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Thread: ALWAYS inspect before you buy!

  1. #1

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    Default ALWAYS inspect before you buy!

    So I'm sure most of you guys do check gear before you buy it. But I thought I share a couple of stories from the other day to emphasize the importance of doing so.

    So here we go....
    Story 1:
    I'm a real sucker for Vintage MIJ stuff. I have Camco, and Ludwig and Slingerland but I am a sucker when it comes to the underdog (MIA Kent, Pearl, Star, ect.)
    The other day I came across an old Whitehall snare drums. I was in phenomenal condition. Silver Sparkle, almost no pitting in the chrome, re rings flawless, and from what I could see the shell was just incredible. They only wanted $27 at the pawnshop so I was going to open negotiation at $15 and hope to settle no more than $20. I always bring a key with me but was waiting in line to ask if I could take the heads of. While I was standing there I was looking through the vent hole to see if there was anything noticeable. Unfortunately it appears that someone had dropped the snare on the strainer and the shell was starting to fall apart where the strainer was mounted. So I shed a tear, put the drum back and left.

    It would have only been a $20 mistake but not worth it in my opinion.

    Story 2:
    Same day I went over to another pawnshop that I've had pretty good luck with in the past. They had a set of Zenjian hi hats and a Zildjian 16" Thin crash. I immediately noticed that one of the Zenjians had a crack and left them be. But that Zildjian was only priced at $49 and very tempting. I thought about it for awhile and picked it up ready to make an offer when I noticed some almost microscopic cracking coming from the bell. I got closer and closer to see and sure enough it was a bad cymbal.


    DO NOT BUY UNLESS YOU INSPECT. Some things you can repair and use to get the sellers price down. But some thing are not worth the headache and money.
    Last edited by Zeta; 10-28-2013 at 01:41 PM.
    -Steven

  2. #2

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    Good points Zeta. Thanks for sharing.

  3. #3

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    Very good advice. Often times we are so excited to find a "treasure" that we tend to overlook small damage.

  4. #4

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    Especialy pawn shops cause most have no idea what to look for in musical instruments flaws.

  5. #5

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    I inspect most of the items I purchase however there are times I have not and thank goodness I have not been burned to the point that I kicked myself or regretted the purchase.

    Good information here.
    TAMA- '2018 Star Walnut, ‘99 Starclassic Performer, '89 Granstar, ‘93 Rockstar
    Gretsch- 1963 Round Badge
    Zildjian
    Remo
    Vic Firth
    Speed Cobra Double Pedal Blackout Edition
    Speed Cobra Hi Hat
    Hardware- TAMA Roadpro
    Snare Drums- various TAMA, Gretsch, Ludwig, Leedy
    Mic's- Sennheiser, Shure, AKG

  6. #6

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    Why I refuse to buy big ticket items over the internet.

  7. #7

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    E-bay is the safest place to buy anything cause they have a reputation to protect and so do the sellers. I have bought a lot of goods there and never had any problems.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pearl MCX Man View Post
    E-bay is the safest place to buy anything cause they have a reputation to protect and so do the sellers. I have bought a lot of goods there and never had any problems.
    This. I've never had any reason to complain after buying on ebay.
    Mapex Armory - Photon Blue
    Mapex VXB kit - Transparent Black
    Mapex & Pearl snares
    Paiste Alpha & RUDE cymbals
    Remo & Vater

  9. #9

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    Good for you guys. Still a risk Im not willing to take. When Im making a big purchase I want to hold, look at it hear it. I dont want to spend weeks solving the problem, while my cash is being held.
    Last edited by Northern Redneck; 10-28-2013 at 12:46 PM.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pearl MCX Man View Post
    E-bay is the safest place to buy anything cause they have a reputation to protect and so do the sellers. I have bought a lot of goods there and never had any problems.
    I bought a couple of old long-lug Pearl Export toms on EBay awhile back. They were advertised as being "Maple shells"....which I knew wasn't true. I was hoping they may at least have Birch inner plies, but turns out they were Luan outer ply and Poplar (or maybe Basswood) inner plies. No big deal...I didn't pay much and they're still good enough for my intent. Had I not known any better and believed they were Maple, I would have been pretty upset!
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  11. #11

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    Sorry to hear that Brian. You could of complained about it to e-bay, false advertising. They would of looked into it and give you a refund or whatever. Remember that in the future.

  12. #12

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    Yeah, I thought about it, but I researched before I bid and found out that Maple wasn't used in the old Export series. So, I based my bid accordingly. I wanted them to use on my Maxwin kit, so a Luan outer ply can be stained to match the other shells anyway....it was pretty much a win/win either way. I don't think the guy was trying to pull a fast one, I think he just didn't know much about drums. A quick 10 second Google search would have told him (or anyone) what they were.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    Yeah, I thought about it, but I researched before I bid and found out that Maple wasn't used in the old Export series. So, I based my bid accordingly. I wanted them to use on my Maxwin kit, so a Luan outer ply can be stained to match the other shells anyway....it was pretty much a win/win either way. I don't think the guy was trying to pull a fast one, I think he just didn't know much about drums. A quick 10 second Google search would have told him (or anyone) what they were.
    Very common mistake I see is people just guessing a drum is made out of maple. Mot a malicious thing, I didn't know anything about different wood until I got real in depth with researching drums.

    Always assumed it was maple, with or without a stain of some kind to change the color.
    -Steven

  14. #14

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    My "A" Zildgian 16" Thin Crash is my favorite cymbal.
    I bought it in 1976; it is still perfect.
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  15. #15

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    I bought my set of HHX crashes off ebay. However, it was from Forks Drum Closet over in the States so I figured they were a reputable seller. Besides, the same cymbals in Aus would’ve costed a ridiculous amount of money… I suppose if you do go the way of the Bay, make sure the seller checks out.
    Pdp LXE | Pearl ELX Export

    'Give me your fingernails, oh look, the moon' - Todd Sucherman.

  16. #16

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    I was reading this thread and wanted to share a story in where it was in my favor... I went to a used instrument store looking to buy an additional cymbal to add some flair. I went in with 3 beat to crap paiste cymbals that I had abused for 3 years on a practice set. I brought 2 crashes and a ride which all of them had some form of cracking. I was waiting for the guy to tell me he would give me $ 20 or $30 credit. As he was looking up on his computer I was telling him what I was looking for and he got all excited and showed me a hand hammered china from sabian. We went back to the checkout and he told me with my trade it could pay for it. Well... I said hell ya and walked away with a sabian hand hammered china 18" brand new for just tax. The next week I was in a Guitar Center and the clerk who made the poor decision to buys those cracked cymbals was there struggling to give some one advise on buying guitar strings. I felt a little bad at the time but hey... buyer be where!

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