Beyond Two-Four

Lest I be accused of being a heartless capitalist trying to milk the system at every turn, I should be upfront about the other side of getting good deals–and that is giving them. Over a Drumsmith (my new favorite drum site, as of just days ago), a kid was asking for free gear. I have excess snare hoops lying around that I don’t need. If he pays for shipping, they’re his.

Also, recently on Ebay, I had drum bags I got in a deal that I didn’t need. So I listed them. The winner of 3 of the bags contacted me about the shipping price I had listed and my previous comment that I would combine shipping for the winning bidders. Turns out, my estimated shipping price was WAAAY too low. I still gave the promised combined shipping discount (which I offered as $20, even though it ended up costing me nearly $60 to send them). It ended up costing me more to ship them than I got in the auction total.

I wasn’t bummed. The reason why: I didn’t need the bags, they were taking up valuable space in my garage and they were worth more to me as a good deal to someone else than the possible monetary value. I was happy to essentially “lose” money on them. I had gotten the bags as part of a kit deal and they were a bonus to begin with. Long story short: Don’t hesitate to pass on good deals if you are in a position to do so. I think scoring a killer deal should go hand-in-hand with giving good deals when you can.

Craigslist is potentially one of the best sources of buying used drum gear. But it has its positives and negatives. The biggest negative is that Craiglist only breaks down to the level of musical instruments and no further. Searching for drum gear either means typing in a search term for something specific, which is a shot in the dark, or–what I do–monitoring the entire list of musical instruments regularly. Try both. It can also be risky buying used gear, especially from pseudo-anonymous sellers.

Here are, though, eight tips on what do when you find something to consider buying.

1. Read the item description carefully. Is information missing, like the kind of Tama drumset, or are the cymbals A Zildjians or Zs? Are they honest about the condition of the gear?
2. Cross-check what’s advertised with what you can by the drums for new. Surprisingly, many sellers overvalue their drums. Used drums should be priced noticeably under what their new value is. A good deal is often easy to spot in these first two steps.
3. Email first, even if the post says to call. A response by email indicates a true commitment to sell the drums. If it takes five days to return an email, you’re either too late, or the seller isn’t motivated.
4. Phone after email contact has been confirmed.
5. Buy in person, and be careful of those who will only meet in a neutral location (it could be an indication of the gear being hot, or stolen)
6. When meeting in person, ask why they are selling the gear. This question can also be asked over email first.
7. Finally, ask if the person selling is the original owner. This question will double check whether the gear is truly theirs or not.
8. If there are any inconsistencies in the seller’s story, walk away.

Lastly, as a buyer, you have a responsibility to also be honest and straight-forward. Play honest, play firm and play nice. Good luck.