Selling on Reverb without getting ripped off?

[dfreeland83]

Selling to guitar center will leave about half the money you could have gotten on the table, but the advantage is that the transaction is over and done immediately.

There are also situations where it could make sense - if you're trading in on a new item. GC has really tightened up on offering any discounts, but they still offer an automatic 10% off a new item if you do a trade-in. I think it has to be in stock and not already on sale, but if you're trading in a lower value item and purchasing a high value item, the money could come out closer to even.

Like if I take a $500 (used) bass, trade it in to them for $200, but then buy a $2000 bass and get $200 off it, that's not so bad. I would've come out ahead selling it on my own but this is at least decent.

Wait... I didn't know this.... Just want to make sure I'm tracking... I could take a cheaper piece of equipment I haven't used in forever, trade it in for a couple of hundo, then turn around and get a monster discount on a new item?

I didn't know that... sortof makes me want to do that with a couple of pedals that I've had listed on Reverb for months with no buyers (weird pedals)

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Selling to guitar center will leave about half the money you could have gotten on the table, but the advantage is that the transaction is over and done immediately.

There are also situations where it could make sense - if you're trading in on a new item. GC has really tightened up on offering any discounts, but they still offer an automatic 10% off a new item if you do a trade-in. I think it has to be in stock and not already on sale, but if you're trading in a lower value item and purchasing a high value item, the money could come out closer to even.

Like if I take a $500 (used) bass, trade it in to them for $200, but then buy a $2000 bass and get $200 off it, that's not so bad. I would've come out ahead selling it on my own but this is at least decent.

But in that situation you're spending money to save money. Are you really saving $200 when you just spent 10x more? Unless you're in a tax free state, a big chunk of that will be going back in tax. I'm just saying that in this scenario listed by the OP you can sell to GC (or similar) or take some risk and get more in your pocket.

 

[COYS]

Wait... I didn't know this.... Just want to make sure I'm tracking... I could take a cheaper piece of equipment I haven't used in forever, trade it in for a couple of hundo, then turn around and get a monster discount on a new item?

I didn't know that... sortof makes me want to do that with a couple of pedals that I've had listed on Reverb for months with no buyers (weird pedals)

But in that situation you're spending money to save money. Are you really saving $200 when you just spent 10x more? Unless you're in a tax free state, a big chunk of that will be going back in tax. I'm just saying that in this scenario listed by the OP you can sell to GC (or similar) or take some risk and get more in your pocket.

As I was stating, it doesn't make trading in to GC better than selling on your own, it just gets the numbers closer to the range where the convenience and finality of the transaction might make enough sense to do the deal.

I don't know if there is a minimum value or a maximum discount, but I've seen someone doing this sort of a trade recently.

 

[Gizmot]

I've had nothing but success on Reverb as both a buyer and a seller. Until they let me down or disappoint me, I'm not going to criticize them. Yes - - Reverb used to be a better deal before they raised their fees and no matter how you do it, shipping charges are outrageous and are a problem for everyone. If you have a product to sell that someone wants, describe it accurately, ship it correctly, then everything usually works out well on Reverb. I'm getting ready to put up a couple of basses right now!

 

[rojo412]

Rule of thumb I've found on Reverb is, you get 92% of your sale price after the fees they take.
Don't factor shipping price or costs into that though, those are separate.
And you do get discounted shipping through Reverb as well, which is a bonus. I've saved a LOT on shipping fees by using them.

But also don't forget that they changed the rules on Reverb and PayPal that if you do more than $600 of sales in a year, they will send you a 1099. It used to be doing over $20,000 in a year... and now it's $600.
So if you sell a $5,000 synth on there, you'll have to deal with that on your taxes, so hopefully you have a receipt for the purchase of that synth or someone will think you just made an extra $5,000 out of nowhere.

 

[dfreeland83]

Most problems on Reverb seem to come when a person overstates the condition of an item. Reverb has definitions for these conditions which you should follow exactly. Document even the smallest blemishes in photos. Seriously, photo every inch of it.

I started to CYA by never listing anything as 'mint.' I list as 'excellent,' and post it in the upper range of 'excellent' price and offer the disclaimer that it's 'near-mint,' I explain that it's mint to my eyes, but I'm not perfect. Never had a problem since doing that.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Rule of thumb I've found on Reverb is, you get 92% of your sale price after the fees they take.
Don't factor shipping price or costs into that though, those are separate.
And you do get discounted shipping through Reverb as well, which is a bonus. I've saved a LOT on shipping fees by using them.

But also don't forget that they changed the rules on Reverb and PayPal that if you do more than $600 of sales in a year, they will send you a 1099. It used to be doing over $20,000 in a year... and now it's $600.
So if you sell a $5,000 synth on there, you'll have to deal with that on your taxes, so hopefully you have a receipt for the purchase of that synth or someone will think you just made an extra $5,000 out of nowhere.

Not directed at you, but remember that you will need to pay taxes on profits not on total sales. A 1099-K is more of a notice by the IRS, "Hey we know about these transactions" than a bill. The major intent of this is to not allow Uber drivers and such to slip under the radar because Uber is calling its drivers independent contractors rather than employees and they are merely facilitating the transaction. The old standards for reporting of $20,000 and 2,000 transactions allowed most part-time gig economy workers to slide under the radar.

 

[COYS]

26472473[/URL], member: 303662"]I started to CYA by never listing anything as 'mint.' I list as 'excellent,' and post it in the upper range of 'excellent' price and offer the disclaimer that it's 'near-mint,' I explain that it's mint to my eyes, but I'm not perfect. Never had a problem since doing that.

if you read the definitions, I believe you’re not supposed to sell anything as mint unless you’re a dealer. I never rate anything higher than “very good”. I have no trouble selling and I do not sell at decreased value, but this rating allows that there might be some minor cosmetic blemishes. Even if there are not this gives me coverage and the photos tell the real story.

Buyers often leave feedback that they are pleased about the item being nicer than expected, and that the item’s condition was rated conservatively.

 

[SoulReflection]

ALWAYS get the extra protection. I have sold 5 things on Reverb, 2 of which were damaged in shipping. Otherwise, it's been pretty seamless. And Reverb took care of the damage issues without a snag. Another thing I've noticed--I've been getting cheaper shipping via Reverb than going directly with UPS or Fedex.

I saved over $40 by shipping through Reverb via UPS.

 

[dfreeland83]

if you read the definitions, I believe you’re not supposed to sell anything as mint unless you’re a dealer. I never rate anything higher than “very good”. I have no trouble selling and I do not sell at decreased value, but this rating allows that there might be some minor cosmetic blemishes. Even if there are not this gives me coverage and the photos tell the real story.

Buyers often leave feedback that they are pleased about the item being nicer than expected, and that the item’s condition was rated conservatively.

You definitely can't sell 'new' unless you're a dealer...
'Mint,' you can as an individual, as long as it's in absolutely like-new condition.

The thing that sucks about that, that I discovered recently... you can only sell 'Quantity' items as 'New.'
Meaning that, if you have 3 identical items, you have to sell three listings. Not usually a problem but I recently redid my boards and made all custom cables... I had a crapload of identical, nice cables left over (EBS's).

I wanted to list one ad, with all the cables at a fair price, so people could buy however many they wanted, but you can't do that, so I ended up selling them as a package deal for way less.

 

[bassliner50]

That thing will not be an easy sell. Please realize that.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

I’ve never sold or bought anything on Reverb but I’ve heard so many horror stories that I would touch them with a 100ft pole.

 

[King Harvest]

I've done many a deal on Reverb, never had an issue. People are too paranoid.

Any "horror story" you have heard is just one side of the story and there is no guarantee the person telling it isn't a total idiot. If you see a lot of caps lock and exclamation points, take it with a grain of salt.

 

[pbass2]

One thing I don't like about Reverb, is these sellers who list used instruments, but show stock photos of the new model from the manufacturer, or elsewhere. In one case, I asked a seller who seems to list all their used basses with images they clearly pulled off of Sweetwater for pics of the actual bass listed so I could see any wear and tear, and they sent me just a smattering of zoomed-in super dark and blurry close ups of scratches - no photos of the whole bass. Scammy.

 

[COYS]

I agree that the “horror stories” for reverb are rare and usually overblown. There is always the possibility that you will meet with a less than honest person, just like there is anywhere else in life. It seems to be true that they will rarely side with the seller, although they are much better about this than eBay and PayPal are. (as a seller you should never accept PayPal for this reason) But the vast majority of transactions go down without any problems.

I always want to sell locally because it’s free, and there’s no risk if you’re smart and don’t do things like invite random Internet people over to your house. But reverb is a good option for things that are hard to sell, or just won’t sell locally in a timeframe that you can accept.

 

[g-dude]

If you're worried about the "what ifs", sell to Guitar Center. There is no way to completely avoid a chargeback or phony cashier check without accepting cash (and knowing how to spot counterfeits). Buyers also don't want to assume all risk and give you top dollar while meeting you in the parking lot of Wendy's for what could be a stolen item or it's all a setup to steal their cash. As long as there are other sellers willing to sell on Reverb with no hassle for a buyer, you're going to have to give enough of a discount and find a local seller that makes the transaction beneficial to both parties. If you through any kind of electronic payment that isn't a personal transfer you're going to get a 1099-K and will need to pay tax on the profit you're making on the sale.

Music Go Round offered me $1000 less than it cost new, when it's selling for 1.5-2.5 times new.

Can't even imagine GC. Even with the tax implications, which I can probably offset with some other instrument sales, that would lose so much money I'd rather keep it.

 

[mike buzzetti]

One thing I don't like about Reverb, is these sellers who list used instruments, but show stock photos of the new model from the manufacturer, or elsewhere. In one case, I asked a seller who seems to list all their used basses with images they clearly pulled off of Sweetwater for pics of the actual bass listed so I could see any wear and tear, and they sent me just a smattering of zoomed-in super dark and blurry close ups of scratches - no photos of the whole bass. Scammy.

And you move on , dont buy that crap , you wouldn't in a store would you ?

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Music Go Round offered me $1000 less than it cost new, when it's selling for 1.5-2.5 times new.

Can't even imagine GC. Even with the tax implications, which I can probably offset with some other instrument sales, that would lose so much money I'd rather keep it.

There’s just no way to get top price and no risk.

 

[g-dude]

There’s just no way to get top price and no risk.

There’s top price and then there’s insanely low.

I suspect that they offered an extremely low amount because they don’t tend to attract the eyeballs of someone who can drop that kind of coin.

I mean shoot…I could barely justify it when it came out, and even then it was basically with the thought that it would potentially be valuable in a couple of decades.

 

[pbass2]

And you move on , dont buy that crap , you wouldn't in a store would you ?

Not sure how what I describe could happen in a physical store setting?
Anyhow, I've been around the block too many times to get scammed these days.