Have been selling/buying on Reverb for years without any issue so not sure their policy has changed in terms of seller’s protection… If any… Here we go:
Last November I sold a Doepfer Case (9U 84hp - PSU3) in absolute mint state. Fully working as shown in a video made prior to shipping. I do document all of my sales in terms of packaging (photos and videos) so the buyer and I are at peace of mind 
Still have an account on Reverb and my reviews are top notch to say the least.
Case is shipped but unfortunately reaches the buyer with a defective +12V rail…
Then starts a battle between Reverb, the buyer, the shipping company (which I will not name but will surely not advise to use… Starts with a D and finishes with a L… Might be a H in the middle…) and myself… Reverb starts defending the buyer and tries to ask for a refund from my end, which I refuse as the case was fully working. Shipping company asks the buyer to send photos of the parcel to see if there is any damage. As stated before I take extreme good care in packaging. No damage to the packaging so the shipping company denies refund from their end. Buyer then offers to return the case repaired (cost paid by buyer… seems weird but then again… philanthropy might have made a comeback in this world…). I then offer the buyer to pay for repairing the case with OG Doepfer parts + warranty to avoid shipping costs. Refused. Then Reverb starts to threaten me with legal pursuits, lawyer fees etc… I then unlink my bank account from Reverb and change my credit card to avoid any issues: I have heard of people refunding buyers and still waiting for their goods to be returned “years” after… I then start a plea to Reverb asking them to make a commercial gesture and look at my seller’s status and comments from previous buyers, which they surprisingly accept… I then receive a strange message from one of their chat agent that states there would have to be a transparent (0€ transaction) movement in my account as if a refund was initiated from my end so as to start the process of clearing the ongoing issue… In the meantime, shipping company gets back to me stating they have fulfilled their contract as follow: “as ordered by the buyer they dropped off the parcel in front of his house as he was not there”. Not joking. In the meantime Reverb tries to recover the funds directly from my bank account without warning! Fortunately I had unlinked my bank account and cancelled my credit card and my bank calls me to let me know about the fraud attempt. In the end I spent nearly 100€ worth of shipping, Reverb charged their commission (more than 60€) and buyer kept the case… For free
Tried to liaise with the buyer many times about the case but never got any answer/feedback…
Conclusion: I asked Reverb to remove/close my account which they refused to this date as they pretend there is still an ongoing case. Although the case was closed by themselves. Go figure…
Note: I have kept all exchanges with buyer and Reverb as well as shipping company as proof in case something legal comes my way in the future.
Not using Reverb anymore.
Well that sucks. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a ‘Reverb scam’ but I know what you mean.
Personally, I’ve had 2x items arrive broken and since the shipper used Reverb insurance, Reverb offered a partial refund to get the issues fixed.
I find it odd the shipping company contacted the buyer directly to provide photos. Personally, if I was the buyer I would have trashed the box so as to help you make a claim so the little people win.
I have to say though, I find it odd the case’s 12v rail was damaged. That sounds very specific and not likely something that would have gotten damaged in transit without the whole case being damaged. Sounds more like a module was inserted incorrectly and blew the rail/psu. Something that can be fixed.
At the very least, if the buyer has been refunded they should return the case and Reverb should ensure this happens.
Sorry to hear this.
Just really sorry this happened to you!
“Necessarily” no. But trying to access one’s bank account without permission is actually worse than scam, You are correct
The shipping company actually contacted me first so as to communicate with the buyer to provide photos. I made it shorter for the “story”.
The actual led from the 12V rail did not work.
And I forgot to mention something quite important: the buyer had a similar case already…
And for the sake of being hones I did/could not ask the buyer to “trash” the packaging to have them refund him.
And yes the buyer should have returned the case.
Lessons learnt
No more Reverb for me.
Also very sorry to hear about this, sounds like a huge headache! I just want to clarify something which I’m only inferring from your story but which you didn’t spell out directly: Did you get paid?
You unlinked your bank account and your credit cards so when Reverb tried to forcibly pull a refund out they couldn’t.
So, the 60 was an expected loss, the 100 for shipping, was that not also part of the transaction? You’re definitely out a bunch of time and maybe I’m reading the situation wrong, however it sounds like the buyer received the case and a refund from Reverb, but on your end you mainly lost time and your faith in Reverb, however are you not at the same point financially as you would have been if the transaction were successful?
In any event, I definitely would not trust Reverb with my gear after that either, especially because they want to pull that refund out of your account and it sounds like they’ll continue to try.
I did indeed.
Correct.
Yes… And NO as Reverb cancelled the transaction by refunding the buyer.
Yes.
Absolutely.
Correct again. I am not going against that
I am just baffled that a "“trusted” site can actually try to pull money from my bank account without my knowledge/agreement. VERY BAD.
They can try though by unlinking my bank account from Reverb, they cannot do anything now.
EDIT: My personal conclusion is that if you are doing business with Reverb and are being honest in the transaction but feel you are being ripped off: UNLINK YOUR BANK ACCOUNT.
Reverb is very inconsistent about this. As a buyer, they refused to back me on a purchase which arrived with pre-existing damage, and the entire exchange was documented in the form of reverb messages etc. I was very frustrated, and I lost more than a couple hundred which also really bothered me because the seller had an open return policy and then wouldn’t accept a return which was actually valid. It feels like Reverb isn’t really on anyone’s side.
It’s insane that they can take their cut as a middleman when it feels like they aren’t really doing anything except for hosting the listings and taking payments. I used to think they were pretty solid until I had an issue, but your story would make me hesitant to use it for anything of significant value.
Definitely seems unprofessional for a “trusted” site to behave like this. I’m glad you ended up with something out of it, I’m just kinda stuck with a damaged product and it’s still bothering me over a year later!
I feel bad for your situation. But, to be honest I fail to see what exactly Reverb did wrong here or would be considered a scam.
Let’s see:
- Reverb cancels a transaction but charges fees.
- Reverb says they are going to make a commercial gesture by refunding the buyer but tries to snatch the refund from my bank account without agreement nor informing me.
I am done with Reverb
Saves me a lot of money
Did you use their shipping service? Anything somewhat expensive I always use their service.
Their shipping service goes through a broker called Packlink.
I used Packlink in this particular case. Outside Reverb’s as the same shipping costs more going through Packlink (through Reverb) than just going through Packlink. Tested
When all hell broke loose, I liaised with Packlink and they told me it would have happened the same going through Reverb Shipping Service as they (Packlink) handle the customer service in case of a dispute. Actually Reverb charges Packlink for having them as partner…
In the end, Reverb just charges for having items announced on their web site. No customer service whatsoever.
Companies generally send this stuff to collections and add it to your credit report.
May be different since I’m guessing you are in the UK. So far reverb shipping has worked out well for me over in the U.S. Not saying the site is great but they have had my back, which I appreciate.
I recently sold a hardware unit that showed up with the jack broken. The buyer sent me pics of the box and ups dropped the insurance money in my account after I filed the claim. Then I sent him that money for the repair. Worked out well.
It’s just tough to prove that the shipper damaged your device when the box is in great shape. So now we are at the he said /she said scenario. I’ve been on both ends of this. Typically when I’ve been the buyer, reverb asked me to get a price for the repair, I send them the quote and the buyer sends me that money, after I assume they filed a claim.
In the U.S. it is simple. Always require signature on delivery and always insure the package. For most peace of mind, I just pay the reverb shipping fee and they deal with lost/damaged packages and I still get paid. At least over here.
I think disconnecting your bank account from the platform sent them a red flag. I was in a situation where I contemplated it because the buyer said the package was stolen, but I was able to provide a photo of the delivery plus called the local police station there to see if any reports were filed by the person I sent it to. I provided that to reverb CS and the buyer went dark and never responded to them, since I think he knew he wasnt getting a $3,000 device for free. Reverb reached out and told me they would not charge me for anything because I provided the evidence plus the buyer was non responsive once I did. I also think the fact that I kept my account connected showed reverb that I was not trying to pull a fast one.
Anyway just my opinion and experience. We have all had different ones with this platform.
The one thing I will say is that their initial CS agents are crap and will say the wrong thing, in my case they told me I’d have to send them the money back. Ignore them and escalate to someone who is not an outsourced agent and work with them before panicking. Like most capital driven businesses they go cheap with all front line support and those people are generally worthless.
Afaik, you give them this permission when you agree to their terms to receive payouts.