I was at a general sports gear shop today and found they have a lot of used skates. While I did not find any skates in reasonable condition for me (the boots are all pretty much beaten up, for some of them I could not even find the label to know what model they are), but I found a few pairs that are with good name brand blades, like gold star, coronation ace and phantom, and the blades look like they are in good condition (shiny). The price tag for the skates are between 12 to 30 dollars, so I wonder if it is worth buying them just for the blades. Btw I don't know how to tell how much use is still left for the blades, so I left empty handed. But I'd like to get some education on what is the general principle dealing with second hand blades. Thank you for your input.