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Got desperate and posted my Eastman thinline on Reverb and rec'd a full price offer within 15 minutes. Guy said "could I zend (sic) pics to his father (insert email here) and he'll buy it and pick it up". Tried to send him a msg that I wouldn't do it outside Reverb but it said he couldn't receive msgs. Tried to ask the Reverb help folks but they're useless so I declined the offer and was able to attach msg that I would only deal through the Reverb system.
They just keep trying..........
As much as we don't like Reverb, I guess there are some protections. Personally, never had a problem but I guess some have. I did see a notice that their payouts have started up.
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03-14-2023 02:14 PM
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That same thing happened to me on Reverb two weeks ago.
It all comes from the time-honored work of J. Wellington Wimpy:
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Better safe than sorry. I'm curious, though. Was this person trying to arrange a local payment and pickup to avoid shipping costs and possible damage in transit? I'm trying to educate myself for future transactions. My participation on this board is giving me GAS. I didn't even know it was a thing before I got here.
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Agree with the "safe vs sorry" sentiment but also see JS's point: If it was local pickup and cash payment (not cashier's check, CC, etc.) and you met the buyer in a safe place (many local police stations offer their lobbies for this sort of thing) is there a downside that I'm missing?
Thanks,
SJ
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Very familiar story from selling on another website. It's always the buyers friend or relative who is going to pick up the instrument. It's a scam. But if you want to play the game ask lots of questions about guitar playing, guitars, etc. Ask how long they have played, what style, what guitars they already own, what kind of pickups they prefer, whose guitar playing they admire, and so on. You will most likely find out they know nothing about guitar playing or guitars.
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Nobody is buying an instrument or anything else online by having their dad or shipping company pick up the "item". Perhaps it did actually happen once or might happen again, but the chances are so slim that a seller would have to be a gullible dope to assume the he/she has an actual honest buyer on the other end of the line.
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This is the red flag for me.... if it was an effort to arrange local pickup then this shouldn't happen........
Originally Posted by Skip Ellis
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The exact same message was sent to me verbatim on a telecaster body and neck I was selling on Reverb. Also said I couldn't contact them and the message I received was minutes after I made the posting. Definitely a scam.
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The message you received is a common scam attempt, usually received within the first hours of a new listing. I guess whomever sends these messages must track new listings and hit them ASAP. I received a similar message when I listed my DJArgus for sale about a month ago. I knew immediately that it was a scam; the give away was the request to contact whoever this was using their personal contact info, although getting a message from someone who goes by "Precious" didn't help seal the deal on his/her legitimacy Originally Posted by Skip Ellis
. Here’s the message I received and my reply. Even though I knew it was a scam from the outset, just for fun I decided to send a tongue-in-check reply rather than ignore the message.
Scammers message: “Hi. This is Precious. I'm very interested in this guitar, and I'd like to buy it as soon as everything checks out. Please let me know what it comes with. Are there any flaws I should know about? Since when have you been using it and hope it still sounds/functions great? Kindly send me a mail with more information and pictures if available preciouswilde@outlook.com Thank you”
My reply: “Hello Precious and thank you for your interest in the guitar. It is a very fine and unique instrument. I would be happy to provide you with any additional information about the guitar not already included in the description on Reverb along with additional pictures to help you make your decision about purchasing the guitar. Please note that I will ONLY communicate with you through the Reverb messenger and not through your email or other outside website that you provided in your message. If that is ok with you then let's move forward with the purchase and please feel free to make any offer. Cheers, A”
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The scams work like this: Someone responds to your posting or ad, and offers to use a cashier's check, personal check or corporate check to pay for the item you're selling. At the last minute, the so-called buyer (or the buyer's "agent") comes up with a reason for writing the check for more than the purchase price, and asks you to wire back the difference after you deposit the check. You deposit the check and wire the funds back to the "buyers." Later, the check bounces, leaving you liable for the entire amount.
The checks are counterfeit, but good enough to fool unsuspecting bank tellers.
I have gotten these messages after posting on Reverb. here are a few...
Hello! I'm making an inquiry about this guitar, it looks amazing. Hope it's still available for purchase? As I'm trying to get it urgently for my performance next weekend. This is my personal email geraldemily78@gmail.com Lets talk further on it.
Jul 01, 2022 05:35 PM
Emily Malachy
Hope it's still available? I am making an inquiry about this item and I have sent the pictures to my Mom, you can contact her through her email a.owens838847@gmail.com so you can discuss payment and pick up. Thank you.
Hello we like to have this , kindly forward more pictures of the current condition and final price to my husband at mattgoodman219 at gmail com he will complete the sale or just send the reverb link to my husband hes with my card, im on a long duty. Thank You
- phillipa louis
- Apr 05, 2022 06:42 PM
Jul 01, 2022 05:35 PM
Emily Malachy
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Maybe I'm stupid or don't know how Reverb works, but how can someone be able to send messages through Reverb but not receive them?it said he couldn't receive msgs.
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The one I got on Xmas morning: Originally Posted by Easy2grasp
Hi I'll take the "item," however I'm at work right now so I'll have "such and such" courier call you to arrange pick up and they'll hand you your money etc.....
While I didn't get past that stage I'm told fake courier calls you to request some deposit or you bank info to deposit the money etc......I thought it weird when they used the word item for a top quality archtop guitar..... popular scam on facebook it seems....
Of interest, the fake names are often a women's name
And that women has a facebook account and is perfectly legit...Her credentials have been used illegally 
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S
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It's f'ing ridiculous that they allow people who don't have Reverb accounts to email sellers. I must have complained about that 20 times over the years. It's ALWAYS a scam.
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Always say Yes to the sale and have them FedEx their " check". This costs them a few bucks. Do nothing else, you're done. Throw the check away or put it on your refrigerator for a chuckle every time you get a cold drink.
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