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I'm Reporting Reverb.com To Law Enforcement


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I've been charged extra shipping for a Hammond SK1 I shipped back in November that I sold through Reverb. I have a digital postal scale, and the box I used had the exact dimensions printed on the box. I have a digital postal scale I've used for years so I know the weight was accurate. I ship probably over 600 items a year through Ebay (mostly motorcycle parts).

 

Today I received an additional shipping charge from Reverb for $19.39. Contacted them and they couldn't tell me anything, that I need to contact the carrier (UPS). Contacted UPS and all they can tell me is that the additional shipping charges don't match what Reverb is charging me.

 

First of all, Reverb's estimated shipping calculator is a joke. You can put in the exact weight and dimensions and it doesn't even come close to what the actually charges are going to be. I actually refunded the buyer the difference in shipping charges because I had to overestimate it on my listing. So now I know Reverb is making money on shipping not to mention the fact they are charging me extra for the "additional amount" from the original shipment!

 

This is criminal and I'm going to report them to local or federal law enforcement. If anyone on here has other suggestions I'm willing to listen.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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If anything happens at all you'll probably get a $19 refund after putting hours of time into the case. If they even get a negative rating at all it, I doubt anybody will see it. But if a thousand other unhappy people do the same then maybe reverb will get some honesty back. I doubt it though. Best thing, dont use them anymore.

FunMachine.

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Hmmm...

 

Here I was, considering moving away from eBay in favor of Reverb. I did notice that Reverb doesn't have a good shipping calculator or much in the way of shipping discounts for the most part. I've sold a few items on there but it's been a while.

 

And most of what I would be selling is guitar related - eBay has matched their fee percentage for that category and this year they switched to the same payment policy - when your item is scanned by the shipper eBay does a direct deposit to your account with their percentage already taken out. PayPal is gone.

 

What I do sell that is not guitar related is generally not music related at all and could not be sold on Reverb anyway. I appreciate eBay's substantial discount on FedEx delivery since there is a FedEx Office nearby and I can print my shipping label there, drop the package off quickly and be done with it while saving my customers shipping expense. I just sold a studio strobe for photography on eBay, can't sell that on Reverb. Photography gear has been one of my niches for a long time. It's subject to higher fees but I don't buy anything I can't flip for a decent total sum and markup anyway.

 

Sounds like I need to re-think this...

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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If anything happens at all you'll probably get a $19 refund after putting hours of time into the case. If they even get a negative rating at all it, I doubt anybody will see it. But if a thousand other unhappy people do the same then maybe reverb will get some honesty back. I doubt it though. Best thing, dont use them anymore.

 

If that's what it takes so be it. Not many other selling platforms other than Ebay. High end music gear doesn't sell locally on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist and I've never had much luck selling anything on this forum.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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Hmmm...

 

Here I was, considering moving away from eBay in favor of Reverb. I did notice that Reverb doesn't have a good shipping calculator or much in the way of shipping discounts for the most part. I've sold a few items on there but it's been a while.

 

And most of what I would be selling is guitar related - eBay has matched their fee percentage for that category and this year they switched to the same payment policy - when your item is scanned by the shipper eBay does a direct deposit to your account with their percentage already taken out. PayPal is gone.

 

What I do sell that is not guitar related is generally not music related at all and could not be sold on Reverb anyway. I appreciate eBay's substantial discount on FedEx delivery since there is a FedEx Office nearby and I can print my shipping label there, drop the package off quickly and be done with it while saving my customers shipping expense. I just sold a studio strobe for photography on eBay, can't sell that on Reverb. Photography gear has been one of my niches for a long time. It's subject to higher fees but I don't buy anything I can't flip for a decent total sum and markup anyway.

 

Sounds like I need to re-think this...

 

I thought Reverb would be better than Ebay also as their final selling fee is only 5 percent vs. Ebay's 12-13 percent (whatever it is this day with their new managed payments). The shipping is a deal breaker though especially when shipping heavy and bulky items like keyboards. I even put in my listing on there for buyers to contact me for actual shipping costs due to Reverb's flawed shipping calculator!

 

I actually found Reverb's founder and former CEO on LinkedIn and sent him a message. This was his reply:

 

Sorry to hear about your poor Reverb Experience. I am no longer the CEO of Reverb, but I have forwarded your message to Reverb's management. I wish you the best.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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I sold 5 items on Reverb this weekend, all within 48 hours of being listed. Nothing but good for me. I do use Reverb's shipping option and insurance, worth not having this king of headache for me over 20 bucks.Hoping everything works out for the OP. BTW, I still play the CP4 I bought from you almost every day. :cool:
:nopity:
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You're going to spend a lot of time and money and at best they will give you $19.39 and tell you to take your business somewhere else in the future. So if you think the your time and stress you're creating for yourself is only worth $19.39 go for it. Me, I'd probably make a couple phone calls and an email and be done with it, better ways to spend my time.

 

The one time I got really ticked at a company over them billing me for another year of their service, when I had cancel the service before the renewal. I just wrote a description of what transacted and how they were ignoring me and saved it to my desktop. Then when on social media every time I saw them mentioned I just copy and pasted my note into a post. So didn't go out of my way if I stubbled onto an opportunity I took it. A couple weeks later I get and email saying they would refund me and send me a check. That's the one nice thing about social media with a minimum of my time I was able to shake them up and get my $120 refund.

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Without knowing any details, I would guess that any "crime" that occurred here might be a misunderstanding at most. Just take your time and find out the shipping cost. If Reverb overcharged for shipping, they'll give it back. If not, you'll know better next time.

Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material.
www.joshweinstein.com

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Without knowing any details, I would guess that any "crime" that occurred here might be a misunderstanding at most. Just take your time and find out the shipping cost. If Reverb overcharged for shipping, they'll give it back. If not, you'll know better next time.

 

Agree someone who intends on committing a crime would not worry about 20 us dollars jmo.

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I don't know if this plays into the discussion at all, but keep in mind that all of these companies - Reverb, eBay, Amazon, etc - have negotiated their own shipping rates with the various carriers. If you use the shipping offered by the service, you pay a much lower rate than retail. So maybe there was a snafu somewhere in that system for this transaction?

 

As an aside, notifying law enforcement over a $20 misunderstanding is amusing. My guess is it will play out something like this:

 

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It's an online world..which I don't like much myself

 

EBay reverb whatever....do you ever actually talk to a real person ?

 

Even my insurance company...Geico...encourages me to do everything on line

 

I am shopping for a new company...so they can kiss my APP!!

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Without knowing any details, I would guess that any "crime" that occurred here might be a misunderstanding at most. Just take your time and find out the shipping cost. If Reverb overcharged for shipping, they'll give it back. If not, you'll know better next time.

 

Agree someone who intends on committing a crime would not worry about 20 us dollars jmo.

 

LOL

 

$20

 

An out rage ;)

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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I use my own shipping with Reverb. And yes, they were bought out by Etsy last year or so, so the company has changed somewhat. That and sales taxes.

 

 

Don't get me started on paying sales tax on something that has already been taxed!

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I believe Reverb.com got new ownership recently, and some of their policies and percentages changed. I used them a bunch last year...this year, not so much so far.

 

dB

 

Reverb is now owned by Etsy.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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Okay, I won this battle with Reverb. It wasn't their fault but rather UPS's. Likely someone made an error in their shipping auditing department. Here is the response I got back today from a manager at Reverb:

 

"Hi Jason,

 

Ray here with Reverb. I am a Manager with our Customer Engagement Team. I wanted to touch base to clarify the shipping overage that was placed on your account.

 

Per the UPS audit that we received, there was an issue with the weight of the package. The actual weight was 54 lbs. However, it had been entered as 26.75 lbs. This resulted in the $19.39 overage fee that was put on your bill.

 

Since this is the first time you have run into this issue, I went ahead and added a credit to the account so that you will not be assessed the $19.39 fee.

 

Moving forward, please note that these overage charges are outside of our control and come directly from the shipping carrier. For more information on what UPS uses to determine weight/dimensions, I recommend checking out this helpful link.

 

Please let us know if you need anything else and apologies for any trouble!

 

Thanks

 

Best,

 

Ray S. | Customer Engagement Manager"

 

Not sure how a 16 lb. Hammond keyboard got turned into a 54 lb. package but that's a discussion for another day. I know it's "only" $20 but it's the principle of this error I'm standing up for. What if UPS is doing this to their customers on a regular basis? I already have a problem with them rounding up package dimensions even if a measurement is only 1/8" over. Guess I have to overestimate shipping charges for everything from now on and let the buyer deal with it. Really isn't fair.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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I use my own shipping with Reverb. And yes, they were bought out by Etsy last year or so, so the company has changed somewhat. That and sales taxes.

 

 

Don't get me started on paying sales tax on something that has already been taxed!

 

Happens with everything used these days unless you buy from a private party outside of these selling platforms. Any time you purchase a used vehicle you're paying sales tax again which is BS.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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It's an online world..which I don't like much myself

 

EBay reverb whatever....do you ever actually talk to a real person ?

 

Even my insurance company...Geico...encourages me to do everything on line

 

I am shopping for a new company...so they can kiss my APP!!

 

Reverb you don't get to talk to anyone but Ebay you still can although they're making it more difficult these days. You have to request them to give you a call back and sometimes this can take up to 2 hours depending on their "volume" of calls. Really efficient process.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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I sold 5 items on Reverb this weekend, all within 48 hours of being listed. Nothing but good for me. I do use Reverb's shipping option and insurance, worth not having this king of headache for me over 20 bucks.Hoping everything works out for the OP. BTW, I still play the CP4 I bought from you almost every day. :cool:

 

48 hours?! Are you giving stuff away, Dave? Good to hear you still like the CP4.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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I sold 5 items on Reverb this weekend, all within 48 hours of being listed. Nothing but good for me. I do use Reverb's shipping option and insurance, worth not having this king of headache for me over 20 bucks.Hoping everything works out for the OP. BTW, I still play the CP4 I bought from you almost every day. :cool:

 

48 hours?! Are you giving stuff away, Dave?

 

No, just everyone else wants to get rich off of their purchases. I have at least broke even with all my sales, if not made a small profit, after fees and shipping. All I am looking for is free rentals, which is what I have achieved. :2thu:

:nopity:
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Okay, I won this battle with Reverb. It wasn't their fault but rather UPS's. Likely someone made an error in their shipping auditing department. Here is the response I got back today from a manager at Reverb:

 

"Hi Jason,

 

Ray here with Reverb. I am a Manager with our Customer Engagement Team. I wanted to touch base to clarify the shipping overage that was placed on your account.

 

Per the UPS audit that we received, there was an issue with the weight of the package. The actual weight was 54 lbs. However, it had been entered as 26.75 lbs. This resulted in the $19.39 overage fee that was put on your bill.

 

Since this is the first time you have run into this issue, I went ahead and added a credit to the account so that you will not be assessed the $19.39 fee.

 

Moving forward, please note that these overage charges are outside of our control and come directly from the shipping carrier. For more information on what UPS uses to determine weight/dimensions, I recommend checking out this helpful link.

 

Please let us know if you need anything else and apologies for any trouble!

 

Thanks

 

Best,

 

Ray S. | Customer Engagement Manager"

 

Not sure how a 16 lb. Hammond keyboard got turned into a 54 lb. package but that's a discussion for another day. I know it's "only" $20 but it's the principle of this error I'm standing up for. What if UPS is doing this to their customers on a regular basis? I already have a problem with them rounding up package dimensions even if a measurement is only 1/8" over. Guess I have to overestimate shipping charges for everything from now on and let the buyer deal with it. Really isn't fair.

 

OK, straight talk for a minute.

 

Your initial post said you were going to report Reverb.com to the Better Business Bureau, and then you switched it to law enforcement of all things. Now you're accusing UPS of ripping you off. Weight is pretty easy to document and prove; my money is on that not being the case here either, but you never know.

 

Either way, this is a pretty good object lesson in how and why NOT to seek to destroy someone online before an issue has been properly resolved.

 

It's worth noting that Reverb stepped up and ate it on this transaction, just to satisfy you as a customer. To call it some "battle" you won is a stretch--and ignores some excellent customer service on their end. You got $20 you legitimately did not have coming, or at the very least, had coming from UPS and not them. Props to them. They did the right thing.

 

If it helps going forward, I always bring anything I am selling to the UPS store by me before listing it. I have them put it and all packaging on the scale, including a roll of tape, and have them tell me the cost of shipping to the farthest point in the US. Then I often round that up a bit to account for unknowns. That price is what I list for shipping on Reverb. If I can do it for less in the end, great. But I always list the highest possible amount and find that out in advance of listing.

 

I started doing that because I have eaten it a few times on shipping in the past.

 

Perhaps consider this lesson learned--on a couple of different fronts?

 

Anyway, glad it worked out in the end. I'd encourage you to wait just a bit before jumping to search and destroy mode, should something like this arise in the future. And glad to hear this from Reverb. I have had nothing but good experiences, even from their customer service.

Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material.
www.joshweinstein.com

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No, just everyone else wants to get rich off of their purchases. I have at least broke even with all my sales, if not made a small profit, after fees and shipping. All I am looking for is free rentals, which is what I have achieved. :2thu:

I'm the same way. I price to get rid of the item, not get rich flipping equipment.

Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material.
www.joshweinstein.com

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Okay, I won this battle with Reverb. It wasn't their fault but rather UPS's. Likely someone made an error in their shipping auditing department. Here is the response I got back today from a manager at Reverb:

 

"Hi Jason,

 

Ray here with Reverb. I am a Manager with our Customer Engagement Team. I wanted to touch base to clarify the shipping overage that was placed on your account.

 

Per the UPS audit that we received, there was an issue with the weight of the package. The actual weight was 54 lbs. However, it had been entered as 26.75 lbs. This resulted in the $19.39 overage fee that was put on your bill.

 

Since this is the first time you have run into this issue, I went ahead and added a credit to the account so that you will not be assessed the $19.39 fee.

 

Moving forward, please note that these overage charges are outside of our control and come directly from the shipping carrier. For more information on what UPS uses to determine weight/dimensions, I recommend checking out this helpful link.

 

Please let us know if you need anything else and apologies for any trouble!

 

Thanks

 

Best,

 

Ray S. | Customer Engagement Manager"

 

Not sure how a 16 lb. Hammond keyboard got turned into a 54 lb. package but that's a discussion for another day. I know it's "only" $20 but it's the principle of this error I'm standing up for. What if UPS is doing this to their customers on a regular basis? I already have a problem with them rounding up package dimensions even if a measurement is only 1/8" over. Guess I have to overestimate shipping charges for everything from now on and let the buyer deal with it. Really isn't fair.

 

OK, straight talk for a minute.

 

Your initial post said you were going to report Reverb.com to the Better Business Bureau, and then you switched it to law enforcement of all things. Now you're accusing UPS of ripping you off. Weight is pretty easy to document and prove; my money is on that not being the case here either, but you never know.

 

Either way, this is a pretty good object lesson in how and why NOT to seek to destroy someone online before an issue has been properly resolved.

 

It's worth noting that Reverb stepped up and ate it on this transaction, just to satisfy you as a customer. To call it some "battle" you won is a stretch--and ignores some excellent customer service on their end. You got $20 you legitimately did not have coming, or at the very least, had coming from UPS and not them. Props to them. They did the right thing.

 

If it helps going forward, I always bring anything I am selling to the UPS store by me before listing it. I have them put it and all packaging on the scale, including a roll of tape, and have them tell me the cost of shipping to the farthest point in the US. Then I often round that up a bit to account for unknowns. That price is what I list for shipping on Reverb. If I can do it for less in the end, great. But I always list the highest possible amount and find that out in advance of listing.

 

I started doing that because I have eaten it a few times on shipping in the past.

 

Perhaps consider this lesson learned--on a couple of different fronts?

 

Anyway, glad it worked out in the end. I'd encourage you to wait just a bit before jumping to search and destroy mode, should something like this arise in the future. And glad to hear this from Reverb. I have had nothing but good experiences, even from their customer service.

 

I can't believe you wasted all of your time posting this on here. Reminds me why I don't post much on this site anymore, too many people like you that seem to have too much time on their hands to over analyze everything especially when it comes to music gear. What do you bring to this forum anyway besides pouncing on other people's posts? I did have that twenty bucks coming to me, BTW.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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Not sure how a 16 lb. Hammond keyboard got turned into a 54 lb. package but that's a discussion for another day. I know it's "only" $20 but it's the principle of this error I'm standing up for. What if UPS is doing this to their customers on a regular basis? I already have a problem with them rounding up package dimensions even if a measurement is only 1/8" over. Guess I have to overestimate shipping charges for everything from now on and let the buyer deal with it. Really isn't fair.

 

Sometimes a relatively light keyboard rates as heavier by a carrier, due to it's actual and/or boxed size. And the instrument doesn't have to be an 88-key version; some 61/73-76-key instruments (even 49-key) travel in bulky packaging, which will increase calculated weight. I've had this happen several times. So calculate based on what you see, but realize that your long/deep instrument and box may ship for bigger $$ than you planned. It's likely a better idea in situations like that to use a separate, personal account with a carrier vs.reverb.com's automated shipping calculator.

 

So rather than unfair, your situation was unexpected.

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Not sure how a 16 lb. Hammond keyboard got turned into a 54 lb. package but that's a discussion for another day. I know it's "only" $20 but it's the principle of this error I'm standing up for. What if UPS is doing this to their customers on a regular basis? I already have a problem with them rounding up package dimensions even if a measurement is only 1/8" over. Guess I have to overestimate shipping charges for everything from now on and let the buyer deal with it. Really isn't fair.

 

Sometimes a relatively light keyboard rates as heavier by a carrier, due to it's actual and/or boxed size. And the instrument doesn't have to be an 88-key version; some 61/73-76-key instruments (even 49-key) travel in bulky packaging, which will increase calculated weight. I've had this happen several times. So calculate based on what you see, but realize that your long/deep instrument and box may ship for bigger $$ than you planned. It's likely a better idea in situations like that to use a separate, personal account with a carrier vs.reverb.com's automated shipping calculator.

 

So rather than unfair, your situation was unexpected.

 

I'm quite aware of actual vs. billable weights from UPS and FedEx. I've been shipping large bulky motorcycle parts for several years now and never got an overcharge like this before. This was definitely unexpected (billing me two months after the item shipped?!) and unfair. UPS made a mistake with their audit and Reverb marked up the overcharge as it didn't match UPS's records. I'm still placing a lot of blame on Reverb, now I know they're making money off of shipping but I guess most people will just let them slide by. I just listed another keyboard for someone else on there and really jacked up the shipping. Sucks for the buyer, but what else am I supposed to do? From now on I'm using the UPS Store to handle the big heavy stuff. Not worth my time and effort to package this stuff anymore just to save a few bucks plus they're liable if anything happens to it during transport. No more new keyboards for me anymore, too much hassle selling and shipping them when the latest and greatest come out. I'm done playing keys in bands anyway.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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OK, straight talk for a minute.

(stuff...)

I can't believe you wasted all of your time posting this on here. [...] What do you bring to this forum anyway besides pouncing on other people's posts?

I thought MOI's post was pretty much on target. You posted your adventure, and like most of us (myself included) you painted yourself as the Victim and/or the Victor. Did you post to gain wisdom, or just for affirmation? (I'm usually looking for the latter. But the former is actually the better thing.)

 

IMO, if MOI's (never noticed that anagram before) time was wasted, it wasn't due to the content of his post, so much as to the lack of receptivity of the reader.

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-Tom Williams

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PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361

 

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OK, straight talk for a minute.

(stuff...)

I can't believe you wasted all of your time posting this on here. [...] What do you bring to this forum anyway besides pouncing on other people's posts?

I thought MOI's post was pretty much on target. You posted your adventure, and like most of us (myself included) you painted yourself as the Victim and/or the Victor. Did you post to gain wisdom, or just for affirmation? (I'm usually looking for the latter. But the former is actually the better thing.)

 

IMO, if MOI's (never noticed that anagram before) time was wasted, it wasn't due to the content of his post, so much as to the lack of receptivity of the reader.

 

Obviously I haven't gained any wisdom from your post. Sorry if my thread wasn't about the latest and greatest piece of gear that just came out or speculation about what is coming out in the future. Victim mentality? You bet.

'57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40

Trek II UC-1A

Alesis QSR

 

 

 

 

 

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