Reverb buyer protection

[Swingmama]

Just curious if anyone on this form has had an issue with Rover's buyer protection.

I recently purchased a guitar off of the site. The seller had good feedback so I was confident that the guitar would be sold as represented. The listing stated that the guitar was in "excellent" condition which if you read Reverb's description of that it says: "When an item has been used, but only has minor cosmetic defects, this can be considered Excellent . Minor surface level scratches, such as pick marks from regular use, would qualify."

When I received the guitar, the heel was separated from the guitar body and there was a gap of more than 1/8". The strings of course were more than 1/4" off of the body starting at fret 5 and were even unplayable from frets one to 5. The area around the heel had some sort of corrosion (the guitar is a metal body resonator) that was green and had of course been there for quite a while.

The seller is claiming that the damage happened during shipping - which I doubt given the condition of the rest of the guitar but whatever - The guitar was shipped in its hard case with tape wrapped around the neck and body portion of the case in 4 places. There was nothing inside the case to support the neck and also the guitar had not been de-tuned.

At this point the seller is filing an insurance claim but in my experience with shipping guitars in the past there are a lot of items in the fine print that can cause a claim to not be paid - the biggest one is packing of the instrument which in this case was in my opinion not done properly - at least I have never shipped a guitar that way!

At this point, I have of course opened a case with Reverb - but am discovering that at this level the "chat" is not with a real person but is computer generated. The computer "bot" says my claim has been sent to the specialist team whatever this means and that is can take several days for a response...So of course I am waiting.

So my question is has anyone here had any experience with Reverb buyer protection? Are they responsive? Do they settle claims fairly?

[pagedr]

Reverb's claims team is generally very good, they can take a few days to get moving but are very easy to work with once you get in contact with a real person. And they definitely tend to side with the buyer over the seller, especially in a scenario like this, so I imagine you'll be just fine.

[dnf777]

sorry that happened to you.
I suspect you will be refunded in the end. Reverb seems to heavily favor protecting the buyer in most cases.

I will buy on Reverb, but not sell, for that reason. Not that I plan on committing trickery, but if a buyer does, it seems they get the benefit of the doubt. (which often exists in such cases!)

Good luck with your claim. Take lots of photos ASAP, too.

[Bowie]

They helped me with a claim on a high end instrument that was not as described. Took 2 days to get a human, then it moved quickly. Doesn't sound like you have much to worry about. It might take a while though if the seller is being difficult. And, remember, credit card companies can often help as well when all else fails.

Also, I've learned that positive feedback on reverb and ebay should not be trusted. Most of the bad experiences I've had have been with 100% positive feedback sellers. Just be careful what payment method you use so that you have recourse

[scotchnspeed]

Originally Posted by Swingmama

There was nothing inside the case to support the neck and also the guitar had not been de-tuned.

At this point the seller is filing an insurance claim but in my experience with shipping guitars in the past there are a lot of items in the fine print that can cause a claim to not be paid - the biggest one is packing of the instrument which in this case was in my opinion not done properly - at least I have never shipped a guitar that way!
Do they settle claims fairly?

You might be surprised to learn this is how all the major builders ship their guitars as well, so I'd be a little more forgiving to the seller.

"Do they settle claims fairly?" No - they settle 100% in favor of the buyer, no questions asked, so rest assured.

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by scotchnspeed

You might be surprised to learn this is how all the major builders ship their guitars as well, so I'd be a little more forgiving to the seller.
.

I would highly disagree with this statement. Particularly "all", and if they did, the seller STILL owns responsibility for an accurate description.

[KESTLY]

All I can say is, "Good Luck!" My experience with Reverb with a similar situation was that their "customer service" is practically non-existent. When I finally did reach an actual person at Reverb, they sounded half-asleep or drugged and mumbled something about me needing to contact PayPal for resolution. I'm surprised that there are so many positive responses here supporting the Reverb team. I have only heard bad things about their service prior to this thread. Don't expect a lot from them!

[Swingmama]

Originally Posted by scotchnspeed

You might be surprised to learn this is how all the major builders ship their guitars as well, so I'd be a little more forgiving to the seller.

"Do they settle claims fairly?" No - they settle 100% in favor of the buyer, no questions asked, so rest assured.

Well that is odd since I recently sold a guitar on Reverb. When I went to ship, I of course asked questions on the insurance. Turns out that there is a lot of fine print - They mentioned packing as the biggest and pretty much after talking to several folks who were in the business of shipping guitars (including a friend who runs a music store) the consensus was to pack the case in a box with packing material and to support the neck etc....

As to finding in favor with the buyer - Yes I understand this. I had a similar issue with this on E-bay and got totally messed over by a shoddy buyer so I am trying to see the seller's point of view on this but he really didn't handle the sale properly....

[Swingmama]

Originally Posted by Bowie

I would highly disagree with this statement. Particularly "all", and if they did, the seller STILL owns responsibility for an accurate description.

I do as well having shipped guitars and other items in the past that were insured. Packing is everything - If there is even one thing wrong with it they deny the claim.

[scotchnspeed]

Originally Posted by Swingmama

They mentioned packing as the biggest and pretty much after talking to several folks who were in the business of shipping guitars (including a friend who runs a music store) the consensus was to pack the case in a box with packing material and to support the neck etc....

I personally agree and do the same, but the fact remains this is over and above and not the norm (especially the downtuning, which is not actually a settled practice - Larrivee and other brands actually discourage doing that) among shipping by the large manufacturers. We guitar lovers are just a finicky bunch and tend to presume everyone sees things the way we do.

[cliff_the_stiff]

I buy and sell on Reverb. I am honest about the condition of the instruments and I insure all shipments.
I had one guitar go missing in shipping.
Reverb safe shipping ultimately refunded the buyer - And as the seller, I lost nothing.
It did take a couple weeks to get the refund- but they were clear about that, and the reason why.

[Swingmama]

Originally Posted by cliff_the_stiff

I buy and sell on Reverb. I am honest about the condition of the instruments and I insure all shipments.
I had one guitar go missing in shipping.
Reverb safe shipping ultimately refunded the buyer - And as the seller, I lost nothing.
It did take a couple weeks to get the refund- but they were clear about that, and the reason why.

Thanks - And I get that - I understand that this will take time as they need to investigate. I was just shocked at the condition of the instrument. It seems "excellent" is sort of subjective? I dunno but Reverb's description of that term sort of suggests more.

Hopefully things will turn out but I have to tell you as of this moment I am a bit Leary of anything "Reverb".

[JackC1]

I think I remember reading that reverb transactions are always CIF kind of thing (seller's paying shipping so everything's with seller)? Can somebody verify? If so, then the OP can just tell the seller to take back the guitar back (seller has to pay return shipping).

[scotchnspeed]

Originally Posted by JackC1

I think I remember reading that reverb transactions are always CIF kind of thing (seller's paying shipping so everything's with seller)? Can somebody verify? If so, then the OP can just tell the seller to take back the guitar back (seller has to pay return shipping).

Not necessarily. Anything and everything is up to negotiation, even on this forum and reverb. Note you can select or indicate "no returns" on Reverb. Reverb would like to promote that CIF feeling, but they achieve that through the 100% buyer guarantee claims process one way or the other.

In most transactions (on any purchase), once you pay, the sale is final, title switches to you and the seller essentially becomes your shipping agent, which is why many elect to buy insurance on shipping.

It does not always feel this way, since in our "buyer is always right" economy, we ensure satisfaction until beyond delivery. So that being said, be very clear in your intentions, and even more importantly, do not assume condition of used gear or that you get a "trial period" or the like when buying from non retail individuals.

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by JackC1

I think I remember reading that reverb transactions are always CIF kind of thing (seller's paying shipping so everything's with seller)? Can somebody verify? If so, then the OP can just tell the seller to take back the guitar back (seller has to pay return shipping).

Correct. Like I mentioned, the seller has nothing to worry about other than the hassle of seeing this through.

Back in the wild west days of ebay a seller could say "it was lost in the mail and you didn't ask for insurance" and that was it. And, if you left negative feedback they could leave you negative feedback too. Incredible how far we've come. Now, a buyer with enough purchase history can actually pull a scam and get away with it if they how to pull it off. It's something they are aware of as I've had these discussions with their agents. The only thing the can do is make sure someone doesn't do it repeatedly.