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Reverb Ad Suspension

#21
So, you're attracting people to your ad by using different brand names than what it actually is, and...when they get there, you don't have photos of the whole thing.

Reverb has a point. I certainly wouldn't buy something where the listing steered me there that way, and then also didn't show the condition of the thing in pictures. You may have less traffic, but you will have a better chance of selling your item by being honest - Reverb is doing you a favor.
 
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#22
BobKos said:
I have a bass listed FS on Reverb. They contacted me today and told me my ad has been suspended. Here's what they say:


Our team has temporarily suspended this listing pending edits to address the following:

  • Unrelated / Unnecessary Keywords: The listing contains non-relevant brand names, words or phrases. Use of irrelevant brand names or keywords is not allowed. Our team works to ensure that when you list an item, it’s easily found. Adding extra or incorrect information to your title, description, or other fields makes finding your listing more difficult for potential buyers.
  • Partial Item Photos: The listing does not include photos of the entire item for sale. Additional photos are needed on your listing. Buyers need to see all the details of your gear to make a confident purchase. This includes the headstock, back, undersides, serial numbers, or any other pertinent areas. Including complete photos also helps avoid unnecessary claims or returns.
To get your listing back onto Reverb, you must first edit the listing and reply directly to this email for review within 30 days. Be sure to read the description of the issue provided above carefully.

I don't care if they suspend my ad but I thought their stated reasons are comical. Why would they care about any of this? Suspending my ad does not let it sell which is what they are in the business of helping me do. No sell - no commission. Just thought I would share.
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Their platform, their rules.

Otherwise there's CL & FB MP.
 
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#25
r_bnks said:
They reasoning are totally understandable, not comical at all.
I sold about a hundred items on Reverb and never got a suspension...
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Yeah, me neither. There's reasons why, and they told him those reasons. They just want him to revise the listing. That's all.
 
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#27
For those interested, I included VIDEO of the bass showing front, back all sides & angles and meticulously detailed ALL faults with the bass directly in the ad. How many ads have VIDEOS? I also linked to the original Reverb ad I bought the bass from a month earlier which had a dozen photos and I also included a few front photos of my own. There was no shortage of relevant information in the ad including weight, brands of ALL hardware, brand of wood parts, brands of electronics, etc as well as all deficiencies. But since the majority never had a problem it must be me. And FWIW the bass, although complete, was advertised as parts / repair and priced accordingly. By that I mean $650 for a Warmoth body / neck with USA Hipshots, 2Tek bridge, Delano dual HBs, Delano Sonar 2 pre, and a Fishman battery module. $1200 or more worth of parts for $650 and they're worried about me ripping somebody off??!! This was a no-brainer ad. I don't know what else they could want and I don't care all that much. As stated previously - their site their rules. If somebody on reverb would have needed more information all they needed to do was reach out to me. And no - I didn't put 1000 keywords in the ad to trip up the search engine. I hate when people do that.
 
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#28
BobKos said:
I don't care if they suspend my ad but I thought their stated reasons are comical. Why would they care about any of this? Suspending my ad does not let it sell which is what they are in the business of helping me do. No sell - no commission. Just thought I would share.
Click to expand...
The protections reverb provides for buyers and sellers, such as ensuring an item is as described, are dependent on these relatively basic standards.
Reverb is in the business of facilitating transactions between buyers and sellers. Not just the business of helping sellers. In order to facilitate these transactions they have very, very basic standards for listings.
The commission is dependent on the buyer having confidence to buy as much as it is you having an item to sell.
 
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#29
BobKos said:
For those interested, I included VIDEO of the bass showing front, back all sides & angles and meticulously detailed ALL faults with the bass directly in the ad. How many ads have VIDEOS? I also linked to the original Reverb ad I bought the bass from a month earlier which had a dozen photos and I also included a few front photos of my own. There was no shortage of relevant information in the ad including weight, brands of ALL hardware, brand of wood parts, brands of electronics, etc as well as all deficiencies. But since the majority never had a problem it must be me. And FWIW the bass, although complete, was advertised as parts / repair and priced accordingly. By that I mean $650 for a Warmoth body / neck with USA Hipshots, 2Tek bridge, Delano dual HBs, Delano Sonar 2 pre, and a Fishman battery module. $1200 or more worth of parts for $650 and they're worried about me ripping somebody off??!! This was a no-brainer ad. I don't know what else they could want and I don't care all that much. As stated previously - their site their rules. If somebody on reverb would have needed more information all they needed to do was reach out to me. And no - I didn't put 1000 keywords in the ad to trip up the search engine. I hate when people do that.
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I'd bet they treated all the parts brand naming as "keywords". Not legitimately, because it was a parts bass, but they probably have an algorithm that looks for that kind of thing and they didn't bother to verify that the listing of brand names was done for legitimate reasons. I bet if you strip all the details, they'll let it fly no problem. I see a lot of barely passing adds on Reverb with minimal description and some pictures.

I highly doubt they have people monitoring all adds to see if they're breaking the rules. Rules are fine, but at least apply them honestly if you're going to have them. Algorithms are only as knowledgeable as the person who programs them.
 
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#30
Good thing that it wasn't a Ric. Talk about really getting tongue tied, and twisted.

Speaking of which... I've had one listing suspended, 6 years ago. Guess what it was... yep!!! :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

Their reasoning was that because of me using the term "lawsuit", that they had to cover their @$$. Understandable. But... even after I showed them MANY other instruments that had been sold the SAME WAY, their response was that they must have somehow "fell between the cracks."

At first I was a tad angry. But then I sold it for more than my asking price locally. Then... I became really bummed, as it was the nicest "RIC" that I have EVER played. And the ONLY one that I regret selling.

Sorry for the phone picture of my screen, but trying to share the listing isn't allowed either, as I have tried.

Here She is/was.
20240517_221652.jpg
 
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#34
While I think Reverb's percentage based fees are way too high, especially for higher priced items. However, I think it is one of the best and most popular classified websites. It is one of the best because of their reasonable and enforced rules. Craigslist is one of the worst yet the cheapest (free) because they have very few rules if any. In this case, we get what we pay for.
 
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#35
I find keyword spamming very annoying. I don't know if that's what the OP did because we haven't seen the ad in question, but if it's that, well done Reverb.
I know how to search for things, don't worry, I'll take care of searching with the keywords that best represent what I'm after. Abusing the keyword entries just makes searching useless, and I would personally not buy from such seller.
 
#39
micguy said:
If you want good feedback, next time, tell us all the relevant details. Not posting a link to the ad, or informing us of some of the more salient points, and then arguing with our input is simply not helpful.
Click to expand...

This sounds like what my wife does when she drinks. Luckily I've learned to translate and can steer her in the right direction with compliments. Still annoying though.
 

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