Pickleball Paddle Demo Programs: How to Demo a Pickleball Paddle
Are you looking for the best pickleball paddle demo program to test the paddles before buying? Though a paddle buying guide can help you narrow down your choices, it’s best to test it yourself.
This way, you can get a better idea of the feel, weight, grip size, material, and shape of the paddle. And most importantly, you can check if it complements your playing style.
With the growing interest in pickleball, many manufacturers allow players to demo the paddles for a little fee. We have gathered precise information about a few very well-known and good demo programs for you.
Keep reading, and you may find a demo program that suits you in terms and conditions.
Table of Contents
- 1. Gearbox Pickleball Paddle Demo Program
- 2, Total Pickleball Demo Program
- 3. Pickleball Galaxy Demo Program
- 4. Vulcan Sporting Goods Demo Program
- 5. Diadem Pickleball Paddle Demo Program
- 6. Pickleball Central
- The Bottom Line
1. Gearbox Pickleball Paddle Demo Program
The Gearbox is a well-known pickleball brand, with many professionals spotted playing with their paddles.
Gearbox’s demo program makes trying out paddles quite convenient. They have the simple motto that all level players should experience quality equipment and get the chance to try them out before buying.
The great thing about Gearbox’s demo program is that you can get four demo paddles of your choice at a time. The process is very simple. You just have to pay $20 for the shipping fee. This will cover the coming back and forth of the demo paddle. The company will ship the paddle anywhere in the U.S. within 2-6 business days.
You can keep the paddles for seven days and try them to see if any of them is good for you. If (for some reason) you are not able to return the paddle on time, you will get five extra days before Gearbox will automatically charge your credit card for all the unreturned paddles.
If you’re unable to return the paddles, it’s obvious that you should pay for them. But, the good thing, is you won’t be charged anything before five days. In case, your demo paddle breaks, Gearbox will assess the cause and situation before charging you.
Returning the demo is also easy. Put the return UPS ticket (provided) on the box and drop it at the USP store.
Gearbox almost has a demo paddle for all its series, which makes this demo program so much fun. So, if you’re thinking to go for a high-quality Gearbox paddle, like GX5, it’s better to get demo paddles directly from Gearbox.
2, Total Pickleball Demo Program
The Total Pickleball demo program is famous due to the variety of pickleball brands. That gives you the freedom to try three different paddles from three various brands.
This means you get only three demos at a time. You can keep the demos for a week and try them to see what matches your needs and gaming style.
The best thing about this demo program is they are not very expensive and don’t charge high fees. You can order from anywhere in the USA within $15 to $25. Charges depend on the location. Enter your zip code while ordering for a paddle, and there you will see how much it will charge.
Your order will take 2 business days to reach you unless the paddle you picked is unavailable.
You can send the demo pickleball paddle back without extra charges by using the USP ticket and handing over the parcel to the nearby USP delivery. However, if, you don’t return the demo, the company will charge a late fee of $10 for each day till seven days. After the seventh day, the full amount of the paddle, excluding the late fee, will be charged from your credit card.
Total Pickleball is a quite famous retailer of pickleball equipment, so you can expect to find some good paddles to demo. However, note that not every paddle is available in their demo program.
At the time of writing, there are 86 paddles available for demo. This includes paddles from top-tier brands like Electrum, Engage, Babolat, Gamma, Gearbox, Head, etc. The best way to see the paddles is to check their list of available demo paddles.
3. Pickleball Galaxy Demo Program
Pickleball Galaxy is another online retail store with a great demo program. It has about a hundred different paddles available in its demo program. However, you can choose only two paddles for the demo.
After accepting your application for a demo, Pickleball Galaxy sends the paddles on the second day through FedEx. You also get a prepaid shipping return tag. Pickleball Galaxy allows you to play with the demo pickleball paddles for seven days. After seven days, they will charge a late fee.
This pickleball paddle demo program costs $30, including the shipping costs. The good thing is, you can get a $5 discount if you decide to buy the paddle within a month.
Other than the demo program, Pickleball Galaxy has a 30-day return and exchange policy. So you can try out paddles and return if they don’t complement your style. Beware that you’ll have to bear the shipping costs of returns.
The Pickleball Galaxy demo program stands out by offering dozens of models from different brands, including Engage, Paddletek, and Selkirk.
4. Vulcan Sporting Goods Demo Program
Vulcan is a great sporting brand focusing on providing the style and best technology for the players. They have two series of paddles. At a time, you can have all the paddles in a series, either the V500 or V700 Series for demo.
If you want to try both the series together, call their help service. If they have another demo set available, they might send it.
You can keep demo paddles with you and try for 10 days before you have to return them. There is a FedEx return label that comes with the paddles. Using the same label is important, so you won’t be charged extra and the demo Paddles reach there.
The total fee you will pay is $30 for 10 days. You have to use your credit card to pay the amount and have them delivered anywhere in the contiguous United States.
After placing the order, the paddles will take 5 working days to reach you. Sometimes it may reach early or late, depending on your location.
If you forget to return the paddle, Vulcan will charge $5 for each extra day. After seven days, if they still can’t track the paddles, you will have to pay the full amount of all the demo paddles.
5. Diadem Pickleball Paddle Demo Program
Another well-known brand, Diadem Pickleball, offers a demo program. They have designed paddles for every gaming style and player. Therefore, whether you are a power player or love to dink, you can get a chance to try suitable paddles.
Diadem Pickleball paddle demo program allows you to choose only 2 demo paddles for one try. The fee is charged, which includes shipping with a return ticket. In this program, you can specify whether Diadem should use FedEx or USP for delivery. It’s pertinent to mention that, Diadem also delivers only in the USA.
You get 10 days to use the paddle before returning it. In case of failure to return, you will pay the full amount through your credit card. Unlike other demo programs, they don’t give extra time before charging the full amount from your credit card.
But, the good thing about this program is that Diadem, unlike other companies, allows you to ship other items with a demo order.
6. Pickleball Central
Pickleball Central is one of the best pickleball stores on the internet. They offer great paddles selection and the best services, with over 120 models and hundreds of paddles in color and style. You can order any paddle of your choice.
Even though they offer no demo program, we have added them to this list. Pickleball Central offers 30 days paddle test drive. Let’s say you bought a paddle and played with it, but didn’t find it satisfactory. In this case, you can return it and take the full refund (terms and conditions apply). Just use trackable services like FedEx and USP and pay shipping charges.
Depending on the location, they take 1 to 8 working days to deliver the parcel. Pickleball Center ships internationally, so that is their plus point. But that would increase the shipping costs.
The other option is that you can buy gently used or returned paddles from them at a low price.
The Bottom Line
These are some of the best pickleball paddle demo programs that many players are using and are satisfied with their terms and conditions.
We explain everything about these demo programs in detail, including their fees, demo duration, and the main conditions. All demo programs offer something unique. Some charge less, others offer more days, and some have more variety of paddles.
You can select what suits you the most. But if you can’t choose which paddles to demo, you can read our buying guide.
