Should You Trade In Your Clubs Or Sell Them Yourself? We Ran The Numbers

Picture this: You purchased a brand-new driver in 2023 with the latest technology available at the time. You’ve had great rounds with it (and a few you’d rather forget) but you’re yearning for more. Fast forward to 2026 and you’re approaching the three-year mark where you can find even better technology with a newer, shinier driver begging you to take it home.

Now the age-old question for every golfer comes to mind: Should you trade in your current driver and put its remaining value towards the new one with the same retailer or are you better off selling it yourself and purchasing from wherever you please?

Here’s what the numbers could look like.

The assumptions

Let’s take a real-world example of moving on from your current Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond driver and upgrading to the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond. While you’ve taken good care of your current one, it shows the typical wear and tear from almost three years of averaging one round a week and a weekly practice session.

Many retailers would consider this “average” or “above average” in some cases which means you should find a range of options for trading it in or selling it yourself.

Option 1: Trade it in

We used a right-handed men’s Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond driver with a regular flex graphite shaft to compare trade-in values among some of the more popular retailers:

You can see from this small sampling of trade-in companies how the value runs the gamut. While it does take time to plug in your specs and compare retailers, it can be worth it to try and maximize your trade-in value simply by choosing one retailer over another. From previous trade-in comparisons, we know this holds true whether you’re replacing one club or your entire bag.

Where trading in may sweeten the deal even more is if you can find a retailer offering a certain percentage over the trade-in value when you put the funds towards the purchase of a particular brand or model on its site. Keep your eye out for incentives like these throughout the year as they can make the trade-in route even more worth your while. This obviously works to your advantage when you know what new club(s) you want and the site also offers it.

It’s hard to argue against a trade-in’s simplicity, too. You simply check the value, ship it and wait for your final credit to appear.

Option 2: Sell it yourself

Selling a used club or set yourself has its appeal, too. For starters, you have a wide range of options including selling to a local golf store to a friend or family member, Facebook marketplace or eBay. Depending on where you sell it, you might avoid added fees or the hassle of packaging it up.

One of the most appealing aspects of selling it yourself is greater control over the price. For example, a quick search on eBay shows the same Callaway Paradym TD can sell anywhere from $180 to $290 or even more. Sure, it may take a bit more time to put the feelers out and find the right buyer but it can result in getting significantly more per club.

Keep in mind that you may not intend to replace the club right away so having the cash in-hand can be more valuable versus waiting on the chance to use a trade-in credit.

Final thoughts

Trading in a club or set can make sense when you’re looking for a simple, straightforward offering and you have another club you’re purchasing. However, if you’re not sure what your next club is or you think you can get more for your used club, then selling it yourself may be worth the extra time and effort.

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