When did Reverb overtake Ebay?

[jptrickster]

I'm much more of a buyer than a seller. From that perspective both sites are good, Reverb seems to be a tad more streamlined no non sense approach, No fooling around with silly drawn out auctions. Good deals all the time on Reverb. Sellers seem motivated to negotiate. Ebay sellers not as much although I did just strike a fancy deal for an antique stained glass transom window!

 

[Rich K.]

I stopped selling on eBay when somebody bought a cymbal played it for 30 days then returned it after his gig. eBay even gave him the shipping cost back out of my pocket. All because someone had buyers remorse .

That could and does happen on any online selling site. It's not the platform, it's the fault of unscrupulous people.

 

[Rich K.]

So here's my take. Correct me if I'm wrong.

With ebay you pay fees to list. When it sells you get the net return. You invest in your listings waiting for the sale.
With Reverb you list for free but pay selling fees. Nothing happens financially until the item sells.

To me I would never list the same item on both sights. If you list it on ebay you pay to list. If you have it listed on Reverb you pay after the sale. If you listed on ebay you've already paid but if it sells on Reverb you pay again.

Am I missing something?

EBay only charges a fee when you sell. It costs nothing to list.

 

[DD]

EBay only charges a fee when you sell. It costs nothing to list.

eBay though still takes cut if you pull the item early, correct? At least they did that to me… had guitar listed on both eBay and Reverb. Sold it on Reverb but cancelling the ad on eBay still allowed them to dock me for same fees as if it had sold there. Lesson learned….
my big complaint about Reverb is just that their search function is wonky. Mistype or have one letter wrong and it pops up ‘that’s some rare gear’ in a hurry… kinda frustrating

 

[Rich K.]

eBay though still takes cut if you pull the item early, correct? At least they did that to me… had guitar listed on both eBay and Reverb. Sold it on Reverb but cancelling the ad on eBay still allowed them to dock me for same fees as if it had sold there. Lesson learned….
my big complaint about Reverb is just that their search function is wonky. Mistype or have one letter wrong and it pops up ‘that’s some rare gear’ in a hurry… kinda frustrating

No, I pull items constantly. They only charge a fee if your item sells.

 

[bpaluzzi]

EBay only charges a fee when you sell. It costs nothing to list.

For standard users, you get 250 free listings a month. After that they charge you an "insertion fee"

 

[Rich K.]

For standard users, you get 250 free listings a month. After that they charge you an "insertion fee"

That's a lot of listings!

 

[DD]

No, I pull items constantly. They only charge a fee if your item sells.

Guess they’re out to get me then! I was charged $74 as a ‘reserve price listing fee’ on the guitar advertised on eBay that I cancelled early a few months back. Managed to sell it on Reverb but lost money after getting hit with that fee…

 

[Tama CW]

I watch some drums and cymbals get runaway bidding from time to time. You don't have that option on Reverb. It's not common though. Most buyers on both platforms back out shipping and
taxes from their bids/offers so that it's really the buyer getting stiffed with those. If it's a $100 cymbal then they offer $75 to cover shipping and taxes. The seller nets $70 or less....which effectively means you
can do much the same thing on CL or FB in a local sale.

I continue to find good deals on both EBay and Reverb. But you have to be first in line when an item hits as a buy it now. Those kinds of deals sell almost instantly. In other words, you have to invest considerable free time
in doing searches on a daily bases. Only occasionally am I able get a cymbal on EBay as "high bidder" that leaves me in it with little to no downside.

 

[Rich K.]

Guess they’re out to get me then! I was charged $74 as a ‘reserve price listing fee’ on the guitar advertised on eBay that I cancelled early a few months back. Managed to sell it on Reverb but lost money after getting hit with that fee…

So, it seems if you end an auction early that already has bids, you get charged a fee.
That's not the case with fixed price / best offer listings. I usually list a few items per month, but have only sold via auction once in the last 5 or more years.

 

[LRod1707]

Reverb overtaking eBay? No way!!
Reverb hasn't taken anything over. Not even close! Whether anyone likes it or not, eBay is a behemoth:

eBay yearly revenue= $85 billion
Reverb yearly revenue= $36 million
eBay monthly visitors= 105 million
Reverb monthly visitors= 10 million

I've put stuff on Reverb and it sits for weeks and sometimes doesn't even sell. I put stuff on eBay and it sells in no time. (I see viewers within minutes of listing). I don't love eBay but they've got the traffic and the shipping buying power that saves you money as a seller.

 

[JDA]

Reserve Price auctions always cost more..

 

[Treviso1]

Reverb overtaking eBay? No way!!
Reverb hasn't taken anything over. Not even close! Whether anyone likes it or not, eBay is a behemoth:

eBay yearly revenue= $85 billion
Reverb yearly revenue= $36 million
eBay monthly visitors= 105 million
Reverb monthly visitors= 10 million

Yes, but how many of those visitors are musicians? I don't even bother looking on eBay these days because I find that it is mostly just international sellers, especially for the type of stuff I look at. I don't doubt that eBay is the king, I just don't think that North American musicians are going to eBay first to buy/sell their gear...at least I am not. I avoid eBay like the plague these days. Their policies have driven me away as a consumer.

 

[TheDrummerFromAmsterdam]

Reverb overtaking eBay? No way!!
Reverb hasn't taken anything over. Not even close! Whether anyone likes it or not, eBay is a behemoth:

eBay yearly revenue= $85 billion
Reverb yearly revenue= $36 million
eBay monthly visitors= 105 million
Reverb monthly visitors= 10 million

I've put stuff on Reverb and it sits for weeks and sometimes doesn't even sell. I put stuff on eBay and it sells in no time. (I see viewers within minutes of listing). I don't love eBay but they've got the traffic and the shipping buying power that saves you money as a seller.

Still Reverb is the largest MI dedicated sales platform (as far as I know).

This also one of the reasons mom an pop stores, big shops and even brands like Gibson have a dedicated Reverb shop for their sales.

It may not work for you, but it works for most (to an extent shops can’t even without the traffic and platform Reverb offers them).

In that light they definately have taken things over.

 

[LRod1707]

Still Reverb is the largest MI dedicated sales platform (as far as I know).

This also one of the reasons mom an pop stores, big shops and even brands like Gibson have a dedicated Reverb shop for their sales.

It may not work for you, but it works for most (to an extent shops can’t even without the traffic and platform Reverb offers them).

In that light they definately have taken things over.

I get it but I'm not Gibson. I'm just a little guy that sells things here and there. And the fact is that for sellers like me, eBay moves inventory and Reverb does not. Maybe at some point that'll change but it's not happening now. From the hundreds of things that I've listed, they've sold on eBay ASAP. And I'm sure I'm not the anomaly. I'm pretty sure that's the case for most. And let me also throw something else in, most companies have dedicated stores as well on eBay. And they had them before Reverb even existed.

 

[LRod1707]

How many are musicians? All of the ones that buy. Like I said, everything I've sold on eBay moves fast. On Reverb it just sits. And for sales to happen, you need buyers and not just lookers. I get it that you avoid eBay and don't like it. I don't love it either, but the fact is that stuff sells on there fast. Listen, I shop on Reverb as well so I'm ok with their platform. I love Reverb as a buyer!
But for small sellers, the traffic is not yet where it needs to be.

 

[swarfrat]

That could and does happen on any online selling site. It's not the platform, it's the fault of unscrupulous people.

But the platform allows and in fact requires it now through their strongarm policies.

 

[The Texan]

They both suck now that tax is involved. Tax has killed most of the good deals and makes it harder to sell items. A lot of the time I can buy new items from out of state drum shops direct and get a discount, not pay taxes or shipping, and its less than buying a used item.

Plus now I will get a 1099 from them. Will not be long before all the other payment apps will have to do the same thing. Paypal, Zelle, etc.

 

[JDA]

Yes, but how many of those visitors are musicians? I don't even bother looking on eBay these days because I find that it is mostly just international sellers, especially for the type of stuff I look at.

Have to agree with you there at the second point of that sentence. If I see one more $586 used 18" A CrashRide from Japan or $1367 used snare...

Every category/search I have to check "North America" only... and leaves out

I said it before "that international seller combine" bought everything (interesting that was used) a few years ago and is now trying to sell it back at 4X it's value. And I see it coming to Reverb

my thread from a year ago

Some Great Perc Items in Japan.

Yes Indeedy-do. Some real Gems. From Dr_Nine. Here's the deal (it seems to me) This seller has over the past I dunno 10-15 years bought ever cool hip rare unique offbeat Good and Swell item...On US eBay and had it all shipped back to Japan. Guess what. Now he wants to sell it back to you...

www.drumforum.org

 

[JimmySticks]

They both suck now that tax is involved. Tax has killed most of the good deals and makes it harder to sell items. A lot of the time I can buy new items from out of state drum shops direct and get a discount, not pay taxes or shipping, and its less than buying a used item.

Plus now I will get a 1099 from them. Will not be long before all the other payment apps will have to do the same thing. Paypal, Zelle, etc.

I don't get paying taxes on used goods. The taxes were levied and paid for when the item was sold new.

Say an item gets sold 10 times in it's lifetime, why should we have to pay taxes 10 times for it? Seems like a real overreach to me.