Well................at least that's not 65 cats.

There are crazy cat ladies and crazy drum guys I guess.

Here is what I have seen in the last few years of buying, restoring, reselling etc.

I don't think that the market is weak at all. There are some things (vintage K's, Black Beauties, Rolling Bombers etc.) that will always keep a strong resale value because of rarity. I have seen shows where I have sold a lot or next to nothing, all in the same month. Online though, business is good and I see great prices realized all the time. While some prices may have dropped or leveled off over the past year, that isn't really a bad thing unless you bought high and risk losing money when you go to sell again. There are a handful of collectors out there (and some are on this board) that have the money and aren't afraid to spend it on a good quality drum that they want. These are the sales that tend to drive, or at least influence the rest of the market. Some of these collectors are getting older or pass and so they no longer drive the prices and that can give the appearance of a weak market. The problem with this though is that on some drums, prices have reached great prices for sellers but not so much for the buyer. Keep in mind that when you go to sell that Stipple Gold, Black Beauty or Ringo kit that you want $3500+ you have a very limited market.

Some of the other things that I see that do have an effect on some vintage items is some of the newer stuff coming out. Now before you start thinking I'm out of my mind on this let's take a look at vintage Zildjian Istanbul K's. The K's are prized for their sound and that being the sound that a lot of older generation drummers/collectors remember from their youth. I know a lot of younger kids that are into classic rock and like the sounds of the drums and cymbals being used on those recording. I still see K's going for $1000+ (I've sold some myself very recently at these prices) but I can tell you that if I am looking for that vintage K sound I can get a boutique cymbal such as Amedia, Soultone, Istanbul or a host of others that are still being made in Turkey and have the sound that a lot of us are looking for at a much more reasonable price. Why would you spend $800 on a K crash cymbal when you can get VERY close in sound for $200 from another company?

Another factor that I do want to mention is where you choose to sell. Most of you, whether through Craigslist, Ebay or out of your garage are just selling locally and this limits your market. Yes, you can sell on Ebay and ship throughout the country but I sell internationally and that has helped keep my prices strong. Drummers in European countries, Australia, Japan and others love vintage American drums and they are still scarce in those places. I have sold kits to people over seas in the $2000+ price range to people who then spent almost that much again to ship to them because they don't see a lot of our vintage drums where they live.

A last factor to consider is what you are selling and fallowing the market closely. Getting away from the very rare and super expensive, lets look at the Ludwig Supra Phonic and vintage Ludwig drum sets. Just doing a quick Ebay only search, there are 179 Supraphonic snares listed as of the time I am writing this and 139 Ludwig kits listed as "Vintage". If the market is flooded and there is more supply than demand then it is going to be harder to get top dollar for your drum because there are so many of them listed that are in great condition, so the buyer can be picky about what they buy and try and score a deal using the other drums as leverage.

Some tips on this. If you want to sell that drum that you have been holding on to for years and want to get top dollar then don't be in a rush to sell it. Wait until there aren't so many of the same thing being offered. Be patient! Some of the more expensive drums I have restored or bought to flip may sit for several months or longer before I see them sold, it's part of the game. If you are buying a vintage drum as an investment to turn at a higher profit later then high end and limited edition drums would probably be the safest bet financially but then you have to contend with a limited market and even with that there are no guarantees.

Bottom line, in my opinion, I don't think the market is weak right now because I do see people buying stuff at the drum shows and on line, I just think that for a while, and still on going with certain items, the market spikes and then feels weak when it returns to normal and that can be a good thing for all parties involved. If you remove the factor of people buying too high several years ago and then having to sell at a loss you have to look at the fact that more realistic and stable prices will drive people to buy, buy more and buy sooner.

Having a website my self, I can tell you that, while it is great to have it is also a lot of work. When you are dealing with used and vintage gear you have to put up new pictures and descriptions every time you get in another item to sell. It is far more work than selling new stuff because with new, you can simply go in and adjust the numbers in stock when you get more product it. The other problem is being able to get people to your site. Without spending money to advertise it is very hard to let people know about your site. I spend a lot of time handing out cards and chatting with people to let them know I exist and while I do a decent amount of business through my personal site, I make far more money selling through other channels.

Im not saying the market is weak at all. As a matter of fact I see prices getting better on most of the stuff. What Im saying is how do you find drums now? I guess the crucial factor to take in consideration is where do we live on the planet. LA right now has at least 40-50 collectors,flippers,dealers,aficionados that Im aware off. (Not to mention hipsters on the thousands patrolling every garage/yard or state sale for anything of value,not just drums) The minute there's something available it gets in to cut throat mode. Ive seen the same overpriced/nothing special sets advertised over and over for the last 6 months. I guess other places might be easier to find drums but here in LA?… Forget about it.

Love this thread and it brings to mind a CL ad that has been up for well over a year...$2.000 FIRM for a Pearl Export, here is a snippet of the listing...

beutiful cherry wood finish, this Pearl Export Series set is like new, sabian AAX , professional grade drum set...about $4,000 invested, evans hydraulic heads,memory clamps, ect ect,, price is firm at $2,000 calls only,,no texts are answered

"I really have been trying to sell the drums to make room for when your mother moves in to our trailer with us next month to help take care of our new triplets. I'm advertising these great drums for half of what I paid for them. But, nobody is calling to buy them".