Firstly, regarding the purchase itself:
1. Shop for LANDED cost to your door to make a proper comparison.For items this large, shipping and tax can be 25-33% of the cost. Any indoor table worth anything will be over $400.00 base price. First, I found the Stiga InstaPlay 399.99+119.99sh = ~$525.00 to my door. Then, Stiga 175 (slightly better model) ~$550.00, and finally the Stiga 275 for $599.99 free shipping/tax on amazon. **Definitely worth $75.00 more for two grades higher -MUCH better product, thickness of the steel, wheels etc. Take note that the base price is $399.99 (Instaplay) vs $599.99 (Stiga 275), but LANDED cost difference only $75.00.
2. Guidelines I considered:
(a) MUST be at least 3/4" thick tabletop (1" if you have the budget); (b) MUST be strong brand name, i.e. STIGA, Butterfly etc., to ensure that the tabletop surface is the best and that there is a brand name which is scrutinized by professionals, i.e. they have an image to uphold. (I saw Costco had a more epxensive model with 1" top and VERY solid construction, but the quality of the tabletop surface and construction (arguable most important) was terrible, AMF brand. (c) Know who is going to use the table. In this case, lots of kids and no storage closet, so I needed something better than average to withstand pounding. Again, when all was said and done, for $75.00 (roughly 10% premium) would be worthwhile even without the kids and pounding.
3. Warranty: I opted for Amazon DIRECT since my experiences have always been good, but I would mention that other companies who sell such product actually handle warranty issues (Paddle Palace) for you during the warranty period directly with the manufacturer which can make your life a lot easier, so that may be of value to you. Again, stick with a brand that cares what people say.
But I will say that the Stiga InstaPlay looks very good and assembly is effortless. So if that is of prime importance or you are not in positon to assemble or get someone to help you, go for the Instaplay.
Which brings be to the major gripe:
The instructions were ATROCIOUS, and the diagrams convoluded. You MUST have at least two adults to set this up, but it wouldn't hurt to have three. The parts were of decent quality and the actual number of steps isn't so bad, if you know what you are doing. BUT... we had to redo a number of steps where we used the wrong bolts and the diagrams can be very misleading.I would have expected Stiga to put a little more time put into the manual for a purchase of this magnitude. For $600.00, the manual should have been clearer, IKEA could show them a thing or two on this score.
All that being said, while with good instructions or practice, you can do this in an hour, (a) you should budget 2-3 hours. (b) you MUST complete it once you start or you will likely lose parts or scratch surfaces.
Second gripe, Product Description describes solo play where you can set one side vertically and play against yourself, but there is a large gap between the two tables.honestly I didnt find it much of an issue for myself, but it was misleading as I thought there would be virtually no gap.
TWO more important thoughts:
1. the locks will damage the surface if you do not learn how to manuever them properly.
2. if you intend to roll the table away, make sure you screw the tabletop to the HIGHEST hole in the stands. Since the parts are used for multiple models you will find extra screw holes that may not be used.
Defintley a great buy at $600.00 shipped.I couldn't find anything close for the value, Cost for Quality.
I decided to buy this table because it offered the thickest board at 5/8 inch. Most of other name brand tables (i.e. Butterfly) at this price range were 4/8 inch thick. Thicker table lasts longer and are less prone to distortions. Most full inch thick tables are in the thousand dollar range so this Stiga STS275 offers great value and comes with big wheels that are easy to roll away.
The assembly was a pain like others pointed out. Luckily there were no missing parts. I definitely needed 2 guys and 4 hours to assemble this, it's that heavy and complicated so you better clear out the entire afternoon doing this !!
Now the BAD....
1)Stiga went cheap on some part of the steel frames. They looked thick from the picture but in fact they are just broad & thin (not thick).
2)Stiga went cheap on the included net. Come on! Yes, you are probably the cheapest 5/8 inch table that I could find, but your net sucks. It is just a simple clamp on and not adjustable. I spent a little more money on the Stiga Clipper Pro 72-inch Net and Post, which is tournament grade and adjustable (the net was perfectly aligned across the table, sweet! no more excuses from your opponent saying the ball hit the net or anything like that).
If it comes to either BUY or DONT BUY, i would definitely say buy it because of the high quality construction and most importantly the thickness of the board. Ball bounces are extremely stable! Just remember to buy another pro-grade net cuz you will not be happy with the included one.
Buy Stiga STS 285 Table Tennis Table Now
When the initial shipment arrived, it was missing a whole mess of hardware.I called them on Monday, and the parts arrived on Friday.Not bad, but of course, I would've preferred everything to have arrived as it was supposed to.After the table was put together, it was flawless.It's a very nice table; it's very solid.However, you definitely need at least two adults to put it together.The dark blue table contrasts well with the bright orange balls.
Read Best Reviews of Stiga STS 285 Table Tennis Table Here
Damaged in transport twice, due to inappropriate packaging by the manufacturer. The packaging says in large letters to not return this product which makes me think that they must have a lot of trouble with product returns, and for good reasons.We returned the first table (thanks Amazon!). We decided to keep the second one even though it was also damaged because we did not want to spend any more time waiting for the delivery company to come drop off and pick up ping pong tables (a nightmare by itself) and because we had kids waiting to play ping pong. The metal lip that runs around the edge of the table is bent in several places and half of the playing surface is convex instead of flat. Not what I expected for the money.
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STIGA sucks.Instructions are worthless.The "pre-drilled holes" didn't exist.Spent enough money on this to expect an easier time putting it together.Should come more assembled, or a big warning about degree of difficulty.Could have made a ping pong table in less time.Over engineered and stupidly delivered.
Quaility is what you would expect of Reed and Barton.Gave to my grandson for his baptism and his parents (father a pilot) loved it!
