First off, never bite off the "RARE" b/s. There is no such thing where MIJ drums are concerned. Hard to come by, maybe. RARE, not. Imperial Star are some nice kits, when they are 80s. But early 80s, for 575, nah. If this is a C/L kit, go cash in hand, make an offer. Walk if no deal on YOUR terms. Ask, first ask if there has been any other people come to actually see them in person. If you are the only one, you are in charge. If you are the 3rd, then walk away. This is the only way to buy from Craigslisters. They have been lowballed via email 50 times. If no one has actually shown up cash on hand, you have the advantage because you have what he wants. Never let him know how much you have in hand. Only take as much as you are willing to pa. The reason you are in charge is because you have what he wants, cash, and if you leave, he has lost the only shot at a sale he is likely to have.

i could not have said it any better. i agree good advice for the first time buyer

Imperialstar's from the eighties are nice kits,really sturdy,and they were good enough for stewart copeland,but even if they are near mint 575.00 is too much,they were a midlevel kit to start with,albeit a really good one,but in this economy I am thinking 4 bills max.The pacifics are good sounding kits,but not quite as sturdy,but you would be getting 7 drums,but those are going for 899.00 brand new,in really good shape 575.00 would be in the ballpark,but I would offer 500.00 cash in hand.

Thanks for the advise. Does anyone know what the imperialstar's drums are made from? what type of wood? Im tempted to make an offer on the pdp X7 kit, but I have heard so much conflicting opinions and information about the drum kit. Some say its really good for its price, others say its crappy wood and its quantity over quality. So far, most people say the imperialstar is ok. What do drummers mean by sturdy? I have heard it being used a whole lot around here, especially when descrbing the imperialstar.

The imperialstar also does not include a snare drum, do you think thats more of a reason to ask for a lower price?

Hmmmm... Both kits seem okay, but that's about it. Okay...

I just sold a set of X7's a few months ago for $500.00. It was a nice kit I picked up off of C/L cleaned it and fixed it up and resold it. In the pix, you see it has an 8, 10 and 12 in. rack tom set, and 14 and 16 inch floor toms. The bass was a 22 X 18 or so if I remember. The snare is a Tama Rock Star COS 14 X 5. If you're playing heavy metal, I would think you would be looking for bigger drums. A 24 or 26 bass, 13 and 14 inch racks and 16 and 18 inch floor. But what do I know. :)

I've never owned the Imperial Star, but an 80's kit like that seems a bit high at $575. But then I'm no expert there either. If you're working on a budget, look at the Gretsch Catalina line. I think there are a couple kits in that line that would meet, and stand up to, heavy metal playing. You see them all over the place second hand, and they are pretty cheap new as well.

Also, Jonni is right on the money (pun intended) with his suggestions for purchasing stuff off of C/L. The X7 kit was nasty dusty / dirty. The guy was asking $400, but I ended up getting them for $225 with the hardware and cymbals. I didn't include either when I sold the kit. I just sold the shell pack. He said, four. I said two, he said no, so I walked. I hadn't got back to my pick up when he said 250 and I countered with 225. That's how ya do it. Good luck to you! Lot's of kits out there for sale.

Jonni's comments were good as far as the process go, but he never mentioned how much cash in hand to bring.

I've shopped around probably as much as anyone else on this website and if i were looking at those drums I would bring this amount, "cash in hand":

$0.25

First of all, that guy is insulting you and basically figuring someone will come along (like you, before you posted this topic) not knowing enough about the value of them and buy his piece of **** Imperialstar set or even the greater piece of **** PDP drums. Both of them would be about that price or less BRAND NEW, discounted.

Don't tell him this though. Just go look at the drums. Act like you may be interested but don't tell him about only bringing a quarter. It's like poker, right, you don't want to reveal what's in your hand.

This quality of drums, if it is an 80s Japan-made Imperialstar set, what kind of wood is it? I wonder if Tama even knows. That's why they painted the interiors with that fugly speckled paint.

All this in mind, though, the Tamas are probably better than the PDPs but without pictures and details I would NEVER valuate a set of drums. No snare, that cuts the value down a BUNCH. This is a dude who probably has a better set in the back and he won't let you look at them. Does it come with cymbals? Probably not.

The reason why you should look at them is to educate yourself. You should look at as many sets as possible and only buy the best price. You know the best price and value when you don't have to start a topic on this forum about it.

The Imperialstar drums from the 80's are very good drums. Better than many of todays new kits. They are supposedly made of Mahogany covered by Zola Coating.

Now for the price. The kit as you described is probably in the $300 range at best.

They are not rare. However, Jonnistix is not correct in my opinion in saying there is no such thing as rare when it comes to MIJ drums. Tama made some very unusual one-off drums in the 80's. There are Artstar and Superstar drums that more than qualify for rare. Of course you should always do as much research as possible when someone uses the term "rare" as most of the time its not. Its rare when an item described as rare is rare.

For example, Tama made a handful of 20 inch Cordia Artstar bass drums. They are not mentioned or shown in ANY catalog but I know of 2 examples. I've never seen or even heard of others. Thats more than just hard to find. There are several other examples but rare is a reality with Tama and prices are getting pretty high as more info gets out into the market place. Tama was well known for making any size drum in any finish for any paying customer. Strange items keep showing up. I have a 16x20 bass drum in Super Mahogany. No catalog shows this size. They show 14x20 which is a harder to find size and they are out there but not the 16x20. I have only seen the one that I own and its not a conversion, its original.

But, Imperialstars are not rare and not very expensive. They were the workhorse for Tama in the 80's. The Superstar line was there flagship until the Cordia Artstars showed up. The 80' were a good time for Tama.

The chrome Imperialstar badged snares are sought after. If the set included one than $500 would have been fair.

You are correct about the Artstars, etc. However, those usually don't end up on C/L as a "rare" kit. My point is that people using this deceptive description are indeed phishing for fools. Many times you will find some rare sizes and some rare finishes, but this type of post is more common than many of us realize. It is not my intention to say there are no "rare" kits or sizes, that sort of thing, but that far too many sellers are either a) uninformed or b) straight up looking for an uninformed buyer to mistakenly think the are getting something they are not. Imperial Star kits from the early 80s are indeed nice drums but far from rare. Maybe rare in the fact they are still intact and not drilled or spilled, but hardly rare for any other reason, and certain not for the color. I do believe black to be the most common color for this line.

As for the snares, not all Imperial Star snares are highly sought after. It would be the King Beat parallel strainer model that is the most highly sought after of all the regular TAMA snares, short of any special editions or bell brass, that sort of thing. A King Beat snare will make this a better deal, however this seller is not likely to know the difference and therefore 250-300 would be a good offer, less if you feel strong going in. Remember, Imperial Star is not the top line kit. If he were an informed seller and knows about the snare, he would likely have separated it for the highest profit margin. They average 200ish to 250. Another top line snare that is a workhorse COB shell. They sound amazing, one of the MIJs finest. Between the KB and the Pearl Jupiter, they are arguably 2 of the best snares out there, especially if you account for all the supersensitive Ludwigs and other high-end snare drums. I hear many people that don't like the super because it is so dry, but those same folks like the sound of the MIJ versions...go figure.

This is a very good thread and I am personally enjoying reading the posts by Jonnistix and Ed427Vette. You guys are obviously very knowledgeable about drums in general, but also about my favorite brand, Tama. I'm glad to read everything you guys post, because it's very enlightening. Thanks, and keep posting. I'll keep reading.