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Old 07-14-2020, 07:10 AM
Matts67 Matts67 is online now
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Default Sigh...Reverb increasing selling fees

Just got an e-mail from Reverb stating that they are increasing their selling fees:

"Beginning on August 4, 2020, we are increasing our selling fee for the first time ever⁠— from 3.5 % to 5%."

So that equates to 7.7% total with their transaction processing fee, or 7.5% if you have a preferred account.

eBay is revamping their entire payment processing platform this year to get away from PayPal, so it will be interesting to see how this pans out for Reverb. I would think they'd like to keep fees low since they are now required to collect sales tax for most states. So now the buyers are getting shafted from one end, and the sellers from the other.
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Old 07-14-2020, 07:22 AM
EverettWilliams EverettWilliams is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matts67 View Post
Just got an e-mail from Reverb stating that they are increasing their selling fees:

"Beginning on August 4, 2020, we are increasing our selling fee for the first time ever⁠— from 3.5 % to 5%."

So that equates to 7.7% total with their transaction processing fee, or 7.5% if you have a preferred account.

eBay is revamping their entire payment processing platform this year to get away from PayPal, so it will be interesting to see how this pans out for Reverb. I would think they'd like to keep fees low since they are now required to collect sales tax for most states. So now the buyers are getting shafted from one end, and the sellers from the other.
While I get that they want more revenue, I do think this erodes some of the value proposition. I’m guessing many dealers who have gravitated to the platform may be turned away.

It’s a great platform and I appreciate it both as a buyer and seller, but this pushes me a little closer to favoring consignment over selling via reverb. The amount of time it takes to take good photographs, make a good listing, and then deal with selling/shipping the thing is significant and I was already close to the tipping point. This likey pushes me out of the selling on Reverb game.

As to sales tax, buyers aren’t being shafted, they’re just being forced to do what they were supposed to be doing before and most likely weren’t (paying use tax).

This is too bad, but Etsy didn’t buy Reverb because they like selling guitars, they bought it to make money.
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Old 07-14-2020, 07:27 AM
Rosewood99 Rosewood99 is offline
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Just got the email. Goodbye reverb for me. Looks like it's this forum's classifieds and Craigs list for me.
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Old 07-14-2020, 07:28 AM
gr81dorn gr81dorn is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matts67 View Post
Just got an e-mail from Reverb stating that they are increasing their selling fees:

"Beginning on August 4, 2020, we are increasing our selling fee for the first time ever⁠— from 3.5 % to 5%."

So that equates to 7.7% total with their transaction processing fee, or 7.5% if you have a preferred account.

eBay is revamping their entire payment processing platform this year to get away from PayPal, so it will be interesting to see how this pans out for Reverb. I would think they'd like to keep fees low since they are now required to collect sales tax for most states. So now the buyers are getting shafted from one end, and the sellers from the other.

You forgot to mention this nugget "(the increase) will enable us to significantly grow our marketplace so that we can help you reach even more buyers all over the world"

Can I keep it at 3.5% cuz I wouldn't ever sell anything outside of the continental USA?

I am not surprised, but they will almost certainly alienate more retail stores...I've already seen many letting folks know to "call us for a better price", etc. They have less leverage on Reverb, but the exposure is second to none.

As for the average joes like most of us, we'll inevitable raise our prices a little to cover it more? or just sell for less?
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Old 07-14-2020, 07:28 AM
mattcran mattcran is offline
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I received the notice. Getting more and more frustrated with Reverb. It will force sellers to raise their asking price even further, while buyers want to pay less to help cover sales tax. I'm buying and selling less these days and mainly sticking to the forums!
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Old 07-14-2020, 07:34 AM
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keith.rogers keith.rogers is offline
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Just saw the same email.

I liked using Reverb because it seemed to provide a much safer place than eBay or Craigslist for transactions, and relatively faster sales. If you're a retail establishment, you can't just "eat" fee increases, so I think this will certainly drive some sellers away, and increase prices.

Whether it really results in increased revenue for Etsy or they lose volume to make it a mistake, time will tell. (If there's an item at a retailer that accepts offers, I'll probably find their number and call them direct now.)
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Old 07-14-2020, 07:36 AM
jpbrooks jpbrooks is offline
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Yeah this is just greed. I’m done with reverb and I’ve sold a lot. At a time when most people are struggling they decide to get rich. It’s going to be better to just buy from a forum sponsor at the prices they sell at because seekers are going to have to charge more.
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Old 07-14-2020, 07:45 AM
TJNies TJNies is offline
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I can see brick and mortar dealers exiting Reverb. They hopefully will have other / better avenues to sell.
That leaves the casual seller hoping to flip guitars for a profit; those will be impacted the most IMO.
Then you have those (like me) who like to change things up now and again. I suspect this group will turn to CL and forum sales. I had generally gotten away from Reverb anyway.
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Old 07-14-2020, 07:45 AM
jpricewood jpricewood is offline
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I also just got the same email. What a bummer. I’ll just go back to doing local sales.
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Old 07-14-2020, 07:47 AM
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salsarev salsarev is offline
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Way to go Etsy/Reverb. Just when the economy is struggling and independent small businesses are having a hard time (many of which use Reverb), they raise their seller's fees. I know they are in business to make money; nothing wrong with that. But the timing couldn't be worse.


On another note, this may be the time to snag that listing you've been watching before the fee increase.
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Old 07-14-2020, 07:53 AM
leew3 leew3 is offline
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perhaps a bright side is the closing of the gap between online and brick and mortar stores in favor of the latter. I only wish I had more 'live and in person' options closer to me as I've always preferred to play 'em before I buy 'em.
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Old 07-14-2020, 08:05 AM
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I haven't used them to sell stuff for the last year, but I do buy parts, etc.

If it's over $100 I think in the future I'll just phone the seller if they are brick and mortar and buy direct and bypass Reverb.com.
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Old 07-14-2020, 08:09 AM
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norseman norseman is offline
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Default Reverb ups the ante

I just received a notice from Reverb that they are raising their fee from 3.5% to 5%. The long explanation isn't persuasive - at least not to me. This will have the effect of raising the cost of guitars. I'm disappointed. Larry
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Old 07-14-2020, 08:11 AM
Greenstar Greenstar is offline
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If you find a good brick and mortar store that you trust you can find some good guitars on Reverb and then contact the seller directly to purchase off network. I'm sure Reverb could void the seller's account but I don't think they would. If they are struggling with revenue they will probably slap the seller's hand, issue a warning and move on.

With the increase from Reverb I doubt the seller would even mind having their account terminated at this point.
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Old 07-14-2020, 08:16 AM
sakar12 sakar12 is offline
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A lot of folks are finding the item on Reverb and then negotiating the sale off Reverb to avoid the taxes already, so this fee change will just increase what's already happening.
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