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Weights barely wear out, so buying them used is one of the safest gym purchases. Think in price per kilo, make sure the plate hole fits your bar, and inspect racks for bent uprights and cracked welds. The biggest mistake is paying close to new prices for gear that is cheap to make.
Weight plates and fixed dumbbells are best compared per kilo. Cast iron plates usually go for about EUR 1-2.50 per kilo used, bumper plates (rubber, made for dropping) a bit more. Fixed rubber hex dumbbells sell somewhat higher per kilo than loose plates. Prices go up sharply each January and when gyms are closed; they fall again in summer.
Ask the seller for the total weight and a photo of each plate's marking. Cheap vinyl plates filled with sand or cement often weigh less than stated and are bulky for their weight.
Plates and bars come in two main standards. Standard plates have a 30 mm hole (sometimes 25 or 28 mm) and fit cheaper home bars. Olympic plates have a 50 mm hole and fit the 2.2 m, 20 kg Olympic bar found in gyms. You can use adapters, but mixing systems is a nuisance. Choose one, and check every plate in a lot matches it.
An Olympic barbell should spin freely at the sleeves and be straight. Roll it on a flat floor and watch the middle: a bent bar wobbles. Look for rust on the knurling (light rust can be brushed off) and check the sleeves do not have play. Cheap 'Olympic' bars rated for 150 kg are fine for most home lifters; if you lift heavy, look for brands like Rogue, Eleiko, Gymstick Pro or Lifemaxx with a stated load rating.
Bowflex SelectTech 552 and 1090, PowerBlock and Core Fitness adjustable dumbbells save a lot of space. Test the selector on every setting: dial or pin it, lift the dumbbell and make sure no plates stay behind or rattle loose. The plastic parts of selector systems can crack after drops, which is the main failure. Missing plates in a PowerBlock set are hard to replace.
Weights are heavy in a small space. A car can carry 150-200 kg of plates if loaded over the rear axle, but check your car's payload. Bring a sturdy bag or crate and gloves. Racks come apart into long pieces, so you may need a van.
If you are building a home gym piece by piece, vindje.com can look for Olympic 50 mm plates within 20 km under 2 euro per kilo and drop the 30 mm sets and vinyl plates from the results.
Set aside part of the budget for rubber floor tiles. Gyms and CrossFit boxes that close or renovate often sell 1x1 m rubber tiles of 15-20 mm thick for a few euros each, and they protect both your floor and your plates. Upstairs apartments with wooden floors need thick tiles and a bit of consideration for the neighbours.
Plastic sand-filled plates, rusty bars that wobble, racks without a brand or load rating and Smith machines with stiff guides are not worth carrying home. A cheap power rack from a well-known brand is a better buy than a rare multi-station machine.
| Item | Typical asking price |
|---|---|
| Cast iron plates, 30 mm | EUR 1-2 per kg |
| Olympic iron plates, 50 mm | EUR 1.50-2.50 per kg |
| Bumper plates | EUR 2-3.50 per kg |
| Olympic barbell 20 kg | EUR 60-200 |
| Bowflex SelectTech 552 pair | EUR 150-300 |
| Power rack with safeties | EUR 150-500 |
Rough Marktplaats asking prices in the Netherlands. Condition, age and season move them a lot.
Describe what you want in your own words and vindje.com searches Marktplaats in Dutch, then reads every listing and keeps only the real matches. For example:
Olympic 50 mm iron weight plates, at least 80 kg in total, under 2 euro per kilo, within 20 kmSearch Marktplaats like this
Around EUR 1-2.50 per kilo for cast iron plates, a bit more for bumper plates and rubber hex dumbbells.
It is the size of the hole. 50 mm plates fit Olympic bars; 30 mm plates fit standard home bars. They do not mix without adapters.
Usually, if the selector works on every setting and no plates are missing. Test each weight before paying.
Roll it slowly on a flat floor and watch the centre. A wobble means it is bent.