What was the best drum (shells, hardware, cymbals, etc.) deal you ever came across?

[BlueFlame]

Pre-internet I found a guy selling “assorted drum stuff” that belonged to his son who had, true to form, moved on to other hobbies. I bought a short stack of Turkish K’s and a few other things for a couple hundred bucks.

 

[hsosdrum]

Over the past 50 years I've only purchased brand-new top-line drumsets from authorized dealers. I've been treated fairly by each dealer, receiving the usual discounts that are well below MSRP. It's always been worth passing up what could be a sensational deal buying from a private party in favor of always being able to count on having an authorized dealer behind me should anything go awry. And avoiding floor-model sales has allowed me to assemble four drumsets that fit my exact needs and specifications, as opposed to having to settle for what was available at that moment.

But back in 1966, my father (who frequented U.S. government auctions as part of his business) bid on and won a 1939 WFL Zephyr drumset (26" BD, 7" snare, 16" FT — all with calfskin heads —, 10" cymbal, pedal and all hardware) for around $50.

 

[thejohnlec]

Nine years ago in the middle of the night a Gretsch kit popped up on local Craig's List for $700. It had a blurry photo, but I sent the seller a note anyway. I went to see it the following night. He lived on a farm about an hour north of the city.

It was a 1972 midnight blue pearl stop sign Gretsch kit, in good condition. The front hoop had not been on the kit since the seventies, but he still had the head, hoop, claws and tension rods. His father bought it for him used in 1975 and he gigged with it until the early eighties. Then he got married and bought a house, it went into the attic for the next thirty-three years.

It came with the hardware shown, a COB 4160 snare, a trap case, Gretsch embossed vinyl bags for the drums, a set of black label Paiste 2002 cymbals, and some other "cheap cymbals" that he didn't even bother to pull out of the case.

I told him that these were worth a good bit more than the $700 that he had them listed for. I had $1200 in my pocket, I wanted to play fair, I offered him the $1200. He said that they were listed for $750, not $700, but he only wanted $750 for them. He said that he saw other Gretsch kits on CL in that price range. I explained that the other kits that he saw were imported kits with inexpensive cymbals. "No, $750 is fine."

We packed them up and loaded them in my car, I paid him the $750 and drove away. About ten minutes later my phone rang while I was driving, I answered it. It was the seller. He just went to take down the add and saw that I was right, it was listed for $700. He said that if I'd turn around he would give me back my $50, or mail me a check. I told him that I was fine with paying $750, and thanked him for his honesty.

When I got home and unpacked everything, I found that the "cheap cymbals" he included were actually a full set of 1970s Zildjian "A"s.

The kit cleaned up easily. I sold the Paistes immediately, I think that I got $500 for them. I gave the hardware away, I used the kit as a four piece in my practice room for the next five years. In 2019 I sold the shell pack shell pack with the trap case and drum bags for $1500 when I ordered my Gretsch USA Custom shell bank. I still have the COB 4160 snare and the Zildjians.

This is the photo that he posted.

This is the kit after I cleaned it up. (Shown with an aluminum Gretsch snare.)

Awesome.

 

[pbloxam]

Best deal I think I ever got was a brand new Premier Signia Marquis kit with 22,16,14,10,12, 8 shell pack for 1K..I added the 7×14 snare and another 22 to round out the kit although I rarely used it..

 

[thejohnlec]

I saw a Craigslist ad for a “Remo snare drum” that turned out to be a 5” Ludwig Supra. It was listed for $75. I contacted him and, although he was 90 minutes away, he could bring it to me since he was passing near my town.

I told him what he had and that I’d be remiss if I didn’t let him know what it was and its worth. He said he bought it for his son but he lost interest and he just wanted to unload it, but appreciated my honesty.

It is a pointy badge Supra with absolutely zero pitting - a real specimen and a steal for $75, and probably the most versatile of my collection.

 

[Twentyeightx14]

Once in a while you hear about people scoring amazing drum deals either due to the owner not knowing what they have, perhaps a business is going out of business sale and needs to liquidate inventory, etc. I'm curious what the best deal you have personally come across is. This can include hardware, shells, cymbals, etc. - anything drum related.

I can't say I personally found any amazing deals to write home about.

I bought a Ludwig 1965 Supra Phonic 5 X 14 in a pawn shop. Asking price was $120. I asked to see it, the clerk sets it on the counter and without being prompted, offered it for $100. I said I wanted to think on it, he said $80 and I bought it. It had the older style throw-off which I don't like and I had a brand new P-85 at home that I was able to easily mount on the drum. I then sold the vintage throw-off for $80 on eBay. Total cost about $7 sales tax. Still play that drum today.

Another great one was a Gretsch 70s COW 4 piece, 24, 14, 16, 18, with hard cases plus a Pearl 12 rack tom and metal snare. With hardware. $400. Guy knew what he had, just didn't care. Wanted out of the business. I had Stan at Pro Drum in Hollywood cut down the rack tom to an 8 X 14 snare which I still use today. I sold the 16 & 18 floors, the Pearl stuff and the bass drum, too.

Neither of these deals are as likely today as they were in the 90s and early 2000s because of the internet.

 

[Sequimite]

Two from the 80's that I wish I still had. A Gretsch round badge 12/14/20/5.5x14 snare with a few interesting cymbals for $165 at the Tower Grove (St Louis) pawn shop. A Rogers Cleveland black diamond bop set 12/14/20 with a matching canister throne for $350 form Fred Pierce Studio Drum Shop. Even found a matching 13 and 16.

 

[Drumming dog]

5 piece mid 70’s red/white/blue sparkle 12,13,16,22, and 400 for 300$

 

[premierplayer]

22 KDM, $100

 

[donbseattle]

Fabulous Mendini 16 x 12 bass drum, Seattle Goodwill............10 dolla! I sound just like Roy Haynes!

 

[Josh1977]

TL; DR
3 piece 80's swingstar, 3 piece Mapex Mars, 2 60's Ludwig LM402's 1 COB Ludwig, and 1 Acrolite with busted heads. Nothing else wrong. All that for $100

I look for really cheap drumsets on marketplace, take what I want off it and give the set to a neighborhood kid. I'm talking like Pulse, or no name brand drums. Well one time there was a blurry picture and what looked like a Tama so I checked it out. He also said he had some broken drums. Well there was a 3 piece 80's swingstar, a 3 piece Mapex Mars and the "broken drums" were 2 60's Ludwig LM402's 1 COB Ludwig, and 1 Acrolite with busted heads. Nothing else wrong. All that for $100

 

[Al Chonder]

My criteria for a good deal are:
Condition of and how far below retail is the item.


I've gotten a lot of great deals off of Reverb. A couple of deals came about from delivery screw ups and the seller going all out to make things better than merely "right". Other deals came about by being on site seconds after the seller's post went up. I got a few deals from dealers who are reality sellers that just want to move their used stuff. One ad stated "priced to move"

Examples of some really great Reverb deals, almost too good to be true...
Wait a minute, how do I know this thread ain't a sting operation?

 

[JustADrummer]

For me it was when I was teaching at a music store back in the mid-1980's. They had a set of Gretsch Broadkasters they wanted to get rid of. Took up too much of their floorspace and sat there for months.

I believe I paid $800. for the 7 drums and hardware.

Drums were all the 'wrong' sizes for me (deep toms & bass) but that didn't seem to bother me back in those days. I gigged with it for a few years & then sold it for way more than I paid for it.

The color was the Gretsch gorgeous high gloss purple. Set up was just very similar to this picture though the sizes were 8,10,12, 13, 16 floor, 22 bass + 6.5x14 cob snare. Included all stands shown for cymbals , hi hat, snare and even had a Floating Action pedal.

 

[1988fxlr]

I’ve been lucky enough to find a lot of drums and cymbals free over the years ( my dumpster dove NYC acrolite is probably the crown jewel of those ones) but for drums I actually paid for; $400 for my 12 piece North with rack and tom stands is probably my best deal.

I went to check out a newspaper classified for 90’s Premiers that ended up being an unacceptable finish to 13 year old me. Before I could leave the seller mentioned he had another kit and I ended up with the Norths for $33 a drum

 

[Slowzuki1]

When I travel for work, I’ll drop into music stores or pawn shops if I have time. There was a GC near my hotel. Wandered around, no one greets me, look a the snare rack, pull off an old Slingerland student snare with no price tag and sketchy heads. Proceed to make noise on it. No one offers to help. Go to the cymbals to nose around their used stuff, not a salesman in sight. Wander back grab that snare off the rack, go up to the counter ask a manager how much? He taps around on his computer for a few minutes, looking confused. Calls the store manager over, he taps some more on the computer muttering something about 3rd time this week looking for that drum. Finally says just get it gone, I say great how much? Thinking $40-50 and they would ring it as a rando SKU. He says just take it, I want it outa my store. I said thank you and made a bee line for my car! Couldn’t believe my luck! Thank goodness for poorly run chain stores

 

[repete]

I wish I still had them or at least pictures but around 1996 I picked up an 8x12,16x16,14x22 set of absolutely gorgeous psychedelic red Ludwigs. They white interiors, vibrant wrap, no fades anywhere and I think were dated 1966 or 67
$275 out the door

 

[blikum]

Got an early leedy kit at a swap meet in the mid 80's for $15. I didn't know much about them then, I sold them to Stan and Jerry at Pro Drum for considerably more. In the early 90's I traded a marantz receiver for a Ludwig Stainless steel kit. 15,18,26. They were huge sounding!

 

[JustADrummer]

Almost forgot... Many decades ago...

20" K - New Stamp + 14" Original K Hi-Hats (not entirely sure which era but definitely OLD).

Both for a grand total of $15.00

If I still had them I'd snap a picture of them. I passed them along for free to one of my best drummer friends. He never played original K's so I gifted him these for free since I've played many.

 

[Six-Ply]

Tama Bubinga Elite 22 x 18 bass drum for $600 shipped back in the summer if 2019. It was shipped in a road case and shipped in another box. I found the matching kit 22/16/12/10/8 four months later that the same owner sold a few months earlier. The kit started out at $3600 on Reverb. I waited until the price dropped and snagged it for $1800 shipped. I can get my $$$$ back at any time as it's a highly desirable finish.

However I'd rather not admit what I paid for the matching 18" floor tom last year.

 

[fusseltier]

I got a 4 piece Ludwig really old set just like Ringo for $25 and I found another Tom for $25. The black and white swirl or oyster shell one