Reverb increasing seller fees

[Brad Johnson]

I've had little lick with Reverb so I won't miss it. I've had more luck locally with Craigslist, facebook groups, etc. Just sold a new Focusrite interface for what I paid for it in less than a week. Had the typical tire kickers and then a real buyer. Fortunately I'm not under a time crunch... but I've had items sit on Reverb for up to a year so...

 

[xrockstrongox]

A few weeks ago. Reverb had a banner on the upper part of each page showing who they supported, something that made me fume everytime I saw it. It was just taken down very recently.

They never had anything political. They just said black lives matter. Did I miss something? Is my extra $1.50 going to help sniff out casual racists? Because if that's the case, I withdraw my objection. Would be curious what would make one fume about it though.

Edit: my browser just updated with all the replies from the member quoted. I now know EXACTLY what part made him fume. Luckily we ALL get to decide who we do business with.

 

[InhumanResource]

Translation: we want to make more money, and you the seller will pay for it

Who else is supposed to pay for it? What should they do, start planting lingerie ads in the middle of user posts?

 

[amper]

It never ceases to amaze me how quick people are these days to flaunt their racism, particularly within the community of musicians who play modern popular music, which was invented by Black Americans.

 

[InhumanResource]

More reason to sell here in the classifieds or use facebook market place.

There’s no reason to use Facebook.

 

[InhumanResource]

They are committing suicide, just like Fleabay did.

eBay is doing great and made me money last week.

 

[InhumanResource]

If you sell a $1000 instrument, it will cost you an extra $15. This won't negatively affect them at all.

And how are they collecting fees "from both sides of the transaction"?

And to further that, why shouldn’t they? Where else are you going to go? Until more competitors show up they can do what they like.

I think the bigger issue is the insane prices many sellers have for decent gear.

 

[InhumanResource]

Well, I guess Reverb finally realized it's a website full of over priced crap. ... And since, no ones buying, they're upping their cut. ... Every time I go on it, it looks like a gear graveyard. ... I miss pawn shops so much. ... When what you paid is what it was worth. ... Not, what some idiot, living in their parents basement, claims it's worth. ...

Etsy spent 279M to acquire them. I’m sure people are buying plenty.

 

[amper]

I also find it fascinating who many people are desperate to justify the increased profits of a faceless corporation in which they do not share.

Or perhaps they do own shares.

 

[foothilla]

It only cost me $48 bucks to ship a tribute kiloton from California to Jersey UPS.

I just sent a small Martin 00 series guitar to Vermont (from Los Angeles), and it cost me $72, with insurance. Then of course there was my packing material cost. Cardboard, styrofoam peanuts and bubble wrap also cost a lot these days.

Shipping stuff is just getting brutal. With people doing tons of business online, the shipping companies are the ones raising rates exponentially, and profiting like crazy. If you bought UPS/FedEx stock a decade ago, you are probably pretty psyched right about now.

 

[groooooove]

that's probably the nail in the coffin for me selling on there.

where would you sell then? seems they know they can raise it, as others said - as long as it's still cheaper than ebay, they will still be growing.

i personally do everything i can to keep sales to this forum. i've had nothing but pleasant experiences. but, if i need to move something, i'm guilty of still using ebay - the fees are high, but it's rare for something to sell for lower than a fair price, because so many eyes on on there looking for good deals.

i, as a seller, don't like that reverb would increase fees. but as a logical thinker, it makes sense that they can and not loose any significant amount of business.

if you know of another alternative, i'd love to know. keeping those auction sites competitive with one another would be a good thing.

 

[Lammchop93]

where would you sell then? seems they know they can raise it, as others said - as long as it's still cheaper than ebay, they will still be growing.

i personally do everything i can to keep sales to this forum. i've had nothing but pleasant experiences. but, if i need to move something, i'm guilty of still using ebay - the fees are high, but it's rare for something to sell for lower than a fair price, because so many eyes on on there looking for good deals.

i, as a seller, don't like that reverb would increase fees. but as a logical thinker, it makes sense that they can and not loose any significant amount of business.

if you know of another alternative, i'd love to know. keeping those auction sites competitive with one another would be a good thing.

I’ll sell more here, Facebook marketplace, and craigslist. Plenty of other avenues.

 

[foothilla]

I also find it fascinating who many people are desperate to justify the increased profits of a faceless corporation in which they do not share.

Or perhaps they do own shares.

I find it fascinating that people think this faceless corporation owes them something. We live in a capitalist society, and you are free to take your business somewhere else. Or better yet, you are free to start your own Reverb-like business. Call it "Tremolo", or "Vibrato".

We are such an entitled bunch of whiners, that many people feel like Reverb is some kind of social service that should have their profits capped. You wouldn't want the profits capped on your business, but you feel like Reverb should have their wings clipped.

If there is a better option than Reverb, you are 100% free to use that option. If there isn't a better option than Reverb, then be grateful that they are still providing you the best service available.

 

[groooooove]

I’ll sell more here, Facebook marketplace, and craigslist. Plenty of other avenues.

fair enough... like i said, i generally keep things here.

craigslist is great, but for me things never sell unless they are at a really good price. guitars that sell used on ebay several times a week at the $750 range i've had to lower to $400 to get attention on craigslist... and that's here on long island, where there are lots of nearby areas of relatively wealthy people.

especially if i'm in the mode of "i need to ____ so i can buy ____," an auction site gets rid of it in a week. i guess that situation is why these sites still exist... oh well.

but, yeah. selling here is the best without a doubt.

 

[foothilla]

I’ll sell more here, Facebook marketplace, and craigslist. Plenty of other avenues.

You're one of the many people that keep saying "sell it here, on TB". What you are missing is that many bass players are not just bass players, they are musicians.

I sell basses, guitars, effects, recording gear, pro sound, amps, accessories, etc..

I love talkbass, but they don't have the exposure to help me move a fraction of my gear. I'm stuck with eBay, Reverb, and Craigslist for all non-bass gear. And, even if you are in a big city like me, you are unlikely to get the exposure on Craigslist that you will get on Reverb and eBay.

 

[40Hz]

worse for us. Now that they’re owned by Etsy, they are just wanting to increase profits and want to “give to the communities” but using the sellers to actually pay for it and make them look better.

they’ve lost me as a seller who sells $5k+ in gear a year.

To be honest, I think you’re exactly the sort of seller they don’t mind losing. I’m very sure their plan is to migrate over to serving formal businesses with considerably more sales volume than $5K annually. And the presence of amateurs and SOHO businesses tends to drive the “serious” (i.e. well heeled and established) businesses away.

I wouldn’t mind 5% if that’s all it was. Add in processing fees and you handing over almost 10% of your sale.

Yep. You need to factor in the full cost of doing business. At least the old music stores were upfront and told you they wanted 15% - and if it didn’t move in three months come pick it up and pay a $50 kill fee.

Good point. The sales tax thing really messed things up more than the fees. I’ve seen what some of my buyers have had to pay on top of my asking price and I felt bad if not guilty that they paid so much.

No my - problem or yours. Individual states set their own sales tax rules and rates. We have nothing to feel guilty about when it comes to that. It’s not within our scope of control.

They're also charging sales tax now to the buyer (even if the seller is an individual, not a business).

Most states maintain that a sale is a sale and subject to tax. The only reason they don’t make a big deal over small person-to-person sales of personal property is because they have no way of tracking it most times rather than it not being legally subject to sales tax. They do need to be practical about some things when it comes to enforcement. But if you’re going through a payment service and paying fees to a market site they most certainly do have the ability to track every penny. Computers are a wonderful thing when it comes to that.

Interesting thing about sales tax is the states don’t care who pays it. It’s assessed and due them regardless. The seller is only responsible for remitting it.

The seller can collect it from the buyer or build it into the price being charged like the old school hoity-toity “carriage trade” shops used to do it. The seller can even pay for it out of his or her own income for all the revenue people care. As long as it gets reported -and paid- it’s moot to them whose pocket it ultimately came out of.

 

[40Hz]

You're one of the many people that keep saying "sell it here, on TB". What you are missing is that many bass players are not just bass players, they are musicians.

I sell basses, guitars, effects, recording gear, pro sound, amps, accessories, etc..

I love talkbass, but they don't have the exposure to help me move a fraction of my gear. I'm stuck with eBay, Reverb, and Craigslist for all non-bass gear. And, even if you are in a big city like me, you are unlikely to get the exposure on Craigslist that you will get on Reverb and eBay.

Sounds to me like you’re in the classic business quagmire of being: “Too little to be big and too big to be little.” It’s often referred to as “The Deadly Valley” in business slang.

And unfortunately I think you might be falling into the seller demographic Reverb eventually plans on doing without.

 

[foothilla]

Sounds to me like you in the classic business quagmire of being: “Too little to be big and too big to be little.”

And unfortunately I think you might be falling into the seller demographic Reverb eventually plans on doing without.

I think you accurately described my business quagmire. But, Reverb is still my best option. An extra $15 on every $1000 of sales certainly isn't going to break me. My margins fortunately aren't that tight.

 

[Bonafide]

Isn’t your gear’s access to ‘the world’ far more limited by the inability to ship rosewood boards across borders than by the size of Reverb’s marketing budget?

That ban was lifted for finished musical instruments and parts. And the cites certificate was not much of a problem to get around anyway.

 

[Bonafide]

One sub theme in this post I noticed, the idea of a monopoly, evil corporate greed, price and fee gouging etc is unfortunate and baseless. It isn't founded in sound business experience. 'Someone else, nameless, faceless, a group over there is the problem'. It's the 'they' syndrome. These platforms Reverb and Etsy, are service providers. They continue to support (not suppress or oppress) millions and millions of artists, artisan crafters, musicians and hobbyists providing an income platform and market opportunity. Millions will continue to do well working at their own pace that suits their lifestyle.

I have noticed the 'true cost' of doing business, actual business costs, is an unpleasant or bewildering wake up call for many and can seems disproportionately lopsided when faced with a new variable. Either way, this conversation is as old as this forum.