Ive been looking on Reverb.com for a vintage bass and noticed all sellers have full 5 star ratings. I could not find one seller with one none 5 star rating. anyone have any answers to this or am I missing something?
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Reverb.com ratings, whats the deal?
- Thread starter S.fasciani
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I've had awesome experience using that site, so my guess is that 95% of people on that site are good at dealing gear and their rating reflects that.
It's pretty easy... put something up for sale, describe it as it is, ship fast, pack well and you get a 5 star rating.
On the other side, buy something, ask questions, pay fast - get a 5 star rating.
If you sell 10 items, ship fast, and get good feedback you get a preferred seller badge.
That simple.
If you want greater granularity, look at the number of items that the seller has sold.
On the other side, buy something, ask questions, pay fast - get a 5 star rating.
If you sell 10 items, ship fast, and get good feedback you get a preferred seller badge.
That simple.
If you want greater granularity, look at the number of items that the seller has sold.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
Have you looked at most TBers in the classifieds? Almost everybody has a 100% rating.
I generally look less at the 5* and more at the #of ratings tbh.
If it's an especially expensive item look at #of ratings where the person was the seller not the buyer. That'll give you a good indication
If it's an especially expensive item look at #of ratings where the person was the seller not the buyer. That'll give you a good indication
Most people on Reverb are just normal people not interested in turning huge profits...it's just a platform to flip gear with an easy-to-use interface. Everybody on there expects their equipment to be shipped fast, packed well and fit the item description upon arrival, so it's not really a surprise they do the same.
I had a problem with a seller on Reverb. I complained to Reverb customer service, who got involved and issued me "Reverb bucks" to help offset the issues I had with the item I bought. I was not allowed the leave feedback for the seller - as in, that option just wasn't there. I guess they can disable it.
Might be why there as so many 5 star ratings. That seller is going to rip other people off, but keep his 5 stars.
Might be why there as so many 5 star ratings. That seller is going to rip other people off, but keep his 5 stars.
I recently had an item damaged in transit that I bought off Reverb. The seller was incredibly helpful and everything was taken care of with minimal effort on my part.
The funny part is, once my refund was processed, I couldn't leave positive feedback (or any, for that matter).
I really wanted to leave a great rating, but now it is as if the transaction never happened! Weird, and kind of a bummer in my case.
I do know that if you buy some things off Reverb, acquire a few 5 star ratings, and then go into sales mode, you look like a 5 star seller despite never having sold anything.
The funny part is, once my refund was processed, I couldn't leave positive feedback (or any, for that matter).
I really wanted to leave a great rating, but now it is as if the transaction never happened! Weird, and kind of a bummer in my case.
I do know that if you buy some things off Reverb, acquire a few 5 star ratings, and then go into sales mode, you look like a 5 star seller despite never having sold anything.
I think with Reverb there's also some natural selection at work. You have a generally more sophisticated and knowledgeable customer base using it.
And I've seen the competition gradually increasing as the years go by. Now there seems to be just as many formal businesses selling through Reverb as there are individuals in some product categories. And they depend on repeat business to keep going. So there's strong incentives to keep their customers happy. And that tends to drive out the one-off wheeler-dealers and game players.
Go into NYC and you'll notice the food is pretty good most places. That's because there's so much competition that anybody who's not very good doesn't last long. You might be unlucky and run into a few. But they're usually gone before very long. Eventually, all that's left are the good places.
I think something like that is what's going on at reverb.
And I've seen the competition gradually increasing as the years go by. Now there seems to be just as many formal businesses selling through Reverb as there are individuals in some product categories. And they depend on repeat business to keep going. So there's strong incentives to keep their customers happy. And that tends to drive out the one-off wheeler-dealers and game players.
Go into NYC and you'll notice the food is pretty good most places. That's because there's so much competition that anybody who's not very good doesn't last long. You might be unlucky and run into a few. But they're usually gone before very long. Eventually, all that's left are the good places.
I think something like that is what's going on at reverb.
Reverbs ratings systems seem pretty whacky to me. I've seen basses with cracks that go all the way through the body or headstock listed as "very good" condition on reverb.
Whether it is here on TB or on Reverb or evilbay or..., I'd wager hostage feedback is part of the explanation as well. By this I mean the situation where one party to the sale doesn't leave feedback until they have first seen the feedback left for them. A buyer completes their side of the transaction first (notifies seller of interest in buying, sending payment, providing ship to info) - this has to happen before a seller packs and ships an item. So a seller could leave feedback as soon as the buyer has done their bit. However, in my experience, most sellers do not leave feedback until after I (as a buyer) have left them feedback - thereby preserving their option to leave comparable (meaning potentially unfavorable) feedback in case that is what is left for them. Take seller/buyer feedback ratings with a large dose of skepticism.
This isn't so obvious when it comes to eBay, where sellers can only give positive or no feedback, while buyers can give positive, negative, neutral, or no feedback. Unfortunately, this imbalance has led to a lot of "buyer's remorse," and buyers know they have the upper hand. I've recently had a couple of buyers straight-up lie about the condition of the items I sent them, and request a return. Why should I give them positive feedback upon payment if I don't know whether or not they'll lie about the items and cause me an unnecessary and unfair hassle? To be clear, I'm talking about a handful of buyers out of the many excellent eBay transactions I've experienced.
Personally, as an eBay seller, I'm not about to give positive feedback until I get confirmation from the buyer that he or she is happy with the purchase.
I had a bad experience with Reverb last year. Bass arrived damaged (with a cracked neck). Seller wasn't very motivated to assist. Reverb tried to help but ultimately had to get PayPal involved to get my money back.
Every other Reverb interaction has been positive
Every other Reverb interaction has been positive
Yep, I sold on Reverb.com. Did all the right things. Earned 5 stars. Actually, Reverb is easier than ebay and fees are far less.
I've bought and sold a few things on reverb and each transaction was easy. Disclaimer: guitar related stuff, not bass (TB is hands down the best place to buy and sell bass gear imho).
I have had many good experiences on Reverb.
Bought a Fretless Jazz Bass and it arrived with a broken nut.
The seller sent me a check to cover the repair.
Bought a Fretless Jazz Bass and it arrived with a broken nut.
The seller sent me a check to cover the repair.
