
Take the racquet in this photo, for example. Is it an adult racquet? Is it a kid’s racquet? How can you tell?
Thousands upon thousands of these racquets were sold in major sporting goods stores in Canada and the US last year. The questions is, though, did the people who bought it know what they were buying?
Let’s look at the picture on the racquet’s face card. The badminton player is none other than Sho Sasaki, a Japanese badminton champion who competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
Based on that — and with no other information to go on — a reasonable person would assume that this racquet is suitable for adults.
But it’s not. It’s a child’s racquet, barely suitable for a 10-year-old.
In fact, this racquet is too short (by more than a centimeter) to be an adult racquet and too heavy (by about 15 grams) and far too stiff to be a child’s racquet.
In our store, this racquet is classed as a toy. It looks like a badminton racquet. You can even use it to hit a badminton shuttle. But it’s not really a badminton racquet because a badminton player would not use a racquet like this to play badminton in any kind of formal or semi-formal setting.
If somebody brought this racquet to practice with a knowledgeable badminton coach, the coach would probably advise them to get a new racquet.
But chances are tens of thousands of people who didn’t know any better were tricked into buying this racquet last year because they were hanging on the walls of virtually every major sporting goods store in North America.
And that’s the problem with self-serve sporting goods stores. They buy what they know they can sell. They don’t care of it’s the real thing or a toy. They look at the packaging, the brand name, the colour, the price and the margin. That’s all they need to know if people will buy it.
A Random Sample of Our Badminton Racquets
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Yonex Arcsaber 11 Play
CAD $79.99 -
Victor Jetspeed 7S Jr Badminton Racquet
CAD $19.99 -
Yonex Astrox 88D Pro Badminton Racquet
From: CAD $289.99 -
Yonex Nanoflare 170 Light Badminton Racquet
CAD $109.99 -
Yonex Carbonex 6000N Badminton Racquet
CAD $34.99 – CAD $270.00 -
Yonex Muscle Power 8S Badminton Racquet
CAD $50.00 -
Babolat Speedlighter Badminton Racquet
CAD $35.00 -
Yonex Astrox 22 LT Badminton Racquet
CAD $139.99 -
Victor Auraspeed 90K H Badminton Racquet
From: CAD $239.99 -
Victor Auraspeed 90S J Badminton Racquet
From: CAD $239.99 -
Yonex Duora Z-Strike – Customization C210922
CAD $299.99 -
Yonex Astrox 22 Badminton Racquet
CAD $159.99 -
Yonex Astrox 99 Tour Badminton Racquet
CAD $199.99 -
Victor Thruster K Falcon Claw Badminton Racquet
From: CAD $239.99 -
Yonex Nanoflare 700 Badminton Racquet
From: CAD $269.99 -
Yonex Astrox 88S Play Badminton Racquet
CAD $74.99 -
Yonex Nanoflare 100 Badminton Racquet
CAD $49.99 -
Yonex B700 MDM Badminton Racquet
CAD $26.00 -
Yonex Astrox 100 ZZ – Customization C210828
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Yonex Astrox 88S Tour Badminton Racquet
CAD $189.99 -
Yonex Nanoflare 270 Speed Badminton Racquet
CAD $129.99 -
Babolat Speeder Badminton Racquet
CAD $60.00 -
Yonex Nanoflare Junior Badminton Racquet
CAD $79.99 -
Babolat X-Act Badminton Racquet
CAD $100.00 -
Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro Badminton Racquet
From: CAD $279.99 -
Yonex Muscle Power 2 Jr Badminton Racquet
CAD $24.99 -
Yonex Astrox 01 Ability Badminton Racquet
CAD $59.99 -
Yonex Carbonex 8000N Badminton Racquet
CAD $60.00 – CAD $458.00 -
Yonex Astrox 01 Feel Badminton Racquet
CAD $59.99 -
Babolat Mini Bad Badminton Racquet
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