Ok- this is probably the first Woot I can chime in as an “expert”.
My father was an Olympic TT coach for the USSR (2 gold medalists) and trained the shit out of me in his training camps till I hated my life and the game. We came over in 91’ and the rest is history, but regardless.
I yo-yo’d on the table recommendation, but I think that in the end, with the shipping being $5, this is worth it for someone who plays for more than recreational reasons or for a school, church, or TT clubs like the ones my father ran here in Buffalo.
What makes me hesitant is that I have never seen this brand of table in the clubs here or in Canada. Typically, STIGA is what you’ll find and play on during most competitions- but the table in the picture looks like a STIGA clone almost.
The fact that it’s certified Olympic grade is what tips the scale in it’s favor. If it meets those requirements then it should be decent- used or not.
It will not however, be light- just fyi.
And as for the balls being sold here- while 1 star balls are ok to practice with, you won’t get consistent serves even from a machine, unless you upgrade to 2-3 star. Being from Buffalo, I consider the 1-star a Beer Pong ball.
ALSO: Please PLEASE be careful if you have dogs, they love the bright colored balls and will chew through them and eat them- with really bad consequences, considering the sharp edges the balls develop when ripped.
4 flat paddles with some beginner balls for $25 is actually a pretty good deal-- it is sad how often it has to be pointed out that a racket with goosebumps instead of a smooth surface is not a real game-play racket-- at this price you can both point it out to your brother-in-law and let him borrow a “real” racket without worrying about your Precious. Especially since this is likely to occur in correlation with the aforementioned Beer Pong and subsequent tourney.
(On a side-note, my father passed in 2007 and the clubs he ran ended, and selling the STIGA Olympic grade tables was a major pain and I managed to only sell 2 of 12 to his former students for absurdly low prices-- maybe a better market than Buffalo could have helped, but just so you know- these are HARD to resell when the majority of the market is recreational and not competition.)