Selling off gear

I have a couple of drum sets and a lot of cymbals that I need to sell. I’ve read about the horrors of Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. I really don’t want to deal with that. Is selling online really as bad as some say? My other option is to go to Bentleys Drum Shop and just take whatever they offer me for everything. I won’t get as much money as I would selling everything myself, but it’s less hassle. I know some of you guys like buying and selling, but I don’t like the selling part. I also don’t want to have to pack and ship stuff, especially a drum set. How do you guys sell your stuff. Are there enough Sacramento/Bay Area drummers on here to put up a local only pickup in the classified section? How do you guys sell stuff?

I've sold quite a few snares, single toms, and cymbals over the years on eBay. They can be a bit of a hassle to ship, especially if you don't have great packing materials already on hand, but I've never had any buyer issues or horror stories. Whole drum sets? I've done that once, and it was (kinda obviously) the worst/biggest hassle.

Probably the closest thing to an issue I've had in the last few years is everyone has "free shipping" on the brain and either doesn't know or are willfully ignorant of how much it actually costs to ship something these days.

I'd suggest starting with local pick up sales on whatever platform you're most familiar/comfortable with and see what happens. I'd also do some research into what the current market value of what your selling is, and also at least talk to any local stores to see what they might offer. You might not come out too far behind selling the whole lot if you factor in time taking pictures, writing descriptions, waiting for buyers, etc.

I am currently selling some cymbals and have Ads on Reverb and Ebay. No luck yet, even though I am very low priced too. I sold my Yamaha e drums on facebook marketplace years ago with no problems. I would try FB marketplace and CL but make sure you state "Local Pick up only" to avoid the scammers.
If you have to ship: Shipping costs are insane for Drums due to the weight so be careful to price accordingly so you don't lose Money on Shipping.
I am going to try a few small drum shops next.
My Last resort will be Guitar Center who only pay 1$ an inch for used Cymbals and then turn around and sell them for $100 more.
Or maybe i will give them to a church drummer here in OC and take a tax deduction, lol

FB Marketplace is fine, in my experience. I usually get a few scam responses or folks not really interested asking questions, but it’s not much of a hassle.

I’ve met a few local players in the process. Just recently I sold some cymbals to the drummer of a popular ranchera band and I still keep up with him on FB. It’s pretty cool seeing the gear on all the shows he plays.

Every drum, cymbal, audio interface, and piece of hardware I've sold has been through Reverb.com. The longest an item has been up on my "store" was two weeks.

Although it's been a while, and their rates/fees have gone up, I love the idea of posting a fair price but allowing offers. I also don't mind packing items very well, so there's no doubt the buyer received the item in good shape. I also limit my shipping to the continental U.S.

DrumDoug said:

My other option is to go to Bentleys Drum Shop

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One and done. Very enticing unless you need a certain amount of money from this sale.

DrumDoug said:

I don’t like the selling part. I also don’t want to have to pack and ship stuff, especially a drum set. How do you guys sell your stuff.

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Last year I sold a boatload of stuff to Drums On Sale (now closed) as a trade-in for a new set. I sent pics to Christian so he was able to give me an offer before I showed up with the gear. Everything went toward a new drum set, snare and an 18" China. Couldn't be more pleased.

My suggestion would be to see if you can trade your stuff for a higher end kit at Bentley's or another reputable dealer. I know you may not want a new kit, but it can be a good way to move excess gear. Just a thought. Good luck!

PS: I don't like selling gear either.

I'd go with whatever is less stress for you.

Obviously don't get ripped off but if the gear has paid for itself many times over getting a little less cash but a lot less hassle is worth it.

I've got lots of nice cymbals that don't get used but I can't be bothered with the ball ache of selling them.

I buy and sell gear constantly, been a hobby for decades. The market isn’t great for sellers right now, so if you hate the selling, packing, shipping part already, the trade in at your local independent shop seems like a good bet. You’ll get to pick out what you want and try it in person, talk smack with the folks in the shop, and leave all the selling parts to them. Yeah you get much less cash value, but the positives may indeed outweigh that.

I just minutes ago got back from trading gear with a local homie, and we both got a nice haul of retail therapy without spending a dime or dealing with shipping. Very satisfying.

Matt Suda said:

FB Marketplace is fine, in my experience. I usually get a few scam responses or folks not really interested asking questions, but it’s not much of a hassle.

I’ve met a few local players in the process. Just recently I sold some cymbals to the drummer of a popular ranchera band and I still keep up with him on FB. It’s pretty cool seeing the gear on all the shows he plays.

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selling drum gear, I seem to meet the nicest people. I wouldnt buy/sell an iphone or something crazy where poapole get robbed for it, but when it comes to drums, It seems like its just a bunch of decent people. I sell on FB market place, I never say the stupid "dont ask if its available" crap, i personally hate when people add that to the listings. If someone asks, they are just opening the conversation. List your items as local pick up only.

Yeah I've also sold a good amount of stuff through FB Marketplace. Occasional tire kickers but that's about the biggest hassle. People are usually nice and fair about things, and then you get to walk away with cash!

Facebook marketplace has been successful for me with full kits. It may take a bit, and there will be plenty of tire kickers, but eventually it gets it done and you don’t have to shop or pay fees. But always do local meetup in a public place - don’t give out your address.

Sacramento/Bay Area? Just list it on Facebook and Craigslist. Yeah, there are a lot of nut jobs in the world. You just need to do your best to weed out the time wasters and weirdos... even if you need to be extremely blunt. Last few things I've sold went flawlessly. I mark stuff at my "absolute lowest price" because people don't understand "firm." Don't be eager to sell. Have an "I don't care" attitude. I've met some cool people selling drums.

I have had mixed results with FB Marketplace and CL, as well as Ebay and Reverb. I swore I'd never sell on Reverb again, but in near desperation, I just listed a Danelectro guitar up there. It's the first time I have listed an item in years. Lately, gear I have had for sale just sits unsold on CL and FB. I took a vintage Vox wah wah pedal into Sussex County Music the other day, and was told they listed it on Reverb and supposedly have an interested buyer already. That store has done pretty well for me selling stuff on consignment.

Surprisingly, I have done better selling gear at the Totowa, NJ Guitar Center. I took that PDP kit I bought down there a while ago, and got almost what I paid for it. They've also bought various guitars and snare drums, and I have never been disappointed at their offers. The hassle is waiting for their corporate people to get back to them with dollar figures. It sometimes takes 45-60 minutes. I can only browse around for so long.

I just shipped a 1937 Ludwig snare drum to Germany off an Ebay sale. The Ebay shipping hub works great. You send the box to them in this country, and they check it all out, make sure the item is well packed, and then they ship it out. It saves all the hassles and expense of dealing with overseas shipping.

OP, I know you get scammers on CL and FB. Just learn their tricks and report them. Then, tell them to go F themselves. LOL.

I decided to sell my 5- piece Gretsch (travel) kit. I was tired of hauling gear to various venues. My drum teacher introduced me to a local drum broker. He came to my house and assessed my kit. He then offered me a fair price. He gave me cash, and hauled it away.
Ask your local music stores if they know of a broker.

If you’re not pressured to sell, then go ahead and sell online, don’t stress about it, and do it on your terms. If you don’t want to ship, don’t. If you don’t want to accept a low offer, then don’t.

That said, figure out what your absolute bottom dollar is, and be prepared to sell it for that. The sellers market is pretty abysmal right now.

It sounds like you don’t want to sell it yourself a why bother? There’s no shame in selling it to a shop. Selling it yourself will get you more money, but you work for that money.

FWIW - All of my Craigslist sales have been great. I just use common sense and try to get a feel for the buyer. Do they sound like a drummer? Do they respond timely? Do they ask good questions. Do they give clear indication that they’re local? If that’s all a yes, then I’m not concerned. I meet in public and I use Google voice to text buyers so I can remain anonymous. If I feel uneasy, I bail out.

I've been selling to Guitar Center the last few months with not horrendous results.
I sold a Zoom 20 input recording interface on reverb for a decent price. It sold in two weeks, to my surprise, but I've had a DW made in USA snare listed for a fair price for two months, and it's caused me tons of heartache with stupid people and low ballers.
Someone else said itt "no one understands "FIRM" and it's 100% true. I should have just sold it to GC back in february. I might still do since reverb is sucking right now. (at least for my snare)
...of coarse YMMV

I've sold cymbals, snares, hardware, and even a full kit recently online. I do Craigslist, FB Marketplace, and Reverb. I've had far fewer dramas selling than I have buying. I find that the more (and better) pictures you take, and the more exact information you provide, you get a lot fewer of these "is this still available" types (example of one of my Reverb listings below - my FB and CL listings are identical to these). You get fewer contacts, but the ones who DO contact you are genuinely interested. From there you can feel free to make bargains or whatever. @Mr Farkle's tips on local transactions are great, I do the same things.

But also, there's no shame in selling to a shop. Consider the difference on the sale price the cost of having someone do the hard work of reselling it for you.

alparrott said:

I've sold cymbals, snares, hardware, and even a full kit recently online. I do Craigslist, FB Marketplace, and Reverb. I've had far fewer dramas selling than I have buying. I find that the more (and better) pictures you take, and the more exact information you provide, you get a lot fewer of these "is this still available" types (example of one of my Reverb listings below - my FB and CL listings are identical to these). You get fewer contacts, but the ones who DO contact you are genuinely interested. From there you can feel free to make bargains or whatever. @Mr Farkle's tips on local transactions are great, I do the same things.

But also, there's no shame in selling to a shop. Consider the difference on the sale price the cost of having someone do the hard work of reselling it for you.

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Yes this for me, too. CL, FB, and Reverb. I'll usually list on CL and FB first and leave them for a week or two. If no takers I'll use Reverb. Snares usually sell pretty quickly on FB. CL has been slow the last year maybe people have migrated to FB.

ON CL and FB I do cash only local sales. I'll meet buyer at a McDonalds or somewhere; never my house. I'd never let a stranger from social media know where I live or what my house looks like or what is in my house.

Yeah you'll get hit immediately with CL and FB scammers. They're easy to spot. Offering more than you asked, and an agent to pick them up. Sometimes want to buy as a gift for family member or friend. Anything really, other than can you tell me more about condition and details, etc.

From here on out (unless I have a major change of heart), I'm only going to sell on consignment. There's nothing like someone seeing the gear you are selling in person. They need to be able to put their hands and eyes on it; this way, there's none of this, "You didn't tell me about this little ding right here" or whatever. Also on consignment, you don't have to worry about meet-ups, no shows, and inconvenience. "Wanna see my snare drum? Great! Drop by XYZ store between the hours of 9-5. They are there all day." This is worth giving the store a percentage.

I've had way too many people flake out on me on Marketplace and CL. FB is a great place to buy though because people are so happy whenever you show up and have cash in hand.

As an aside, if you are a buyer, and you are struggling with someone selling to you, call it off. There's ALWAYS something up if the seller is making it difficult for you to give them money. Run.