# Better for selling gear: eBay or Reverb?



## Mike Greene (Jun 24, 2022)

I'm going to need to get rid of some gear soon. Usually I try to buy and sell on Craigslist, because it's all local and easy. A lot of this stuff is going to be tricky to get rid of, though, so I'll need to use eBay or Reverb. For instance:

1. A bunch of 60's electronic organs. The challenge with these is that unlike vintage synths, buyers are trickier to find. (I'm the only sucker who thought these would be a cool collection. Which I suppose they could be, except they take soooo much space.) I have a Gibson G101, for instance, which is somewhat valuable (probably a grand or two), but it's a very narrow audience that would be interested in it, so Craigslist would likely come up empty. So would eBay or Reverb be the better alternative? My primary concern is that I don't want to come up empty after the 30 days.

2. Useless stuff. I have an old Alesis Masterlink, for instance, that I can't imagine anyone would want, but a quick glance at eBay suggests it might be worth $150 or so. I get the feeling (possibly incorrectly) that Reverb is better for truly collectible gear, while eBay is better for cleaning junk out of the studio. Is that correct?

3. A Roland Super Jupiter. I have two of these, which is overkill, so as I was looking to see if people are actually buying Alesis Masterlinks, I got curious and typed in Super Jupiter and ... wow! So I think I'll sell one of them. This should be easy, but which would be the better site?


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## ceemusic (Jun 24, 2022)

I've both bought & sold quite a few guitars over the past few years & Reverb is my preference for that. I auction mainly non-musical items so that's eBay. Keep in mind they both have fees & require your bank info.

With the more useless items I'd list on both sites at the same time. I'm sure most buyers/ sellers do too. I'd just keep the pricing consistent between them.

Good luck!


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## gsilbers (Jun 24, 2022)

Reverb was easier to just add my EIN instead of my SSN for the 1090s theyll be issuing to the IRS. 

eBay had too many hoops. plus needed a photo id etc. 

i dont trust these platforms w my info. 

reverb has become better though. for older vintage stuff i think ebay might have the leg up as buyers for those might be mosre used to ebay. 

ebay takes a lot more fees than reverb. 

and you can list on both also.


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## pcohen12 (Jun 24, 2022)

eBay has special lower fees for anything in the “Guitars & Basses” category (6%, compared to the usual 12.9% - https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822), presumably to compete with Reverb. Reverb is 5% selling fee + ~2.7% processing fee. So my usual rule of thumb has been to use eBay for any guitar-related stuff, and Reverb for everything else.

As others have said, it could be worth the extra upkeep of listing in both places anyways, especially for the more niche items!


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## Braveheart (Jun 24, 2022)

I would suggest you the VI Control for sale section.


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## ALittleNightMusic (Jun 24, 2022)

Feel Reverb is more trusted these days amongst buyers.


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## robcs (Jun 24, 2022)

I buy lots of stuff on eBay, but when I'm selling gear, I always use Reverb. The big difference, for me, is that on Reverb, I don't have to pay a big fee just for listing an item (even if it doesn't sell).


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## Mike Greene (Jun 24, 2022)

Wait ... so listing things for sale is free nowadays??? (I checked and apparently it is.) Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, but I could swear that eBay used to charge to list something for sale, and if you had a "reserve," then the price was a percentage of that amount, even if it didn't sell. It's great that they don't do that anymore, although that might be why so many things are waaayyy overpriced there, since there's little consequence to pricing too high.

I appreciate the input, guys. This is really helpful. And yes, I'll put it all here on VI-C first. It will be at least a few weeks/months, though. First I have to check the attic for any first editions of Gone with the Wind ...


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## robcs (Jun 24, 2022)

Mike Greene said:


> Wait ... so listing things for sale is free nowadays??? (I checked and apparently it is.) Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, but I could swear that eBay used to charge to list something for sale, and if you had a "reserve," then the price was a percentage of that amount, even if it didn't sell. It's great that they don't do that anymore, although that might be why so many things are waaayyy overpriced there, since there's little consequence to pricing too high.


I believe that's still the case on eBay - that's why I only sell on Reverb! They charge a fee, but only if the item sells.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jun 24, 2022)

If it's anything involving music gear, I always sell on Reverb. They have a good system for listing and they have excellent customer service.

eBay has got a lot more complicated since its early days.


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## Braveheart (Jun 24, 2022)

Mike Greene said:


> Wait ... so listing things for sale is free nowadays??? (I checked and apparently it is.) Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, but I could swear that eBay used to charge to list something for sale, and if you had a "reserve," then the price was a percentage of that amount, even if it didn't sell. It's great that they don't do that anymore, although that might be why so many things are waaayyy overpriced there, since there's little consequence to pricing too high.
> 
> I appreciate the input, guys. This is really helpful. And yes, I'll put it all here on VI-C first. It will be at least a few weeks/months, though. First I have to check the attic for any first editions of Gone with the Wind ...


Those could sell pretty quickly


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## dunamisstudio (Jun 24, 2022)

Anything music, I sell on Reverb


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## Technostica (Jun 24, 2022)

I have sold a lot of Musical gear on ebay UK with few issues. 
I only use Buy it Now and there are no fees to list. 
They usually offer 70 to 80 percent off the final value fees twice a month. 
As they no longer use PayPal to manage payments there are no extra fees on that side. 
The only extra fees are for any currency conversions and a sale transaction fee which is $0.30 I think. 

I only list when I am eligible for the discount. 
So paying 2.5 to 4 percent including payment handling is okay in my book. 
If you need to refund, you get all the fees back except maybe the 30c.
With PayPal these days, they keep all their fees if you refund. 
Glad that eBay dumped them. 

Not sure how it works for auctions, but for fixed price sales, with or without the make an offer feature, I find it very good. 

If they don't invite you for the discounted fees, you might be able to find links on the Web that work. 
This is for the UK anyway.


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## PaulieDC (Jun 24, 2022)

I've been an eBay member for 23 years and over time the fees really have increased. BUT, you have widest audience for the chance to sell the fastest. The shipping is discounted and they generate the label for you, so all of that is a nice convenience. And you do have some seller protection.

I did notice that listings now seem to be free, but VERIFY the Final Value Fee for your category before you list, some categories have gone up. Ultimately, I believe eBay is the way to go for the fastest sale, Reverb costs less.

Most of my sales lately have been... um... on here.


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## FireGS (Jun 24, 2022)

PaulieDC said:


> And you do have some seller protection.


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## PaulieDC (Jun 24, 2022)

FireGS said:


>


Ok, I admit to slight over-enthusiasm, lol. 😂


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## synthetic (Jul 2, 2022)

I‘ve had good luck with Reverb. I just sold a Bricasti on eBay and it scared the hell out of me, there are so many scams on there. And then they held my payment for 5 days for “verification.” Reverb has “safe seller” shipping, though I’ve never put it to the test. eBay didn’t even have an option to purchase shipping insurance when I sent it, something I didn’t realize until I already purchased the label. So I’m more comfortable with Reverb. 

And hey if anyone is looking for Moog-format modular gear then hit me up.


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## GtrString (Jul 2, 2022)

I like ebay, but think the prices on Reverb is way overblown!


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## Michael Antrum (Jul 2, 2022)

One of the advantages of Reverb is there doesn't seem to be a time limit on your items.

I Put a load of gear on there last years, and some of which I forgot about. Then out of the blue I get a "your xxx had sold and the seller has paid for it" email.


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## HCMarkus (Jul 2, 2022)

All of the buyers and sellers I have worked with on Reverb have been excellent... good communication for every transaction. For what it's worth, I gotta' say I like the vibe on Reverb better than eBay.


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## rgames (Jul 2, 2022)

eBay is an absolute last resort for me. It can be a colossal PITA. I'd definitely stay away from auctions - there are too many ways you can get screwed, especially from the people who win the auction with hacked accounts then never pay. And then you list it again. And again. And again. And each time you wait a week or two for eBay to decide the hacked account is actually hacked and get your final value fee refunded (because of course eBay gets paid by you even if you don't get paid by the buyer). So your one-week auction turns into a three-month headache of chasing down refunds.

That happens a lot less with BIN because of the way eBay handles the payments. But it's still far from ideal.

eBay is fine for buyers but sellers, especially people selling photo and music gear, need to be prepared for the possibility of major headaches. Just check out the seller forums. My experience is not unique. It's part of doing business on eBay - I think that's why reverb.com exists.

My vote: no way on eBay.

rgames


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