Shipping Fears as a Seller: Reverb.com Guitar from USA to EU

keennay

keennay

Member
Sup fellas,

I haven't shipped any gear in a looooong time, as I used to ship a lot from the mid 2000s till about 2014.

I know eBay, PayPal, and various online shops changed their policies over time to place a heavy protection on the buyer... which is great for them yet also leaves the possibility to easily screw over the seller. This has been a fear of mine especially when selling high value guitars and amps, and I'd usually ended up dealing with those in-person at a public place.

I have the option to sell a guitar on Reverb to an EU based customer, and I'm in the USA. Does anyone have experience there, especially with Reverb seller, or am I just being paranoid? I have never shipped guitar gear outside of the continental USA.

I for sure plan to take photos of the guitar pre & post packing.

Nick
 
I've received numerous guitars from Japan without any issues, so I assume it's fine to ship internationally. But it sure makes me nervous.
 
No problem at all. Just insure the package at the right value and reflect that on the shipping quote. I'm in France, I've not shipped guitars, but amps, racks etc. Big heavy items to the US, Holland, Germany, Norway etc. I've bought several guitars from foreign countries. Don't sweat too much over it. I don't see how it is different as disasters do also happen when shipping locally.
 
Never had any problems getting stuff shipped to me in the USA from Europe, Scandinavia, India, Japan, etc etc etc...

Had nothing but issues shipping stuff OUT of the USA, to be honest. Had FedEx come after me for import fees that a Canadian buyer wouldn't pay. Had a shipment to Germany take like 6 weeks despite paying for faster shipping. Prices also going out of the USA are a lot higher too than coming in. YMMV, but my experience has been terrible. Good luck.
 
My policy is Continental U.S. only. Plain and simple, yet, today, it can still be a roll of the dice too.
 
The only shipping outside the US that I do is with the eBay international shipping program, where you ship it to a dedicated place run by them and they deal with the international shipping part of it. I wouldn't want to be on the hook for customs fees or agree on a sale price and then find out shipping is way more than expected. I'd have an exact number for shipping before committing to selling - using an estimator isn't close enough either, if you're shipping it yourself you'll want to start to create an actual shipping label to get the real price to the address. I got burned using the estimator on UPS's site a couple years ago and agreeing to a purchase price based on that. When I printed the label it was double the estimate, and then UPS sent me another $85 bill in the mail later on.
 
I have shipped $5000+ guitars and amps all over the USA, Europe Japan and Australia. I use FedEx. Insured value has to match declared value. Use extra padding / packing material. FedEx gives a guaranteed delivery date. If they miss the date, and it's not related to weather, you get a refund. One time I got an extra $450 back into my pocket due to this. It did not entail a fight or a long wait to get the money refunded. The buyer has to pay the VAT or Import Tax to FedEx at delivery. There is USPS Priority International and Priority Express International which is carried by FedEx -if you did not know. As far as UPS I'll never use them for international shipping. They use their own brokerage house for the import tax and they overcharge. I learned that $250 mistake. I did receive a guitar from Japan that was shipped EMS. It was over $5000 and I never paid any import tax. Just my experiences.
 
I've only bought stuff from Europe/Japan/Canada on Reverb and only had issues from Canada.. I guess the seller forgot to put in some weird ass customs acid free form or some shit like that. Got stuck in customs for almost 2 months, other than that no issues. I guess make sure you supple on the necessary shipping forms for their country and should be good.
 
I shipped a mint Soldano SP-77 preamp to Russia. It made to Russian customs, then disappeared. The buyer tried to push the cost back onto me, but was unsuccessful.
 
I would not gamble it. But again I am not a gambling man.

With the degree Reverb and PayPal protect the BUYER and fuck the seller... No way in hell.

Reverb and PayPal are bad enough in the US with getting screwed, adding in exporting, for me is a hell no.

FWIW if I could sell a $2k item to another country, I would take $1800 in the US and not have the headache ANY DAY.

It's up to you though OP.
 
I traded a guitar with Adam of Angels here, i.e. experienced "both ends" of the transaction. No problems whatsoever. I also support the idea of declaring the real value for the insurance, just in case shit hits the fan.
A lot of people are not aware of import duties and VAT, they rely on paying a price that covers everything for a delivery to their front door. Espescially when you are a private seller make sure the buyer is aware of those costs.
 
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