I believe there are few "experts" here regarding appraising drum value.There are many knowledgeable people that have tons of experience in a given field,and if these knowledgeable people freely give thier opinion and someone accepts it...so be it..It was stated if you want it in writing,im sure Harry Cagany would be pleased to help..for a price.Its nice to know that a ton of lurkers respect the opinion of this forums members.

Interesting topic.

I, too, have pondered this question. I can tell you this much....

The intention of this website, as far as I understand it, is to help people who have questions about vintage drums. "Please help me ID this drum" is a commonly-asked question. "How much is it worth?" is usually the question that follows. When people ask those questions, we try to answer them to the best of our individual and collective knowledge. It's that collective experience that is key in regards to the kind of ballpark-valuations we make here.

As far as ID-ing things goes, David (our webmaster) has designed this site to be very self-helpful once members become acclimated with it.

And, yes, I'm sure there are those who have other, more scheming intentions, too. But that's the nature of humanity. All we can do, as "helpers" on this forum, is to give the best answers we can give. As a collective, I think we work better than any one, individual expert.

Before the internet, there was maybe one or two known "experts" of vintage drums who people had to go through to get a drum appraised. There was no way of knowing whether those appraisals were any more precise or accurate than what has evolved from post-internet discussion forums. Back in the pre-internet days, it was more of a "Because that's what I say it's worth." kind of appraisal -and you got an official piece of paper...that you had to pay for! I wonder what any of those "official" appraisals are worth now? Chewie:

I'm going to continue to try and be as helpful and as accurate as I can be when answering questions and, sometimes, that means avoiding the motives of the asker.

I have been at this for years prior to the forum.

A new poster on this forum has probably already posted on other forums and also emailed every drum web site they could the exact same question.

I know from experience! I get the same question from 4 different web sites from the same person. This is the way it works. People need more then one person in the world to second a value to justify what they have.

They are not sure and do not want to get burned by selling it for much less and when someone does come here for a value, they should get it. That is a seller doing the leg work and trying to detemine what they have and what to sell it for.

Even the top collectors in the business will call two or three other collectors for help on value and what they think something is worth.

We know from experience, some people put expensive drums in garage sales and others seek out places to learn about them and then try and sell them for more money.

There are deals out there for the guys that want stuff for cheap. We have heard the stories and I have my own as well.

This is not the place to find them if we are publicly giving values. The original intention of the main web site was to teach people what a drum is worth so they are not burned by a seller that is not honest and to make sure the drum is original and correct for the era. (Hence all of the catalog scans and documented history)

So the other side of the coin is the new collectors come in to the vintage community learning what a drum is worth and the history around it so they can make educated purchases and not get burned.

I myself got burned early on and a resource like this is invaluable to young collectors and I do not want them to make my mistakes.

So if we value a drum for someone on the forum, it will help the young collector learning about these things.

I do agree the original intention of the forum was to document the history and not make this a clique location or a help value every visitors new find.

Ask a question and get and answer! Well, maybe three or four answers, but it all helps make this a better place.

David

Not knowing much about the value of 95% of the items

that get asked about around here leads me to a flip side on this topic, Mikey......

That dude you gave a price quote to may use that info in a way that is hurtful to you.

That's not your fault, and there's not a thing you can do about that.... except stop being generous and helpful in that way.

But I think that all the other folks that benefit from you sharing that info far outweighs that one other guy.

Yeah, he's getting the benefit right now, cause he's got the item right now..... but sometime later, there's a good chance that a lot of other folks will be able use that bit of info also.

And..... you just wouldn't be the Mikey we all dig if you changed ....:)

I just added this under the forum section about value.

"Please search the forum prior to posting here and also use eBay to search completed drums. If none of that helps, then ask it in this section."

I will also add a sticky with more helpful information about finding a value. That might cut down on a lot of the questions.

David

One solution would be to say "it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it" or "you might want to check eBay for completed listings".

I was brought up to be really open, try to help people as much as I can and always say what's on my mind, and I probably will always try to be that way, but sometimes it's better to be a bit guarded.

Excellent idea on the sticky David. But I am sure the price questions will still persist. Being a newer guy on the site, I don't see what the big deal is about asking value. Nobody is an expert on everything so it is not unreasonable for someone to ask questions from those with knowledge in the subject. So what if they go out and make a profit selling it....it's part of doing business. I along with most of the people on this site do have a genuine interest in vintage drums and appreciate all the information that people share - including information about value.

I don't mean to be rude by saying this, but the post do have a title as a preview. If you see that it has something to do with "value" or "cost" in the title, don't read it. It's just that easy. Let someone else answer the question. That's what I do.

I would hate to think that we as a forum would turn people off of the site and possibly vintage drums by being critical of the questions they ask. But at the same time I hate the fact that long standing and knowledgeable people are upset by how the forum can sometimes be "used" for information and profit.

While on that topic, I do want to openly thank everyone for all of the knowledge and information that they have shared. For me the forum has been a great experience and I can't wait to learn more.

out of curiosity...

Just what is it that qualifies one to be an "official" appraiser? Is there a course or a class or a school?

I watch The Antiques Roadshow as often as I can and I also get their newsletter. Many times, they will appraise an object at one price, only to have it go for much more than the appraisal indicated. It's really just the whim of whoever is in the buying mood and how deep their pockets are. This is what makes it difficult to give any kind of totally accurate appraisal. Plus, if you were to go out and buy an appraisal from an official appraiser, then that appraisal is only pertinent to the time in which it was made. What did a 1960's Ludwig drum set appraise for ten years ago? What will one appraise for ten years from now? See what I mean?

60's 26" Ludwig Kick for $20...where's it at? :) Seriously though, I agree with Ludwig-Dude; the best way to find out what something is worth is to put it up on ebay with a low or no reserve, offer worldwide shipping and see where it goes. Or do the completed listing search deal.

One final note, I wouldn't feel bad about estimating value for someone even if they are going to sell it. Isn't this website about providing a resource for people? Although the information is helpful and I'm sure appreciated, I'll stick to letting the market decide what something is worth and as much as I hate ebay, it's the best way to reach the most potential buyers.

O-Lugs brings up an interesting point. We can 'say' what something is worth, but there's always that one guy who HAS to have the drum. Case in point - the recent Jazz Fest that went for three mules and a side arm. That struck quite a few of us as ridiculous. But, it did happen and it was an honest buy. Whodathunkit?

Does that mean that all nice Jazz Fest snares are now worth several beasts more??? Of course not. But, it does make you stop and think. Does that now have to be factored into future market value? Oh man, I hope not!