I'll be staying in Sunnyvale next weekend after the GHOP awards ceremony, and as I need a new drumset it might be a good opportunity to shop for that.

Shipping drums from California to Switzerland is not exactly cheap, so I'm trying to find out if it's worth buying there. Prices are usually much lower than here, especially for specials or second-hand instruments, but shipping might add up as much as $500 apparently.

I've been emailing a few drum stores located around Sunnyvale to find out if they arrange shipping and if they have a showroom where I could try out some drums. The replies tell me a lot about how people do business, and whether I'd want to shop there. Do they even answer? Friendly or just the bare facts and please-give-us-your-money-and-go-away? The range of replies and styles is very interesting...

In today's world, info@ email is sometimes as important as your store front, and some businesses don't seem to get that. Well, maybe some of them are busy enough to not care about the lone stranger passing through town, more power to them I guess.

If you read this and you have a good drum store to recommend around there, please let me know! Gelb Music in Redwood City looks good, but their website doesn't even have a contact email - I'll try info@.