Reverb is an online marketplace where you can buy or sell music gear. Whether your gear is new, old, or vintage, you can list in on the website and name your price.
However, as a fairly new company that greatly relies on the behavior of its users, a natural question that arises is: Is Reverb A Good/Trustworthy Site To Buy From?
The answer is yes, Reverb is a great, trustworthy place to buy from. Thanks to a great customer service led by musicians, excellent protection policies for both the buyer and the seller, and a very accessible interface, Reverb can potentially be the best site to buy/sell music gear.
Let’s take a look at how Reverb works and how its protection policies work.
How Do You Buy Music Gear On Reverb?
The first thing you’ll do is type on the search bar the piece of gear you are looking for. You might find that different people or stores will have that product available. It is then that the process begins.
Similar to the interaction you would encounter at a marketplace, you can negotiate your price with your potential seller. You can make an offer if you want to lower the asking price of a product. There are some sellers, however, who will not have opened the “Make an Offer” button if they are not willing to haggle.
You can also look at the difference in price if you buy the piece of gear as new or used. Buying used is a way of lowering the cost of an item, but you do get the risk of getting malfunctioning gear. I’d recommend you go with new gear.
Once you’ve added a product in your electronic cart, you can proceed to checkout. You can then decide on your payment method (either Credit/Debit card or PayPal) and input your shipping address. The price will probably include shipping expenses and you may even have to pay for import taxes. Having to pay import taxes depends on the regulations of your country.
Who Sells on Reverb?
Any person that has their profile setup on Reverb can sell their gear. I can range from your next-door neighbor to professional, full-time musicians. The site has sold gear from artists such as Green Day, Maroon 5, and Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins.
You also have professional stores as potential buyers within Reverb. Mind you, almost all shops are US-based, except for a couple of the UK and Canada-based stores. Some of the top shops within Reverb are Chicago Music Exchange, Guitar Audio, and Vision Guitar.
Reverb also has a feature that allows you to search for specific shops, in case you are familiar with a particular store. This gives you a wide variety of options when looking for specific gear. You can find a person selling that Fuzz pedal you are looking for but you can also find a store. I’d personally go with the store since it’s more professional.
What Is Reverb Buyer’s Protection?
One of the great things about Reverb is its Buyer’s Protection. In the unlikely event that you encounter issues with your purchase, Reverb can help you. Reverb Buyer’s Protection ensures you are safe from any fake, faulty, or falsely advertised items.
Essentially, Reverb has excellent customer support that, if needed, can mediate an issue between you as the buyer and the seller. They recommend you try to solve the problem directly before contacting them. In any case, you will need documentation and photos of any issues you encounter.
If two days have passed after contacting the seller and there is no answer, you can proceed to contact Reverb Support to help mediate the issue. You will most likely need said documentation and photos to prove your issue.
Reverb has different methods of solving the issue, but can ultimately arrive on providing a full refund either through PayPal or to your Credit/Debit card.
It is important for you to know that you must communicate Reverb Support within 7 days of getting your purchase or within 14 days of when you were supposed to get your delivery. To qualify for Reverb Buyer’s Protection, all transactions and communication have to happen within the Reverb website.
Is It Better To Buy Music Gear On Reverb Or On eBay?
eBay has been around since 1995, while Reverb was founded in 2013. This 18-year difference is surely noticeable in the range of user base between the two. However, even though eBay has a considerably larger user base, Reverb is an interface specifically designed by musicians for musicians.
One of the biggest advantages that Reverb has over eBay is their protection policies. eBay has “great” protection policies for buyers such as a 6-month return window. However, it is known that these policies greatly disfavor the seller, who might have to lose money after a 6-month deal. This is the case even when the seller states a no return policy or a limited-time return policy.
Reverb has much more balanced policies that they designed specifically to help both the buyer and the seller complete their transactions with ease. This is why over the past few years Reverb has rapidly evolved and will continue to.
Having said this, one of the factors that currently favor eBay over Reverb is the buyer/seller’s rating. This is because eBay has been around for a longer time which, in turn, allows them to have much more ratings and more accurate evaluation of the users.
While this might be an issue for some buyers who may distrust a seller with little to no ratings, it is an issue that will solve itself as time passes and more transactions are made within the interface.
