Do You Hold On To Stuff You're Not Using?

I keep most of my gear. I have two full kits ( stave & ply) with stands and cases and a selection of snares and cymbals. A good kit is a a good kit and doesn’t really go out of style provided you don’t go for overly deep or shallow sizes or unusual colour. However, like many of us I traded up to this situation over 10 years and then stabilised to this. I also have space in the house to store everything without getting in the way of domestic life.
 
By the time I left for college, I’d moved a total of 83 times
Holy crap, you win. I know folks who move a lot (military, economically unstable, etc.), but 83? That's gotta be some sort of record.
 
Holy crap, you win. I know folks who move a lot (military, economically unstable, etc.), but 83? That's gotta be some sort of record.
Two parents, each moving once or twice or thrice per year. At one point, my mother lived in a house, on the beach in Del Mar, CA, owned by Desi Arnez. She initially paid $125/month. It was one of his summer guest houses that Desi’s guests would stay at, while he resided in his summer house two or three blocks away. My mother got the deal from Desi’s real estate agent and we maintained the house (paint rooms, repair stuff) for the cheap rent. For seven or eight years, my mother & I would move out in June (leaving furniture like sofas, beds, dressers) to some other apartment, house, or shack (the best one being at the beach at Cardiff-by-the-Sea, just 50 yards from the surfing reef, living above hippies who loved to smoke, dance and laugh. I was 13 and learned a few things from them). In September, we’d move back into Desi’s place, clean everything (the guests were slobs) and enjoy another 9 months on the beach. It was a wonderful time because the beaches of southern California were still empty during most of the “off-season”. I spent many, many mornings surfing alone before school.
 
I've got lots and I want to sell.
Mostly MIDI controllers but some drums bits.
The question is, where do people sell?
I'm looking at ebay and reverb but both have highish fees and I'm hoping to not lose too much money against my bought price....
 
I've got lots and I want to sell.
Mostly MIDI controllers but some drums bits.
The question is, where do people sell?
I'm looking at ebay and reverb but both have highish fees and I'm hoping to not lose too much money against my bought price....
I’ve used Reverb.com without any issue. If I wanna unload something, I’ll pay the fee.
 
Generally, I Do try to get rid of stuff after observing it doesn't get used. But I do have multiple of everything for backup purposes, and, just wanting change of pace. Overall, I think I have a healthy, non wasteful amount of equipment. I don't have a whole lot of gear lust in the drum world. In the bass world, that comes and goes. :)
 
I've got lots and I want to sell.
Mostly MIDI controllers but some drums bits.
The question is, where do people sell?
I'm looking at ebay and reverb but both have highish fees and I'm hoping to not lose too much money against my bought price....

I gave up on eBay a long time ago. Just far too many bad people lurking there. When I sell, I do it locally via Craigslist.
 
When I sell, I do it locally via Craigslist.
What’s your method of meeting with the buyer and finishing the deal? Do you meet up at a public venue? (e.g., library parking lot, McDonald’s, etc.) Cash only? Or do you accept electronic payments?

The issue I have with CL is:
  • The buyers have always tried to negotiate down once we’re in person. This aggravates me ‘cuz the price had already been agreed on.
  • The buyers snoop around. I’ve sold gear from my studio about a dozen times, but the last two deals have had a buddy of the buyer walk around my studio while the buyer and I are squaring up. The second time it happened I called him out and asked what he was doing.
  • I have no way of knowing how principled the buyer is.
 
Simple question: Do you hold on to gear if you're not using it?

I like to keep my gear list as short as possible. If I don't use something, it usually gets the boot. Exceptions are made for things I'm confident I'll need on certain gigs or things with serious sentimental value, but even then I sometimes move on.

I have two snares that I basically never use-- one matches my kit while the other is the same brand as my kit. They're both terrific drums, but I just have some things I like better and use more. Pretty sure I'm going to sell them both. Same with some cymbals. There's something in me that rebels against collecting and accumulating stuff.
I'm the same way. Things hanging around I don't use is depressing.
 
What’s your method of meeting with the buyer and finishing the deal? Do you meet up at a public venue? (e.g., library parking lot, McDonald’s, etc.) Cash only? Or do you accept electronic payments?

The issue I have with CL is:
  • The buyers have always tried to negotiate down once we’re in person. This aggravates me ‘cuz the price had already been agreed on.
  • The buyers snoop around. I’ve sold gear from my studio about a dozen times, but the last two deals have had a buddy of the buyer walk around my studio while the buyer and I are squaring up. The second time it happened I called him out and asked what he was doing.
  • I have no way of knowing how principled the buyer is.

No one gets anywhere near my home. I do the transaction in the parking lot of a shopping plaza. If they don't like that, we don't do business.

I make a reference in the ad to it already being a low price and don't bother trying to haggle.

I accept cash only.

I might be lucky so far, but with that approach, I haven't had a single problem yet. Zero haggles, zero other hassle. I make my ads very detailed with good pics, and we do some email or text dialog before meeting. So the assumption is - if we bother meeting, I am expecting to finish it. I have sold a number of items this way, with a 100% close rate. For me, this is far more attractive than shipping things and dealing with the bad people online.
 
Last night I let go of a drumstick while in mid-use.

It was during the "Brick House" drum fill after the breakdown in the song. The entire band saw it, and was laughing as I was grabbing another stick to make sure I came back in on the 1.
 
I have a loose grip, and I occasionally let a stick loose. :) Loose grips for the win.
 
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