OT - I guess I am done with Ebay.

[RABid]

Still working on my project to cut down to two keyboards, and while I am at it, 2 electric guitars, 2 acoustic guitars, and two bass guitars. It has been about a year since I sold anything. Got on Ebay to list a keyboard, went through the complete process and submitted, got a notice that it is held until I log on to their new payment system and register. Okay. So I go to register as a non-business seller and they want birthday and SSN for their records. ... ... ... No thanks. Wonder how long it will be before that system in compromised? Guess I am finally going to register on Reverb.

[Bif_]

Props to Reverb. Just sold my first listing there several weeks ago. Sold in three days. Some have complained about their percentage but I'm okay with it, think it's fair all things considered. Their site is good, some good tools to help with the listing and they walk you through the process. Easy. Go for it.

[Doerfler]

Props to Reverb.

 

agreed. I listed my Prophet '08 and it sold in 17 hours. It was priced to sell, but still. Seller gets to keep 92% of what it sells for. I don't do Craigslist, so Reverb it is for me.

[eric]

I was an early adopter on eBay in the '90s and built a slow and steady reputation there with some good success selling gear back in the early days. Then I slowed down on GAS and gear flipping, so much that I somewhat let my eBay account go dormant. Then I get this odd invoice from eBay indicating that I owed them hundreds of dollars for recent sales...only to find out that someone hacked my account and used it for a few months to scam people. By this point, my original user ID was compromised enough that I had to abandon it. I had a long headache of dealing with very poor customer service from eBay so I basically boycotted that platform entirely. This was probably 8-9 years ago.

 

I don't sell much gear these days. When I do, it is to my forum friends and I do use Reverb occasionally with good success.

[RABid]

I have not sold on Reverb yet, but I have bought a few guitar pedals there recently. I may list a guitar and bass there later this week. I'm going to leave my Virus on the garage sale here for a week or so, then list it on Reverb. I do dread building a rep again. I was over 500, all positive, on Ebay.

[GRollins]

In eBay's defense:

 

I bought a Hafler DH-220 back in September. The seller packed it poorly and it arrived partly crushed. To make a long story short, he agreed to give me a partial refund, then...did nothing. At noon today, I received notification that eBay had resolved the case in my favor and I will receive more money than the agreed upon amount. Note that I didn't have to do anything. I didn't even know they were watching my situation, as I hadn't brought them in yet. They just up and fixed everything for me.

 

I've had several problems over the years, but eBay has (bwess their widdle hearts) decided in my favor every time. Note that I also deal with Reverb and have only good things to say about them, also.

 

My assumption is that ALL businesses are vulnerable to hacking, including Reverb, eBay, etc. If you're going to deal with anyone online--and clearly things are trending that way for all of us, whether we want it to be that way or not--then we will be vulnerable at some point. Your credit card info is already out there, it's just a question as to who gets hacked first, then who's second, then who's third...

 

You can like eBay or dislike them, your choice, but Reverb, Amazon, Sweetwater, Musician's Friend, and all their cyber buddies are just as likely to be attacked.

 

Grey

 

EDIT: They need your credit card info to cover incidents like the one I just faced. Ebay is paying me out of their pocket, then they're going after the seller to get their money back...meaning they'll charge his credit card. Simple.

[KuruPrionz]

I've sold on eBay since 2000, have 910 positive feedback. There are reasons to use eBay.

Since this thread is OT, if you are selling something other than musical instruments then eBay can be a good marketplace. I've done very well there over the years with photography equipment and various odds and ends.

The other time when eBay can be your best choice is when you are selling something that many people want. Then an auction may get your best price. I've listed all sorts of cool music stuff started at 98 cents on a Thursday afternoon around 3-4 so East Coast people will still be up at auction end. 10 day auction, end on Sunday afternoon, in the middle of the month after the second paycheck. First paycheck is for rent and bills. (There is a method to my madness!!!). I sold an excellent condition 1982 Gibson Les Paul Custom in perfectly yellowed white with the chainsaw case that way. My friend was freaking out about starting at 98 cents, by the next morning it was up over $1,200 and it ended just a bit above $3,200. Everybody wanted it, simple.

 

I started selling on Reverb last year. The idea there is sort of a "reverse auction", start a bit high and consider offers. It has worked well for me too. I really like how Reverb will do a direct deposit into your bank account AFTER taking their fees. It's clean and quick, when you get your money you have all of it. You don't have to wait for the once a month invoice that eBay issues so you know how much you actually have.

 

For whatever reason, I've never given my SS to eBay, or to Paypal.

And there's another thing - I've bought a few items on eBay using Paypal's 6 months same as cash credit thing. I am about to pay one off, 2 more deliveries pending and I'll wipe it out. So far I've paid zero interest and got my item before I had all the money for it. Works for me.

[Polkahero]

Since Ebay switched to Managed Payments I can't figure out their selling fee structure anymore. I think it ends up being around 12 percent now with Paypal no longer involved. Haven't listed anything on Reverb for a couple of years but I have a bass guitar I'm looking to unload. What is Reverb's current selling fees?

[Doerfler]

Jason, the fees are 5% for selling and 2.75% for payment processing, IIRC. Either way it works out to 8% or so. I just sold something les than a week ago so I am sure about this. On the other hand, if you use them for shipping it's great. They give a nice discount, you print out the label, take it to UPS and all is well. Easy Peasy

[Ledbetter]

I don"t give out certain informative on the interwebs. I have an imaginary birthdate and other data I provide when asked. Never give an SS number, whether true or false. Deal elsewhere. Yes, every site is subject to being hacked, so be selective about the information you are willing to provide.

[BbAltered]

The US Social Security Administration - the people who give out SS numbers - tell us that we are NOT supposed to give out our SS numbers (to anyone) and that our SS numbers are NOT to be used for identification purposes. I tell this to every business that asks for my SS number, stressing this is what I am instructed by the US government. Almost always, the business has another method to identify me. Only rarely does the other party insist. I will relent for banks and hospital. Otherwise, I go elsewhere.

 

And what do European users on EBay use instead of SS numbers?

[Outkaster]

Ebay has lost respect for the seller.

[ElmerJFudd]

I don't believe there is a credit, banking, payment or loan company that does not have your SS number. They have your SS #, your credit score, your demographics, etc. Savings & Loans, Paypal, Toyota Finance, Bank of America. They all have it and they are all susceptible to compromise.

[nursers]

Ebay has lost respect for the seller.

 

This exactly - I sold an item to a buyer with clear disclaimers on the fact it didn't work and could only be used for parts. He receives the item and leaves a negative review. That's when I discovered Ebay no longer allow sellers to leave a negative review comment. They lost me from that point onward.

[KuruPrionz]

A threefer.

 

Outkaster: You just noticing? Ebay lost respect for small sellers a LONG time ago. If you are more of an "Amazon" type seller and pay eBay for having a "store", list and sell tons of stuff, etc. - then they pretend to respect you (just like they pretend to respect buyers).

It may depend on who is put on your "case", there isn't much consistency. I'm a small seller, I've adapted to the hostile market place. A bit more on that in my 3rd response.

 

Elmer Fudd: Yep. To say nothing of all the corporate entities who have your medical records and/or know more about your personal/business holdings than you do.

 

nursers: When listing, I take sharp photos of every visible defect. A penny can be a great size reference for dings, scratches, etc. It's an odd style of photography - making things look brutally real. I will crop something to emphasize but no touch up other than lightening the shadows if needed to bring out detail. If a Used item is in decent condition, I list it as Used. If it has a notable problem, I list it as "For Parts or Not Working." Then I make sure the title and descrription mention that it "works", as early in the text as possible. It sounds like you did those things. It's a hassle but it's possible to have a negative comment removed, earlier is better than later for that and persistence is key. If you get somebody who is "difficult" to work with on one day, try another day and a different person will help you in ways the other person refused to comply with. Ebay is staffed with people who do not always follow a particular set of rules in my experience. I had to go pretty deep one time to get them to put my PayPal back under my current email address after a glitch of some sort defaulted it to a long since gone previous email account. A nightmare!!!!! Solved because I would not go away, they finally asked somebody in Tech and they took care of it quickly. Huge PITA but perseverance furthers. If it happened more than every once in a great while I would be long since gone.

 

I'm not defending eBay, compared to the way it once was it falls short. I am transitioning to Reverb for music gear, sometimes it is frustrating too (or at least an occasional customer is frustrating).

Having sold almost $1k in photography gear in the last six months, eBay still has a purpose for me that Reverb cannot provide.

 

I get it though, it's supposed to be easy and simple. Most of the time, it has been.

[ksoper]

I don't believe there is a credit, banking, payment or loan company that does not have your SS number. They have your SS #, your credit score, your demographics, etc. Savings & Loans, Paypal, Toyota Finance, Bank of America. They all have it and they are all susceptible to compromise.

 

I'm old enough to remember having to put my SSN on every test and term paper in college.

[Joe Muscara]

I don't believe there is a credit, banking, payment or loan company that does not have your SS number. They have your SS #, your credit score, your demographics, etc. Savings & Loans, Paypal, Toyota Finance, Bank of America. They all have it and they are all susceptible to compromise.

 

I'm old enough to remember having to put my SSN on every test and term paper in college.

Me too, mostly. IIRC when I was in college it was starting to change. Since the profs posted grades (on paper! Taped to their door or just outside of it! How quaint.), someone could steal the numbers since that's how they listed the grades for anonymity. I think some started using last four digits or something like that, or you could make or get a number assigned.

[Outkaster]

Ebay has lost respect for the seller.

 

This exactly - I sold an item to a buyer with clear disclaimers on the fact it didn't work and could only be used for parts. He receives the item and leaves a negative review. That's when I discovered Ebay no longer allow sellers to leave a negative review comment. They lost me from that point onward.

 

Years ago there were some bad sellers but now you can't even get some resolution on certain things.

[Polkahero]

Jason, the fees are 5% for selling and 2.75% for payment processing, IIRC. Either way it works out to 8% or so. I just sold something les than a week ago so I am sure about this. On the other hand, if you use them for shipping it's great. They give a nice discount, you print out the label, take it to UPS and all is well. Easy Peasy

 

Thanks for the input. Looks like their fees went up a bit since I last checked. How do you remember everyone's real names on here?!

[Doerfler]

How do you remember everyone's real names on here?

 

It's a requirement to be on the advisory board.

[Polkahero]

How do you remember everyone's real names on here?

 

It's a requirement to be on the advisory board.

 

Interesting, lol.

 

I just listed my bass on Reverb and I still don't understand their shipping rates. I inputted the box dimensions and weight and they're trying to tell me it's only going to cost around $50 to ship across the country via UPS. I go to UPS's website and the rate is $130 across country?! They make you input a flat rate in your listing which is unlike Ebay so I put $100 which is the actual rate across country via FedEx (I hate using UPS for shipping larger items, they don't treat packages very well IME). I guess I'm missing something, maybe I should contact their customer service if it exists.

[Polkahero]

How do you remember everyone's real names on here?

 

It's a requirement to be on the advisory board.

 

Interesting, lol.

 

I just listed my bass on Reverb and I still don't understand their shipping rates. I inputted the box dimensions and weight and they're trying to tell me it's only going to cost around $50 to ship across the country via UPS. I go to UPS's website and the rate is $130 across country?! They make you input a flat rate in your listing which is unlike Ebay so I put $100 which is the actual rate across country via FedEx (I hate using UPS for shipping larger items, they don't treat packages very well IME). I guess I'm missing something, maybe I should contact their customer service if it exists.

[KuruPrionz]

How do you remember everyone's real names on here?

 

It's a requirement to be on the advisory board.

 

Interesting, lol.

 

I just listed my bass on Reverb and I still don't understand their shipping rates. I inputted the box dimensions and weight and they're trying to tell me it's only going to cost around $50 to ship across the country via UPS. I go to UPS's website and the rate is $130 across country?! They make you input a flat rate in your listing which is unlike Ebay so I put $100 which is the actual rate across country via FedEx (I hate using UPS for shipping larger items, they don't treat packages very well IME). I guess I'm missing something, maybe I should contact their customer service if it exists.

 

I've run into a pricing discrepancy or two on Reverb, best bet is to price the shipping a bit higher (which you did). I'm not sure how they account for that if the shipping turns out to be less, I guess I could have checked my account for deposits.

 

I have a link to the eBay Shipping Calculator which will show you the price the shipper charges and can be switched to show the price eBay will charge. That is a valuable feature. I usually calculate shipping from Bellingham to Miami since that's the farthest major city in the lower 48 states. I haven't found the Reverb Shipping Calculator if they have one.

 

https://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

[Polkahero]

How do you remember everyone's real names on here?

 

It's a requirement to be on the advisory board.

 

Interesting, lol.

 

I just listed my bass on Reverb and I still don't understand their shipping rates. I inputted the box dimensions and weight and they're trying to tell me it's only going to cost around $50 to ship across the country via UPS. I go to UPS's website and the rate is $130 across country?! They make you input a flat rate in your listing which is unlike Ebay so I put $100 which is the actual rate across country via FedEx (I hate using UPS for shipping larger items, they don't treat packages very well IME). I guess I'm missing something, maybe I should contact their customer service if it exists.

 

I've run into a pricing discrepancy or two on Reverb, best bet is to price the shipping a bit higher (which you did). I'm not sure how they account for that if the shipping turns out to be less, I guess I could have checked my account for deposits.

 

I have a link to the eBay Shipping Calculator which will show you the price the shipper charges and can be switched to show the price eBay will charge. That is a valuable feature. I usually calculate shipping from Bellingham to Miami since that's the farthest major city in the lower 48 states. I haven't found the Reverb Shipping Calculator if they have one.

 

https://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

 

 

Thanks for the posting that calculator. Now I know why Priority Mail always ends up being cheaper than Retail Ground, they get a discount for expedited services. I still set up my listings for Retail Ground as that normally shows up being the cheapest option. Even if I add the Priority Mail option most buyers select Retail Ground even though Priority ends up being cheaper so I get more positive feedback for shipping "faster than expected", lol.