"Reverb.con" Say goodbye to "customer service"

[Cunamara]

My understanding is that sales tax is regulated state by state, and the various states don't have uniform laws on these purchases. The forum probably has a member who is a lawyer and knows the actual deal on this.

[Mick-7]

My understanding is that sales tax is regulated state by state, and the various states don't have uniform laws on these purchases. The forum probably has a member who is a lawyer and knows the actual deal on this.

If I remember correctly, this sales tax law was originally enacted due to lobbying by brick and mortar intrastate retailers, who had objected to the fact that the existing law gave online only retailers an unfair sales advantage, in that it exempted them from charging sales taxes to out of state customers, customers in states other than the state in which they were incorporated.

However, this does not explain why some brick and mortar intrastate retailers don't have to charge sales taxes to out of state customers, e.g., this policy stated on one such retailers website: "Texas residents are required to pay sales tax. No tax for orders shipped out of state." This of course would give them a sales advantage over online only retailers.

[omphalopsychos]

Same status. It's the laws that changed, not reverb.

[omphalopsychos]

However, this does not explain why some brick and mortar intrastate retailers don't have to charge sales taxes to out of state customers, e.g., this policy stated on one such retailers website: "Texas residents are required to pay sales tax. No tax for orders shipped out of state." This of course would give them a sales advantage over online only retailers.

There's a sales volume threshold that a shop has to stay under or else they have to charge taxes for out of state.

[Cunamara]

If I remember correctly, this sales tax law was originally enacted due to lobbying by brick and mortar intrastate retailers, who had objected to the fact that the existing law gave online only retailers an unfair sales advantage, in that it exempted them from charging sales taxes to out of state customers, customers in states other than the state in which they were incorporated.

However, this does not explain why some brick and mortar intrastate retailers don't have to charge sales taxes to out of state customers, e.g., this policy stated on one such retailers website: "Texas residents are required to pay sales tax. No tax for orders shipped out of state." This of course would give them a sales advantage over online only retailers.

IIRC they have to remit sales tax to the state where the purchaser resides, not where the seller is in business. If I buy from someone in California, the seller pays MN sales tax to MN.

[Mick-7]

There's a sales volume threshold that a shop has to stay under or else they have to charge taxes for out of state.

Perhaps they count their out-of-state sales volume relative to their in state sales volume? The retailer whose tax policy I quoted has a few brick and mortar stores in Texas and an online web store.

IIRC they have to remit sales tax to the state where the purchaser resides, not where the seller is in business. If I buy from someone in California, the seller pays MN sales tax to MN.

This does not apply to the retailer I just mentioned (?)

[jzucker]

This is obviously a sample size of 1, but I recently purchased a guitar that had some serious undisclosed issues. The seller didn't want to take it back (shocking, I know!) and Reverb ended up taking it back themselves and refunding me 100% of my money, including the original shipping. It took about a month for the whole thing to play out, but in the end they did right by me.

i had the same thing happen to me on the 175 i bought where the seller forgot to mention he had glued the bridge to the top (in the wrong position , no less). He wouldn't take it back and reverb bought it back and then -- due to premium insurance option -- took possession of the guitar and relisted it for about $1000 less. It also took about 3-4 weeks if I remember. But I was very happy with their service

[John A.]

Perhaps they count their out-of-state sales volume relative to their in state sales volume? The retailer whose tax policy I quoted has a few brick and mortar stores in Texas and an online web store.



This does not apply to the retailer I just mentioned (?)

If a retailer has “nexus” (physical presence or other sort of connection) in another state they’re supposed to collect sales tax for that state. If not, they don’t have to. Determining nexus is complicated though — perhaps better to say establishing lack of nexus is complicated.

My sense is that most online businesses either have nexus everywhere or don’t want to risk having to cough up large amounts of sales tax from their own pockets to multiple states if they lose nexus disputes. But some are more certain about not having nexus than others. Hard to imagine someone from Texas with that sort of confidence, but ‘tis world of wonders.

[jhbpa]

Interesting-what sort of status was Reverb working under when they were not charging taxes? Taxes set in state by state, as I recall, and for at least 3-4 years I was purchasing without any tax in FL.

South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. (2018)

The Wayfair case is a landmark decision that fundamentally changed the landscape of sales tax collection, particularly for online and remote sellers. It overturned the previous standard set by Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (1992), which required a physical presence in a state for sales tax collection.
Key Facts:

• South Dakota passed a law requiring out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax if they conducted more than $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions annually in the state.
• Wayfair, Inc., a major online retailer, challenged the law, arguing that under the Quill decision, it was not required to collect sales tax because it had no physical presence in South Dakota.

The Supreme Court’s Decision: In a 5-4 decision, the Court overturned Quill and ruled in favor of South Dakota, holding that the substantial nexus requirement could be satisfied without a physical presence. The decision recognized the realities of modern e-commerce, where physical presence is less relevant in determining tax obligations.
This ruling effectively allowed states to require remote sellers to collect and remit sales tax, significantly altering the tax landscape for e-commerce and leading to widespread changes in state tax laws across the country.
Takeaway: The U.S. Supreme Court determined that you could have a sales and use tax nexus based upon each state’s economic definition.

[arnie65]

That would be more time-consuming and stressful than just chalking it up to experience.

Nothing could be further from the truth, I've had stuff like this happen to me a few times, and Paypal has always dealt with it quickly and painless. The key is to do it on the phone with a rep, not on their website opening a case. The seller does not even need to agree to give you any credit, Paypal takes that determination and gives it to you, and then deals with the seller.

Also FYI, Etsy does no longer own Reverb, it was purchased by Creator Partners & Servco in April of this year...



Arnie...

[Fear the Reaper]

Bottomline on this discussion is buy your gear from the Jazz Guitar Forum members!!! IMHO Total satisfaction nearly guaranteed ever time and similar to buying from a trustworthy friend.

[Christian Miller]

Bottomline on this discussion is buy your gear from the Jazz Guitar Forum members!!! IMHO Total satisfaction nearly guaranteed ever time and similar to buying from a trustworthy friend.

Well, given my experiences I would heartily agree, however it sounds like there's some people out there who are not serious buyers and give people the mess around.

[Marty Grass]

The is a Reverb story. There was a listing for a Gibson ES-345 cherry in like new condition. The lister was a student and needed money. He showed pictures and wanted $700 ASAP. I contacted Reverb first and was assured I was safe to buy it, so I did. It was shipped the next day by FedEx. But when I looked at the Fedex details, the box was small and weighed a pound.

I contacted the person at Reverb. She held my payment to him. She said that some will send a fake package to gain a few days and disappear from the claws of Reverb. I was glad I contacted her in advance. She gave me her name and how to stay in touch with her.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Bottomline on this discussion is buy your gear from the Jazz Guitar Forum members!!! IMHO Total satisfaction nearly guaranteed ever time and similar to buying from a trustworthy friend.

I’m in that camp. 90+% of my few transactions have been with friends, local musicians, and Forum members with whom I have a relationship from prior communications etc. I won’t buy from or sell to someone I don’t know at all (even a Forum member) until I’m comfortable that I’m interacting with an honest, decent, reasonable person. Odd, evasive, or clearly wrong messages are terminal events.

When I’m looking to buy or sell something from a new or relatively inactive Forum participant or one with whom I’ve never interacted in any way, I always try to give him or her an idea of who I am and what I’m like (without sharing sensitive or potentially risky personal info), and I ask for similar input. If I don’t get it, or if what I’m told seems like a “cover story”, I pass.

“Never again” opportunities are few and far between, and the total cost of realizing them is often far greater than the purchase price.

[nyc chaz]

The is a Reverb story. There was a listing for a Gibson ES-345 cherry in like new condition. The lister was a student and needed money. He showed pictures and wanted $700 ASAP. I contacted Reverb first and was assured I was safe to buy it, so I did. It was shipped the next day by FedEx. But when I looked at the Fedex details, the box was small and weighed a pound.

I contacted the person at Reverb. She held my payment to him. She said that some will send a fake package to gain a few days and disappear from the claws of Reverb. I was glad I contacted her in advance. She gave me her name and how to stay in touch with her.

Glad you got your money back but seriously,that whole scenario says red light stay away.The seller i'm sure had no history and is selling a guitar way below market value.That would have been a hard pass for me.

[John A.]

Bottomline on this discussion is buy your gear from the Jazz Guitar Forum members!!! IMHO Total satisfaction nearly guaranteed ever time and similar to buying from a trustworthy friend.

Yes, and I have both bought and sold items here. But if you look at how long some items stay listed here, as well as all the discussions of items that almost never turn up here, that only works for a limited subset the market. I think one really has to be open to all options. I've bought and sold here, Reverb, eBay, friend-to-friend, and Guitar Center. I guess I've just been lucky, but I've never had a bad outcome with any of these channels.

[jhbpa]

Yes, and I have both bought and sold items here. But if you look at how long some items stay listed here, as well as all the discussions of items that almost never turn up here, that only works for a limited subset the market. I think one really has to be open to all options. I've bought and sold here, Reverb, eBay, friend-to-friend, and Guitar Center. I guess I've just been lucky, but I've never had a bad outcome with any of these channels.

Same here, verbatim.

[Marty Grass]

Glad you got your money back but seriously,that whole scenario says red light stay away.The seller i'm sure had no history and is selling a guitar way below market value.That would have been a hard pass for me.

The person had about a 10 sales history. It turned out they were small items. The eBay person told me some scammers do that. These can be sales "on paper" with friends or even with themselves.

I knew going in to the deal that it may fall apart. I think he wrote that he got the guitar as a present and never learned to play. Now he needs quick money. As I mentioned I contacted eBay ahead of placing a bid.

[Woody Sound]

My understanding is that sales tax is regulated state by state, and the various states don't have uniform laws on these purchases. The forum probably has a member who is a lawyer and knows the actual deal on this.

This one confuses me, but I haven't really looked into it. Sales tax in NYS is 8+%, so it can be a big factor.

Sales Tax Policy - Sound Pure