When did Reverb overtake Ebay?

[swarfrat]

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.

That's not the worst - what's more egregious is that I paid tax when I bought it, and am now taxed again when I sell it.

 

[Piggpenn]

Seems like a real overreach to me.

It's happening in more things than you want to know.

 

[TheDrummerFromAmsterdam]

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.

If that was the case for most as you say, Reverb wouldn't have make it this long, be purchased by Etsy, have stores by big and small companies.

The fact remains that Reverb a musicians dedicated platform is, with millions of sales.

If the traffic isnt working for you, and it sits on Reverb but not on eBay, it could be a dozen of reasons. For this I would reach out to the servicde teams as they can help with that.

Im just looking from a business view (I work in retail and the MI business), not a large or small seller view.

I never said I don't like ebay btw. I have had big and small sucsess and losses on both platforms.

The Japanese invasion is indeed crazy, but there is a reason behind those high prices I found out this year and its called Yahoo Auction.

I won't see that coming to Reverb soon because a multi of reasons.

 

[goodcat1337]

Nope - the government has changed anything - but with Ebay and Reverb handled more and more of the payment services directly and having to collect sales tax, they have made themselves a party to the sale. In other words, I'm not selling you a comic book. I'm allowing Ebay to sell you a comic book for which they reimburse me. It's a consignment sale - they don't call it that. But with them doing the money transfer, handling the buyer's protection, etc... that's what it is.

And as such, if I sell 100 ten dollar comic books to 100 different people - I'm not collecting money from 100 people, Ebay/Reveb is. And they are over the course of the year, paying me $1000 dollars - and that means they have to send me a 1099.

But that would've always been the case - the government part hasn't change.

It's Ebay/Reverb and the way they are in the middle of the money exchange that has changed. This may not be change you like - but it has zip to do with the government. Nothing's changed there.

It's just the price that has come from not having to deal money orders, and waiting for checks to clear, and having the convenience of being able to accept credit card payments from anyone in the world without the burden of a large sign up fee and a minimum monthly transaction requirement.

Personally I find it all a perfectly fine trade-off.

That's the best explanation of it that I've seen. Makes a lot more sense, thanks.

 

[DanRH]

For me, if i want to sell something, it’s eBay. Reverb for me doesn't work.

 

[Piggpenn]

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

Thanks. I didn't know that. Kinda why I only sell on Reverb. One must change theirs ways of thinking....me included.

 

[Piggpenn]

Only correction - with Ebay - the upfront fee is called the insertion fee and for most items is only 35¢. Only if the items sells does Ebay collect their Final Sales Fee (usually 9%)

So there's really not much difference between the two - and listing something on both would only cost an extra 35¢ - if the item sold on Revrb before selling on Ebay.

Thank you for your explanation.

 

[mydadisjr]

I sell online all the time, always music stuff.

I quit Ebay years ago, the fees got too high.

I post my items on CL, FB market and Reverb.

CL is the slowest (have only sold one item there in the last 6 months), FB sells a few things but Reverb is CONSISTENTLY the best platform. Plus I can ship from there easily. Never had a problem on Reverb. I just posted a nice PDP (mexico) snare... it sold within 24 hours. You GOTTA have lots of good pictures, the item for sale must be totally cleaned up and tuned, write up a good description, and have a fair price plus low shipping $ AND offer the MAKE OFFER option. Works for me.

Ebay... that is a different story. Too many fees, too many flakes. I just bought a Ryobi 40v battery on Ebay, like new in orig package. I emailed the guy to be sure it was LIKE NEW and it worked 100%. (these things have a habit of dying). He assured me he DID NOT SELL JUNK! Guess what... the battery got here and was obviously quite used plus it was totally dead. A complete waste of time.

 

[Tama CW]

As a buyer I have 10X the amount of problems with damaged cymbals/drums/hardware coming from EBay. It's very infrequent where I get a Reverb item with an undisclosed problem or listing error.
On EBay that's almost becoming the norm....to the tune of 25-35% of the time. I pay similar amounts on either site for comparable items. I don't caught up in EBay bidding wars. I do monitor who is buying on EBay
based on FB ratings (ie newbie, collectors, dealers/flippers). And you can see when higher end collectors and dealers are running the price up on a desirable item. If you follow them close enough, you can even identify which
dealers are bidding against you. Do it long enough and you start to memorize their FB ratings....and then realize one seller and that buyer have the same 3256 FB rating.........bingo.

As a seller I don't even bother with EBay. I've closely monitored the prices of vintage gear on both sites for years (multiple times per day) and the prices realized either way are VERY SIMILAR. The item has to be priced right or it just won't sell. I go back and check sold listings as well to see what is actually selling and for how much. There's no magic sauce on EBay....other than they might have more uneducated newbies to pay too much for their first few times in the deep end of the pool. If your stuff is not selling on Reverb, it's simply over-priced....like 80% or more of the gear listed there.

I like to check the number of vintage Zildjians selling every few days on Reverb. It's a LOT less than you might think. Sometimes only several to a dozen cymbals per week.
And that's probably because way too many REVERB sellers start at the moon and then slowly drop the price over the next several months....as reality hits them between the eyes.

The same general set of vintage buyers probably monitor both sites....and pay about the same amount for similar items. EBay does have one advantage in that "fresh" vintage items under strong demand (like a 22 inch thin trans stamp Zildjian starting at 99c or $99) will get a strong following from those who just might HAVE to own it. Some bidding wars might result from these unique items. Then again, you have shill bidding from some buyers and even some sellers. At least on Reverb there is ever only one price. And if that 22" Trans Stamp is priced good from the start....it's gone within a few hours and most potential buyers won't even realize it was ever offered. And of course that applies to EBay as well where the BIN price is too good to pass up.

 

[Frank Godiva]

Due to the issues cited previous, plus the increase in shipping costs, I sold my last few large things at GC. Last month they had 15% off when trading in and buying new. Upgraded to Beta58a mics.

could I have made more selling on Reverb? Most likely; but the hassle factor now, the fee pinch, the later tax hassle is not worth a the few extra bucks to me.

 

[ChicagoDave]

Got an email yesterday from Reverb and it looks like if you sell more than $600 they will 1099 you and you will have to provide a tax ID number. Looks like our government is going after everything they can get

And that's why I don't sell on Reverb or Ebay anymore.

 

[Ox Han]

Well, probably when folks realized eBay & PayPal take a collective 13% of your sales on used gear but Reverb & their payment processing take 7.8%. Almost half as much. Not a hard decision to make. Reverb also handle problems, shipping damage, scams and non-payers well in my experience. YMMV

 

[Ox Han]

Reverb was amazing to me until recently when I was told I have to file taxes as a seller because I sold over a measly 1k.
I looked at the form, then closed the browser… Completely lost interest in going that route anymore because of it, which is sad because it’s very user friendly and has been great to me. But, why wouldn’t NJ find a way to take more money via taxes.

It's a 1099 and Fed tax law & state tax law are requiring reverb do this. Direct your ire at your government, not Reverb. Reverb are only compling.

I agree. This is too much for me. I don't want to get audited because I didn't file a 1099 for selling my used stuff. I blame my state gov though

 

[Ox Han]

Nope - the government has changed anything - but with Ebay and Reverb handled more and more of the payment services directly and having to collect sales tax, they have made themselves a party to the sale. In other words, I'm not selling you a comic book. I'm allowing Ebay to sell you a comic book for which they reimburse me. It's a consignment sale - they don't call it that. But with them doing the money transfer, handling the buyer's protection, etc... that's what it is.

And as such, if I sell 100 ten dollar comic books to 100 different people - I'm not collecting money from 100 people, Ebay/Reveb is. And they are over the course of the year, paying me $1000 dollars - and that means they have to send me a 1099.

But that would've always been the case - the government part hasn't change.

It's Ebay/Reverb and the way they are in the middle of the money exchange that has changed. This may not be change you like - but it has zip to do with the government. Nothing's changed there.

It's just the price that has come from not having to deal money orders, and waiting for checks to clear, and having the convenience of being able to accept credit card payments from anyone in the world without the burden of a large sign up fee and a minimum monthly transaction requirement.

Personally I find it all a perfectly fine trade-off.

Its sort of like that. Reverb/eBay are creating the marketplace that allows us to buy/sell to one another. They are called market facilitator per the supreme court case that allows states to collect sales tax from these sales and also that allow states to force us to file 1099 with reverb, so the states can attempt to collect additional income tax

 

[mydadisjr]

About taxes and 1099...

I am a retired guy getting by on a VERY small monthly social sec check. Fortunately I have a few $$ in some good investments and NO bills... I own my house, car, etc outright. No credit card debt.

I sell small time stuff on Reverb. If I get a 1099 from Reverb I will likely CONVENIENTLY FORGET ABOUT IT. Let the Govt. audit me... I don't care. I really do not think it would ever happen, and if it did, I would LOVE to sit down and argue with the IRS Man about why they are wasting their time hassling a little two cent guy (me) for selling a couple of used items online, just so I can pay my grocery, gas and electric bills. Plus, if they decide against me, what are they gonna do? Slap my hand and give me a wimpy fine. It would give me a great story to tell at the next dinner party.

Income tax was designed originally to tax the ultra rich (read MODERN BILLIONAIRES... Bezos... Gates... Musk... Walton... Zuckerberg... Bloomberg... Koch... Page... Buffet... Dell... who all pay little to no taxes nowadays). The heck with IRS... don't let 'em scare ya.

 

[Ox Han]

About taxes and 1099...

I am a retired guy getting by on a VERY small monthly social sec check. Fortunately I have a few $$ in some good investments and NO bills... I own my house, car, etc outright. No credit card debt.

I sell small time stuff on Reverb. If I get a 1099 from Reverb I will likely CONVENIENTLY FORGET ABOUT IT. Let the Govt. audit me... I don't care. I really do not think it would ever happen, and if it did, I would LOVE to sit down and argue with the IRS Man about why they are wasting their time hassling a little two cent guy (me) for selling a couple of used items online, just so I can pay my grocery, gas and electric bills. Plus, if they decide against me, what are they gonna do? Slap my hand and give me a wimpy fine. It would give me a great story to tell at the next dinner party.

Income tax was designed originally to tax the ultra rich (read MODERN BILLIONAIRES... Bezos... Gates... Musk... Walton... Zuckerberg... Bloomberg... Koch... Page... Buffet... Dell... who all pay little to no taxes nowadays). The heck with IRS... don't let 'em scare ya.

If you sold stuff you owned and it was at a loss overall, you don't need to file the 1099 b/c there is no need to file. What I worry about is if I sold stuff I owned for $10k or $15k, but still at a loss. I worry it could generate an audit and I will have to prove I sold at a loss. That would be annoying to gather all of those receipts.

 

[dustjacket]

It's a 1099 and Fed tax law & state tax law are requiring reverb do this. Direct your ire at your government, not Reverb. Reverb are only compling.

I agree. This is too much for me. I don't want to get audited because I didn't file a 1099 for selling my used stuff. I blame my state gov though

Oh, I blame my state. Trust me.

 

[dustjacket]

About taxes and 1099...

I am a retired guy getting by on a VERY small monthly social sec check. Fortunately I have a few $$ in some good investments and NO bills... I own my house, car, etc outright. No credit card debt.

I sell small time stuff on Reverb. If I get a 1099 from Reverb I will likely CONVENIENTLY FORGET ABOUT IT. Let the Govt. audit me... I don't care. I really do not think it would ever happen, and if it did, I would LOVE to sit down and argue with the IRS Man about why they are wasting their time hassling a little two cent guy (me) for selling a couple of used items online, just so I can pay my grocery, gas and electric bills. Plus, if they decide against me, what are they gonna do? Slap my hand and give me a wimpy fine. It would give me a great story to tell at the next dinner party.

Income tax was designed originally to tax the ultra rich (read MODERN BILLIONAIRES... Bezos... Gates... Musk... Walton... Zuckerberg... Bloomberg... Koch... Page... Buffet... Dell... who all pay little to no taxes nowadays). The heck with IRS... don't let 'em scare ya.

Yep. I’m not filing mine either. I broke even for the year pretty much. Try something, pass it along. A simple little hobby. If I make a measly $20-50 profit and you want to come at me, go for it. I’m too busy and tired for any more crap.

 

[dcrigger]

About taxes and 1099...

I am a retired guy getting by on a VERY small monthly social sec check. Fortunately I have a few $$ in some good investments and NO bills... I own my house, car, etc outright. No credit card debt.

I sell small time stuff on Reverb. If I get a 1099 from Reverb I will likely CONVENIENTLY FORGET ABOUT IT. Let the Govt. audit me... I don't care. I really do not think it would ever happen, and if it did, I would LOVE to sit down and argue with the IRS Man about why they are wasting their time hassling a little two cent guy (me) for selling a couple of used items online, just so I can pay my grocery, gas and electric bills. Plus, if they decide against me, what are they gonna do? Slap my hand and give me a wimpy fine. It would give me a great story to tell at the next dinner party.

<<< This is the part you could edit out >>>

It would be great if we could keep politics out of this - as dealing with taxes as buyers and sellers - and as drummers/musicians - are often confusing. And thus important to discuss for many.

But Not The Politics Of It - So please, let's leave the WHY out of it... the How It Should Be out of it. That's all politics and serves no purpose to this community's discussions.

To be clear - your first two paragraphs were about you, your situation and how you'd choose to deal it. Great! Thanks for Sharing. Actually sounds like a reasonable plan considering your circumstances - risk of audit=low... potential liability = even lower.

But the last paragraph doesn't belong in this conversation - or by the rules, on DFO - IMO (Actually the rule part isn't my opinion - it just isn't my place to do anything about it - that's up to the mods). Because it's just politics. You may be right. You may be wrong. But it just doesn't belong here. IMO

 

[dcrigger]

Well, probably when folks realized eBay & PayPal take a collective 13% of your sales on used gear but Reverb & their payment processing take 7.8%. Almost half as much. Not a hard decision to make. Reverb also handle problems, shipping damage, scams and non-payers well in my experience. YMMV

Except there's no evidence that Reverb has overtaken Ebay in any way - by any measure - beyond it seeming that way to some members (yet not by others) .

 

[JDA]

Nope - the government has changed anything -

dave's ears perk up to defend every time someone dares or gets near criticizing gov't. Watch it.