How do I sell my drums?

I'm planning on buying a new kit. I'd like to get rid of my old one; it's just not what I need anymore. I live in a small town, so the chance of getting a hit from putting the kit in the classifieds is small. I thought about Ebay, but that might be hell to ship. Are there any other ways I don't know about?

Thanks.

Unless you sell them to somebody in your town, you're going to have to ship them. So you might as well just embrace it. Ebay all the way.

Agreed. When you sell them, you can make the buyer pay for the shipping as part of the deal. So while it won't ding your wallet to ship them, it's still a pain in the butt. Just don't skimp on the packing....better to spend extra money on bubble wrap and packing peanuts than to have the drums get destroyed on the way to the seller and get them returned to you.

I bought 4 of my 8 toms on Ebay as well as a cymbal, all positive experiences and I'd go back again.

Given that others would feel the same, it's a good place to sell if they must be shipped anyway.

I know when I bought my drums, they came packaged inside each other. That way, instead of shipping five or six huge boxes, you can ship one huge box. Just go to www.ups.com and make sure you stay underneath their Oversize 3 size. OS3 makes it expensive as hell. I think it's around 32x32x32 though.

Just wandering how you guys would go about selling a whole kit?? I have a kit, cymbals, stands, stool, double pedals etc Would you sell each item individually or sell it all in one?? I`m obviously trying to get as much as i can for it. thanks

IMHO, while you might get more per item if you cut it into small pieces, you'll also be left with leftover stuff you can't sell. Here's how I'd do it:

Sell the kit with the standard hardware. Include cymbal stands, tom mounting stands, snare stand, etc. If you have a "name" kick pedal or hi-hat stand (Iron Cobra, Pearl, DW, Yamaha, etc.) you can sell them seperately. If they're not a highly sought after brand name, include them with the kit.

Then sell the cymbals individually (again, assuming that they're name brand...Zildjian, Sabian, Paiste, etc....pro line cymbals). If they're starter cymbals (Zildjian's ZXT or ZBT, Sabian B8, etc.) you won't get much for them individually, so you might want to "sweeten" the deal by throwing them in with the kit.

Here's a little "Marketing 101" for you: consider who would likely buy your stuff. If it's a kid just starting out, there's a big benefit for giving him a "one-stop shopping" option (or his parents who are bankrolling the buy). If that's the case, emphasize that the kit is ready to go, and upon receipt of the happy UPS truck, the kid will be an instant drummer! On the other hand, if your stuff is really top-end stuff, you want to appeal to people who know their stuff. In that case, people are generally looking for specfic gear, so the more info you have (year it was made, condition, photos) the more apt you'll be to get bids.

Finally, be realistic with your price expectations. If you're selling a 5 year old Pearl Export kit that you bought for $500 new, you'll probably only get $200-$250 for it used. That $200 double pedal has mileage on it too, so maybe you can get half what you paid for it new. Some stuff (i.e. bargain priced stuff like a $40 cymbal) really doesn't have ANY value on the used market, so include that stuff with the kit just to get rid of it.

Hope this helps. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of money to be made in used drum gear unless it's really great stuff and/or collectable.

If you go to http://spaces.msn.com/members/mike-mckee71/ and check out my space, then you'll see a picture of my drums in the photos section. Then maybe I can get some more complete advice. Price range?

I think selling things separately is a great idea.

Thanks.