Is it me, or is Reverb a total joke?

[Low End Scum]

I've had mixed success with it. I bought what I thought was a way reasonably priced bass about 800 below all the others and it shows up with a ski jumped neck and super high action to compensate that the previous owner of 20 years "never noticed" and didn't believe. Had a Dingwall show up at a reasonable price which had a gremlin I had to chase out (a loose wire) but otherwise nearly flawless aside 2 dings. 2 pedals as well, one that had an issue out of the box that the seller remediated within the week and another pedal that was in new condition. So really only 1 that's a loss for me overall.

As a seller, I think I may go more to Reverb. I had a bass on here FSOT for a while and at a cheaper rate than on Reverb and there was just a ton of aaaaaaaaaaalmost agreeing to a trade. Or just waiting and thinking about it. In the meantime it sold on reverb for more to a stranger without any hassle or back and forth messaging. I imagine if I end up selling the yellow SB-1 I picked up a little while ago I likely will also end up closing the deal on Reverb quickly and with less hassle.

 

[vinlander]

The lack of inventory was true a few years ago during the pandemic but it's no longer the situation today. At least, in the music stores in my area.

Well I agree but there are still exceptions, like for instance Ricks are not in inventory at my local music shop or in any of their so many stores all across Canada...so on the waiting list one needs to be

 

[conttador]

I don't have extensive experience or evidence, but based on occasional, casual browsing, it seems like every piece of gear I see on Reverb is just risibly overpriced. I mean, £219 used for an item that sells at most online retailers new for £249?! So, skip the warranty, return options and being the original, single owner for a reduction of just 12%?! That seems batpoop crazy to me.

Just to eleaborate, I'd expect to pay a msximum of, say, £175 for a preowned item of that value. Am I getting something wrong here? Or are Reverb prices really just nuts?

Neither…
It's the SELLERS…

 

[younggun]

I've had mixed success with it. I bought what I thought was a way reasonably priced bass about 800 below all the others and it shows up with a ski jumped neck and super high action to compensate that the previous owner of 20 years "never noticed" and didn't believe. Had a Dingwall show up at a reasonable price which had a gremlin I had to chase out (a loose wire) but otherwise nearly flawless aside 2 dings. 2 pedals as well, one that had an issue out of the box that the seller remediated within the week and another pedal that was in new condition. So really only 1 that's a loss for me overall.

As a seller, I think I may go more to Reverb. I had a bass on here FSOT for a while and at a cheaper rate than on Reverb and there was just a ton of aaaaaaaaaaalmost agreeing to a trade. Or just waiting and thinking about it. In the meantime it sold on reverb for more to a stranger without any hassle or back and forth messaging. I imagine if I end up selling the yellow SB-1 I picked up a little while ago I likely will also end up closing the deal on Reverb quickly and with less hassle.

Similar experience here in the last few months. I hadn't really bought or sold anything on TB for a few years. I decided at the end of last year to start clearing some stuff out of my music room, so re-signed up as a supporting member here and listed a few things. Nothing at all sold on TB after two months. I recently listed it all on Reverb, and it was all gone in less than 2 weeks, usually for more than I listed here. A few years ago, basses and gear would to be gone fairly quickly on TB classifieds, but I guess it isn't what it used to be anymore.

 

[Low End Scum]

Similar experience here in the last few months. I hadn't really bought or sold anything on TB for a few years. I decided at the end of last year to start clearing some stuff out of my music room, so re-signed up as a supporting member here and listed a few things. Nothing at all sold on TB after two months. I recently listed it all on Reverb, and it was all gone in less than 2 weeks, usually for more than I listed here. A few years ago, basses and gear would to be gone fairly quickly on TB classifieds, but I guess it isn't what it used to be anymore.

I could be biased, but it seems that more expensive instruments move more often here nowadays. When I was in college it wasn't uncommon for a non-perfect early to mid 70's J to hang out on here for a little while at less than $1,500 while I was struggling to catch an Highway 1 before someone else bought it. Nowadays the Foderas and other boutique basses as well as vintage Fenders and rare instruments seem to move much more easily.

 

[4andnomore]

I've had no issues buying or selling on Reverb. I've also had good experience with Sweetwater Gear Exchange. That said, there are knuckleheads everywhere.

 

[4andnomore]

Oh, and also great experience buying and selling here on TB.

 

[jasonbraatz]

The thing that kills me about selling on Reverb is when people send you an offer, you accept it, and then they ghost you.

The item is "sold" and no longer listed while you wait to see if the buyer's stringing you along or not. It's happened twice in a row on basses now. Very frustrating.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Well I agree but there are still exceptions, like for instance Ricks are not in inventory at my local music shop or in any of their so many stores all across Canada...so on the waiting list one needs to be

Typical at Rickenbacker : they always create more demand than offer.
I heard in the past this was because they are located in California and they have regulations on chemical products that can pollute the environment which is limiting the quantity they can use over 12 months. And Rick wants to stick to these products no matter what because it's part of the "Rick vibe" !
Never been able to verify if it was true or not though.

 

[Gervais Cote]

The thing that kills me about selling on Reverb is when people send you an offer, you accept it, and then they ghost you.

The item is "sold" and no longer listed while you wait to see if the buyer's stringing you along or not. It's happened twice in a row on basses now. Very frustrating.

It happened to a friend of mine that bought a Bacchus jazz bass from Japan. He had to run after the seller a lot. At the end, he's been charged $80.00 CDN and got no bass.

That's the bass he bought but his was white instead of red :

 

[friskinator]

Been getting killed with lowball offers on a bass I'm selling on Reverb. Used market value is between 3500-4000, but I've gotten one offer for 2500, one for 2600, and one for 3000. I asked the lowballers if they knew what the bass typically sold for, and they said yes. What makes them think I'm going to accept 1000 less than the lowest market value?

 

[Low End Scum]

Been getting killed with lowball offers on a bass I'm selling on Reverb. Used market value is between 3500-4000, but I've gotten one offer for 2500, one for 2600, and one for 3000. I asked the lowballers if they knew what the bass typically sold for, and they said yes. What makes them think I'm going to accept 1000 less than the lowest market value?

Not to be rude, but is your market value based off what the reverb chart shows they're selling for on Reverb specifically? Because I've definitely seen the actual sales of certain instruments affect that. Especially since it doesn't factor in the features that may make an individual instrument more or less desirable (for example, a vintage 4001 but it's in a much rarer color than run of the mill natural, black, or fireglo). They may be basing it off that without accounting for other features. Or they're just shaking the trees to see what deal they can score. Who knows.

 

[friskinator]

Not to be rude, but is your market value based off what the reverb chart shows they're selling for on Reverb specifically? Because I've definitely seen the actual sales of certain instruments affect that. Especially since it doesn't factor in the features that may make an individual instrument more or less desirable (for example, a vintage 4001 but it's in a much rarer color than run of the mill natural, black, or fireglo). They may be basing it off that without accounting for other features. Or they're just shaking the trees to see what deal they can score. Who knows.

No, I based it off what the bass has historically sold for on TB. It's a very specific model with no variations.

 

[Low End Scum]

No, I based it off what the bass has historically sold for on TB. It's a very specific model with no variations.

I see, I'd have to hazard that they're deal hunting based off the recent "sold" charts if I had to guess. The valuation on the 'verb can get wonky. For example, I don't know what was wrong with it or who was able to score a '73 - '83 4001 for 1k, or even where one might find one for $1,921 but that's what their data says

Either way, best of luck with your sale!

 

[friskinator]

I see, I'd have to hazard that they're deal hunting based off the recent "sold" charts if I had to guess. The valuation on the 'verb can get wonky. For example, I don't know what was wrong with it or who was able to score a '73 - '83 4001 for 1k, or even where one might find one for $1,921 but that's what their data says

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Either way, best of luck with your sale!

The estimated value chart for mine shows a range of 3,350 to 4,116. So a $2500 offer is, quite frankly, insulting.

 

[Bag of Lazers]

Things have really gone off the rails over at Reverb. Sellers are telling stories of buyers intentionally vandalizing gear so that they can return it because it wasn't accurately represented in the photos.....

I had this happen to me on eBay recently. It wasn't a bass item but Florida Man took a brand new item, obviously gouged it, then sent a picture with a complaint. I said "No it wasn't, scammer." He just said, "Ok" and luckily didn't take it further, but I left him terrible feedback.

 

[p12bassnut]

I've has good success selling items that I just want to move. Much more exposure.
Purchasing has been a decent experience too. Just have to be careful and ask a lot of questions. If the seller isn't willing to answer your questions then its time to move on.

 

[FilterFunk]

Neither…
It's the SELLERS…

^This.

Even more ridiculous are the sellers who buy a new item for, say $100, miss the free return window, then try to sell the item for $115 so they don't lose any money on shipping. So they're expecting someone to be dumb enough to pay extra for an item from an individual seller who won't allow a return when they can easily buy the same item for $15 less from a retailer who will give them a generous 30-day return period!

Actually, I haven't seen this recently, but I used to see it a lot on eBay years ago.