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... I deserve it! ( Reverb Fraud)

The old version of Reverb created a very cool, friendly community of instrument nerds.

After the sellout the new Reverb, who has a $200 million dollar debt and is owned by a venture capital company, doesn't give a $#!t about you. All they care about is getting their money back and then trying to sell the company to some other chump.

A very similar situation exists with Paypal. I've lost count of how many times they refused to help me, the shipping companies refused, and the credit card companies refused. They all talk the big talk when trying to lure you in, but in the end they are just another predatory corporation.
 
I just wanted to share my story....
There was an American Pro 2 for sale half price.. in new condition
All the alarm bells went off but couldn't take my eyes off it.
I read on here that Reverb is receptive to buyers when there is trouble, and thought since I'm paying Paypal l could fight a fraudulent case..
I'm one of the lucky ones and financially comfortable enough to take small (stupid) risks..
I was the perfect victim as it was the bass in my top 3 .. Anyways I paid for the thing and contacted the seller about shopping, and was responded to right away.
Exchanged emails and was told it was shipping today...
I knew it was "too good to be true" and still never trusted it. I checked today and the sellers Reverb Shop no longer exists..boom I was right..
I contacted Reverb and was told because it was through PayPal they can't (won't) do anything about it but the shop - seller has been reported as a fraudulent and thanked me.
I'm waiting to see if PayPal will help..

Not writing this to be insulted, or "told you so" because I know i was taking a dumb risk
I am however sharing my story because I was unaware that if you buy straight through PayPal, Reverb will NOT help...
And wanted to share as a cautionary tale....

I'll update of there's anything news worthy to share..

I find it kind of staggering that you spotted that the deal was too good to be true and knew it was in all likelihood a scam but still went ahead anyway. The only realistic product of this whole experience would be the 'fun' of leaning on one of these companies to try and get your money back.

Bizarre.
 
I just wanted to share my story....
There was an American Pro 2 for sale half price.. in new condition
All the alarm bells went off but couldn't take my eyes off it.
I read on here that Reverb is receptive to buyers when there is trouble, and thought since I'm paying Paypal l could fight a fraudulent case..
I'm one of the lucky ones and financially comfortable enough to take small (stupid) risks..
I was the perfect victim as it was the bass in my top 3 .. Anyways I paid for the thing and contacted the seller about shopping, and was responded to right away.
Exchanged emails and was told it was shipping today...
I knew it was "too good to be true" and still never trusted it. I checked today and the sellers Reverb Shop no longer exists..boom I was right..
I contacted Reverb and was told because it was through PayPal they can't (won't) do anything about it but the shop - seller has been reported as a fraudulent and thanked me.
I'm waiting to see if PayPal will help..

Not writing this to be insulted, or "told you so" because I know i was taking a dumb risk
I am however sharing my story because I was unaware that if you buy straight through PayPal, Reverb will NOT help...
And wanted to share as a cautionary tale....

I'll update of there's anything news worthy to share..


I saw the same warning signs on some AM Pro II strats when I was perusing Reverb last week. All of those accounts out of Mexico are now showing up as "disabled".

Reverb telling you to kick rocks for using Paypal is not all that surprising IMO. I've been noticing more big companies wanting to deal directly with the buyer (insert reasons that are more of a benefit to them than the customer) and I wouldn't put it past any of them to make the process more of a headache for those who prefer having a middleman for the extra security.
 
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Almost got caught, I found it weird that the seller accepted my low-ball offer (yes I lowballed even further!)…

If you find an amazing deal on reverb, please do a google image search, that’s what I found fishy about the ad….and the fact that he had two in stock!

And he even kept posting the same bass the day after!!!!
 
I thought a couple of weeks ago I had been scammed by reverb. I ended up getting my item less than a week later. It was my first and last time of dealing with them. The seller did have several listings in several states. I’m just thankful I got the amp I ordered.!
 
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That's why I created the thread.
The fraudster probably knew that going straight to PayPal would remove Reverb and make it easier
To clarify-

You saw the bass listed on Reverb* but the seller wanted to sell it to you outside of Reverb, is that correct?

Reverb has no horse in this race, if that's the case, and I'd be surprised if they keep your account open as that's bound to be a violation of their terms of service. Reverb is not a free advertisement service for people who want to sell things; if you don't go through their channels to pay their fees they have zero involvement in this sale. So people who are saying Reverb should "do something" are misunderstanding this, if my understanding of this is correct.

So when you say you bought it "straight through Paypal" what you mean is that you went around Reverb to send money directly to the seller, which is an outside sale.

No Reverb protection there at all, but PayPal might protect you if, and only if, you did not send the money "friends and family."

*Fixed typo/error.
 
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I've encountered similar when selling old original punk rock promos on eBay. A few sellers have wanted to transact by 'crediting' my PayPal account and not pay through eBay. I found it odd and became annoyed even though they offered more than the offered price threshold, they effectively tied up my offering to legit buyers.

Whenever I get an offer now, I look up the account history of the ebay'er in question and then decide how to proceed.
 
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I have had two horrible experiences with Reverb merchants and (as of today), one GREAT one.

I was never comfortable using PayPal. I don't know why. I've just never created a PayPal account. I will admit, when I first thought about it was early on (easily 20 years ago and they were pretty "new").

My first two horrible experiences with Reverb rip-off artists were completely handled by Reverb and I have to say: the stepped up in a big way.

I never say "never", but I was convinced there'd be icicles on the gates of hell before I bought something from a Reverb seller again; until this bass I'd been looking for for about two years.

So, to sum it up, I whole-heartedly recommend if you're going to buy on Reverb, create a Reverb account and use your credit card. The reason Reverb couldn't help you is because PayPal is a "middle man" and once your payment was made, it became PayPal's money until the merchant proves they've shipped your item ... yada, yada, yada.
 
well it's shady imo not to tell buyers the facts , they don't say anywhere what OP is dealing with but it looks like by their words a buyer is safe , until you dig deeper
View attachment 4647017

View attachment 4647018
Just out of curiosity, I put something in my cart on Reverb and clicked PayPal as the payment option, then did a screen grab.
Screenshot 2022-04-04 205546.jpg

The note about Reverb Protection being included with all purchases didn't go away when PayPal was selected. The particular quote that differentiates between how they'll help when you pay with PayPal vs when you pay with Reverb Payments just says that Reverb can refund directly to your card. They obviously can't do that if the purchase was paid for with PayPal.

"If payment is made through Paypal, we will walk you through the Paypal dispute process and provide any materials needed to ensure the dispute reaches the correct end. If the sale is completed through the Reverb Payments system, Reverb may issue a refund directly to the buyer's credit card once it has been established that no other agreeable resolution has been reached with the seller."
 
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