How to Choose Your Ping Pong Table and Save Money

Before buying a table tennis table, you should know how to choose one that best suits your needs.

Guide to Choose Ping Pong Tables

There are several things you need to consider before you buy a ping pong table. One of the most important is to decide whether you are buying a table to play with and have fun at home or practice for a tournament.

If you are buying a table to practice for a tournament, you will need to find a table as similar to the professional table as possible. If a family member wants to try professional table tennis, he will need to practice on a table that will give an experience similar to the one he will experience when playing professionally.

Thickness

The table’s thickness determines the bounce of the ball. The thickness and smoothness of the table are designed to give the perfect bounce for the player. A professional table has a thickness of 25mm. This thickness gives the required spins and bounces that you will encounter during tournaments.

Because these tables are expensive, the market has many more affordable materials. The materials may vary from plywood, concrete, or aluminum metal.

Professional tables are either blue or green in color; these are considered the best for projecting the right colors for TV transmission.

Any color would do, although the tabletop should not be made of reflective materials or colors if you are playing outdoors. When playing, you need to follow the movement of the ball. A reflective surface may cause glare which could affect the game.

Some ping pong tables are coated with an anti-glare finish to make it easier to play outdoors in the glaring sun. Tables with that finish would, of course, be more expensive than ordinary tables. You can place the table under a shade to avoid the glaring problem.

The Table’s portability

If you want a table that you can move around, such as taking it outdoors, then bringing it indoors at night, you need to get a lightweight table. Some tables are made of aluminum which is lightweight and inexpensive. Some tables can be folded and mounted on top of pool tables.

Weatherproofing

A table that is placed outdoors also needs to be weatherproof. When exposed to rain, a table can warp. Even the slightest warping that is not visible to the naked eye will affect the ball’s bounce and spin. A good table is laminated and assembled properly to avoid warping. The metal finish should be made of material that doesn’t get rusted easily.

Wood that is not well laminated will rot and start warping and changing its shape. A type of wood known as Masonite is hardwood commonly used to make ping pong tables.

Masonite is known to warp when exposed to damp conditions. An outdoor table made of Masonite needs a synthetic laminate top to prevent warping and rotting.

The Make and The Quality

Basically, there are 2 major aspects you need to take into consideration when picking the table. They include the maker of the table and the quality of the table.

After considering the above-mentioned factors, you should ask yourself these four simple questions: What size of the table do you need? Do you have available space in your house for the table? What is your budget (cost)? And what purpose do you need the table for?

Now let’s consider these questions one after the other.

What Table Tennis Table Size Do You Need?

The ping pong table is significant because you can find many table tennis tables of different sizes available in the market. They include mini, compact, and full-sized table tennis tables.

There are also floating table tennis tables that are used inside the swimming pool and conversion tops. Now the size of the table you choose will depend on your answer to the next question.

Do You Have Available Space For The Ping Pong Table?

What kind of space do you have for the ping pong table at home? If you have enough space at home, you can buy a full-sized table, but if you don’t have enough space at home, it would be better to buy a compact or mini table.

However, if you have available space outside the house, you can buy an outdoor table. Most indoor tables come with rollaway wheels and can also be used for outdoor games.

How Much Are You Prepare To Spend?

There are different reasons for you to buy a ping pong table. You may need it for leisure, with you and your family having fun playing ping pong once in a while.

You may want to buy a ping pong table for your kids to learn how to play the game. You may need a ping pong table for you to practice at home and develop your skills.

If you are buying for your family or your kids to have fun, I will recommend a compact or mini table, but if you need a table to practice and develop your skills, you will need a standard or full-sized table.

Indoor and Outdoor Table Tennis Tables

There are different types of tables available in the market, table tennis is mostly played indoors, especially in competitions, but you can also play it outdoors.

Before you think about buying any outdoor table tennis tables, you must consider the weather.

One big disadvantage of the outdoor table is the weather because the weather can affect the movement of the table tennis ball, and when it rains, the table will become wet, which will affect the bounce of the ball.

If you need a table that you want to leave outside permanently, you will need to buy a table that has been specifically designed for outdoor table tennis.

Outdoor tables come with a weatherproof top surface, steel undercarriage, steel net, and post. The most durable outdoor table is the concrete table tennis table.

So unless you need to buy an outdoor table tennis table, maybe because you do not have enough space for an indoor table or you want it to be put outside for recreational purposes like in the park or behind your house; my advice will be for you to buy an indoor ping pong table.

An indoor table tennis table has a better playing surface which can also be used outdoors but returned indoors after use.

Know The Answers to Your Questions

If you can answer these questions correctly and sincerely, I am very sure you will know how to choose your ping pong table and save money in the process.

You don’t need to spend more than $250 for your first ping pong table as a beginner. Still, if you are very serious about improving your game and play in the official tournament, you will need a more expensive and quality table similar to what is used in official table tennis tournaments.

You can buy discount table tennis tables online and save money. Most online stores have free shipping and discount sales. You can also find used table tennis tables online for a lower price.

Where To Find Discount Table Tennis Tables?

If you are looking to get a discount on table tennis tables and you can spend some time doing a little research, there is no reason why you shouldn’t find yourself something selling at suitably priced. So how do you go about doing this?

You can actually get these products which can be less expensive, by searching on different online shopping portals. So if you are looking for discount table tennis tables, you should spare some time to do your own searching in these places.

Know The Cost

Well, the first thing you need to do is you need to start by getting a good idea as to how much one of these tables is going to cost. Considering the criteria and specifications that you want is a good idea to shortlist your choice.

Once you have done this, you can then spend some time searching online to get an idea of the cost and price of different brands of tables. You need to check online for more sites that sell these products and make your own price comparison.

Some shopping sites may not have inventory or warehouses to store their products which they can sell the products at discounted prices since they can save the cost compared to those that have a brick-and-mortar shop. The cost of maintaining a warehouse and inventory is what makes prices get more pricey.

Once you have done this, you will have a specific idea of how much the table is likely to cost you. Doing this will let you know what a discounted ping pong table might be, and from there, you can try to find some tables that really offer you competitive prices.

Again, continue to search online and identify discount table tennis tables that offer you the best value for money while maintaining high quality.

Sourcing from Your Local Sport Outlets

It may also be prudent for you to search around offline as well. You can do this by going to your local sports equipment outlet and asking if they have any suitable options and stock. They may also run sales at some point during the year, which will allow you to find some tables at lower prices.

Consider of Used Table Tennis Tables

Second-hand options are also available, and as long as they are not too badly damaged or worn, there is a reason why these should be suitable for you. Start looking around and garage sales, car boot sales, and in the local classifieds. By doing this, you should identify some decent options. Discounted ping pong tables are not really hard to find after all.

Generally, finding discount table tennis tables is not as difficult as compared to last time. Right now, you can go online to search for the specific product, and you will get spoiled by a whole lot of options and selections.

Among the biggest online sites that you can search for many discounted tables would be Amazon and eBay. While for brick-and-mortar outlets, you can always go to visit Walmart or Sears. Spend a bit of time browsing through the various listings, and you should find a discount table tennis table that would suit your needs and budget.

There are a lot of tables that you can get at bargain prices. You can do your search for various table tennis table prices and get the one that you want.

Also read:

• How To Get A Quality Outdoor Ping Pong Table
• How to Choose Table Tennis Tables for Sale