Sigh...Reverb increasing selling fees

[383roller]

If you list under vintage on eBay it’s 10%. Oh, and final value Based fees on reverb includes shipping cost
Sell local!

[Tico]

Originally Posted by SuperB23

I got a letter today saying that the final selling fees on Reverb are going up from 3.5% up to 5% in August. Ebay is still at 3.5% for music instruments. It seems like a lot of people switched to Reverb over the last few years but I might be headed back to good old Ebay. Ebay is quite expensive to sell other items but they kept the instruments fairly low for now. Most other categories are 10%.

What do you guys think?

I'll stick to craigslist.
It's still free.
Local only, cash, in person with mask and gloves, no shipping.

The only way I've ever bought or sold online is with CL.
To me, other ways to sell online is not worth the hassle, risk, or expense.

[Scotso]

Reverb is slowly becoming an advertisement for guitar shops. Call the shop offline from Reverb and they are surprisingly willing to offset the asking price by various amounts to transact outside the Reverb platform. And in many cases you can save on sales taxes as a buyer. Win win.

[Pura Vida]

A similar thing has happened in the vacation rental business. Those sites take a cut out of our sale, AND they add on service charges to the guests, so they're collecting from both sides. At least that's not happening here.... yet.

Savvy guests have been able to find us via social media or our website, but most get stuck paying the fees. For longer rentals, the fees are so crazy that we're forced to reduce our prices to offset the insanity.

[offkey]

I have had great success with both Reverb and Ebay. I live in a rural area without much of a local market, and I would own 85 guitars without these venues. Everything costs, shipping, tax etc. Just the way it is.
That said, I am very glad to be passing the gas stage, horrible pun! But I have what I want and am really tired of buying or selling guitars. Now I need to see if I can play.

[TheGITM]

One other little detail that hasn't gotten much attention is that Visa and Mastercard are raising their interchange fees for transactions by 20%. They implemented some increases in April of this year (unexpectedly), and have other increases planned for April 2022.

Those increases will be passed on to the consumer by the companies that handle the transactions.

I realize that wasn't in the email explanation for the rate increase, but it is happening so it is likely a contributing factor.

[JB200]

Originally Posted by EverettWilliams

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.

As far as sales tax, individuals buying used items are indeed being shafted, or at least being treated differently. Are you paying sales tax on the used guitars you buy on this or other forums?

[data_null]

Originally Posted by JB200

As far as sales tax, individuals buying used items are indeed being shafted, or at least being treated differently. Are you paying sales tax on the used guitars you buy on this or other forums?

Sales tax has nothing to do with an item being new or used. It’s a tax on the sales transaction itself. The newness of the item is irrelevant.

[elmolewis62]

Sounds like not many people have heard of Gbase. They take a flat monthly fee for multiple listings. Good I thought for a store or home based colle tor-seller. I was considering using but was unsure of how many people are aware of them...seems like very few.

[KenL]

Originally Posted by MartinGibsonFan

Does anyone use Facebook Market Place?

J

Yes, I just stumbled across an '80 Guild D-50 on FB Marketplace, and it was only 20 miles away. No shipping! Great transaction, and I was back home in 90 minutes.

Still, not half as good as the AGF Classifieds in terms of numbers and variety, and knowledgeable buyers and sellers.