"You'll have to pay with a Walmart money order."
"What? "
Buying this kit was like accomplishing the Twelve Labors of Hercules. And not the least of those labors was dealing with the eccentricities of the seller. The initial problems of packing and shipping gave way to the fact that he had nothing but a PO address in Florida, that he lives in a motor home, that the music store advertising the kit on the internet didn't have the kit in the store... and now the seller refused all methods of payment but a Walmart money order or cash.
Regardless of the red flags flying, that let me out because I didn't have the money, full stop.
That was in early July. About a month ago, I had the funds and the kit was still available. I checked his single reference, who happened to be my old drum teacher in Oregon. That was the one detail that gave me confidence. Otherwise, I would have balked. There were a series of moments I wanted to balk after that, like when he bought five boxes for a hundred bucks and charged me for them; like every time he told me all about Sonor drums even after I let him know I was fairly familiar with the marque, and even though he got most of the details wrong. And there were times I began to have serious doubts, like when the post office in Florida called me and said that the PO box I'd sent the checks to had been vacated and no name like the seller's had ever been attached to it (turns out he had transposed the box number), or like when he wouldn't send the drums right away after he got the money orders because his bank wouldn't cash them right away. And then there were the shipping issues, how the drums got staggered in shipping and at least one of the boxes never showed up until they had all arrived in Wisconsin.
When the drums arrived, the hundred dollar boxes were junk; I could have picked them up in the grocery store for free. Fortunately the drums were packed in ancient but sturdy cases. The 14 had a small (not shipping related) hole in the batter head, right next to the bearing edge, but gratefully no damage to the shell. Why would anyone sell and ship drums like these with a hole in the head?
Today, I got back from traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday, and the last bit had arrived in the mail; a drum key ("Sonor keys are like NOTHING else...!"
) and the tongue under the screw that holds the bass mounted tom stand in position. True to form, the pieces were in good shape, but he had managed to wrap them in such a way that it required all my strength and a utility knife to free them from the box. I consider that to be emblematic of the entire experience.
It was one of those deals that asked the question: "How much do you want that kit?" The answer was: "What it takes."
And now, playing them again, it was all worthwhile. What a fantastic kit! Thanks to Tim for having alerted me to it.
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Brian
