be sure to contact the manufacturer first to verify that replacement hardware, components, and tools are available.