The short version
- Typical range: £120 – £600 — see the full drum kit value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Music & Instruments
Before you photograph it
Ten minutes here is worth more than anything else you will do. Buyers are deciding between your listing and someone else’s, and preparation is what visibly separates the two.
- List every drum by size, and every piece of hardware: stands, pedal, throne, clamps.
- Check every lug, tension rod and the bearing edges, and note whether the heads are usable.
- Say clearly whether cymbals are included, since they are often most of the value.
The photographs that sell a drum kit
Four photographs do almost all the work. Shoot in daylight, near a window, with the item against something plain — and do not use the flash, which flattens texture and hides exactly what buyers are trying to see.
- The kit fully set up, from the front
- Each shell showing its size badge
- All hardware laid out together
- The bearing edges and lugs, plus any wrap damage or crack
Photograph the flaws too. It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover. Buyers who can see the damage stop imagining something worse.
Writing the title and description
Brand, configuration and contents: “Pearl Export 5 Piece Drum Kit with Hardware, No Cymbals”. Saying whether cymbals are included belongs in the title, because it changes the price enormously and is the first thing asked.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Brand, series and the size of every shell
- Every piece of hardware included, listed individually
- Whether cymbals are included, and which
- Shell, wrap, bearing edge and head condition
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about a drum kit. Answering them in the listing itself removes the back-and-forth, and answering them well when they do arrive is what turns an enquiry into a sale.
Say so in the title and the description. Cymbals are frequently worth as much as the shells and it is the first question every time.
List each stand and pedal. A shell pack with no hardware is a very different purchase from a complete kit.
Take a head off and look. Damaged edges stop a drum tuning properly and are expensive to recut.
Pricing it so it actually sells
Start from the honest condition grade rather than the price you hope for. WishThrift listings use five grades — New with Tags, Like New, Good, Fair and For Parts — and what each grade means is worth reading before you choose, because grading up is the most expensive mistake sellers make. It does not raise the price; it produces a buyer who arrives expecting something else.
The drum kit value guide prices all five grades for this item. Pick your grade, take the figure, and if you sit between two grades price toward the lower one. Items priced honestly sell faster than items priced hopefully, and on a free platform there is no fee eating the difference anyway.
What you keep, compared
On a £360 sale — roughly the middle of the range for a drum kit — here is what the commission-charging platforms would take, and what you would keep on each:
| Where you sell it | Fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| WishThrift | £0 | £360 |
| Poshmark | −£72 | £288 |
| eBay | −£49 | £311 |
| Mercari | −£36 | £324 |
| Etsy | −£23 | £337 |
Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026 — Poshmark: 20% commission on sales of $15 and above; eBay: 13.6% final value fee, plus a per-order fee; Mercari: flat 10% selling fee; Etsy: 6.5% transaction fee, plus a listing fee and payment processing. Percentages are applied to the sterling figure above; the fixed per-order and processing charges those platforms add are quoted in their own currency and are not included here, so the real deductions are slightly larger. Full breakdown: marketplace selling fees compared.
Timing and getting it to the buyer
Lifts in September and before Christmas. Complete kits with hardware sell far faster than shell packs.
Bulky, heavy and multi-piece — almost always collection. Say how many boxes or trips it will take and whether it is upstairs.
WishThrift does not process payments or arrange delivery — you and the buyer agree both directly — so confirm payment has cleared before the item leaves your hands, and keep the conversation on the site so there is a record of what was agreed.
Ready to list it? It takes about two minutes, costs nothing, and there is no commission when it sells — create a free account or see how selling works.
Frequently asked questions
What is a used drum kit worth?
Typically £120 to £600 depending on brand, configuration and whether hardware and cymbals are included. See the drum kit value guide.
Should I sell cymbals separately?
Good cymbals often total more sold individually, but a complete kit sells faster and to beginners who want everything at once. Either way, be explicit about what is included.
Do I need to replace the heads?
No. Buyers usually fit their own heads to their own preference, so worn heads barely affect the price. Bearing edges and hardware matter far more.
See also: what a used drum kit is worth · browse live music & instruments listings · condition grades explained.