"Local pick up only" (Reverb) rant...

[MultiScaleMale]

Shipping is expensive, and a hassle. If you meet in person you can't come back 2 months from now saying that the truss rod doesn't work and demanding a refund. You could send me $729 plus another $120 or so in shipping and I could go to Atomic Music for you. It's not far for me.

EDIT: I forgot, plus another 6% for sales tax.

 

[Cliff Colton]

For all the reasons stated above, I use local pickup only and will only sell to my neighbor.

 

[droberts444]

I sometimes wonder if the "Local Sale Only" sellers report their cash sales to Reverb, so that Reverb can collect their 5% fee for helping find their buyers. Of course it is not really my concern, so I don't wonder too hard.

 

[TNCreature]

No One wants to pay for shipping, basses are valued by buyers without considering the packaging and shipping costs. Plus, it's a huge Azz Pain. So, I get it.

 

[mdogs]

Whats with the trend of everyone making all their reverb ads "Local pick up only ?
I'm assuming its the ever rising Fees involved ,but man Its really preventing my deals.
I really want a second Jazz 24 to back up my #1 . Theres 4 on reverb that have been there a while. One is too expensive ,the other 3 are "Local pick up only " . I am in upstate NY and no where near any of these guys . I have messaged 2 of the sellers saying Dude I'm Legit ,will you ship the thing ? and they both said "no local pick up only " . I mean do you guys not wanna sell these things ?? If not dont list it .

Seller's choice, it is as simple as that. You don't need to buy it if you don't like it, not up to you how they choose to sell it or not to sell it.

I sold a 4x10 speaker cabinet years ago on Ebay. The auction was clearly marked as local pickup only, I had no easy way to box and ship. So, a guy from Maryland (I am in Illinois ) won the auction and then got mad because I would not ship. Sorry, not my problem, you did something my auction told you not to do. Anyway, he ended up having Fed Ex pick it up and ship it with no packaging...ok with me. Worst part, it was a Peavey cabinet, not expensive and IMO, not worth the work.

 

[Marley's Ghost]

If the seller lives in the middle of nowhere and they really need the money then I suspect eventually they will get creative with shipping. Otherwise I just ignore their ads and move on.

 

[pbass2]

I have a couple things for sale on Reverb that are just too low $ and too high weight to make shipping remotely worth it. As for guitars and basses, if it's not too far, I'm down with trying to do it "local"--I'll meetup halfway in a safe place, unless something feels really sketchy. I sold a guitar to someone on Reverb last month and UPS destroyed it, like someone attacked the box with an axe, not kidding. Reverb took care of it eventually but still the guy is out the guitar he really wanted.

 

[Hounddog409]

Whats with the trend of everyone making all their reverb ads "Local pick up only ?
I'm assuming its the ever rising Fees involved ,but man Its really preventing my deals.
I really want a second Jazz 24 to back up my #1 . Theres 4 on reverb that have been there a while. One is too expensive ,the other 3 are "Local pick up only " . I am in upstate NY and no where near any of these guys . I have messaged 2 of the sellers saying Dude I'm Legit ,will you ship the thing ? and they both said "no local pick up only " . I mean do you guys not wanna sell these things ?? If not dont list it .

Dont agree. I list a bass for sale anywhere i can. Including reverb.

And I am not shipping a bass. Period.

 

[LowG]

With all the threads here about people upset with flaws in basses they bought online and wanting to return I’d never ever ship a bass. Too many people have unreasonable expectations and no matter how much you try to find and disclose flaws they’ll find another and have a fit. This doesn’t happen in person - if they don’t like it they don’t buy it.

 

[Katoosie]

It's just a hassle, not a big one, but still. And it costs, too.

If you want to be reasonable about your shipping, you need a case or at least a gigbag, box, bubble wrap, tape, then pack it all up, lug it to the post office or pay for pickup - it is a lot.

If you can't understand that, better save up for the expensive jazz you talked about and buy it

Free market, right?

 

[lowendrv]

Time for a road trip if it's what you want . My neighbor had a guy drive from Montana to Southern Cal for a 56 Strat .

 

[mellowgerman]

I can definitely see how it can be frustrating when you're ready to pay for shipping but a seller refuses.

That said, I also get where the local-only sellers are coming from. If they're okay with waiting longer for a local buyer to come around, that's their call. Aside from the steep-climb of costs, the last few years of shipping basses/guitars/amps have yielded enough headaches for me to not want to ship anything I'm selling anymore either. From delays, to sloppy/rough handling, to complete failure to deliver (and returning to me for no reason after 3 weeks of shipping limbo, plus refusing to refund my $140 cost... thanks FedEx). Also, I think returns are less likely if the buyer actually plays the instrument before buying.
Finally, I actually do browse local listings on ebay and reverb when I'm looking for something particular. Lots of gear in FL.

 

[porterbass]

I have bought and sold a lot of basses and high-end flamenco/classical guitars online over the years as I've built a collection that fits me. I have all positive feedback on eBay of almost 2000 and all perfect feedback on Reverb.

I currently have 8 or 9 basses I'd like to sell but really only want to list for local pickup going forward. Why? I've had one bad experience with a buyer here and only a couple of bad experiences with buyers on eBay/Reverb (which worked out as I was protected by both companies ruling in my favor), but it seems the scammers are getting worse. Some of the stories I've read on TB re Reverb and eBay have scared the crap out of me from shipping to buyers. I've been planning on listing several of these the past year but just haven't because of the scammer fear.

I'm in Chicago though, which is a large enough market that I think I'll be okay with listing for local pickup. Not sure though.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Whats with the trend of everyone making all their reverb ads "Local pick up only ?
I'm assuming its the ever rising Fees involved ,but man Its really preventing my deals.
I really want a second Jazz 24 to back up my #1 . Theres 4 on reverb that have been there a while. One is too expensive ,the other 3 are "Local pick up only " . I am in upstate NY and no where near any of these guys . I have messaged 2 of the sellers saying Dude I'm Legit ,will you ship the thing ? and they both said "no local pick up only " . I mean do you guys not wanna sell these things ?? If not dont list it .

Three things. Shipping costs, items being damaged while being shipped, and deals gone bad. Way too many horror stories for my blood.

 

[ClusterFlux]

"Why then are you/them posting ads on a Far reaching Forum (Reverb ) if you only wanna sell it local ??

Because it can also be used for local sales.

It's bait and switch is what it is .

No. It isn't.

"Bait and switch" is a fundamentally deceptive act which involves getting you to spend money. They're telling you up front that they are not interested in shipping the item. You just want them to ship it to you.

By the way, it looks like this guy is selling a J24, and is willing to ship....
Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass 24 2005 - 2008 Tobacco Sunburst | Reverb

 

[Bassinthemudd]

I've seen numerous sellers here on TB who won't ship a cab, even at the buyer's expense, but are willing to drive an hour (which means two hours of driving) to meet up with someone. They must not know how easy it can be to ship.

 

[mcnach]

Whats with the trend of everyone making all their reverb ads "Local pick up only ?
I'm assuming its the ever rising Fees involved ,but man Its really preventing my deals.
I really want a second Jazz 24 to back up my #1 . Theres 4 on reverb that have been there a while. One is too expensive ,the other 3 are "Local pick up only " . I am in upstate NY and no where near any of these guys . I have messaged 2 of the sellers saying Dude I'm Legit ,will you ship the thing ? and they both said "no local pick up only " . I mean do you guys not wanna sell these things ?? If not dont list it .

shipping can be a hassle and you're open to issues with transit and scammers making transactions a bit more nerve-inducing than most would like... I can see why some would not ship. Myself, I try to sell locally first for the same reason. Only if that doesn't work in a reasonable amount of time or if I'm in a hurry I am open to posting.

Yes, different people have different priorities. No use getting upset about it.

 

[littlebun]

Shipping is a hassle and it's getting expensive. That said, there are better places to advertise local sales than Reverb.

The Best Lowest Bicycle Shipping in America and Worldwide | ShipBikes A while back there was talk about cheaper shipping via this site. I don't know if their shipping cost has caught up with the rest. Some can try this.

 

[mcnach]

"Why then are you/them posting ads on a Far reaching Forum (Reverb ) if you only wanna sell it local ?? I am looking for a specific bass that has long been discontiued ,but they did sell a bunch back in the mid 2000's , and They are so "not cool" now . Disliked by the masses .So a bunch of guys want to sell theirs . There is none in my state (NY) state or even the northeast . I'll delete this thread after this . Didnt think it was such a crazy post . It's bait and switch is what it is . "Hey look , I got exactly what you need".........yeah can't have it . I figured on here ,a bunch of bass players ,would get that ,apparently I'm weird ....

well, you're going to have a lot of disappointments in life, may they all be as inconsequential as this one!

 

[coy garcia]

I got a "local pickup only" guy to ship me a '66 ampeg baby bass once. He took it to a fed ex center and they packed it and I payed for it... cost about $500 to ship. Maybe you could arrange your own packing and shipping, pay up front, and convince them to drop it there.