We built an amazing business selling second hand electronic drums in our retail store. It is a win/win/win situation for all involved. The customer saves money, the drums find an ongoing purpose and we can help to do something good for our environment.
Some people have asked us whether they should buy new or used electronic drums. Many people are concerned about buying something that might be broken or may not last as long. People buying new are equally concerned with the high cost and quality issues associated with many product lines. Which is the best way to go?
This post helps to explain our view of second hand edrums and why we choose to recommend them as the best choice for most consumers.
Why We Sell Second Hand Electronic Drums
When we started our retail edrum business in 2015, we had 2 simple underlying motivations:
First and foremost, quality electronic drums tend to outlive their users. This does not mean that the owner dies, but instead moves on over time to another product. Edrums are easily upgradeable and most long-term players do upgrade gear year to year. Beginner sets are replaced with intermediate sets. Intermediate sets are replaced with advanced sets. Advanced sets are replaced with flagship sets. Even flagship sets are replaced with newer flagship sets as time passes. However, the products being replaced still work perfectly and would serve a new owner as well as they did the old owner…
Many beginner kits are sold as a trial run to people who never actually continue with drumming. What becomes of all these products that are no longer wanted or needed? Many eventually end up polluting our planet in a landfill! We will discuss more of this is the sections immediately following below and provide our recommendations for customers who do not know whether to buy new or used.
Second, have you ever bought a set of new electronic drums? If so, you would see the tremendous amount of packaging materials that often accompany the product. In the case of the better drum brands, the engineering of the packaging is fantastic in that it is space efficient and extremely protective. However, the material still constitutes a horrific risk to the environment, containing tons of materials that do not degrade, like Styrofoam. We are active and outspoken ecoactivists. We hate to see the terrible waste of packing materials on such a large scale. NOTE: we always reuse packaging materials and encourage you to do the same. Mother Earth thanks you!
We combined both of these ideas to formulate the concept for our store Bangkok Drum. Sell used, reduce and reuse packaging and never allow a working or serviceable product to end up in a landfill ever again.
Quality Second Hand Electronic Drum Purchases
Sure, you can always buy new. Some people will always go this route. However, if you want to save money and help to do something good for planet Earth, then buying second hand is preferred, responsible and smart. You just need to buy the right product from the right source!
Bangkok Drum are experts in electronic drums. We can take them apart and put them back together in our sleep. We know all the problems that can occur with specific products and can therefore evaluate every item comprehensively. This ability has made us extremely confident selling used gear. We only sell quality gear that can last virtually forever, if it is taken care of… The fact that the gear is pre-owned is truly irrelevant! If you buy from us, or another qualified dealer, then you can be sure that your product is sound and will last. However, you must take more care if buying from a private seller… There are many disreputable sellers, including people selling imported, rebuilt garbage that was discarded in other countries! Be careful with whom you do business with…
Some sellers are dishonest and know the product is not 100% in working order. These people are basically lying to you about its condition, We see this occasionally, but far less often than you might guess. More frequently, we see sellers who simply do not know that their drums have functionality issues. They are not experts and are not trying to be dishonest. However, you can still get burned on the deal as a buyer if the product needs repair or worse yet, is beyond repair… Therefore, we always recommend buying from a reputable and knowledgeable seller, like Bangkok Drum. We have more to lose in terms of our reputation by selling a damaged product, so we are especially careful about what we sell and how much we sell it for. This is our core business!
A final piece of advice is to always buy quality. Price should NEVER be a reason to purchase musical gear. Price point items are designed and built to fail quickly in order to get you to upgrade. Do not buy based on budget alone. This is a huge mistake! If you need to wait and save more to buy quality, then do so. If not, do not complain about your choice of sub-par drums or brands. Entire brands have built businesses selling garbage with lots of features and low prices to clueless consumers. The problem is that the quality is lacking and the product is not durable. Quality will always come at some cost and if a deal seems too good to be true, then it probably is!
At Bangkok Drum, we make the choice simple. We DO NOT buy or sell sub-par brands. Never. We only buy and sell quality. We further recommend avoiding the sub-par brands due to their terrible record of environmental pollution during manufacturing in countries that have little or no regulatory enforcement. Read into this what you will and decide with your conscience!
Second Hand Edrums are Ecofriendly
If you care about nature and our planet, (We hope everyone does!) then you might be swayed to buy second hand electronic drums for that reason alone. The packaging waste of an average drum set is huge and takes a catastrophic toll on the environment. Likewise, if you want to be sure that your old gear is used for a long time to come, please consider selling it to a reputable dealer who will waste as little as possible and repurpose, reuse or recycle each component, instead of throwing it away to pollute our planet.
As Thailand’s only female-owned and operated drum shop, we always have a soft spot for Mother Earth. Please consider her fate in ALL of your consumer decisions; not just those involving edrums. Thank you for your support!
