Selling on Reverb?

[jeffincltnc]

I use Reverb a lot, both as a buyer and seller.  As a seller, I find qualified buyers who know exactly what they are looking for and are prepared to pay the market value for what I'm selling, because they have already comparison shopped against new merchandise.

 

I think that placing a credit card on file is part of how you get paid faster as a seller, too.  It means that you can prepay the shipping label at a very good discounted price and it is deducted from your payout, and you are cleared for funding as soon as the shipper scans it.  What I like is that I get paid really quickly under the expectations that I have properly submitted the shipping dimensions and weight, and that the customer is receiving what they have ordered to the expectations of the listing and condition.

 

Not everybody does those things.  Hence the need for a credit card on file.  If a seller isn't being honest about the shipping dimensions, weight or condition of their item, then Reverb has to be able to recover the additional shipping costs or refund a buyer even after the money has been cashed out to you.  I would much rather get paid fast.  If UPS catches that I didn't properly weight my item, they should be able to collect the difference on a credit card, for instance.

 

For MikeT, I don't think you will be happy with any online market.  The first time you sell, you have to establish yourself as a vendor and you won't be paid by Reverb for your first sale until the shipment is scanned as delivered or signed for by the customer who receives it.  That's only on the first shipment, but if you have that in your mind like you stated in the past selling on eBay and not being agreeable for PayPal to hold your funds before they are released on the first sale, you will probably not be happy with any marketplace since connecting a credit card and bank account is how you ultimately get your money quickly.  Once you do this a few times, they trust you to fund you before the customer receives it.

 

It's 2023 and we live in a subscription and e-commerce world where keeping credits cards on file are part of life.  Whether you are buying things from Amazon on your phone, or you have subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu with a monthly auto pay, that's the risk we willingly take every day to enjoy the things in life that we want.

[Old Music Guy]

On 3/19/2023 at 12:51 PM, surfergirl said:

I've never tried it, but you might take a look at Sweetwater's gear exchange. 

I put 2 items on SW Gear Exchange. My first was a set of Seymour Duncan pups for short money. I did that just to test out the exchange. I sold them within a few days. Did all the right stuff with shipping, etc., followed up with the buyer, and revived a 5 star rating. I had to put up a credit card. I had no issue with that because credit cards carry a lot more protection than say a debit card. It took a week or so to get paid, (because it was my first sale) but all in all, it was very smooth and they charge less than Reverb.

I am in the midst of selling another low $$ item on GE as we speak. 

I'm not advocating one service over another, but I've bought so much stuff on SW, and I've never had an issue and their customer support is above and beyond. 

My first listing on Reverb, the first response was a little hinky. 

YMMV, but that's my experience so far. 

[o0Ampy0o]

On 3/21/2023 at 12:48 PM, KuruPrionz said:

Scammers abound, no doubt. 

I have sold many items on our local craigslist and the "scare the scammers" line seems to be "Local cash sale only, I will not ship this." I put that on every post. 

I've still had a couple of obvious scammers send me an email via the craigslist platform, I just delete it and they go away. 

 

 

Craigslist is not a want ad in a print newspaper. My point was that the reach and exposure was minuscule and you were paying by the word. Reverb is 1000x more accessible, you can post beautifully shot pictures of your item, it has a packing and shipping option which includes some seller protection, etc. You may feel like a needle in a haystack with all the commercial store showcases but people can search for your item so in the end you reach more potential There were scammers and time wasting low ballers with old newspaper want ads as well. Scammers appeared back when cavemen beat a tree trunk to advertise their extra dinosaur meat. Yabba dabba doo!

[KuruPrionz]

44 minutes ago, o0Ampy0o said:

 

Craigslist is not a want ad in a print newspaper. My point was that the reach and exposure was minuscule and you were paying by the word. Reverb is 1000x more accessible, you can post beautifully shot pictures of your item, it has a packing and shipping option which includes some seller protection, etc. You may feel like a needle in a haystack with all the commercial store showcases but people can search for your item so in the end you reach more potential There were scammers and time wasting low ballers with old newspaper want ads as well. Scammers appeared back when cavemen beat a tree trunk to advertise their extra dinosaur meat. Yaba daba doo!

I know craigslist is not a want ad in a print newspaper. That's obvious on the face of it. 

Print newspapers are a dying breed, we barely have them up here. I don't believe I've posted an ad in a newspaper in the last 25 years or so. 

What print newspaper ads and craigslist have in common is they do not track sales or take a sales commission. What is different about them is craigslist is free to post personal items and as far as I know most print newspapers charge for a listing. Of course, I am overstating the obvious here. 

 

Reverb has free posting, they do track your sale and take a percentage of the gross and once you've sold $600 worth of gear, they will issue a 1099 for your Federal Tax Form. The same is true with eBay, who have a similar percentage for guitars and guitar related items but all other music gear is dinged with eBays's higher sales percentage rate. Again, they issue a 1099 if you sell $600 or more. Both eBay and Reverb offer shipping discounts. I've shipped hundreds of sold items on eBay, just a few on Reverb. 

Scamming is ingrained in human nature, and certainly other animals scam on other animals for their food or to eat them directly.

Any other quibbles?

[Old Music Guy]

Not for nothing, but just an observation. When I posted my items on Reverb they asked what I originally paid for the item, Which shows up as "Your Cost" on the listing, According to them, this information is not available to the Buyer. What I think is that Reverb will use that information to assist in calculating "Gain/Loss" for 1099 purposes. 

 

If anyone wants to sell me a 59 Les Paul for $1,000, I'll take it, and you can carry forward the loss for the next 10 years 🙈🙉🙊

[o0Ampy0o]

5 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

Any other quibbles?

Yeah, read for context instead of seeing everything as a challenge. My post was directed at the OP's reluctance to accept the conditions required to use Reverb. I was saying, concerns aside look what you are getting, which is a lot considering what you got back when the best you had available was a want ad in a printed medium and all that goes with that limited format.

 

✌️

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, o0Ampy0o said:

Yeah, read for context instead of seeing everything as a challenge. My post was directed at the OP's reluctance to accept the conditions required to use Reverb. I was saying, concerns aside look what you are getting, which is a lot considering what you got back when the best you had available was a want ad in a printed medium and all that goes with that limited format.

 

✌️

Sorry, you are spot on. I've had a rough couple of months, I really don't mean to take it out on anybody (but I did). I apologize.

Maybe I need to just take a break for bit and step back. 

I used to be more fun. 😇

[Stokely]

I have used Reverb a couple times and probably will do so again soon.  I dislike it, but it's the best of a bunch of bad options.   The only good option is buying in cash from a trusted friend, which ironically I may do soon IF I can make a sale or two of my own to get the cash!

Mainly I just hate shipping keyboards.   And of course I dislike paying a percentage of the sale.  But I hate meeting people from CL or FB Marketplace more, that's assuming they show up at all. Inevitably they arrive and lowball you.  EVERY SINGLE TIME.  The whole experience sucks, more for the buyer even than the seller (I'd never, ever buy a keyboard in cash from someone unless I knew and trusted them, not when GC has a 45-day return policy on used gear.)

I'm a bit curious how the folks using the garage sale here do it...do you just trust the other person and send money/item back and forth?  Or do you point people at a reverb link?  I used an escrow service way back when I sold my Proteus   

[Old Music Guy]

22 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

[T]he same is true with eBay, ...  but all other music gear is dinged with eBays's higher sales percentage rate.

I did not know that. I need to research if that's true for other outlets.

[KuruPrionz]

8 minutes ago, Old Music Guy said:

I did not know that. I need to research if that's true for other outlets.

I haven't done other research but I think eBay decided that Reverb's biggest cut into their sales was guitar items. 

Please post what you find out here, my information may not be current. 

[o0Ampy0o]

4 hours ago, Stokely said:

I'm a bit curious how the folks using the garage sale here do it...do you just trust the other person and send money/item back and forth?  Or do you point people at a reverb link?  I used an escrow service way back when I sold my Proteus   

 

One thing you have here for better or worse is input from members. You won't see a lot of people sending you info just to share info when using other mediums. Closest I came to responding to someone's WTB some member who used to post here frequently jumped in and crapped on the thread in effect decapitating everyone. This guy apparently had lots of money and had a history of selling his stuff super cheap. He added his opinion based on him being able to almost give gear away. Reminded me of  the guy with money who is popular because he pays for everyone's food or the guy with the car who taxis everyone without a car in high school but it's the only reason he is popular. 

[Outkaster]

One thing about all of this is a lot of us check most of the marketplace sites, Craigslist, Ebay, Reverb and believe it or not sometimes it ends up being a small world. The good sellers in my arena are usually guys in the business.  Private sellers and buyers cane be the most pain in the ass.

[mate stubb]

4 hours ago, Stokely said:

I'm a bit curious how the folks using the garage sale here do it...do you just trust the other person and send money/item back and forth?  Or do you point people at a reverb link?  I used an escrow service way back when I sold my Proteus   

 

I use the KC garage sale as my first choice to sell music gear. If I am dealing with a long time member of the forum, I usually trust them to pay with a personal check, and frequently ship before it has cleared. I've never had a problem.

[MathOfInsects]

Credit cards are about a smuhzillion times safer than cash, and online credit transactions are pretty insanely secure. Plus with a card, you can get your money back if you need to. 

 

I've both bought and sold on the garage sale ads here. Just Venmo and send. Easy peasy. I check here first if I need something, and list here first if I want to sell something.

[o0Ampy0o]

The credit card itself can add more to the greatness of the option. A good credit card company or say a premium level CC will immediately credit your account upon notification of a dispute. At that point instead of attempting to recover your money for you, the money in effect becomes their own money to recover for themselves.

 

I do not know the rules. There could be a limit on the amount as well as the number of times in a period you can exercise this feature.

[jeffincltnc]

I've bought and sold through KC Garage Sale and I find it enjoyable.  The transactions usually involve talking to other members over the phone and asking/answering questions, and, in general, just getting to know some long time members here in real life and talk about music and instruments with like-minded people.  It's not that unusual that I have gone to see other forum members play a gig when I travel for work to their city, or make connections in other formats like Facebook friending.

 

I find that as a buyer, I'm good with using PayPal to buy gear from another seller here on the forum.   I will just ask the seller to send me an invoice and can also back the payment with a credit card.  Between PayPal dispute resolution and buyer protection on a credit card, I have some paths of resolution in the completely unexpected case that I was being scammed in some way.  (which has never happened here)

[MikeT156]

On 3/22/2023 at 1:11 PM, jeffinpghpa said:

I use Reverb a lot, both as a buyer and seller.  As a seller, I find qualified buyers who know exactly what they are looking for and are prepared to pay the market value for what I'm selling, because they have already comparison shopped against new merchandise.

 

I think that placing a credit card on file is part of how you get paid faster as a seller, too.  It means that you can prepay the shipping label at a very good discounted price and it is deducted from your payout, and you are cleared for funding as soon as the shipper scans it.  What I like is that I get paid really quickly under the expectations that I have properly submitted the shipping dimensions and weight, and that the customer is receiving what they have ordered to the expectations of the listing and condition.

 

Not everybody does those things.  Hence the need for a credit card on file.  If a seller isn't being honest about the shipping dimensions, weight or condition of their item, then Reverb has to be able to recover the additional shipping costs or refund a buyer even after the money has been cashed out to you.  I would much rather get paid fast.  If UPS catches that I didn't properly weight my item, they should be able to collect the difference on a credit card, for instance.

 

For MikeT, I don't think you will be happy with any online market.  The first time you sell, you have to establish yourself as a vendor and you won't be paid by Reverb for your first sale until the shipment is scanned as delivered or signed for by the customer who receives it.  That's only on the first shipment, but if you have that in your mind like you stated in the past selling on eBay and not being agreeable for PayPal to hold your funds before they are released on the first sale, you will probably not be happy with any marketplace since connecting a credit card and bank account is how you ultimately get your money quickly.  Once you do this a few times, they trust you to fund you before the customer receives it.

 

It's 2023 and we live in a subscription and e-commerce world where keeping credits cards on file are part of life.  Whether you are buying things from Amazon on your phone, or you have subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu with a monthly auto pay, that's the risk we willingly take every day to enjoy the things in life that we want.

You're right. What I have run into using an internet company and pay pal is that those companies back the buyer, not the seller. I read of a few instances that musicians sent a vintage KB to someone who bought through E-bay, and the payment was with Pay Pal. The buyer stole the vintage parts and then notified Ebay that the instrument didn't work and they sent it back. Ebay was on the side of the Buyer, who was a thief. I'd rather have a musician come to my house and TRY the instrument. If he likes it, pay me in cash and take it with him. I did that a few times and it worked out but it limits the area I can sell too. I've advertised on Craig's list and don't get a lot of bites. The ones I do get have a Flea Market mentality and don't want to pay for anywhere near what I am asking. Most of the time its half off what I paid for it, but no matter what the selling price they want it for much less. I got tied of that BS.

[MathOfInsects]

Regarding selling on CL....man, that's a crap shoot. For every legit interested person, there are five out-of-town scams, five more lowballers/flippers, and five more yet who seem so sketch you halfway expect to get rolled halfway through the interaction. I personally have been more than happy to have secure online marketplaces to take the place of the interpersonal hell that is Craigslist. 

[KuruPrionz]

6 hours ago, MathOfInsects said:

Regarding selling on CL....man, that's a crap shoot. For every legit interested person, there are five out-of-town scams, five more lowballers/flippers, and five more yet who seem so sketch you halfway expect to get rolled halfway through the interaction. I personally have been more than happy to have secure online marketplaces to take the place of the interpersonal hell that is Craigslist. 

I've had a very different experience on craigslist than you have. I'm not saying you are wrong, location could make a big difference. 

We don't have much commerce here in musical instruments, one small Guitar Center and a couple of much smaller shops without a lot of inventory. 

With shipping costs up and Seattle being an hour and a half away if you get lucky and miss the traffic jams, local buyers have bought just about everything I've ever listed. 

I do check eBay and Reverb and my prices are fair, my descriptions are accurate. All of my postings end with "Local cash only, I will not ship." 

That seems to have weeded out the scammers and anybody who is off yonder and won't drive here to pick up their item. 

 

FWIW, I used eBay starting in 2000, have 975 feedback at 100% positive but their fees are too high in everything except guitars, where it is more or less the same as Reverb. 

I've bought and sold a few things on Reverb too but I always try craigslist first and items usually sell in a reasonable time. Big advantage for me is I don't have to pack and ship anything, that's a value added feature. Big advantage for the seller is they don't have to pay for shipping and wait for their item to arrive. 

[jeffincltnc]

16 hours ago, MikeT156 said:

The buyer stole the vintage parts and then notified Ebay that the instrument didn't work and they sent it back. Ebay was on the side of the Buyer, who was a thief. 

 

If you are selling something vintage and are concerned about parts being stolen, etc, you should document how your product is packed with photos, or take a video demo from your phone documenting that it's in working order for any dispute resolution.   One of the thing that works in your favor over time is real positive feedback that a market dispute resolution person will acknowledge you are the more trusted person based on prior feedback and documenting your product thoroughly, including the serial numbers, etc.

 

The one thing the markets will help you with is determining what similar units may be selling for in similar condition as well.

[Stokely]

In my experience, CL (and Facebook Marketplace) buyers will always try to lowball.  And after they've agreed to a price, they usually try to lowball one last time after you've gone to the trouble to meet them.  One thing I've learned:  Don't set a fair price and say "firm".   Buyers either can't read or they just ignore this, they want to bargain.  So you might as well set the price higher and then when they whittle you down to that fair price they feel better, I guess.  

I hate the selling/buying game and that's what it is to so many people.   Just thinking about going through all that again makes me more inclined to eat the Reverb fees on two keyboards I'm putting up for sale.  Time and aggravation is worth something....

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, Stokely said:

In my experience, CL (and Facebook Marketplace) buyers will always try to lowball.  And after they've agreed to a price, they usually try to lowball one last time after you've gone to the trouble to meet them.  One thing I've learned:  Don't set a fair price and say "firm".   Buyers either can't read or they just ignore this, they want to bargain.  So you might as well set the price higher and then when they whittle you down to that fair price they feel better, I guess.  

I hate the selling/buying game and that's what it is to so many people.   Just thinking about going through all that again makes me more inclined to eat the Reverb fees on two keyboards I'm putting up for sale.  Time and aggravation is worth something....

Reverb buyers will try to lowball you as well. I've gotten pathetic offers on just about everything I've listed. 

If somebody makes an offensive lowball offer via email to me on craigslist, I just delete their email and move on. 

If they make it in person, I just tell them what my lowest price is and as far as I'm concerned they just wasted their time and gas dropping by to see if they can weasel a deal. 

I'm lucky, living in a 33 unit condo and the basement garage is huge and has electrical outlets. Plus, it has a great reverb so any audio that is tested sounds amazing. We have an elevator so moving gear down to the basement to meet somebody is really easy and they don't know where I live. They couldn't find it anyway, I have the only unit that has a front door in the stairwell and you need a key to get access to the stairs. 

[Stokely]

Wow, that is indeed lucky.  That's the biggest PITA with meeting people to buy/sell--where to do it where you can audition the gear and feel relatively safe doing so.  Of course as a buyer I might be a bit hesitant to go into a basement like that    As a buyer I use GC in any case due to the generous return window.  No way to really test every aspect and connection on a keyboard in one session.   A couple GC-bought keyboards I gigged several times to make sure it was going to work for me, and ended up returning a couple of them.

[MikeT156]

It could be that there are other places to sell other than Craig List. Some years ago I sold a fair amount of music and related gear on CL. Now, not much action. the people that have contacted me ALL wanted to haggle, so I raised the asking price.

[KuruPrionz]

4 hours ago, Stokely said:

Wow, that is indeed lucky.  That's the biggest PITA with meeting people to buy/sell--where to do it where you can audition the gear and feel relatively safe doing so.  Of course as a buyer I might be a bit hesitant to go into a basement like that    As a buyer I use GC in any case due to the generous return window.  No way to really test every aspect and connection on a keyboard in one session.   A couple GC-bought keyboards I gigged several times to make sure it was going to work for me, and ended up returning a couple of them.

It's not a scary place. It's well lit, fully marked out for parking and people come and go. The elevator goes down there. 

It's not immaculate but pretty clean. I've sold many fine things down there. 

[Mark Schmieder]

When I still lived in NorCal, I used the Concord CA Guitar Center for most of my CL meet-ups, as it was next to a Hobby Lobby so there were always families coming and going in the parking lot, making it feel safe with a large number of witnesses. I don't have such a place here so have done things from the home, but have a judo master tenant. 🙂

[Old Music Guy]

Best place to meet is at the local police station or constabulary. NO ONE will mess with you there. Ever. Our local PD just asks that you give them a heads up. Only really cool thing about them.

[o0Ampy0o]

Speaking of meeting up with people, my friend drove to a dark area of San Francisco to buy a truck bed. The guy's house was this dark place like out of MJ's Thriller video. He said "follow me" way back through an ally of a yard. On the way he narrated giving him a tour. One item and story consisted of bones he had robbed from a graveyard. He was glad to get out of there alive.

[o0Ampy0o]

37 minutes ago, Old Music Guy said:

Best place to meet is at the local police station or constabulary. NO ONE will mess with you there. Ever. Our local PD just asks that you give them a heads up. Only really cool thing about them.

 

I think it was in the 80's when some people were running a meth lab a couple of buildings away from the police station in the same tech park. This was Silicon Valley in San Jose / Milpitas, CA. Eventually someone from the station recognized the chemical smell in the air and they started to investigate the area. No one thought anyone would do that in the same neighborhood. 

[ABECK]

On 3/23/2023 at 11:14 AM, Stokely said:

Mainly I just hate shipping keyboards.   And of course I dislike paying a percentage of the sale.  But I hate meeting people from CL or FB Marketplace more, that's assuming they show up at all. Inevitably they arrive and lowball you.  EVERY SINGLE TIME.  The whole experience sucks, more for the buyer even than the seller (I'd never, ever buy a keyboard in cash from someone unless I knew and trusted them, not when GC has a 45-day return policy on used gear.)
 

I agree.  I've had multiple issues this year with selling online.  1 shipping related and another buyer issue.  Both took far too much emotional energy and time to resolve.  I'm not a fan of meet-ups with people unless I know them, or we have mutual friends.  At this point, I've pretty much decided to stop selling gear as a strategy to buy new gear.  Either I can afford the shiny new thing I want, or I can't.  It definitely helps answer the question "Do I REALLY need THIS?"