Dang, it's good to have you back Luddydude. I've watched this one and have remained on the sidelines 'cause the news was gonna be bad. I don't like delivering those. They tend to fight you when you do. Sure enough, you got it. It was very sweet in the delivery, but you got it. Your response was spot on. I feel bad for this guy. It's hard to swallow a serious loss and we all would desire someone to tickle our ear. The Rep was one masterful tickler, evidently. I've done the same thing. I think we all have at some point in our lives.
Michael, I don't feel bad for this guy at all. He didn't do his homework, so he got shafted. In this day and age, with so many different places to research rarity, value, market trends, and such I see NO excuse for getting taken. If you don't know what you are looking at or know much about the product, educate yourself before you drop a ton of coin on something, it's that simple. And when you do try to educate yourself on something by asking it in an open forum, don't slam the guys in the forum just because the answer isn't what you wanted to hear. The majority of the longstanding members on this particular forum know more about vintage drums, especially Ludwig drums, than any sales rep currently at Ludwig does (and that's all he is is a SALES REP). If I need a go-to guy to ask about a certain era Ludwig product, it would be a longtime collector, like Mike Curotto, or Bun E. Carlos, or myself.....not (and no disrespect to him) Todd Trent, or his current replacement. Heck, the ultimate source was the Chief, but he's gone now, so longtime collectors are considered the best source now, not sales reps.