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

[buduranus2]

I'm in the midst of trying to wrest a $75 partial credit for an undisclosed defect on a guitar I bought on the site. In addition to being unceremoniously kicked off chats three times, the "resolution agent" has gone MIA for three days and counting. Before Etsy bought the site the customer service was pretty good. Now it's abysmal if not non-existent.

Seventy-five bucks isn't gonna make me or break me. But let this experience be a cautionary tale to anyone contemplating buying or selling a high-value item. You're on your own with limited, if any, recourse.

[nyc chaz]

If you payed with Paypal and or credit card you could open a dispute with them.

[buduranus2]

If you payed with Paypal and or credit card you could open a dispute with them.

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

[nyc chaz]

When buying on Reverb,best to buy from reputable dealer or someone with numerous positive sales reviews.Usually Reverb sides with the buyer to the chagrin of most seller's.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

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

That depends on which credit card you use. I’ve disputed 2 such problems and my CC company made it right with one simple form.

[nyc chaz]

That depends on which credit card you use. I’ve disputed 2 such problems and my CC company made it right with one simple form.

Amex is the best when disputing something i have found.

[AllanAllen]

I'd rather not have a guitar than order it off reverb or ebay.

[Dean_G]

I've done quite a lot of both buying and selling on Reverb over the years, and recently. Maybe I have just been lucky but I have had good experiences. Perhaps their customer support is declining these days. Will keep that in mind.

[DawgBone]

I'd rather not have a guitar than order it off reverb or ebay.

I've had great luck ordering from reverb and ebay, and horrible luck selling on ebay. Didn't even bother with reverb.

[tomv713]

I bought a scarlett interface that never got shipped, the seller gave me an excuse for 4 weeks in a row before he stopped responding. It took another month to get reverb to agree to a refund.

[tomv713]

I bought a scarlett interface that never got shipped, the seller gave me an excuse for 4 weeks in a row before he stopped responding. It took another month to get reverb to agree to a refund.

[jazzshrink]

I bought a scarlett interface that never got shipped, the seller gave me an excuse for 4 weeks in a row before he stopped responding. It took another month to get reverb to agree to a refund.

I bought a scarlett interface that never got shipped, the seller gave me an excuse for 4 weeks in a row before he stopped responding. It took another month to get reverb to agree to a refund.

Why then did you buy two?

[Jsparr1983]

I really wish that something would rise up to compete with Reverb and charge reasonable fees. I’m not in it for money but have found it to be great to see what’s available but dealing directly with PayPal goods and services for lesser fees affords the same or better level of protection. The real good people on any forum put the time in to make a name for themselves and treat others how they want to be treated (as the greatest man who ever lived said).

[Cunamara]

Etsy may no longer own reverb.com.

Just a moment...

[Jsparr1983]

Thanks for sharing . I noticed that when I listed something recently that they have a new trade in option where you can turn your equipment into a local dealer for fast cash.

[Marty Grass]

I have done well over the years but am cautious. One guy sold me an Epiphone with the finish peeling off. This ended in a small war in which he lost, including his eBay account. That took over 10 hours of my time pushing for a resolution. The guy said he was the road manager of the Eagles and that this guitar was used in their recording. Even in the end when I got my full refund after two levels of appeals, he promised free backstage tickets to the Eagles. BS.

I found that being skeptical is helpful. Asking for specific views of an instrument helps validate the listing is real. The previous feedback can be reassuring. If in doubt, forget it.

Stores that use Reverb or eBay often can be called by phone with questions. Honorable ones will insist on going through Reverb or eBay because they pledged to do that. You can ask for them to contact you if the item doesn't sell and the listing is closed, again this is with stores. Stores should not pull the listing due to such a request, but the owner may decide after the listing expires to give you a call. That's fair. I did that once, and it took several months before the store contacted me, a big surprise.

[jzucker]

If you payed with Paypal and or credit card you could open a dispute with them.

I found out the hard way -- when a dealer sent me a guitar with a cracked headstock -- that a dispute with visa will always be on the side of the retailer. After 45 days when I hadn't gotten a refund, visa told me that they cannot force the retailer to send a refund and that I would need to take the dealer to small claims court. Fortunately, within a week, the dealer finally submitted the refund.

Regarding reverb getting worse, I don't agree. They have always been slow but to me, they are still the safest way to make a claim. They started out really bad. Once, when I complained about them here, one of the reps posted my private details on this forum. So, IMO, they have gotten better but they are not perfect.

[tomv713]

Why then did you buy two?

Oh that’s my twin, he’s not too bright

[Mick-7]

Etsy may no longer own reverb.com.

Just a moment...

Sounds like this should be an improvement?

[omphalopsychos]

Etsy may no longer own reverb.com.

Just a moment...

Woah that's huge. I didn't see this. Could just as easily result in reverb improving or spell its demise.

[tomvwash]

Woah that's huge. I didn't see this. Could just as easily result in reverb improving or spell its demise.

Maybe the end of taxes on used guitars???

[andrew]

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.

[omphalopsychos]

Maybe the end of taxes on used guitars???

No they will need to do that anyway as an online marketplace. This is done purely as a regulatory requirement. If etsy (or amazon) could remove the requirement, they would.

[tomvwash]

No they will need to do that anyway as an online marketplace. This is done purely as a regulatory requirement. If etsy (or amazon) could remove the requirement, they would.

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.

[Mick-7]

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.

Yes, there must be more to it, I recently saw a guitar for sale by a music dealer in TX and they said they would not charge a sales tax to out of state buyers.