Ludwigs have always gone for big dollars here. I know the other vintage brands do too; but really, there are a bunch of die hard Ludwig fans here. I could sell a container load - if only I owned a ship ;)

And this is an example of what New Zealand collectors are up against:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=702112997

and for those who wonder, they are asking $386 (US) or $432 (Australian Dollars).

Yes shipping from the USA is outrageous. The last thing I had sent to me was a pair of New Beats and that cost $53 (USD) while the hats were $85 (USD). I only went for it because the hats were such a good price and had the early 1960s New Beat ink on the inside of the bottom hat. Hats (or even better splashes) are relatively reasonable because they aren't hammered by the volumetric pricing system.

The airlines and courier companies have pleaded guilty to charges of cartel behavior and price fixing, and paid millions in settlements to the governments of various countries.

Right now:

http://www.aircargoworld.com/Air-Cargo-World-News/2014/01/swiss-commission-fines-airlines-over-freight-cartel/6072

Back to 1999:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11719507

It's a longstanding issue.

Zen - that Ludwig tom will never sell of course. He just keeps listing it. I generally find that the market here in NZ for good vintage stuff over a few hundred dollars is pretty tough. It's just such a small market.

I've bought quite a few items from America where the shipping was more than the item purchased. It really hurts sometimes, but at least the weather is niceCool Dude

Yes you are right Andrew. I should have added my usual

"asking isn't getting"

The price premium for Ludwig and Zildjian (those are the stand out brands to me where it happens) may be more in the minds of the sellers than buyers, and isn't actually supported by the marketplace. But if the sellers won't budge on price then we still have a tough time buying locally.

Yes, that's true. But you will often also see really nice gear selling for fair or even low prices because there is such a small collector market here.

Out of interest, how did that 18" K turn out that you bought from Alan? That seemed very reasonable and much less than what you'd pay for one in America.

It's very nice, but given the number and size of the cracks coming off the mounting hole it needs babying to last. More for my reference collection than for serious playing. But I'm certainly intrigued at how much stick sound those old stamps have. I had hopes for using a rubber grommet in it, but I found that changed the sound. Funny because I've experimented with rubber grommets on various other cymbals and they didn't have such a significant effect. So I'm already learning things from having it in my collection.

It might well sell for more in the USA, but if you add the cost of shipping it (fully insured) to the USA, plus the reluctance of many buyers in the USA to deal with overseas sellers, then it wasn't too far below my expectation for one with that level of damage. The market seems to me to have shifted towards wanting undamaged ones and good sound files, perhaps because of all the other modern choices out there these days. But I really don't spend enough time recording all the old K activity to be able to have the same level of confidence in my interpretation as I do with 602s and Sound Creations.