i have considered your ideas.
and considering doing them
in fact im looking on craigslist right now
Yay! The great thing about that is that you can bargain with them or however you say it, and you can try it out quite a bit before deciding to buy them. I bought a set for $100 at a yard sale and still have it, I added a cowbell and a new hi-hat , a new foot pedal and some of those plastic rings that make the snare sound better. I actually really like the sound of mine, it's good for casual playing but if you're really seriously about it then you could spend a bit more money