If you are in the USA and looking to order your table tennis (or ping pong) equipment, we have the most perfect guide on which are some of the best stores you can buy that from.
Do you play table tennis or are you thinking of buying a table tennis set and starting to play? Table tennis is the most wonderful game, for you, friends and family, and it’s one of those games that is easy to set up and easy to learn and will give you hours and hours of fun.
It’s a perfect game for teens and adults, but younger children can easily play too. You need just two people, and you can even practice on your own by putting one side of the table up.
Table tennis (or what’s called ping pong) is played as a social sport and a family sport. Saying that, it has become an extremely competitive sport and there are table tennis tournaments country wide and world wide.
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What Do You Need to Start Playing Table Tennis?
All you need to start is a big enough space for the table tennis table and room on either side of it for two players to run around a fair amount.
An ordinary-sized garage is just fine. A table tennis table can fold up so as long as you have a wall where you can store it, you can store it against the wall, or, space providing, you can leave the table down.
You need two table tennis rackets (or bats, as some might call them) or maybe four if you want to play doubles, a set of balls and a net. Most table tennis tables come with the net, and some come with the bats (rackets) and balls too.
Once you have the basic equipment – the table, a net, a pack or two of balls and bats – you only need to keep supplying balls.
If you play a lot of table tennis, you may go through balls fairly quickly. If however you are a professional player, you will want several bats, and you will want to choose your rubbers carefully. Professional table tennis players like to have specific rubber on their bats, and there are four types.
For now, we are going to focus on where you can get the standard equipment, and then we will talk about specialties afterwards.
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Where Do You Find Table Tennis Equipment in the USA?
Like with all sports equipment shopping, you have a wide range of stores to choose from, both on the internet and in retail or wholesale stores.
When you buy a table tennis set, you do need to arrange delivery – unless you have your own vehicle with a large boot – so it may well make sense to buy online and get the set delivered.
You might already have a favourite online sports store, or a store down the road from you. The choice is yours!
Some stores that you will find selling table tennis equipment:
- American Table Tennis
- Go Table Tennis
- Killerspin
- Paddle Palace
- Ping Pong Depot
- Megaspin
- Table Tennis Hub
- Table Tennis Only
- Total Table Tennis
- Zero Pong
- Amazon
Please remember these are not the only table tennis stores and you can look on the Internet to find the one that is in your area, or perhaps that you already have an account with.
Amazon sell table tennis equipment too, as do Walmart. Choose a store that offers free delivery, that will deliver quickly, and also, have an online service in case you need help setting up or have any queries or problems.
In the meantime, here is a little bit more information on each of the above stores that you will find in the USA and / or Canada.
American Table Tennis
American Table Tennis sell a wide variety of brands, including Butterfly, Donic, Gambla, Newgy, Omega and Yasaka. You will find table tennis tables, but also the nets, bats, covers and balls.
You’ll also find the accessories you need, including grips, rubber, glue, tape, cleaner and covers. American Table Tennis offer special deals every month, and you can also find videos on their site, helping you improve your game and play tactically.
Go Table Tennis
Go Table Tennis have an excellent range of table tennis tables and all the equipment that goes with the tables. They also have a superb range of accessories, including clothing, shoes, towels, bat covers and bags.
Go Table Tennis will supply and custom design bats, and equipment for you, nd are known for their pro-line combos. If you’re really fussy about your bat, you should take a look at their offerings. As a professional player, you will know what kind of rubbers you want on a bat, as well as the weight and type of handle.
Killerspin
Killerspin is a well known table tennis brand; you can buy directly from them or you can find their products at a Walmart or a general sports store.
Their table tennis sets are pretty cutting edge and contemporary, and fit in any space, including your upmarket or luxurious living room.
Killerspin also run a good blog and it’s not a bad idea to follow them for all things table-tennis. Professionals shop here – you can too. We are quite blown away at some of their table tennis table designs, they are definitely different and gorgeous!
Paddle Palace
Paddle Palace is a family run store that opened in 1973. They’ve been around a while and sell a number of brands – Andro, Butterfly, Donic, DHS, Dr. Neubauer, Hunter, Juic, Nittaku, Paddle Palace, Stiga, Tibhar, Xiom and Yasaka.
Keep up to date with their site as they offer free shipping and have daily specials. They sell tables, bats, balls and all the accessories, including some fabulous clothing.
They’ve been around a long time which means you can trust them from a point of service, quality and delivery, as well as for any follow up service.
Ping Pong Depot
This store is actually in Canada but they ship all over the USA too. It’s also a good time to remind you, because of their name “Ping Pong Depot” that some people call the game ping pong instead of table tennis.
Ping Pong Depot have a great selection of table tennis gear, and accessories, and have excellent daily and weekly specials, as well as a ‘match any price’ section.
They offer loyalty cards and you can join the PPD Rewards Club, a good idea especially if you play the game a lot. Last thing, they sell Pickleball equipment too.
Megaspin
Megaspin are fanatical about offering good service, offering good discounts and on top of that, have an excellent range of table tennis equipment, for beginners, intermediates and professiionals.
Joola, Sanwei, Butterfly, Donic and Sponeta are just some of the brands. They are an online store, offer online support and have real good online reviews.
Table Tennis Hub
Table Tennis Hub have an innovative and creative ‘wheel of fortune’ on their cover page, offering you the chance to win great discounts, prizes and special deals.
They keep brands for beginners and pro players, including an excellent range of clothing, and we really like their blog which comes with good visuals. They ship and make it easy for you to track your order.
Table Tennis Only
You only need to spend USD 25 to qualify for free shipping within the USA when you shop at Table Tennis Only. Table Tennis Only sell all the table tennis accessories you need – bats, blades, balls, nets, robots, clothing, shoes, rubber and glue, and also, offer gift vouchers.
Gift vouchers are a brilliant idea for your friends or family who play table tennis. Some of their bestsellers include Nittaku, Butterfly, Yinhe and DHS, but their range is vast.
Total Table Tennis
Total Table Tennis is a retailer / dealer based in Erieville New York who also have an online profile with Revspin.
Total Table Tennis are extremely focused, selling only table tennis products; they do not sell any other sporting equipment. Brands include Butterfly, Cornilleau, Donic, Double Happiness (DHS America), Joola, Killerspin, Prince, Stiga and Tibhar, they offer volume discounts and often have clearance sales as well as Buy 2 for 3, or Buy 3 for 4.
Zero Pong
Zero Pong feature their own Gambler table tennis products and supply equipment and accessories to champions, coaches, clubs, social players and more. They sell to and supply retailers and wholesalers around the world, and their focus is about price and quality.
Zero Pong are US owned and operated but supply a huge Chinese market. Table tennis is enormous in Asia and they go after the American and the Chinese market.
* Remember, these are not the only suppliers. You can look out for our future blogs to learn more.
Amazon
The age-old Amazon. They usually have all things table tennis (and other racket sports!).
We would always recommend you to take a look at the online Amazon store, at Amazon.com, to check for the listing of the table tennis equipment you are looking to buy.
Get the best available price at that moment and compare with the prices that the other stores, online or otherwise, are offering along with any delivery and other costs. Check for the promotions or discounts a store might offer as opposed to Amazon but if not, you could always directly order from Amazon.
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How to Choose Where to Buy Your Table Tennis Equipment?
We have provided you with the list above, which obviously might not be an exhaustive list. Do your own research though because depending on when you are looking at this, there might be ups and downs in quality of delivery, so it’s best to search for reviews of these table tennis equipment stores at the time of buying.
There is a lot of information available online, and there are a lot of online stores. It all depends on where you are, what you are looking for, price and quality, and also, delivery details.
If you live in a suburb where there is a sports store, go to the store and have a look. It’s always a good idea to compare prices, and quality, before making a decision.
Specialty Table Tennis Equipment
Remember we spoke about ‘rubbers’ at the beginning of this article. A table tennis rubber is the type of rubber that covers the bat.
Table tennis bats come with the rubber intact, usually made up of two layers – foam and rubber.
As a beginner player, you will be quite happy to play with entry level table tennis bats which have entry level rubber. As your game progresses, you will become more aware of the importance of the rubber, and how and when you can use it to your advantage. There are four types of rubber:
- Short pips
- Long pips
- Antispin
- Inverted
The pips can face inwards or outwards. If you look at a standard table tennis bat, it has two types of rubber on either side of the bat. Sometimes, these are two colours and in fact in many table tennis tournaments, your rubber must be identified by colour – black and red.
Rubbers, when used professionally, must be approved by the International Table Tennis Federation so always check for their logo on the bat.
It is only as you play more table tennis, will you become more familiar with the types of rubber. We suggest you start off playing by focusing on your game only.
Practice and perfect your strokes. You will soon learn which side of the bat you prefer to use for which strokes, and will slowly start to understand the difference.
Buying Table Tennis Racket Rubbers Online
You can buy a wide variety of table tennis racket rubbers online (or in stores) and have your bats custom designed too.
All the shops we mentioned above sell a variety of bat rubbers. You will find reviews and chances are, if you are choosing your own bat rubbers, you already know what you like.
If you are a professional player, you probably know the brand of blade (the actual bat without the rubber) that you like, or are perhaps sponsored by a brand. Either way, you can tailor make your blade and rubber to suit you and your game, or you can buy ready-made (and here’s our guide on pre-made v custom-made table tennis rackets).
Conclusion
If you feel overwhelmed, pop into a store.
Major sports store often have table tennis tables set out for the public. Play a little and have fun.
The difficulty does not so much come into the buying of the table tennis table as they are one size, and the one that you buy will be the one that fits your budget and level. The difficulty may come when you choose the bats. Start off with entry level bats and progress from there.
Good luck and have fun playing table tennis!