Had a Reverb sale go bad

[golem]

I sold a guitar and it got damaged in shipping. It appears to be easily fixable and I used Reverb coverage but Reverb was too slow getting back to the buyer and the buyer decided they'd rather return than go through the process of getting it fixed. I'll have to see what happens with Reverb. I'm definitely annoyed with Reverb's customer service to post here. But, I know that a problem like this was going to occur eventually and that is the cost of offering for things on sale for sites like Reverb. Here's to hoping that Reverb's coverage will at least limit my loss to a few hundred dollars.

[mozz]

I'd be pissed too. It's gets tough to sell guitars locally. I would figure the insurance would cover your losses?

[golem]

I'd be pissed too. It's gets tough to sell guitars locally. I would figure the insurance would cover your losses?

It might be that Reverb takes care of all this in the end, but it's likely going to get more complicated and expensive because of the return.

[Razzle]

You might be better off, I had a shipping problem with the Reverb shipment and had to make a claim and they don’t allow claims through UPS, you have to go through Reverb, which is really weird, so they don’t settle claims cash with they try to give you a Reverb bux

[honyock]

Reverb has become little more than a shell of its former self.

If you used the insurance, make sure you don't let the seller try to go around it and return before Reverb does their investigation.

[golem]

Reverb has become little more than a shell of its former self.

If you used the insurance, make sure you don't let the seller try to go around it and return before Reverb does their investigation.

He's already returned it. He didn't have the patience. They offered me $200, but their description of the issue was inaccurate so I'm asking for a bit more.

[Raindog]

I just sold my Bootsy Collins Warwick Bass on Reverb and the difference between now and two years ago, when I last bought/sold anything there is night/day. I have sold on Reverb before but now, its like I don't know them. The guy that bought my bass received it today and posted positive feedback. I mailed on Sunday. Yet, long after they have the buyer's money, 4 days after I shipped, they still have not initiated my payout. And no longer can you call them. Hell, you can't even chat at 5pm. You have to email. What kind of customer support is that?

[redman]

@golem I would be angry too in fact that makes ma angry for you. I have bought a ton of stuff from Reverb but never sold anything there. I have 4 or 5 guitars I need to sell as well as a few gadgets and was going to put them on Reverb I'll keep my fingers crossed everything goes well.

[honyock]

I just sold my Bootsy Collins Warwick Bass on Reverb and the difference between now and two years ago, when I last bought/sold anything there is night/day. I have sold on Reverb before but now, its like I don't know them. The guy that bought my bass received it today and posted positive feedback. I mailed on Sunday. Yet, long after they have the buyer's money, 4 days after I shipped, they still have not initiated my payout. And no longer can you call them. Hell, you can't even chat at 5pm. You have to email. What kind of customer support is that?

I think they only pay out fast if you use the Reverb payment processing. I have never waited more than a few hours after the tracking has posted that the money shows as approved, and will post the next day.

I still on the fence about selling with them again. The terrible customer service my last shipment really soured me. I am strongly considering not using their shipping discount on future shipments. There is too little transparency in the supposed shipping cost audits. Had a surprise $30 bill on a $50 box that only after I pitched a fit did I get a response that they kicked it up for review and found it was an error...

[golem]

@redman well in the end it was returned and I got $200 from Reverb's insurance. $100 covered shipping both ways. $100 covered the damage which was much more minor than the buyer described (just needed a plastic switch tip but I also see a scuff on the side of the guitar that wasn't there previously). I've done a lot of sales on Reverb and only had a few problems. To me it still beats FB Marketplace and Craigslist.

[Raindog]

I think they only pay out fast if you use the Reverb payment processing. I have never waited more than a few hours after the tracking has posted that the money shows as approved, and will post the next day.

I do have Reverb Payment Processing and this isn't my first sale. i should have received my money on Monday, Tuesday at the latest. And since the sell to Etsy, CS has well insulated themselves from actually having to talk to their sellers. All around bad experience.

[glasshand]

I'm trying to sell one guitar on Reverb right now and so far I've had one guy ask whether I'll consider shipping (I find shipping guitars to be an expensive hassle, particularly if I don't already have a case) and one guy accidentally buy it and then immediately ask for a refund because he bought it by mistake. I don't mind giving him a refund if it was an honest mistake, as it's not like I'm out anything, but Reverb makes it kind of a nuisance, especially as now that the item has been "bought", you have to manually go relist it. They really need a "cancel order and make everything as it was before" button.

[golem]

I'm trying to sell one guitar on Reverb right now and so far I've had one guy ask whether I'll consider shipping (I find shipping guitars to be an expensive hassle, particularly if I don't already have a case) and one guy accidentally buy it and then immediately ask for a refund because he bought it by mistake. I don't mind giving him a refund if it was an honest mistake, as it's not like I'm out anything, but Reverb makes it kind of a nuisance, especially as now that the item has been "bought", you have to manually go relist it. They really need a "cancel order and make everything as it was before" button.

I agree about the cancel button. People do dumb stuff. I've accepted super cheap offers on two items by accident.I didn't cancel though.

[andrewsrea]

@golem Was this the Agile we fixed the other day?

[golem]

@golem Was this the Agile we fixed the other day?

Yup. Just the switch tip.

[honyock]

I think they only pay out fast if you use the Reverb payment processing. I have never waited more than a few hours after the tracking has posted that the money shows as approved, and will post the next day.

I do have Reverb Payment Processing and this isn't my first sale. i should have received my money on Monday, Tuesday at the latest. And since the sell to Etsy, CS has well insulated themselves from actually having to talk to their sellers. All around bad experience.

totally agreed, the chat function pissed me off more and more I used it. I emailed and finally got more than a canned response, but still far and away short of the service Reverb was sold as. I had to go nuclear and threaten calling my credit card company to reverse the charge before they would do anything more than say "Sometimes, package carriers may determine that the entered weight and dimensions for a shipping label created on Reverb may have a variance from what they've received and will update the weight and dimensions accordingly. The updated dimensions or weight on your statement was determined by the package carrier by their billable weight metrics. You can learn more about billable weight here - https://www.ups.com/us/en/help-center/p ... eight.page The only data Reverb has in these situations is what is provided as the audited weight or dimensions from the carrier and the resulting charges. Unfortunately, we are not able to dispute the charges that have been provided to us by the package carrier."

I called BS and asked for proof of this, and rather than give it, they said it was an error.

While it is still the only option for music specific gear sales, it is little more than an eBay analog to me and nothing more than a way to get a decent shipping discount with added the risk of being screwed with no recourse now that the Chicago Music Exchange does not really seem to have any coordination with the site or their Reverb Protection service.

[nomadh]

@redman well in the end it was returned and I got $200 from Reverb's insurance. $100 covered shipping both ways. $100 covered the damage which was much more minor than the buyer described (just needed a plastic switch tip but I also see a scuff on the side of the guitar that wasn't there previously). I've done a lot of sales on Reverb and only had a few problems. To me it still beats FB Marketplace and Craigslist.

Personally I figured I'd rather take the $900 local on CL vs the risk of ebay where I could certainly get 12 to 1300. The math isnt even close for a $500 guitar.

Actually the math gets worse as the price goes up. I can lose a $200 guitar but if someone screws me out of a $1500 I need to gas up drive cross country and introduce them to my timing chain. Otherwise my sense of justice would eat me alive.
So it isn't worth the risk for me.

[Mossman]

I think it's going to get to the point where only corporate chains and bigger retailers will be able to afford to do business on Reverb. It's been like that on ebay for some time now. I can recall when ebay was a honey-pot for guitar buying, and most of the people selling on there were just regular folks. Now it's mostly Sam Ash, CME, Sweetwater, and a variety of other guitar stores, manufacturers, and pawn shops.