I think I sold my Pearl kit too cheap ....

It was a 5 year old Export kit with ISS mounts, an 80s Ludwig snare and stand, 10, 12, 13, and 16" toms, 2 older Tama cymbal stands, ( no cymbals ) Pearl Hi hat stand, Pearl throne and Slingerland pedal all for $450.

I was thinking it was worth more like $550 or $600

At least I didn't have to ship it anywhere.

Neh, you got enough.

Used drums, sadly, depreciate in value greatly the second someone plays them. I'd say $450 for that was a pretty good sell.

Really? For all that hardware too huh?

I guess I know what I had into it and am getting just a little more than half of it back.

I guess buying used is the way to go then.

I'd prob say you could have gotten $500 for them, but not much more than that, and $500 wouldn't have been an easy sell either. Used stuff a lot of times especially stuff over 5 years old you usually only get 50% back on it.

You should have kept the snare.

In my experience, hardware rarely adds to the sale price of a used kit.

It was an 80s Ludwig and to me it didn't sound as good as my Pearl sensitone.

That Ludwig isn't the one everyone raves about as far as the 'Standard'

That seems true.

AKA, the only way the deal could have been any better for you was if you sold it for the same price, less the hardware. But regardless, both parties got what the want.

On the bright side, you no longer own a set of pearls.

Hmmmmm...

But yeah, I don't think they were worth much more than that. There's a thread going around here about how a member of the forum ripped down an ad because the set was a P.O.S. and some woman was gonna rip of the buyer BIG TIME. But I think that the price you got was pretty decent.

Shhhhh.....Did you guys just hear AquaLung?

Yes, drums are worse than cars, the minute you drive it off the lot/take it out of the store, the value just sank to about half.

Had about $2000 invest in my first kit, B-line Pearl kit with nice cymbals and rack, 70's Ludwig snare and I wound up only getting $750. Really got only $550 since it was sold on cosignment at a drum shop.

I didn't realize it was like that. .... I guess I won't ever buy another new kit.

Some of it depends on how flooded the used market is with the particular drumset. It seems like everywhere there's tons of Pearl Forums and Exports on the market so they usually lose the most value, probably followed by PDP Birch and Maple sets.

I didn't realize it was like that. .... I guess I won't ever buy another new kit.

I bought my Ludwig kit new in fall last year. The lesson I learned is: if it's selling for $1300 on Musician's Friend, there's a good chance you can find a new one for $850 somewhere else.

Yes, I will agree with that. Also I sold that set in 93' I had it at like $1,000 and it didn't sell. I was like a CB 700 set.(Maxwin by Pearl Set) So I then dropped the price to $750 and it still took six more months to sell. I was going to go and pick up my set since it wasn't selling and that's when I was informed that it had sold and was given my part of the money.

My set and many Pearl like sets from the 80's and 90's were/are a dime a dozen. If you have an old Rodgers/Slingerland/ Gretsch/ Yamaha from the same era, then you could get maybe more. Biggest thing is that it doesn't matter how much money you have sunk into a set, It's finding somebody who's willing to pay you for it. But yes, musical instruments go down in value quickly.

It is why buying used is great way to get good stuff at a good price. But stuff that is decently priced new makes it hard to find any great resell value.

How about an 80s Yamaha studio kit? I forget the exact model, but it was a recording or studio type 7 piece kit that I almost bought for $850 with stands and hardware, but it was nicked up here and there, plus needed all new heads....... seemed a bit pricy for being that old and with a few flaws.

I was just thinking you don't see Yamahas that much ...not like Pearls kits.

I was just thinking you don't see Yamahas that much ...not like Pearls kits.

Yamahas do seem to keep their value more than Pearls, especially the Stage Custom to Export comparison. Tama's seem to keep their value better than Pearls as well. I think it's juts purely that the market is flooded with used Pearls. Part of it is Guitar Center's fault, because they used to really push the exports a lot, and now that they are pushing Pacifics it's easy to find a pacific set for really cheap on the used market... and yes in places with a guitar center the used market does revolve around guitar center.

Advantage buyer! The market really can be harsh for selling used drums , Ive had a set of Yamaha's and a Vintage Slingerland kit for sale forever. I'm just waiting for Mr. Right on them cause I think they're worth the price I'm asking, but I'm often tempted to say {censored} it, slash the price and find Mr. Right Now

How about an 80s Yamaha studio kit? I forget the exact model, but it was a recording or studio type 7 piece kit that I almost bought for $850 with stands and hardware, but it was nicked up here and there, plus needed all new heads....... seemed a bit pricy for being that old and with a few flaws. I was just thinking you don't see Yamahas that much ...not like Pearls kits.

If you're talking about a "Yamaha Recording Custom" then it was worth the price. Nicks can be buffed and new heads aren't that expensive. It's the 100% Birch shells and reliable Yamaha hardware that made it worth it. This was a professional set. Is why you see vintage Ludwigs and Gretsch's so high today.

Is well worth it in the future to look at the description of any used drums you see and Google them for info. Makes it easy to find out what kind of set you're dealing with.

During the late 90's, the Recording Customs might have been seen as "old" but now are becoing vintage, hence worth more, what was old becomes new again.

Also, up until about 2000. Yamaha's cheapest set was the Stage Customs which is basically a mid-line set with pro features. Pearl Exports are an entry/mid level set that started in the early 80's, has been made in numbers, has had many copycats etc, is so many flooding the market etc.

IMO is why you see so few Yamahas and so many Pearls. In another 20 years could see a ton of many Rydeen sets flooding the market.