Selling on Reverb?

[Stokely]

12 hours ago, Mark Schmieder said:

I think Aussiekeys' caveats are why so few stores do consignment anymore. Back in the 90's, it was the main way and it worked well for me, especially with big ticket items like a 1930's Conn soprano saxophone and some synths and keyboards.

 

The local GC's will give something like 60% of going eBay prices and I think a bit more if you want trade-in credit vs. cash. I've done fairly well on slow-moving items that GC in CA was willing to take off my hands -- a big risk for them.

 

The one negative with GC is that they don't keep it all together, and I put a lot of effort into tracking down custom cases etc. I tell them I won't trade if they decouple the case and accessories and scavenge them as that is an insult to the next buyer, especially as they only give the seller $1 anyway.

 

Actually, the other negative is that they don't list details on their ads online and usually only include one super-low resolution dark obscure photo, which maybe is on purpose so it's more likely to sell in-person locally than require shipping? I rarely buy used on-line even for rare stuff as I don't trust what I'm getting (model year, etc.).

I've bought a few keyboards used from GC, and yes they sure don't do much to sell the thing with pics and descriptions.

What I do every time is call up the store and ask details.  Why it's "great" and not "excellent" (those are filters in my GC search!) etc.   The nice thing is that there's really no risk, as I can return locally within 45 days. I might have to eat the shipping if there isn't a functional reason for the return (ie, I just don't like it) but the one time I did return I did have such a complaint, no problem getting the full amount.

 

 

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Edit: my work got back to me with quotes on a hypothetical keyboard (I don't have either of mine boxed up to know exact dimensions and weight, or know where I'm going to ship).  Insured for $1800 (I had to pick a number), the cost was minimal (maybe 20 bucks) over the non-insured cost.  That is a no-brainer!    
 

What wasn't so hot was that the overall quotes were not as low as I'd hoped with our discount.  It's possible that shipping costs are simply much higher than they used to be for everyone.  I asked for two, one to Seattle and one to Atlanta (to get extremes of distance).  Seattle was twice as much, which I wasn't expecting.   I guess I'd have to price for the worst contingency, or else charge shipping after I found a buyer (and not sure you can do that on Reverb).

All that said, last time I did this when I got my bill from the business office it was half of the original mailroom quote, so maybe that will happen again  

I think I'll take a stab at doing it locally, but if I don't find a serious buyer on to reverb these keyboards will go, with insured shipping.

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, Stokely said:

I've bought a few keyboards used from GC, and yes they sure don't do much to sell the thing with pics and descriptions.

What I do every time is call up the store and ask details.  Why it's "great" and not "excellent" (those are filters in my GC search!) etc.   The nice thing is that there's really no risk, as I can return locally within 45 days. I might have to eat the shipping if there isn't a functional reason for the return (ie, I just don't like it) but the one time I did return I did have such a complaint, no problem getting the full amount.

 

 

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Edit: my work got back to me with quotes on a hypothetical keyboard (I don't have either of mine boxed up to know exact dimensions and weight, or know where I'm going to ship).  Insured for $1800 (I had to pick a number), the cost was minimal (maybe 20 bucks) over the non-insured cost.  That is a no-brainer!    
 

What wasn't so hot was that the overall quotes were not as low as I'd hoped with our discount.  It's possible that shipping costs are simply much higher than they used to be for everyone.  I asked for two, one to Seattle and one to Atlanta (to get extremes of distance).  Seattle was twice as much, which I wasn't expecting.   I guess I'd have to price for the worst contingency, or else charge shipping after I found a buyer (and not sure you can do that on Reverb).

All that said, last time I did this when I got my bill from the business office it was half of the original mailroom quote, so maybe that will happen again  

I think I'll take a stab at doing it locally, but if I don't find a serious buyer on to reverb these keyboards will go, with insured shipping.

I've always posted my eBay/Reverb sales with the shipping amount from Bellingham to Miami and lower 48 shipping only. That's all the way across the country. The posting will state clearly that "actual shipping cost" will be used and any excess will be refunded. That seemed to work fine, somebody closer would pay the shipping cost they deserved but I never lost money on shipping either. 

 

You are correct, shipping costs have gotten very high. I think it's one reason my craigslist sales have been so successful, they have to come here to get the item but that is still less expensive than buying one online and waiting. The risk factor is reduced for me as well, once the item is sold, it's sold. I describe fairly and honestly, they can test the item in our basement garage and if they damage it after the sale that is not my problem. 

[ProfD]

15 minutes ago, KuruPrionz said:

I've always posted my eBay/Reverb sales with the shipping amount from Bellingham to Miami and lower 48 shipping only. That's all the way across the country.

Similarly.  I use a shipping calculator to determine the average cost of my package based on size and weight.  I use a round number to set the shipping cost in my ad. 

 

Once I have a buyer and have communicated with them, based on their location, I may adjust the shipping cost before they hit the button to make the purchase.

 

Again, the process of selling gear doesn't have to be a source of headache, heartache, haggle or hassle.  Pack well and over-communicate.😎