It's a Small World After All...

...thanks to the Internet! Those of you who follow this blog (I'm talking to both of you) will remember that I recently put my North drum set up on Craigslist. I picked Craigslist because it's free and it's kinda local. I didn't want to have to be responsible for packing those beasts for shipment. Got a guy in Boston who was looking to grab just part of the set. I wasn't too keen on doing that because I felt I had no chance to sell just pieces of the set locally. He offered me a price that was fair for the number of drums he wanted, and found I could do okay with the remainder (thanks to a North-drums related Yahoo! group). He also offered to come pick them up.

I was on the verge of taking it when I got an e-mail from a guy calling himself Phoebus. The e-mail simply asked if the drum set was still available. I'm thinking "interesting nickname," then go to his website and find that is his actual name and that he's a big-time songwriter/producer...in Greece (as in Athens, not the Rochester NY suburb). As in multiple platinum records to his name and described by many as the go-to guy if you want a hit song. Realizing I don't have a random crackpot on my hands I decide to write him back, telling him I have a deal pending and that it would take a good offer for me to back out of that. Oh and I'm not keen on shipping.

He offers my asking price for the set (the entire set) and says he'll try to arrange for a friend in NY to pick it up. I decide to counter-offer by telling him I could take it to a UPS Store (not an option for most as they are normally unwilling to pay the packing rates). He said no problem, so we worked through the course of a couple weeks swapping e-mails back-and-forth with the details, while I figured out the best means to package and ship (many thanks to Rick at Orcon Industries in Leroy for getting custom boxes together for me!) and today I shipped the drums! In the process I learned a lot more about International shipping, USPS shipping limits and "dimensional weight" than I ever thought I would! Phoebus was a supremely nice guy to deal with, patiently answering my ignorant questions despite a very busy work and home life. I really hope he enjoys the drums!

So to summarize: guy in middle-of-nowhere NY posts an ad to the Rochester Craigslist and ends up selling to a mega-producer in Athens Greece. Exactly what I expected to have happen when I listed them...