I found someone on website trying to sell an old set for about $400 and it was only the snare, bass, and one mounted tom. I talked to the guy and found out that he had offers for about 300 cash at a guitar center. He wasn't a drummer and believed the kid at guitar center who said it was some rare kit. He thought that he could get a lot more for it. I talked to him and told him it was a low end MIJ kit from the mid 60's and a complete kit would be $300 at best. He brushed me off and at last check he lowered the price to $350.

Oh man...where have I been for the last 50 years! When did the term "hipster" change from being someone who was "hip"....a free thinker who dug jazz to a moron who likes how drums sparkle? Man I thought I was hip....now I don't want to be! Help me out hereHelp2

I buy less these days as my collection gets bigger due to the fact that I have a lot of the mainstream vintage snares from the 1900s-1940s so I'm mainly looking for very rare snare drums that I don't have in order to fill in the blanks. I'm always looking/buying and I'm currently working on a deal for an extremely rare Leedy drum from the early 1920s that will fit nicely into my collection.

Mike Curotto

I had a guy do that to me last week here in San Diego.

He put an ad up on CL for a 66 Champagne kit for one price, then puts another ad up later in the day & jacks the price up by 250.

AND leaves both ads up.

I did not see the second ad & when he gets back to me that afternoon, he then informs me of the second ad.

After speaking with him, I offer him 50 more than his ORIGINAL price. He finally agrees & we set up to meet Sunday morning at 9 am.

By now it's 5 pm Saturday & I'm heading out to my gig for soundcheck fun.

At my gig Saturday night & after my second set, I look at my phone & there are 2 texts:

First one is him telling me a guy from LA offered him 50 more than me & is coming to look at the drums.

Second one is him saying he sold the kit to him.

So I lost out to 50 more dollars.

Selling price was 700.

Monday, the kit is on LA CL for 1300.

I then sent the boneheaded seller in SD(who basically jacked me) this information & obviously, he was a moron.

This guy in LA is ripping folks off for these kits but there is a sucker born every minute.

Guess it was just not meant to be.

it's an ongoing battle with the folks who really love the drums, & the folks who could care less about the drums & just want to make money.

I'm a collector so I'm in it for the love of playing these drums & so I fight the battle every day.

don't give up!!

I live in Buffalo (insert joke here) I used to go to the little towns outside the city and stop in the music stores and from time to time I'd see a vintage kit. I could usually pick it up for a few hundred bucks. Maybe needed a little TLC, new heads, etc. Now if I do see anything like that out there, and it's not often. The price is outrageous and when I try to negotiate they say they can sell it on the internet for thousands!

I had a line on a nice 1970's premier Tom for $40 the other week..

The lady called me from Tenn,and seemed real nice...I told her I could Paypal,no prob....she said she thought she had a good box in the garage to ship...

She said her hubby would call back to do the P/P....never did...

Called a few days later,talked to hubby,said the wife would call when she got back from a CHURCH meeting"..never did...He also said..are you the guy coming to look at it tomorrow? I said no..I am in Michigan,and talked to your wife already.

Never got the drum.....told them I really needed it to complete a set and everything..

Felt like leaving a message saying..

not a very Christian way of doing business!..

.but I didn't...

Guy sell`n a Drop kit for $1300,..tell him it`s worth at least $1500 and you`ll buy, set up a meet, when you don`t show, he calls, tell him you got a line on a Drop kit the same as his, needs more work, but for a few hundred more, that`s OK, it`ll turn out better than yours !!

Ya need to flood these thieves with the same strategy !!

Good idea Oddball!Excited Now if someone wants to check on the LA area theres a small Whitehall with Slingy hardware for $300.00...here:http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/msg/3153487203.html

I dont have the money and I dont know if the price is Ok but Im curious if the bass drum its an 18"...

This is an interesting thread, because I hear from some people "oh, vintage drums are getting harder to sell, less interested buyers these days," but I also hear "vintage drums are getting tougher to find."

Seems like it comes down to item-specific supply/demand dynamics.

Last friday I was the first to reply to a silver sparkle Slingerland set on Hesperia CA. (an hour and a half away from where I live) I told the guy that I could be on my way right away...It was 10.30 pm and he decided that it would be better for him to see me on Saturday at 8.00 am. I woke up at 6.00 am to stop at the bank and I was on my way at 6.30. I called the guy at 7.30 when I was about half an hour away from his place to let him know that I'd be knocking at his door in 30 min and he goes" "Oh, I have another buyer who's going to buy em for $750.00...(He was asking $500.00). I told him that I ve been on the road for hour and that I told him that I would be at his place at 8.00 am and that I was honoring my word. He just went: "Sorry, theres nothing else I could say" ...and then he just hang on me. ...Maybe that's what the future holds for drum collecting: Bidding wars not on Ebay but on Craigslist!