Many people find great deals on used conga and djembe drums on line. I know I have and you can too. However, so much of the stuff out there is junk. eBay new and used djembe and conga drum buyers beware. I am constantly on the look out for great deals on drums on the internet and I am amazed at the misinformation on the internet especialy on eBay and Craigslist. There are so many people selling drums saying they are something they are not. Do not be mislead by the terms “professional” or “vintage”. Do your do diligence and research or you could very easily get ripped off!
The “vintage” section of congas on eBay is a joke at best. Most of these drums are not collectors items even though the seller say’s they are. I am constantly writing to people on craigslist and ebay telling them that their drums are not what they say they are. People can say and write anything they want. No one is scanning ads to see what is correct or not. There are valid sites such as “the conga drum forum” which have a for sale section as well as my Facebook group, “congas and djembes For sale”.
Occasionally there are some great buys on eBay and a lot of fantastic buys on craigslist. But you really better know what you are doing. Or ask other knowledgable people for help/ Often music shop owners don’t know what they have as well. especially when it comes to djembe as (other then Drumskull Drums, Wula, Motherland, Shorty Palmer, etc.) their are not really any standard brands like there are with conga drums.
Today on eBay there was an alleged GON BOPS conga which is in fact a cheap mexican conga with LP side plates. This conga drumshas absolutely nothing to do with Gon Bops whatsoever. The hand carved djembes on eBay are truly awful. The “deep carved” djembe drums are made on a lathe, which is fine but just say that instead of saying they are carved.
With the exception of a drumskull drums used iroko wood djembe the first 8 pages (350 listings) I looked at were all “entry level” (i.e. poorly made/poor sound) despite saying otherwise. The “masters djembe” looks like I put the head on in my sleep. And i do not do a great job when I am awake.
I wish I had a better report. People, please be very careful when purchasing drums! Please by from a reputable source such as Drumskull Drums, motherland percussion, james mack, wula, jasons djembes, wooden roots or several of the other companies that you see here in my “how to buy djembe” articles or on my Facebook “Djembe Drum” page. Ask others abut the drum before you buy it. Please do not buy a djembe on an impulse. Otherwise you may have wasted your money.