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So , I found a decent Tal Farlow that I was interested in. It's listed at $3748. I thought maybe if I could get the price down to $3300 I might consider it. But, shipping is $175, taxes on it would be $330 and for me, that just takes it into the ridiculous realm of pricing. I could get a hand made instrument for that kind of dough.
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08-19-2020 04:48 PM
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What happened to one of the old ones you were trying to buy back?
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didn't work out.
Originally Posted by wintermoon
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If one is buying from someone with a presence online outside of Reverb and they are outside of your state, it’s worth contacting them directly. Not only are you likely to get the best deal (no 5% Reverb fee for the seller) but they are also far less likely to have to charge you sales tax. I only have to charge sales tax to buyers in SC for example. I can be found with a simple google search and many other sellers on Reverb can be found the same way.
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in this case it was the opposite. I did a search for "gibson tal farlow forsale" and it pointed me to a shop. I called the shop and he *ONLY* sells through reverb. Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
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Wow, who does that? That’s the first time I’ve heard that one. Originally Posted by jzucker
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Thanks to Ebay and sites like Reverb it's hard to get a real bargain online these days, particularly factoring in shipping, taxes and fees. There is a clustering of prices about the "market price" as well--not like the old days when no one except a small group of people knew what things were selling for.
The only way to get a really good deal is either through Craigslist or smaller shops, IMO. Or word of mouth. Sometimes you hear of someone selling something that belonged to their Dad who passed away or something like that.
I was on Reverb today looking at 12-strings. No true bargains to be had. I did check out Dave's Guitars website and talked to their helpful staff, who steered me away from a vintage 12-string with neck issues. Have to keep looking I guess.
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I know exactly what you’re saying. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been close to pulling the trigger on a $3k plus guitar on Reverb and then hit with the reality of paying $350 or more for sales tax. To that I’ve said screw that! It’s buying from a private seller or not at all.
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only thing I can figure is that reverb takes care of the CC processing and insurance and payout if something gets damaged... Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
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In addition to the CC, etc, a regular seller isn't going to violate Reverb's terms and risk suspension or cancellation of their account. Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
7. Off-Site Transactions/Void Transactions/Fee Avoidance
No sales may be carried out via private message as a means to avoid Reverb's sales fee or applicable taxes. Any other efforts to move sales initiated on Reverb off-site to avoid fees is strictly prohibited and may result in account suspension or termination. Any transaction initiated on the Site, but consummated off-site will not be subject to any of Reverb's policies or protections. Reverb reserves the right to charge its fee for any transaction initiated on the Site and completed off-site. You waive any and all claims against Reverb for such fee.
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Jack I looked at reverb all the time looking for guitars and frankly I go directly to the person or dealer. I cannot buy a guitar online I need to speak to someone and you are probably like myself, in that I am old school. I buy a guitar used and never a thought about sales tax as bought from individuals. If you are patient it will happen and without going into details there are ways to make things happen. One very long and trusted dealer told me that reverb was not going to tell him how to sell guitars and what to do, he had been at that much longer. This dealer is not on reverb either. Look at archtop.com they have own website and on reverb. I wonder how I am going to buy a guitar from them...............through the business. Personally reverb needs to get a gripe and do something different as far as high dollar guitars are sold.
I get it that a gallon of milk cost $3.99 at the local gas station but I can go down the street to Meijers and buy for $1.59. So mark up small items and the like but on guitars they need get a much different price point feature. Then of course you have to wade through the crazy folks who thing their 1995 Gibson L5 is worth $10,000. Or in your case a non vintage Tal Farlow and they have it priced at $5500. Reverb is for the idiots like me who once in a while sell a guitar and we put it on the site. I personally have more confidence now in ebay and would have been totally the opposite not too long ago. People have pretty unrealistic ideas of what things sell for and dealers who have been around, might be high but not generally way off...............that can turn off folks. I have a few of those I know. Just be patient a Tal will show up.
Another option is to go to Japan sites and look up guitars. Believe it or not you can actually do much better and find things. Generally safe from big Japan dealers. I know a forum member who has done pretty good with dealing directly with Japan dealers.
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Keep in mind, that’s not what I advocated. That explicitly pertains to a transaction initiated on Reverb and then taken off-site. Originally Posted by rob taft
For some reason Reverb actually even seems to allow many big dealers to list direct contact information in their product listings, which is a violation of their terms. Some like Joe V. (archtop.com) have the advantage of having their legal business name pointing directly at how to find them.
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Have you checked this shop? Originally Posted by jzucker
https://www.musicgoround.com/product...SABEgLYNfD_BwE
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Reverb also monitors the communication between buyer and seller done through their messaging system. I no longer remember which transaction it was, or which side of the transaction I was on, but a few years ago, while working out the details, one of us must have mentioned “trade” in a message and someone from Reverb got involved to remind us that trading was frowned upon.
Another weird situation is when people post items for sale on Reverb and then also on JGF or other forums. It may be in the seller’s interest to sell through the JGF, eliminate fees, and offer a lower price to the buyer, but the buyer may want the protections Reverb (at least claims) to provide. I’ve had varying degrees of success dealing with problematic transactions through Reverb.
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but as I said, in this case I contacted the store outside of reverb so reverb monitoring things wasn't an issue Originally Posted by wzpgsr
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Did Reverb always charge tax on transactions?
Very interesting that one of you mentioned that you now trust Ebay more than Reverb. Wow.
Regarding the Japanese sites, what are the shipping charges like to the East coast? Seems like the whole transaction would be more difficult and more expensive. Not saying it would be, just curious.
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Prior to COVID and the current USPS debacle shipping via EMS/USPS was fast and inexpensive from Japan, usually in the $100-120 range. For right now though, the only option to get a guitar from Japan is DHL which is more like $300-400. Originally Posted by DMgolf66
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Agreed
Like the days of flee market sales long gone.
When I was a child we would go to the flea market and get deals on stuff. Later in life I went back to the flea market and found that there was no deals to be had anymore. They were charging as much and or more than Macy’s..
Reverb's growth will be its downfall..Last edited by Nick71; 08-21-2020 at 05:55 PM.
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https://reverb.com/ca/news/what-reverb-sellers-need-to-know-about-new-sales-tax-rules Originally Posted by DMgolf66
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Ha, I zoned out shortly after I started reading. Bottom line it seems, no avoiding paying the tax. Originally Posted by Tal_175
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I have a Collings City Limits Jazz on the way to Joe right now. I struggled with the ‘sell direct or pay commission’ aspect, but with no seller protection from Reverb, archtop.com was the way to go. It’s one thing to sell a pedal on Reverb (which I also did this week); I knew, however, that I could not deal with a message from Reverb three days after delivery that ‘Hey, this guitar has a big scratch across the top’. Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
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I had a similar experience recently. I found a high end Martin on Reverb , but it was also from a store. I called the store and they insisted I go through Reverb. After a week of nonsense with Reverb and restrictive shipping policies I canceled my order - then waited another 3 days to get my refund. I will never attempt to buy through Reverb again. Originally Posted by jzucker
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After reading this thread, I'm glad I have more guitars and amps than I will ever need...
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