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I have my 175 and L4 on reverb and the amount of tire kickers is really disconcerting. I have sold the 175 twice and both buyers backed out.
The last one backed out because I had indicated this - in my shipping message to him. (This is also in my reverb shop profile)
Note - On all archtops, they will be professionally packed using a lot of bubble wrap and peanuts. I loosen the strings, mark the bridge with painters tape, and pack the bridge in the case compartment with bubble wrap. I also use a thick payer underneath the tailpiece and the strings to protect the tailpiece, pickups, top and fingerboard from damage.
He didn't want me removing the bridge and said that if he found the bridge removed, he would return the instrument.
I got the latter message as I was pulling into the parking lot to ship it. I refunded his money immediately and took the guitar back home.
I had already sent him the shipped message so I had to cancel that, cancel the purchase, get a refund from UPS on the label I had already purchased, etc. This guy had tried to nickel and dime me on the price too, asking for all kinds of freebies.
The previous sale on this guitar was similar. Fortunately, both cases the sales were canceled prior to the item actually shipping.
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08-30-2024 02:48 PM
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I personally would not sell a guitar through Reverb. I would almost rather ebay but probably would not there either. The tax laws and the hassle of it not worth the money. Best thing if you don't want to sell it is put it up with a responsible dealer and they deal with the public. I can usually tell talking to a buyer or in email if they are "high maintenance" and simply will refuse to sell them the guitar.
In your case as long as you don't need the money to eat, put it up on facebook that gets the most hits. At least it is advertised and then sit it out and wait. You have a very sellable guitar that will sell just be patient! It might take much longer than you think but my bet is that it will sell. You got it advertised here and hold out. Remember if is not keeping you from eating then pray for patience to wait it out.............no harm in this. These are desirable guitars not matter what seems to be going on right at this minute with selling.
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You're 100% right.
Originally Posted by deacon Mark
He offered me $300 less than my asking price even though price was marked firm, and I told him that I was firm and he came back saying there was another one that was cheaper. I told him that i'm sure there are all kinds of 175s out there that are more or less than mine but that i was sure he wouldn't find one that sounded or played as good as mine and didn't need any setup or adjustment for less money. So then he asked me to make the shipping free and claimed it would only be "about $60". I shouldn't have, but i got shipping estimates from ups, usps and fedex with the cheapest being $129.
I figured I wouldn't hear back from him but he bought it overnight at full asking price. But then - looking at my shipping note regarding the bridge - got paranoid and threatened to return it if I didn't unbox it and put the bridge back on. I immediately refunded him and when I got home, contacted reverb and asked that they block him from further communication and/or purchases.
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I have not sold on Reverb but I was a high volume seller on eBay a few years ago (but not of musical instruments). As you suggested, I could almost always tell when a potential buyer would be trouble by the way they responded to my replies to their questions, better to reject or cancel sales than have to deal with returns and refunds. Originally Posted by deacon Mark
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I feel your pain for sure, Jack - and it's not just Reverb. I started a similar thread about 2 years ago while selling off several guitars, amps, speakers, and accessories that I no longer used or needed. The percentage of flakes among buyers and sellers is growing higher by the day. I tried for almost 2 years to buy a Foster Basin Street 15" 7 string archtop through this forum. I couldn't get any usable information about it beyond the low res pics in the sale post, and the seller's response to requests for better pics, informtaion, etc was "I have several people ready to buy it, so you'd better hurry and send me money or you'll lose it". He was asking far more than it was worth, so I sent him a message saying that I'd be happy to fly down to New Orleans with cash and meet him at the airport to examine the guitar myself. I told him what I'd pay if it's as perfect as he claimed and how much I'd reduce that for specific problems like needing new frets. He ignored this, so I backed off. Six months later, he contacted me and started the same nonsense again. I just sent him the same message again, and he ignored it. Six months later, it appeared in our Sale section again, this time for trade only. My final attempt also went down in flames. Originally Posted by jzucker
My favorite was the guy who said he wanted to buy my Boogie Thiele EVM cab. He contacted me daily to tell me that he could get it "anywhere every day" for $100 less than my asking price. My response to the first few messages was "go ahead and buy one of them", but I gave up after the 3rd or 4th. Finally, a reasonable guy contacted me, met me at one of my gigs, gave me cash for it and we both left happy. But I'd say that 90% of the people who contacted me for anything were less than serious - most were very loosely wrapped, scammers, or worse.
Just from "knowing" you on this forum, I'm sure your guitars are excellent. It ain't you, babe - no, no, no it ain't you..........
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I couldn't say whether Reverb is getting better or worse because I haven't done enough business there recently to have a sense of it. But that buyer definitely sounds like a problem. I suspect that even if you had left the bridge on and it arrived OK, be would have found some other reason to complain and either return the axe or hassle your for a partial refund. Originally Posted by jzucker
FWIW, the deals I've done most recently have been at guitar center: I bought two guitars and sold one. The buys were great guitars at very fair prices (in both cases cheaper than I could find on Reverb at the time), with no hassle whatsoever. The sell? Yeah, I took a hit, but it was quick, hassle-free, and cash in hand, so I can live with it.
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I've done a fair amount of both buying and selling on Reverb. It's a mixed bag. There's definitely some good things about it and some bad. But it's not just bad buyers; there are also some bad sellers on there. Beyond the obvious example of not disclosing issues with an item, I'm always amazed when, as a potential buyer, I ask the seller a question and I don't get a response.
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Seems like that's almost the norm, not the exception these days and not just in online purchases but in life. Originally Posted by andrew
I think the kids call it 'ghosting'
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i don't know if you guys remember the dealer I bought the 175 from and it arrived with a crack below the headstock and then it taking almost 75 days to get a refund with visa totally unwilling to stand behind me. I htought i was safe because it was a "dealer".
i've sort of convinced myself it's worth paying more to buy something from reverb because they at least stand behind their sales. Same with musiciansfriend / guitarcenter.
I recently bought a markbass combo from musiciansfriend and it arrived with a different embedded amp (correct cabinet) than what was advertised. It was annoying but they sent me another one and knocked $75 off the price for my problem.
I don't know of a store I can visit which has the kind of gear I use so I'm resigned to mail order but at least buying on reverb or MF/GC, you have some recourse.
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the questions thing is an interesting topic. On both gearpage and talkbass, there are threads in the respective pubs, disparaging the asking and answering of questions. Sellers have made the claims that whenever anyone asks a question about weight, neck dive, radius, neck profile, that almost 100% of the time, they don't make the sale. So a certain contingent on those sites, deliberately ignores any questions like that.
I replied on one of those threads saying that I had spinal surgery and am very weight sensitive and was basically told to "get over it"
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The few things I've bought and sold were listed on Craigslist.
Not without risks, as you might imagine. But, I guess I've been fortunate -- never had a bad experience in four transactions.
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i just realized, this guitar actually sold a 3rd time...Sort of...
There was another guy who asked me a zillion questions about neck depth, differences between manufacturing years, etc., etc.
Then he messaged me a few days ago and said he put it in his cart and was going into a 3 hour meeting and would complete the purchase after the meeting. Then 20 minutes later, I get a followup saying his meeting is starting late so he'll be purchasing right away.
And then he ghosted me. The next day, I messaged him and asked if he was still interested and he replied a few hours later saying he was still contemplating it.
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I've never successfully sold a guitar on craigslist. I had a bass amp on FB Marketplace a few years ago and someone asked if they could come over and try it out. They came over , borrowed my bass and played boogie-woogie blues licks on it FOR OVER AN HOUR and then said it wasn't his cup of tea and then wanted to discuss politics with me and I had to make an excuse to get him out of my house. Originally Posted by jzucker
So I rarely let strangers come into the house anymore. I recently had a guy who wanted the L4CES but wanted me to meet him at a harley davidson dealer about 60 miles away to conduct the deal. Considering it's a $5k guitar and thinking about an article I read about counterfeit Benjamins , i declined his offer
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That's plain dumb, usually (but not always) resource pages with a guitars specs can be found online, if I'm selling a guitar I've saved those links and can simply forward them to the potential buyer. Originally Posted by jzucker
People want to know exactly what they're buying, and as a seller you want them to know it too, to prevent: "I want to return this, I did not know ____ about this instrument" (fill in the blank).
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This reminds me of the 1st Loar I almost got to buy twice on a Dutch marketplace site. Good contact with the seller who was comprehensive enough that I'd never played an archtop and was willing to let me come try the instrument next time I was in the country and the instrument hadn't sold. Then, he tells me he decided to keep the instrument himself, in response to me contacting him for a visit date because I was in the country. Bummer, but when I'm back in France he lets me know that he reconsidered and offers me the instrument at a better price. I couldn't answer or didn't want to decide straight away, and the next day he replies he's reconsidered again... Originally Posted by jzucker
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Jack ~ very sorry to hear about your experiences with these guitars. I hope you get a different result in the next round. For what it is worth I've sent a link to your 175 to a friend who is looking for something in that range.
I'll weigh in on my online experiences, if for no other reason than, to provide balance to the discussion. I've sold about 9 guitars over the last 10 years on Reverb, including two in 2024. I've sold probably 20 components. I've never had a sale fall through or a request for a return. I have purchased six guitars in the same time period, five from retailers and one from a collector. I've had only positive experiences. Based on what I have heard from others here, I know that I have been fortunate as a seller. You don't get to choose your buyers ... The shops I've bought from have been upstanding. I'll stick with Reverb because it has worked and I think it's a better option today than the alternatives mentioned.
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That's pathetic! Originally Posted by jzucker
My questions are not about weight, neck dive, radius etc. I told the seller of that Foster (which is a guitar that I really wanted a lot) that I was a gigging musician and I needed a backup 7 string archtop that was ready to play. I told him what I'd pay for it if the frets had more than half their life left and were properly leveled, crowned and without divots, and it needed no repairs before professional use - action good with straight neck, bridge adjustment neither all the way up or down, top not sagging, working truss rod, no cracks in need of repair, no loose / missing / damaged / nonfunctional parts, no electrical issues.
I didn't care if it had dings, scrapes etc as long as it looked decent to an audience and there were no palpable divots in the neck. I told him that if the frets needed replacement, I'd pay him my "excellent condition" offer minus the cost of refretting, with similar price adjustments for any other structural or functional repairs needed. I asked for good pictures to assess the above conditions. And I offered to fly to him with cash to look at it and buy it if he'd send me good pics, it looked OK, and it turned out to be as good in my hands as he said it was.
If those questions in that context offend or put off a seller, he or she is not worth my time and aggravation. There was another Foster 7 for sale recently that several of you pointed out to me the day the post went up. It turned out to have been a good one that I'd have bought - but I was about an hour late contacting the seller. Marc Tappan (Guitars 'n Jazz) did a magnificent L/C/P job on my Ibanez AF207 months ago, so it didn't need to be out of service for a refret (which is what I thought it would need). So I now have more time befeore it goes down for a while, and I'll find a second workhorse. If not, I'll just use my Eastman Jazz Elite on the good gigs for a few weeks and my Tele 7 on the dicier ones.
Keep the faith, Jack. it's not you - it's them!
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I would never sell on Reverb,they are slanted only to stand behind the buyer and for this reason i have zero problems buying from them.That being said,i only buy from a dealer or someone who has a good selling history just to avoid any headaches.I've made a number of purchases over the years and never had a problem.
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I message a seller about and L5 asking about it being refinished as the back was not sunburst, the machine heads were not original, and he was mad. He called me a troll and pointed out he mentioned this stuff in his ad. I remember the did not mentioned but later changed the ad and still did not address the problem of the finish which was completely wrong. Of course, right now he wants $7500 for this but now I see he is down to $7100. His ad just makes him out to be a real vintage guitar dealer with lots of experience and knowledge. I even sent a follow up explaining some things he told me to buzz off.
Reverb is a place to show guitars for people interested in entertaining money for guitars. George Gruhn and Larry Wexer are not on Reverb. Elderly Music and some other legitimate music stores are not part of the game. While I am sure things can and have worked on Reverb, I would never chance a guitar on the place. I have to talk to a person, and they need to give me information, I can and sometime do go fishing. I can also say that one of the best guitars and deals I have ever managed was when I went fishing with the idea, I was only fishing not looking for serious hauling in of a guitar. Well turns out I ask a few questions and over a period of only a few weeks I hauled in a Gibson Super400 ces, not on reverb. Sometimes lighting strikes.
Jack, I don't need a guitar, but I don't own a Gibson 175. I not going to even fish, but that guitar will outpace the present Bidenomics that is going on. With an election in a short time many things can happen. Right now, I see that 175 if it remains in the great condition as having a decent return. I also want to take this chance to tell you that you should play it now all the more and by chance you will find...........wow why would I part with this puppy. If you haven't figured this out, I am telling keep the guitar..............a player with your chops has to have one in reserve. Joe Pass always kept a the 175 around, there is a mighty lesson in this, he a real D'aquisto too.
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Of course the people who ask questions mostly don’t buy guitars right then and there. Neither do the people who _don’t_ ask questions. Nearly everyone is window-shopping nearly all the time. But I’ll bet the questioners buy more often as a percent of their population than the ones who make no contact at all. That’s the relevant metric. But there are so many more non-questioners that it creates a false impression that questioning indicates less willingness to buy. Originally Posted by jzucker
Last edited by John A.; 08-30-2024 at 06:44 PM.
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I met that seller at a guitar show last year. He had an all original 1959 ES-175D at the booth. He told me he was going to take the PAFs out and sell them. I told him that he should keep the guitar original. A month or so later, the guitar was stripped down to its husk and every component (except for the PAFs) was sold off individually on Reverb. Originally Posted by deacon Mark
But I do really like the dimensions of that L-5's neck! One of my mantras as a seller is to try to put all of the information in the listing that I would want as a buyer (including nut width, neck dimensions, and weight). By doing that, you can save yourself and potential buyers from wasting time.
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If I have a nice archtop to sell, I always consign it through archtop.com. I generally get as much or more than handling it myself, and avoid having to deal with buyers.
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I remember that guitar here. I would have pursued it if it were a 6-string. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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I have a different experience with them... Originally Posted by nopedals
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Right, this is a challenge. We play instruments that are not going to be located in most music stores; most music stores can't afford to have $5000 guitars hanging on the wall that aren't selling; they want $300 guitars on the wall that will sell. Originally Posted by jzucker
I live within a reasonable driving distance of Dave's Guitars in La Crosse, so if they had a guitar I was interested in I could drive down and see it in person. Plus I used to live there and have friends I could stop in and visit, which would be fun even if I didn't come back with a guitar. Here in St. Paul we have Willie's Guitars, but they are a little more collector market oriented and I think their prices tend to be a little high. Other than that, typical "jazz" instruments are hit or miss in all the other music stores in town.
Maybe one of the other benefits of playing jazz on a Telecaster?
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