I've been seeing some snare drums on eBay lately, with asking prices that just seem unreasonable. The seller, solanokanata, is from Japan. Please take a look at some of his snare drum offerings and tell me your thoughts. I'll start with mine; these are way overpriced and won't sell. At least, not in the States!
-Mark
This would be the guy with the tangerine round badge snare for $1137. Very high price for a minty drum, even in that finish, but his has extra holes and shell imperfections. Scratching my head on this one...
He may just be fishing for offers.
Mike
You know it a sign of the times prices on vintage drmscare going up period it is the way supply and demand there all gone
She's gone gone gone
And therein lies a clue. Vintage drum gear in Japan is way more expensive than the USA. The seller may just be pricing appropriate to the Japanese market. Also, as Mike pointed out the seller may be just fishing for offers and not expecting them to sell on eBay itself. But he's chosen a price where he's comfortable lining the pockets of eBay big time should they happen to sell.
I've tracked vintage Ludwig drums (not all models) and cymbals for a decade and one of the things that got me interested was looking at the international pricing comparisons between different countries. That plus modelling consumer pricing behavior as a statistician having worked in that area. I've watched while the GFC affected prices (although it did not affect all gear in the same way). I've watched the recovery. And I've seen periodic posts on many drum forums like this one:
You know it a sign of the times prices on vintage drmscare going up period it is the way supply and demand there all gone She's gone gone gone
but I've also seen posts lamenting how low prices are from those selling. The truth is more complex and nuanced than "they stopped making it so the price must go up". Some gear is up (although may not be increasing as much as inflation), some is staying about the same, some is in the price doldrums. Prices are highly volatile.
As always, all my raw data is freely available if anybody wants to wade through and see what's actually going on. Unfortunately, over the years eBay has made it more and more difficult to gather quality data. First they blocked us from seeing who the buyer is (and where they are). Then they blocked us from seeing what the Best Offer is when it is accepted. And a number of other apparently "security" related changes. In my older data you can see the number of Japanese buyers paying top dollar and shipping things to Japan. Today you can't do that kind of research. *sigh*
Ludwig Black Galaxy Acrolite LM404 for $475 + $69 shipping. I think these can still be found new for around $300.
Don't forget it's ebay !! Nothing more needs to be stated !!!
Thanks for everyone's input so far! My thought was also that these are priced for the Japanese market, as I certainly don't feel they will sell for these amounts in the US.
As vintagemore2000 also said "Don't forget it's ebay !! Nothing more needs to be stated !!!". He's selling a 60's (although the ad says 50's) Pearl wood-shell snare drum for $549! Again, maybe these prices are fair for those in Japan. In any event, I won't be purchasing any of his drums!
-Mark
Funny but he's trying to sell a used 2015 reissue Tama bell brass snare, made in Japan, for $3400 !!! They sell for $1900 brand new.
I don't care what people try to sell their stuff for, but that sale seems to be senseless.
SC
Isn't the market in Japan a bit soft right now compared to what it was a few years ago?
