Reverb Red Flags How to avoid scams and Problem buyers

[@danrunnoft6642]

I'm keeping all of my guitars until I die. My heirs can deal with selling them.

[@ranman58635]

You must be well off. This is for people that need money. Most won't sell their love. I get it. I give them away regularly. Try it! Selfish me

[@wikolib6821]

I hear you.

[@seanbrooks2583]

I sold a guitar on ebay last year. a mexican fender strat covered in nicks and dings and scratches. a players guitar for a reasonable price. I put "plays great" on there because, honestly it did play great. I set it up to how i like to play it and that was that. The guy who bought it asked for a $100 discount because he didnt like the setup and i advertised it as "plays great" he sent me a picture of it on a bench with no strings saying he had to pay someone to set it up for him.. ebay eventually sided with me and refused to refund him the $100 he asked for.

[@petevadelnieks]

Dude, screw people like that. If someone has a particular set up, then they need to either do it themselves or expect to pay someone else to do it and not expect the seller to do this.

[@petersouthwell5971]

Pretty same to how my experience went!

[@bb_lz9790]

I'll say things like "plays great" but will also include a disclaimer that it is set up to my liking and your preferences may be different. I had one buyer tell me that he wanted me to pay for a professional set up because he's a professional and it didn't play the way he liked it. I pointed to my disclaimer and commented that a professional should know that most instruments that they buy would need to be adjusted to their liking. Ultimately, he stopped whining. You were lucky as a seller that eBay sided with you. My general take is that while they need sellers, they don't need any one particular seller so they'll generally side with the buyer.

[@phillipb9328]

Low ball offers are a legitimate tool against ridiculous reverb listing.

[@johnstillwell4353]

I think there are two sides to this story, but we're talking in terms of scams here and the low ball has bit me more than once when I've taken it.

[@umrmech84]

I once had a Reverb deal fall through over 72 cents on a small (roughly $50) purchase. I made an offer and he made a counter-offer of 72 cents higher. I decided this wasn't someone I needed to deal with.

[@DrFearCo]

Some people need to feel like “they won”. Whatever that means.

[@georgejasper8794]

I so enjoying listening to the two of you talk like human beings in a business that is often extremely cut throat and full of scammers. One of my favorite channels.

[@debrincatj]

As a buyer or seller, I always look at how many transactions they have had and their ratings/comments. The few times I have had trouble with a buyer/seller on Reverb has been from someone with no to low transactions on the platform. Price it a little high, accept offers and then use the reject button on those new buyers.

[@mikegamby]

Dear Casino Guitars, I bought this $500 guitar from you and upon electron microscope inspection, I found a 3 nanometer imperfection in the direction of the wood grain and would like $250 off the price.

[@lyleanderson5407]

😆

[@PeterMoore350]

So would i. Those micrograms cost me money when shipping to NZ 😎🎸🤘

[@RByrne]

That's fair. I'd like to be compensated just for reading about it. Scary

[@DrFearCo]

You changed the outcome by measuring it!

[@jameshumphrey2345]

Veteran of three three completed transactions on Reverb. All ended satisfactorily but TBH the communication gaps were exhausting enough and I’m glad I have a gear collection with (at the moment) no excess that needs to be sold off. Introverted me feels a little betrayed that even with a highly structured system like Reverb, I still have to deal with PEOPLE.

[@Vermonster23]

Thank you, Baxter you gave me a good chuckle! I also have a new mantra…” Reverb is my safe space, Reverb is my safe space” Oh, the Verb!

[@PeterMoore350]

My Hughes & Kettner Grandmeister Deluxe 40 reverb is better 😎😂🤘🎸

[@sgt.gruhnn]

Always amusing when almost every listing says: Plays great, sounds fantastic! Cmon , that can’t be true! Just once I want to see an honest listing: ‘ I’m selling cause there’s some dead spots along the B string, or ‘ the pickups sound shrilly and you’ll need to replace them’…

[@petevadelnieks]

The line about "My tech found an issue withe the 15th fret" happened to me. I sold an Explorer I bought from the Gibson Demo shop that I didn't vibe with. The buyer messaged me way too much before buying it so I wasn't expecting him to actually buy it. The day it arrived he messaged me more and more and I had to stress to him it was sold as is and I did not take returns. Then the following day he started up with the "My tech found" crap. It was a perfectly good guitar, he just was phishing for a discount or a return.

[@oldmanlearningguitar446]

Had a buyer demand US$250 to replace a tone pot because he didn’t like how the guitar sounded when the tone was turned all the way down.

[@moondog915]

You guys Rock! Just checking to see if I could post comments through my cellphone which watching your KZbin channel on TV.

[@MayorMcCheese2000]

Damn this latest reverb escapade must really be good to merit a prequel video!

[@simonpark843]

Good advice. I really liked this video.

[@CameraLaw]

I’ve bought six guitars on Reverb and am a happy camper. Jonathan’s advice to use your gut is solid. Best values have come on Very Good guitars with a ding or small crack listed in the description. Helps if it’s an individual or small store. I also look at how long the guitar has been listed. If it’s been for four months or over, I’ll offer 15-20% off to start the conversation. Often, that ends the conversation and the guitar is on its way. One way to get a feel for the seller is to start up a folksy conversation about the guitar through Reverb’s messaging.

[@lmn0potts]

That "my father wants to buy this, email me here" message came to me from 2 different people within 5 minutes of me posting my 1st Reverb listing, totally knew it was a scam, lol.

[@Dian2Gig]

I bought a 20th Anniversary Martin made in Mexico and the seller shipped it in an Epiphone box no outer box. The guitar arrived with a small crack on the top lower bow. Reverb was great and the seller compensated to get it fixed.

[@martywatson876]

I bought a birth year guitar, not terribly pricy but it arrived with the neck popped out of joint. Not necessarily sellers fault, so I kept it to work on.

[@robertspreitzer8126]

I’ve sold many guitars on Reverb it all starts with great communication, and I always take of a pictures while I’m packing the guitar and send them to the buyer and I also have the buyer verify the address on the box before I take it to UPS. Never hide anything on the stuff your selling so there are no surprises when the buyer gets the guitar, trust me I’ve gotten guitars that the seller didn’t mention a big wound on the body. You might as well as a buyer factor in setup costs if you don’t know how to do it yourself unless the seller is willing to do it for you.

[@pedally]

We always communicate while we are preparing the order for shipment. I like the idea of including a photo. We may incorporate that in the future.

[@robertspreitzer8126]

@@pedally Yeah you have to protect your self in every way. That way it’s documented in the chat so they can’t use that as an excuse.

[@rustyshackleford288]

The first thing I always ask is what is the return policy when buying a guitar. It helps me gauge the seller's professionalism. I have never returned a guitar, even one I bought from Sweetwater that would not intonate even after they repaired it. I just took the hit and sold it

[@robzagar4275]

I’ve had all positive experiences buying on Reverb. Three guitars and accessories. The only issues were questions I did not ask about first.

[@doanfiat]

The reverse happens too. I paid for a guitar and the seller slowly ghosted me over the course of 5 weeks never shipping the guitar. To their credit, Reverb made it right and I got my money promptly refunded. About a month later I saw the same guitar for sale in a different shop for a lot more money; I figure he regretted the sale so it worked in his favor financially to stiff me and sell it to them instead.

[@tonepilot]

Jonathan, your t-shirt logo is channeling Cosmo Music here in Toronto.

[@nickalderman5943]

best way to deal with low ballers is to counter with the asking price PLUS the amount they wanted off. I'll admit I'm guilty of low balling for deals, but I'm not gonna back and forth wasting our time. It scored me a set of emg tw pickups for $100, and an RD20 head with almost no play time on it for $325. It may be annoying, but it works. really well actually

[@dragan4658]

There are too many instances not just on Reverb but many sites where sellers do not disclose issues with the guitar. I live in Canada and I bought a guitar from Japan, it has serious issues that were not disclised like wobbly tuning pegs, glue run offs all over, and the retailer even advertised it as a used guitar which it early wasnt just so they can sell it to ibternstionsl buyers as this guitar was only made for buyers living in Japan but if its used, it can be escorted.

[@wikolib6821]

I've seen the Japan listings. I would never buy a guitar from overseas.

[@dragan4658]

@wikolib6821 I wouldn't hesitate to order overseas again, there are products there that are not available otherwise and as consumers we are well protected when buying with a credit card.

[@alexwoolridge94aw]

As a buyer, i only message sellers when im serious and have the money. My last buy was i asked the seller a legitimate question to just buy the amp head and not the two cabs along with it. I told him it was a killer deal with the two cabs. I just didn't need them. We ended up makin a deal with the head and 1 cab. We both had a great deal and we gave each other 5 star reviews. Point is, if the person youre dealing doesn't seem likeva person, look away.

[@handle433]

Another funny trick is reducing the price to like €2.50 so we get the notification, then immediately bringing the price back up to €3,000. Brings in traffic I guess. If you try to buy it for €2.50 though they cancel and block you!!!

[@honkytonkinson9787]

I got lucky on the Walmart website right before my son was born. Shopping for one of those portable crib play pen things, Walmart posted one for $2.98. We bought two of them and then the website quickly updated to $298.99, but they still sent them to us and only charged the $6 I could only have been happier if it was a guitar!

[@wikolib6821]

@@honkytonkinson9787 Nice. And you got a beautiful son to boot. Teach him to play.

[@bigtuna6463]

i use to like selling and buying online but it is gone downhill for sure but i don;t have much choice any more so far not to much bad experiance just a couple. thanks

[@lazvt8469]

As a lefty... I only have the online market. I've bought and sold about 50 guitars since 2010 for personal enjoyment...mostly good luck, no horror stories...from $150 HB to a $3500 Custom Shop, even a few overseas purchases/sales. Reverb and eBay have both been solid...prefer to deal with Reverb to sell stuff. Their shipping labels can save you some money. Hate increase in scammers....

[@wikolib6821]

That's a lot of guitars, glad it mostly worked out. I'm a lefty but learned righty. Glad I did.

[@lazvt8469]

@@wikolib6821 My son's a great player but a righty...I should have started him as a lefty so that he can inherit/enjoy my large collection. My youngest might pick up guitar...gonna teach her as a lefty.

[@wikolib6821]

@@lazvt8469 Family love is so important. Gotta love them whether they are leftys or rightys. God bless.

[@JustMe-mn5hk]

Every guitar I play has something wrong with it... it's called ME! Darn, I wish I was better. But I'll never stop trying! I hope you guys are having an awesome day!

[@wikolib6821]

Right. I think "there's something wrong with this guitar". Then I warm up and fret the darned the correctly. Hehe.

[@surge98]

Even though I'm a preferred seller, Reverb gives me a low score for responding to messages in a timely manner. It didn't make any sense to me, since I respond almost instantly. I eventually figured out that you get penalized for ignoring messages, even if it's a scammer or a message that does not require a response.

[@johnweiler3700]

The first thing I do now when the vibe is off is to look at the potential buyer’s feedback. If there’s none, I assume it to be a temporary account set up by a scammer and I decline the offer without comment. That’s not to say there won’t occasionally be a cool, salt of the earth first time buyer who’s new to the platform, but after a while you become attuned to smelling the BS at the parts-per-million level.

[@nicolasmaurin182]

#6 is so true

[@bottomkitchen250]

If i order something from Reverb I'd try to see if they would be willing to send it to the UPS or FedEx store. I've had packages stolen off my porch. Hopefully that wouldn't deter the seller. I'm not having it shipped to a gas station. I don't live in a good area for receiving mail and packages. If i have to have something delivered to my address, I'd seriously try and sit out front the day of delivery until it shows up. It's that bad.

[@wikolib6821]

The lawlessness now is crazy. I live in a gated active adult community and even here you have to keep your eyes open and your garage door shut.

[@LucasJRice]

If you have a retail store that also ships, what’s the problem with selling it off of reverb?

[@codydandy1166]

Biggest thing on Reverb for me is when people reach out to make the deal off of reverb. Always sketchy.

[@Tweed_Tone]

Along with the horrible fees, reverb has gained the most mindless buyers who can’t read descriptions or view your shipping policy. While it’s understandable, I miss the days when it was just musicians/gear heads who used the site and the fees were nonexistent. Having to pay taxes for a 1099 is also a shame.l

[@ScottsGuitar]

It’s theft, taxes were Already paid on it

[@BensMusicDojo]

Pre Etsy reverb was a nice place to buy and sell, now I have completely forgotten about the place

[@glencooper1091]

When you can please let us know the situation of the current return efforts from the buyer, I am curious if its similar to some of the ridiculous ones I experienced.

[@KT-fn6me]

Fallout is hands down the best video game ever, I was really impressed with the adaptation. If you loved the show you should totally play the game.

[@sconni666]

John looks like he should be playing a Tele with Steely Dan or something.

[@wikolib6821]

RIP Walter Becker.

[@brittboyette461]

I'm totally digging Jonathan's t-shirt, very cool!

[@gregolson5089]

Me too, but don't see it in their merch!

[@kayden2112]

Man! I want that spaceman TEE shirt.... 3X please!!! lol

[@SMAWA9]

Reverb is the new Guitar Center.

[@Bipolaroid-jg6xk]

Funny and informative as per usual. Just wondering what´s with those booze-bottles. Drinking while working? 😇

[@216trixie]

There is some meme going around music circles about one drink and one amplifier or something like that. Alcohol is a poison.

[@216trixie]

Yesterday was for the lawyers, today is for the plumbers.

[@PeterMoore350]

Caddy shack quote about ditch diggers 😂🤣

[@garycoates4987]

Right now there is a guitar listed on reverb for $999,999 which is probably legit , but,,,, it's still a ridiculous for reverb

[@wikolib6821]

Well, at least it's not a million bucks :)

[@michaeljoyce3286]

I ordered a 59 reissue mij it came in a large shoe box it was completely taking apart

[@dblanco77]

What's the name of your store in Reverb? I cannot find casino guitars or casinoguitars. 😮

[@CasinoGuitars]

reverb.com/shop/casinoguitars

[@dblanco77]

@@CasinoGuitars thank you!

[@Smart-Alex]

I bought a 1984 MIJ Strat which came with legit shipping damage: the interior body cavity had a small crack. Repair cost $60, and Reverb gave me a $400 credit. I win.

[@ohplezz]

Lets not forget the sellers who list the guitar as "Mint Condition" but yet it arrives with 10 things wrong with it.

[@vinnievidi1]

To be fair, there has been an increase of people and stores (even larger sellers) not disclosing issues, not photographing things or listing a guitar as EX or mint but it’s clearly been dinged and aggressively played.

[@johnbriggs3916]

I purchased a bass that was described as "mint" only to get the message "before we ship it, you should be aware that it has several dings". I cancelled, but lost out on foreign exchange costs.

[@vinnievidi1]

@@johnbriggs3916 I’ve experienced that with a store in the UK selling on Reverb. I was happy that they actually said something before shipping. I, too, cancelled the order. I’ve also had issues with CME; one sale in particular where the listing said light play wear and minor dings and to see the photos, but when it arrived it had divots out of the fretboard and a mess along the back of the neck. After receiving many guitars over the years that are not as described, it’s hard not to be overly nit-picky. In a buy before you try world, Stores and individual sellers should be more up front or just accept that buyers will look to return if it’s not exactly what they reasonably expected

[@musicman9418]

Sounds like dealing with guitar players is not so fun. I'm not surprised. Tire kickers are the worst. I've never tire kicked. I buy quality guitars that I want, and I've never had one issue, and I've probably bought 50+ guitars over the years, at least 20 by mail.

[@comicsrcool5483]

Any chance you'll do a video about the reverse? You talk about Buyers trying to get Reverb sellers to do the transactions off Reverb.....what about the sellers? There was a guitar I really wanted and the seller was willing to do it for the price I wanted....But only as a private transaction...not through Reverb. This was a guitar shop also. The whole thing made me super nervous and suspicious and I wound up not getting the guitar, which sold for the exact price I was hoping to spend. It was irritating as hell because like you said in this video, I wanted the Reverb protection in case something was screwy with the guitar. So honestly, it kind of feels like these caveats you're talking about work both ways. Can you talk about why a shop would do this? Is there some kind of benefit to doing an end run around Reverb? Mostly I am hoping maybe you can talk about some warning signs that BUYERS should watch out for from sellers......

[@adamjolin]

I do it often with shops. They are more likely to give you a deal because they don't have to pay reverb fees. If they are a legit shop, they most likely will have a return or guarantee.

[@PeterMoore350]

Ex why zee ? Don’t you mean X Y Zed ? Cheers from NZ 😎🎸🤘

[@RobertNolan]

Don't ignore anything on reverb, you'll lose your quick responder badge.

[@creationinspired200]

Whenever someone says they want to buy something i kindly direct them to the buy it now button 😅

[@everythingbobbywolfe]

A d-bag bought a seagull from me. Ridiculous set up, mint. I also take videos of me cleaning and packing it. (Ive read too many horror stories, so i do it everytime). He gets it and immediately says it has fret wear in the first 5 frets. Told him no there isn't... Here's the video. Low and behold "the strings are so low, it is set up was too low" blah blah Reverb made me take it back. Too a video of ups walking up and having me the guitar box and me opening it and willing it down and doing a closer up with the frets in perfect condition. Reverb said "thanks for doing your due diligence, but we have to stand by the decision but we'll lost the item again for free. I SHOWED THEM EVIDENCE real time on video and they didn't care. I also found out he purchased the same guitar 3 years prior, right in his history. They said "really... That's... 🤔" "Thanks for bringing that to our attention. Seems suspicious. I suppose he could have sent photos of that one". No SHIT, Sherlock 🤣 They saw both of my videos and still ruled in his favor. They even had the nerve to say. "good luck getting this resold. We're here to help and definitely keep taking videos for us because it really helps to protect buyers and sellers"...😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Does it???!!! You people would have found OJ innocent if there was a video of him wearing a mask holding a knife driving 90 mph away from his ex wife's house the night she was killed

[@michaelmacisco2566]

All they have to do is open a claim and state “ item was not as described”. Then you get to battle and argue & hope the operator gives a damn . Good luck actually talking to a HUMAN ON THE PHONE.

[@mitchmatthews6713]

I'm selling a few acoustics with gigbags on CL for $120 to $150, I checked the internet for comparisons, and I'm selling them for 25-35% lower. I keep getting a d-bag offering $50 for 5hem. Turns out thus guy has ads on CL selling loads of guitars like a shop.

[@BXGuitars]

I'm on the side of there's no such thing as a "Lowball Offer". A guitar is worth what it's worth to the buyer. If someone gives me an offer that's half the guitar's price, I politely decline. Why do people get so offended over gear they are trying to part with in the first place?

[@PeterMoore350]

I have a rare Sun Dew Gold Ibanez Pia for sale. No really i do !!

[@PeterMoore350]

You have to organise shipping as I can’t afford it being unemployed. I’m in Auckland New Zealand

[@jtalguitars]

Selling online is fun 🙃

[@JTHeidrick]

KZbin just lost my 3 paragraph commentary. Why? Nothing bad in what I said. ???

[@MarvinMcMartin]

Phil McKnight will make a purchase just so he can review their return policy.

[@johnstillwell4353]

From the perspective of a buyer, I'm a little confused by the association with Reverb as there are companies that sell on Reverb and thru their shops and I look at it like the company will make more money if I buy thru the shop, but is that even allowed by Reverb or is it a wink and and a nod type of thing? Maybe this topic needs to be pushed a little harder and it sounds like you guys have a train wreck coming up but if Reverb is a buyers channel, than the customers of anything are in a lot of trouble because I have not found them to be at all helpful. They could take some lessons on business etiquette from you two and the world would be a better place, but Reverb, Ebay are changing policies on almost a daily basis and I find it pretty frustrating and if I do have a problem it's usually something that could be fixed in a very short time but that is not the way Reverb likes to it at least with respect to their.buyers. Feel free to set me straight, but that's the way is seems to me.

[@misternobody4786]

AH asking for the family and friends discount….

[@wikolib6821]

I bought a 2011 Guild F130ce Hartford CT off eBay in 2013 that was new in case and box for 1350 and the only thing wrong with it was that the original AA batteries in the battery box in the upper bout has bled a little, I just cleaned it up and put new batteries. There was a small stain on the wood below the battery box but that was minor, you can's see it unless you really look closely in the sound hole. Short story short, this guitar rivals my other short scale, a Martin 000-18e Retro, even w/o a bone nut and saddle. It's got a chunky D neck that I love, vs the Martin's slim C. As Sigourney Weaver said in Alien, "Lucky, lucky, lucky". Another cool thing is that the Guild guitar case was made in Canada, not China.

[@rjeric8185]

Had somebody buy an amp, mod it, then reverb made me take it back...

[@IamMedicine]

I don't sell on Reverb anymore. Going with my gut. E-bay

[@jasonstacey9460]

I had a guy try to trade me meth for a practice amp. I didn't understand what he was talking about for a good 5 min. He kept calling it side.

[@bradc32]

local cash in hand or nothing.piss off...and ask a little less for no hassles

[@christophersorel6056]

Mormon cowboys of Truth and Justice-😂

[@Ixodiusixi]

i will think of you guys the next time i buy a piece of gear in like 2027 when my funds coalesce beyond change in a jar. I mostly just buy a pedal once every 3 years and throw it in a drawer disgusted 20 minutes later.

[@microdot4374]

Oh guys the ''Time capsule''....is spelled wrongly?.........

[@johnbriggs3916]

Commenting on the wrong video?

[@microdot4374]

@@johnbriggs3916 Yeah I tried yesterday and I could not post, at all, all day!!!.....

[@johnmeeks9308]

Just don't shop there

[@ranman58635]

I ain't doing it. Huge red flags! Good! Online shopping has killed the guitar experience all together. It's about going and trying a guitar and several other ones too. The feel of a guitar is different for each person. Reverb and all big box places can go by by. Small mom and pop needs to come back. We shouldn't allow big corporate conglomerates do this anymore. Done!

[@pooshNchums]

Where can I get Jonathan’s shirt?? 😊

[@mikebauer6917]

Reverb is the red flag.

[@misternobody4786]

Trust your gutty-wuts

[@Canadianwheelchairguitar]

Buying guitars online is the new thing & it really makes no sense. At this point you might as well buy a mattress online.

[@wikolib6821]

Agree. Maybe Sweetwater. Reverb maybe if there's something you really want and you do your due diligence. Don't know if I'd use eBay again for a guitar.

[@Canadianwheelchairguitar]

@@wikolib6821 I can order a new guitar here in Canada through a store for a 10% fee. There's not much of an option for used guitars other than pawn shops or through the same store, if a used item is at a different location.

[@wewin03]

And this is why guitar shops disappearing is a terrible thing. How would you like to drop 2 to 5 thousand dollars on a guitar sight unseen and then you hate it?

[@DrMattWalton]

I’m sorry but you are NOT automatically a “scammer” if you want to deal outside Reverb. I do it all the time…I want to avoid taxes and the seller can usually offer a better deal if he does not have to pay the Reverb fee. I have never had a bad experience doing this. I just do not agree with your take as a blanket statement.

[@bigdaddystinkeye]

Do dealers have to pay Reverb a seller's fee? I see some shops that have their own website advertise a guitar there at the same price that they have on Reverb. What is with that? How does that work?

[@weed491]

The last few guitars I’ve sold, Guitar Center gave me more than I could’ve ever got on Reverb ! That guitar Center was stocked floor to ceiling with tons of guitars, I’m wondering if they’re trying to buy up so much stuff so than claim more stuff when they go Bankrupt,which is definitely coming in my honest opinion.