it will increase in time the more mint it is the more it will b worth but it mite yellow out a bit before the big bucks come a calling ( as in decades lol)

I get asked this question all the time, and the answer is that it's just impossible to predict. Drum prices have been all over the map in the past 20 years...they seemed to have peaked a few years ago, then dropped like a rock, then bounced back a little, dropped again, etc, etc.

I always say - if you get an outstanding offer out of the blue, and don't need the drums, then sell. If you love having them around, keep them. But keeping them for their investment potential will often lead to disappointment.

More than 5 years ago (I bought me first vintage kit and had it appraised 5 years ago) prices were high. I've noticed a trend for prices to be going down over the past 5 years - there are some exceptions sure, but overall they're down. Since ebay and the tecnology boom in general there have been a lot of people collecting and fine tuning prices. What I mean by 'fine tuning' is anyone with a pc can search and compare prices. Back in the day....even just 10 years ago...most people could walk into a secondhand vinyl store and luck out and find a gem for next to nothing. Now when you go up to the counter with your very special find more likely than not the person behind the counter will do their magic - look it up online. You may get a not bad price but you're not going to buy a $200 record for 50c. That tecnology is being used to the enth degree in the vintage drum world as we all know. So - to answer your question it depends more on the market than how many years have gone by or will go by....in general....that's where we're at now it looks like.

I have drum for which I am positive I paid too much. And quite a few... I know I paid far too little. That has nothing to do with value. Drums that have been on ebay for months........or YEARS (as in the case of one florida drum stripper) aren't anywhere near the average, or market. They hang around for a lot of reasons. Reputation being only one of those. However, the longer the idiot keeps running the same auction over and over for months turning into years...... the more those overpriced (and sometimes not so overpriced) auctions have affected value for all of us. They... the collective that is one single seller on ebay.... have harmed the vintage market in a lot of ways. Mainly by creating the perception that things are over priced and should sell for less money. Some people have come to believe that.... in the case of Rogers Dyna-Sonic wood snare drums specifically. It has become difficult to get a fair auction price on ebay because the perception of value has been tainted by a few re-run auctions with moderately overpriced drums of highly questionable provenance. The longer the auctions have run on, the more people have forgotten and ignored just who is running them. In essence... one person is being allowed to price fix a market on a specific item. So the average joe comes along with a drum that should net 2 k on any given day.... realistically. Excellent condition, no mods, good historical provenance for original ownership, no replacement parts no problems with authenticity... and he can only get 1500 in bids because you all think the market is down. When enough people believe lies.... they get stated as truth. Its time to recognize just exactly who has done damage to the vintage market...and it isn't all about the stupid economy. And... at the same time small parts prices are through the roof. So much so that hardware is worth more than the collective set of drums. And I know that old man has lots and lots of parts.

I have a 1964 Rogers Wine Red Ripple set that has not appreciated a lot above what I have into it. But anyone who thinks it is walking away for less than 4000 is living in a fantasy. Either way.... I have no intention of selling. Even if that kind of offer came.

The sets and drums that are sought after and valuable now will only get more so in time.

Original top hat and cane sets, bombers, royal aces, old engraved American brass shelled snares, certain sig models, Gladstone snares, just to name a few are hell expensive now. Imagine in 50..75, even 100 years.

Some drums are under valued, drops for example. They may come into their own some day like Rogers did.

Bottom line, if you like em, keep em, but yer not gonna finance your retirement on vintage drums unless your Maxwell's or sumthin'.

Actually I am going to finance my retirement on vintage drums. Once I retire, I will spend the rest of my life dusting and polishing. I am financing myself a future job.

It's hard to tell what direction of prices will be. A lot of people bought their vintage drums for next to nothing in early 90's, then in middle 00's they could cost a small fortune.

Now there is a trend to remake old stuff with modern technology (Gretsch, Ludwig Legacy, C&C, DW Jazz Series, etc.), I would say for the most vintage drums prices should slowly go down. Exceptions as couple posts above mentioned plus Gretsch drums in smaller, desirable sizes.

As time goes by - I expect price rising tendency for 80's Japan drums. Especially Yamaha Recording.

However today music sounds - studios will always look for vintage american drums for recording. The "danger" is studio technology, which improves year by year for better samples, different approach to mix, compression...Who will need old drum if its perfectly recorded sample is available by the click of your mouse?

May I just say, sir - lol.