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Selling your bass on reverb.com -- ever done it?

Gbass75

Gbass75

May 20, 2009
1,343
948
Berkeley, California
#1
As we all know, things have slowed down considerably here in our classifieds section. It seems like basses sit in there forever... especially MINE!

I've sold with EvilBay in the past... I think we all know how we feel about that. I'd rather not get involved with them again.

I've seen folks here reference reverb.com on more than one occasion... and it seems like their fees might be more reasonable than eBay's.

So... have any of y'all ever bought or sold through them? Thoughts on your experiences?

Thanks so much!

~G.
 
#3
I've sold 3 or 4 things on Reverb. It's been a very positive experience so far.

Reverb's fees are 3.5% plus PayPal's 2.9% (+ $.30). So...
Talkbass is cheapest to sell after a local Craigslist cash deal. Reverb is in middle. eBay is most expensive.
For example, you sell a $500 bass that costs $40 to ship. With Talkbass you net $446. Reverb yields $428. eBay would net $396 (assuming your fees are standard 10%). Keep this in mind when pricing and price accordingly.

Listing items is quick and easy.
I'm not sure about Reverb's dispute policy but I assume it falls back to PayPal.
You receive a 5 star rating with Reverb instead of simple Positive, Neutral, Negative on eBay and Talkbass.
 
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#5
Reverb is a good site to use. In some ways I prefer it more than selling here because there are a lot less tire kickers, uncommitted buyers and weight snobs. If you link to a bank account, you can utilize Reverb's direct checkout method. You aren't charged a Paypal fee only the selling fee. Read carefully through because these only transfer after shipping has been updated and a specified period of time passes. So far so good being a buyer and seller.
 
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#7
I'll echo what others have said about Reverb from the buyer's perspective. I like it -- the search feature is pretty good, and many listings even include a price range within which other examples of the item you're considering have sold in the past. Obviously that's of limited use if you're shopping for a custom bass, but for more run-of-the-mill items it's a nice feature.

I'm about to put my Music Man up on Reverb, because I'm getting tired of being offered partial trades for microscopes or half-destroyed drum kits on CL. I'll update my post in this thread after I have some experience as a Reverb seller.
 
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#8
I sold my 78 RD artist, as well as another guitar and several pedals on reverb. All transactions went super smooth and sold way quicker than they did via CL or other places. I've got a handful of stuff I've been meaning to put up for sale, just haven't gotten to it quite yet.
 
#11
What's the seller protection like? I listed a vintage bass on Reverb awhile back with an unrealistically high asking price figuring it unlikely to sell but maybe I'd get lucky with someone looking for that specific rare model. I was recently contacted about it by an enthusiastic buyer who came off quite disorganized and dramatic (5 rambling emails explaining where he was in the process of gathering the money). Now I'm wondering what happens if he buys it and I ship it and then the deal goes bad thru no fault of my own.
 
#16
JimmyThunder said:
What's the seller protection like?
Click to expand...

I've had seven sales on Reverb, two were substantial dollars. One of those made me a little nervous but the buyer was fine. He was just as you described - a bunch of rambling about desperately wanting the bass but no money etc. About a week after he initially contacted me, he bought it, paid and left positive feedback. Not sure how disputes would work (or who they typically side with), but they do have a resolution page: Reverb Protection | Reverb

Bob Coldwell said:
I'm not as good at math as some people. But shouldn't that be $460?
Click to expand...

He's factoring in the 2.9% PayPal fee. $500 - 2.9% = $486 - $40 = 446.
 
#18
JimmyThunder said:
What's the seller protection like? I listed a vintage bass on Reverb awhile back with an unrealistically high asking price figuring it unlikely to sell but maybe I'd get lucky with someone looking for that specific rare model. I was recently contacted about it by an enthusiastic buyer who came off quite disorganized and dramatic (5 rambling emails explaining where he was in the process of gathering the money). Now I'm wondering what happens if he buys it and I ship it and then the deal goes bad thru no fault of my own.
Click to expand...

Well he certainly sounds like a candidate for potential buyer's remorse. Can reverb sellers restrict/screen buyers like ebay allows? That's a primary concern when I sell on ebay (no bidders with less than 20 feedbacks).
 

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