Between equipment, fees and passes, trying out any new sport can get expensive, which is why news that a Play It Again Sports store is set to open in Barrie will likely come as welcome news to many local families.
Igor Mousasticoshvily Jr. is the owner of the Barrie store, which is set to open in mid-April. He said customers at his Aurora location have been travelling from the area to get deals on new and used sports equipment, so when the opportunity presented itself to bring a store to Barrie, he knew it would be a great fit.
“We have a lot of customers from Barrie and a lot of them have been asking us to open one here,” Mousasticoshvily said.
Barrie previously had a Play It Again Sports store that closed several years ago.
“The business model … is very unique and I think that Barrie has a great opportunity for this kind of business where we can offer working families, better prices, better product and affordability, which is what everybody wants,” he said.
“You can buy used items online, but you can’t see it," Mousasticoshvily added. "Here, instead of going on Amazon or Facebook Marketplace, you just come in and can see a lot of used product and pick and choose what you want that is within your budget. You can practise all of the sports you want without breaking the bank and if you don’t want to practise those sports again, you can bring your equipment back and get paid for it.”
Mousasticoshvily, who hails from Schomberg, says they take equipment for pretty much all sports, even if it’s off season.
“We (buy and sell) everything across the board for the Canadian market, but the big sport is hockey. We also do skis, snowboards, water sports … a lot of golf," he said.
The goal is to open the store to start buying used gear by mid-April, Mousasticoshvily said. From there, he estimates it will take another four to six weeks to build up enough supply to then begin to sell to customers.
Shoppers and sellers will have a few different ways to save, he added.
“It’s spring — clean up your garage and get paid cash on the spot. If you sell it, you get 30 per cent of our sales price. If you get store credit, you get 40 per cent,” Mousasticoshvily said.
The new 3,700-square-foot store is at 71 Commerce Park Dr., near the Galaxy Cinemas in the city’s south end, and will employ approximately 15 people, he added.
As work continues inside the store to get it ready to open next month, Mousasticoshvily said he's feeling “very positive” as he approaches the official opening.
“I have been getting a lot of calls and a lot of interest, so I am excited. I can’t wait to get my permit so I can start moving," he said. "We are not allowed to build a wall yet because I don’t have the permit yet and I need to get going … so right now we are just building shelving that doesn’t go on the walls.”
