Selling on Reverb

guitarxtc

guitarxtc

Member
I read a lot of seller scams but how about problematic buyer who buys on Reverb and after 7 days initiate refund for defective item(but is not), he can play on your amp/guitar for months and then ship back when he is bored with it! There in no limit on Reverb when buyer must return it but you as seller must ship in 3 working days.

I am only one that see this as problem?
 
So a buyer initiates a refund within 7 days, but can hold on to the piece for months? That doesn’t make sense ? Is that a fact?
 
If that is true, then it just coddles the people with buyer's remorse.
I try not to sell on Reverb (or Ebay) very often, because of the new fees and tax requirements, etc. But this is worth looking in to, because with a policies like that, the buyer themselves could damage it, and then return it months later, claiming that it was already broken.
 
guitarxtc said:
I contacted Reverb about this and yes is a fact, they responded that i do not have to refund him if he does not ship but he has no time limit to ship.
Is a bad Reverb policy.
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Who in their right mind would write a policy to allow a random multi thousand dollar deal to hang in the air unsolved at the hands of dumbasses that May damage or rob the tubes from an amp or other piece of gear?

That’s such a shit policy and a finger to all sales are final.

I’ll buy from reverb but I’m done with selling on the platform. Your chance of getting fucked is too high on high dollar items. I’d rather sell local or on consignment with a store.
 
Insane policies , buyer should have a single day after receiving the product to decide if the seller accurately represented the item and if it's not as described or different than the images they have the right to return it but that return window needs to be extremely short .

No way should a buyer have a week to decide whether they want to keep it or not . If the images are numerous and accurate by the seller there should be zero issues with the buyer having a problem.
 
The place took a hard nose dive a few years back. Anyone selling on that site is obviously willing to take risks. It was decent for a while but it is not a site I'd support with any amount of money. Scum and more scum. Force you to do what they dictate and your paying them to do so. I will surf the site and that's the end of it.
 
That's why I only sell locally. Try it, look it over real good, bring a more knowledgeable friend. What ever makes you comfy but once I have the cash, the deal is done. Too many people waffle.
 
I quit Reverb/Ebay years ago. I'd rather deal with the occasional "is it available?" message from Facebook marketplace and stick with local face to face transactions.
 
tonedover said:
YOU CAN CHANGE THE SETTINGS AS A SELLER
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That is not what he is talking about, here is the situation:

Buyer buys bought item.

Within 7 days they report an issue to Reverb, they do not want a partial refund, they want a return/refund. Reverb grants the return, or the seller does.

Now, according to the claim by the OP, the buyer can hang onto the item for as long as they'd like, play the hell out of it, and return it when they get around to it. At that point you as the seller would be responsible for refunding them.

I bought and sold about $30k of gear on Reverb last year, and this is a new one on me. I have never had this happen, I also do not know any facts that would prove the OP wrong.

As far as your settings, anyone who accepts returns outside of when reverb requires them to, bless their heart, they are a better man than me. People will take advantage of that.

Edit: I will say, this is consistent with my limited experience with delays with sending back an item, both as a buyer and seller. It never became an issue, but there are a few that come to mind where one of us took a while to return the item. There was never any dispute over it, so I have no idea how they would resolve that.
 
Beandust said:
The place took a hard nose dive a few years back. Anyone selling on that site is obviously willing to take risks. It was decent for a while but it is not a site I'd support with any amount of money. Scum and more scum. Force you to do what they dictate and your paying them to do so. I will surf the site and that's the end of it.
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Just as an anecdotal response from someone who does use the site, and quite a bit over the past year; roughly $30k in purchases and orders each, not only have I personally never had an issue with the way Reverb handled a situation, but their Safe Shipping has saved my ass multiple times with poorly packed items, or as a seller, sometimes shit happens.

Reverb has paid thousands of dollars out for safe shipping claims mostly to me for items the seller claims were damaged in transit, sometimes I could see damage to the box, sometimes not. Reverb didn't care, and they have also paid out claims on my behalf, always with a generous amount or an offer to pay what the maker quotes for the repair.

Packing skills have gotten so poor over the last ten years...I don't know how I would feel about buying or selling something not covered by their safe shipping. I have gotten items like a racked pair BLA preamps that had been knocked around a bit, but probably no significant damage other than tweaked ears and connecting plate...50% ($400) refund. I had a buyer hot-swap a 500 series module, frying it, reverb covered his repairs and it cost me nothing else.

I personally have nothing bad to say about Reverb. My only complaint is they are often too easy on the buyer, more than once the buyer has received a full refund and kept the item...never made sense to me.

PayPal can eat my butt and balls.
 
All online platforms have been going to shit. I’ll only do small deals, pedals and etc, on Reverb. I haven’t touched eBay in probably a decade. You’re fucked even if you change the settings to ‘does not accept returns’. Reverb’s policies will side with the buyer and force you to make a return if the buyer invents some sort of problem.
 
Simple fix - Refuse the return. I make it clear, NO RETURNS, PERIOD. I've sold on Reverb nearly since its inception, and I've not once accepted a return. The only requests I got were so frivolous, (and we're talking maybe 2 or 3), that Reverb sided with me. I have over 350 transactions, preferred seller, quick responder, quick shipper, the whole 9 yards. It goes a long way. Most people who try to pull shit are typically not the brightest individuals. People think they can return a guitar because the action's too low? Too high? A JVM is noisy on OD2 Red? Yeah, no shit! (These are true examples). I now put a disclaimer about guitars set-up being strictly personal preference, and emphatically suggest a pro setup upon arrival.

Don't forget, when you sell on Reverb and a PayPal dispute ensues, REVERB becomes the seller, NOT you. And all the extra you pay for seller protection goes into a pot and gets used to pay off low-lifes to get them to go away with their silliness.

As a seller, I've had very few problems. Only real problems I've had were as a buyer. People list stuff as new or mint, and are clearly not when you get the item. From bad wiring, cracks, non-functional, buying new and getting used, that kind of nonsense.
 
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I guess this is the latest thing that folk are anxious about? I remember when it was all the rage to complain about buyers who claimed damage to get a partial refund.

I have done a lot of selling on Reverb. I simply have not experienced the schemes and scams that people claim are so prevalent with online selling.

There are counter measures that sellers can employ to make these theoretical scams less likely to even be run on you.

First, turn off returns. Also mention in listing descriptions that all sales are final, that you do not accept returns. This raises the bar of what Reverb will force you to accept a return for. Basically this makes it so that the only valid reasons for return are shipping damage and item not as described.

Second create a detailed, factual listing. I like to use manufacturer marketing literature as that has been vetted by their legal team. Then I will add an item by item description of any flaw/blemish/scratch/etc describing the location and nature of the issue.

Third use a lot of high quality pictures. A typical listing that I create will have a minimum of 15-20 pics for an item like a guitar. Each blemish described in the listing description gets its own closeup pic with a pink guitar pick pointing at the blemish.

When packing make a video of the instrument and its case to document its condition, mention the date and the buyers name in the video. Then video yourself packing the instrument in the shipping box. When you drop the item off, send the buyer a pic of the shipping receipt and your packing video. This makes documentation about the actual condition at the time of shipping available to Reverb staff should an issue arise. It also lets the buyer know you are not messing around.

Keep all interactions with the buyer on Reverb’s messaging platform. No text messages, emails, phone calls, or other communication channels outside of Reverb. Reverb will not consider external communications such as emails when handling a dispute.

Use Reverb payments. This cuts PayPal out of the dispute process and allows Reverb to force outcomes.

Finally if a buyer contacts you claiming damage, just immediately offer a full refund. Reverb will not force a partial return if you have offered a full return. This is the most effective way to fully neutralize the partial refund scam. I have had one person try to run this game on me. They wanted $100 off the price because the “truss rod was blown out and spinng freely”. I apologized and immediately offered a full refund with me paying the shipping. He got angry and demanded a partial refund. I refused and told him my return offer was contingent on the guitar being in the condition I shipped it In, if he took it to a luthier who did any work on the guitar, I would not honor the return. Reverb got involved and backed me up. They told him to return without alterations or keep the guitar. He kept the guitar.

Never under any condition should you be shitty, snarky, condescending, sarcastic, or rude to a potential buyer. All of that is part of the record that Reverb will end up reviewing if a dispute arises.

Never make claims or promises in writing while dealing with a buyer that you are not able and willing to honor. If you make the commitment, Reverb will hold you to it.

If the buyer claims “not as described”, request pics. This is where your listing and packing video comes into play. If the buyer finds something that you missed, you will have to eat it. If the buyer cannot show something meaningful that you failed to disclose, Reverb will not force a return. I know that someone reading this will say “But… but… what if the buyer damages the item to force the return”. I have NEVER had that happen. In my experience the person that would do this is exceedingly rare, plus you have extensive documentation up to the time that shipping occured that would help to prove if that did happen.

The key to this is that Reverb does not know the buyer or seller. They are trying to determine who is most credible in a high stakes situation. You have to help them to see you as credible. All they have is your listing and how you have conducted have yourself in the transaction. Give them every possible reason to see you as the credible, grown up in the transaction.
 
Spaceboy said:
All online platforms have been going to shit. I’ll only do small deals, pedals and etc, on Reverb. I haven’t touched eBay in probably a decade. You’re fucked even if you change the settings to ‘does not accept returns’. Reverb’s policies will side with the buyer and force you to make a return if the buyer invents some sort of problem.
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I have on my Reverb setting "no returns on used items" but if buyer claim that amp or pedal is not working properly on day 7 you as seller must make full return and pay back shipping, buyer can for months play on your guitar/amp and then return it. The problem is in time limit for return shipping. Let's say after one year you got back your amp with no tubes and full of dents and you can't complain to no one but he got full refund anyway.
 
napalmdeath said:
Simple fix - Refuse the return. I make it clear, NO RETURNS, PERIOD. I've sold on Reverb nearly since its inception, and I've not once accepted a return. The only requests I got were so frivolous, (and we're talking maybe 2 or 3), that Reverb sided with me. I have over 350 transactions, preferred seller, quick responder, quick shipper, the whole 9 yards. It goes a long way. Most people who try to pull shit are typically not the brightest individuals. People think they can return a guitar because the action's too low? Too high? A JVM is noisy on OD2 Red? Yeah, no shit! (These are true examples). I now put a disclaimer about guitars set-up being strictly personal preference, and emphatically suggest a pro setup upon arrival.

Don't forget, when you sell on Reverb and a PayPal dispute ensues, REVERB becomes the seller, NOT you. And all the extra you pay for seller protection goes into a pot and gets used to pay off low-lifes to get them to go away with their silliness.

As a seller, I've had very few problems. Only real problems I've had were as a buyer. People list stuff as new or mint, and are clearly not when you get the item. From bad wiring, cracks, non-functional, buying new and getting used, that kind of nonsense.
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This is first time that i have problem on Reverb,on first day buyer complain that there was small dent on cardboard box (then is not as described) ,i refused the return but then he complain about one switch "probably" not working properly, asked him for video and nothing. The he wanted return it again but this time he will pay back shipping and here i make a mistake for accept return just to end this. Now he can ship back with no time limit.
 
What I am hearing is, the people who rely on selling websites are defending them, and the people that are involved in selling as a hobby are saying it sucks.

It's only a matter of time before everyone thinks it sucks.
 
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