Yes, it happens to me all the time. While the internet is a valuable tool, it often leads to someone drastically overpricing found gear. They see a $2000 drum kit on eBay, which is pristine and has brand new heads, and they think they have an equal piece.

Unfortunately, I don't have patience for much, and am quick to inform them. I have walked away from many deals for this very reason.

A quick search on eBay will show a few examples.....:2Cents:

Dad's set, and the "kid" who hasn't matured into adulthood does not play. So Dad's junk has to go. A few bux, and it is forgotten about.

My Dad is still living. He is 83. We have a few years left, maybe. The clock is ticking. I know the day will come and he will not be here any more.

I have a good Dad. Rock solid and dependable all of my life. Steady. Worked. Played guitar... no one famous or ever going to be famous. Just an average guy who did average guy things. But, he was solid. He bought a 58 first issue Epiphone Tobacco Sunburst Casino in 1967. He wasn't a Beatles fan by any stretch of the imagination either. What he paid for that guitar and the little Vox Cambridge then, used, amounted to approx. $5k in todays money. Paid for it on time. Played the thing for all of my life. I learned to play on that guitar, and would favor it over anything else I have ever touched, including his 335 Gibson.

Now even if I couldn't play one damn note on a guitar, and had the timing of a broken clock... that would be one thing I would keep, because in regard to "things" that one meant a lot to him. Paying for that "on time" over three years was a tremendous dedication of funds, and required a lot of sacrifice. A working mans salary per week then, might be about what take home is per day now. Just some perspective on that part.

It was something that was important to him at the time I was a kid, and kept its importance through my life. Something he touched and poured his soul into. That he closely identified with.

If I couldn't play... I would learn to play, just enough to make some noise on it, and be close, to share moments of my life with him after he is gone. Its a damn sight better than talking to a patch of grass in a cemetery.

Dad's drums wouldn't be any different.

I just don't bother with them, I let the market bare out that their price is not gonna float. But I have lost patience with these so called experts that have all this computer knowledge. I had a guy call me about a gene krupa Slingerland kit I was selling, he asked what stamp dates are in the drums, I replied there aren't any. He replies I'm a Slingerland expert all Slingerland shells are stamp dated. I called him Dr C.J. Wenk he said who? I said exactly!!, I told the expert I've owned around 30 Slingerland kits and untold singles and only a handful had stamped dates in the shells. At that time I had 4 Slingerland kits and only one had stamp dates in them.

That's a great remark Ploughman. Glad you will get to cherish that guitar. My dad played a steel guitar. He was a solid guy too. He had two, one of which he bought in what was then the area of Scollay Square in Boston (made more famous by the Kingston Trio's Charlie on the MTA). Cold, cold, cold Saturday in mid-March around 1964 or so. Twin neck Fender. A couple of years later he wowed us with a Gretsch amp that had reverb. The Fender was used, but worked well. Finish was really rough and he refinished it. Kept it for the rest of his life - better than 20 years.

He passed away way back in 1986. Before either my brother or I knew what happened, my mom sold off all his gear for short $$. Said she didn't want to bother us about it. She was solid too - maybe a bit too solid, but that is life.

PS - about the party pooper aspect that started the thread. When I see drums way over priced, I don't even bother to inquire. It simply isn't worth it because invariably they are going to either get really angry or highly insulted if presented the reality of the situation. Better to leave those pass and focus on the ones that are reasonably priced in my view.

Good point. Here is another scenario of the party pooper stuff. You go over to purchase a kit and then notice that the hoops are non original, the kit is a re-wrap, there are extra holes from a non original tom mount. What seemed like a decent deal at $900 is now suddenly a decent deal at $400. Do you tell the guy or do you just politely decline and leave?

I`m with Dan on this...

I don`t bother to try to bring a seller`s inflated pricing back down to earth...Most of the time they don`t even reply back...If they do, 9 times out of 10 they are ignorant and rude...

Cheers

I talk to them a bit and see what they know. I went through this many times with old cars. What was factory stock and still original etc.... Some you just can't reason or talk with. They have in their minds what it is and it's value. If I found someone reasonable you could talk and deal with it made things easier. And there are the times you find the person than knows a whole lot more than you do! Which made it a pleasure to spend time with them. So my round about answer is each situation is different. You learn to read the person by the first few min you spend with them. And go from there. It's the same with drums and anything else where there's a seller and buyer.

Normally I will offer suggestion to check SOLD listings on ebay for street pricing on something. I decided long ago not to tell someone what price they should price an item at. Not my business. Always easier to come down then raise price during a deal. Also try to offer "easy" information about what I see vs what they think they have. Only a couple of negative replies so far. If given without demeaning the seller, most react pretty well to the information.