I'm thinking of buying this drum - is it a good deal?

[kona]

I don't know much about DW drums other than going to the web site and watching how they make their drums. They seem to put a lot into it and they look pretty nice.

I was in a local retail store today and saw this snare and liked it right away (the finish and how solid it felt and the fact that the badge said DW Collector's Series with a serial # on it). The price is $480 so I had one of the sales people put it on lay-away and gave them $50 down. I did that so they wouldn't sell it until I had a chance to talk to the drum manager there on Monday. I will problably end up buying it anyway but I thought I'd check around on the Forum to see if it's a resonable price to pay. It's been rented out for about 5 hours but other than the head it's in mint condition. I'd problably change the heads out anyway.

This drum is much nicer in person!

[ThePloughman]

I saw a used one of these at the Lincoln CA guitar Center last month for 325.00 It was perfect. Dont pay a new price for what is in reality a used drum. Talk them down. The one I seen was in Red Onyx. DW Collectors 5x14.

[pastor_bob]

Well, I'm no help to you at all Kona, but I do know that the gearheads in here will help you out. The Ploughman is certainly one of those guys. I have a lot of respect for the way some of our guys know their gear! I'll be interested in how this all works out Kona. Good luck bro.

[Andreeew]

How many plies is that? looks gorgeous

[kona]

How many plies is that? looks gorgeous

10 ply maple

[Andreeew]

My drum teacher owns a 10 ply maple DW snare too! he has the natural maple finish. it sounds fantastic, you should get that and follow The Plougman's advice

[Stevo42w]

All i can tell ya is dw do make great gear....

Definatly haggle. these guys seem expencive because they wanna make extra money off the people afraid to ask for a discount. I talked to the manager of a store before. He said their keep the markup high for the rich people that dont gig just play for fun and will just buy gear.... For muso's there more than happy to knock a huge chunk off that price. ploughman said he saw it for 325..... ask them for 350?..... tell them you seen it so much somewhere else... You gotta find ways to tell people you dont wanna spend your money their unless they do it for this much. And they will take your money

I learnt good haggeling tricks from my uncle :>

[funkymcstain]

it is a nice snare, but way too much for a standard collectors series snare. i would not pay any more than 350. you could buy a used dw edge snare for about 450.

[Church Drummer]

I Would check E-bay for similar drums see what they are going for on their, That will give you a basis to haggle. Since this was an in store demo unit will you be getting the manufacturer's warranty as if you were the original owner? That will make a big difference. I would guess you can get him to come down a little on price. If not maybe you can get him to throw in a hard case, or some other accessory you may need.

[coke_can]

that is cool, but haggle a little

[pditty]

do some internet research print out examples of what you could buy one for and bring that in to him. That should give you some nice leverge. Weather it was played 5 min or 5 days its not a new snare any more and should be discounted even further.

good luck. Be reasonable with them and they will be reasonable with you in return (usually) They have to make a buck to keep the lights on employee's wages and benifits taxes stuff like that. Keep that in mind. Souds like anything in mid to high 300's would be fair.

[kona]

Thanks everyone for replying.
I sent the drum manager an email and told him I was looking around on the "net" and saw that drum from $325 - $365 and asked him what his best price would be. I told him I'd be in to talk to him about it. They've been good to me so far - but a little pricy on some items. Then again they have some very competitive prices on lots of stuff too. They are part of a large Canadian chain store. I live in a mid-sized town in BC Canada and there are 4 drum stores here trying to make a living and at the same time they're competing with the internet. I like to support my local guys but I don't want to pay more than what something is worth.

I would have to pay shipping and there are delays sometimes buying over the internet (boarder issues).

From the looks of it here around $350 and maybe a little more would be where I would be aiming for considering where I live etc.

[drummerbox55]

all i no is i got a huge 8 peice ludwig accent kit with all hardware ,china highhat crash and ride cymbals, all barley used. i no ludwig isnt as good as dw but i got all theat for 20 dollars more than that snare. go with wat every1 is sayin and ask for a lower price

[kona]

all i no is i got a huge 8 peice ludwig accent kit with all hardware ,china highhat crash and ride cymbals, all barley used. i no ludwig isnt as good as dw but i got all theat for 20 dollars more than that snare. go with wat every1 is sayin and ask for a lower price

Ludwig drums are very nice! And - you can make any drum sound great if the bearing edges are good.

It sounds like you got a hell-a-va good deal there to me!

I'm going to do my best to get this guy (the drum-store-guy) to come down to what I think is reasonable for sure and I'll let you-all know the outcome...

Cheers,

Kona

[bongobro]

Kona, follow The Ploughman and church_drummer's advice...

That's a cool piccolo snare, man, but I would definitely try to deal it down as best you can. Technically, it is a used drum (not much different than buying a demonstrator from a car dealer, actually), but if you play your cards right, it'll be all but new once you change out the heads!

Keep us posted, bro'!

[coke_can]

what size is it? BB how do you know its piccolo?

[Stevo42w]

is it a piccalo? I thought piccalos only went upto about 2 inches? 3.5 and bigger is a snare isnt it?

[Andreeew]

it looks like a 5 incher...but I dunno

[bongobro]

Oops...may not be a piccolo, but it does look fairly shallow for a snare...gotta check my glasses......my bad, mates...

[backtodrum]

That is a DW collectors 10&6 (10ply maple and 6ply reenforcement rings) they are very good sounding drums and built extremely well. You would do well to get it for $400.00 or less. They routinely go on ebay for that all of the time.

[kona]

That is a DW collectors 10&6 (10ply maple and 6ply reenforcement rings) they are very good sounding drums and built extremely well. You would do well to get it for $400.00 or less. They routinely go on ebay for that all of the time.

Thanks everybody!

The drum is at the retailers right now so I can't measure it but I am sure it's at least 14x5 (no piccalo here Bongobro).

I chatted with the drum guy at the store he's willing to go $449 (that's $450 in my book).

I'm taking it - I like it and I know I'll make good use out of it - that's what counts.

Cheers,

Gary

[Church Drummer]

If you like it enough to pay $450 for it, then it's worth $450 to you. It never hurts to try and negotiate a better deal. I'm assuming from the price he is selling this to you as a "New" drum so you should get all of the manufacturers warranties, and the support of the store sometimes is worth paying a little more for.

[kona]

If you like it enough to pay $450 for it, then it's worth $450 to you. It never hurts to try and negotiate a better deal. I'm assuming from the price he is selling this to you as a "New" drum so you should get all of the manufacturers warranties, and the support of the store sometimes is worth paying a little more for.

It's worth it to me - that's why I am still going to get the drum. It is new except that it has about 5 hours use in a local studio. I was told it was rented out for a few hours - the head looks like it has had some use. The drum department manager said he would pop a new head on - no problem. As far as the warranty goes - it's a large chain music store so I'm pretty confident that if there is something wrong with the drum I will have no problem sorting that out through them. And - yes - it nice that they're local - down the street frm my house a few blocks. That is a plus -especially if you have to deal with taking something back.

[backtodrum]

It's worth it to me - that's why I am still going to get the drum. It is new except that it has about 5 hours use in a local studio. I was told it was rented out for a few hours - the head looks like it has had some use. The drum department manager said he would pop a new head on - no problem. As far as the warranty goes - it's a large chain music store so I'm pretty confident that if there is something wrong with the drum I will have no problem sorting that out through them. And - yes - it nice that they're local - down the street frm my house a few blocks. That is a plus -especially if you have to deal with taking something back.

It's a DW, you don't need no stinking warranty! :

[ratmycue]

good for you Kona, you have peace of mind and a great new snare at a discounted price, well done enjoy your new instrument, I recently lost an ayotte snare purchase by diddling too long. still mad at myself.