Reverb.com IS NOT TRUSTWORTHY!

[mkcreel]

Hello,

I recently had a very bad experience with Reverb.com. I want to share this because I think it's important to have all the information available to you. I was not provided with ALL the information and subsequently received a lube-less ***-raping from Reverb.com. I shipped a Roadster to a guy who purchased it, it was damaged in transit by fedex. I worked to resolve the issue, thinking that I would be treated with fairness and my best interest protected. Boy was i wrong! The damaged shipment was received by the buyer, who was fully aware the amp was damaged. He was advised not to touch it or unpack it, and to take as many pictures as possible to submit with the claim. The buyer took a grand total of 3 (three) pictures! All 3 are fuzzy and unclear. The idiot then took the amp out of the packaging, threw away the packaging. And then he committed blasphemy and powered it on! It fried the amp, it's a loss! So, Reverb starts pressuring me to provide a refund, to which I refused because the buyer has liability. I probably would not hold the buyer liable if he was unaware of the damage to the amp. But this guy knew there was damage to the amp, but in his haste, he ignored my instructions! Reverb didn't care about what the buyer did to the amp and suggested he is not responsible for any damages, to which I couldn't disagree more. Finally, FedEx denied my claim, citing poor packaging led to damage. It didn't seem to matter that FedEx packaged the amp and provided all packaging and packing. I'm appealing this ridiculous denial. So Reverb decided last week, the buyer has waited 4 weeks for a refund, that's long enough, so they dipped into my checking account and took what they wanted. Now, I have no recourse to have the damages to my Roadster covered. AND I still don't have the amp back! No one seems to know where it is! I am dumbfounded! I am seeking criminal charges against Reverb for interstate wire transfer fraud! You can't just reach into someones bank account and take what you want, especially if there is an ongoing disagreement. But they did it So Sellers beware, if you have something listed on Reverb.com, and something go wrong, Reverb.com is going to hold you liable for everything and take money out your bank account as they see fit! These are facts, these are not my opinions. You are better off going with eBay and eBay alone. I was cautioned against using Reverb when I first started using the site. I was told I would get screwed by Reverb if I hung around long enough, well.....I guess I hung around long enough! I'll be taking my business to eBay and leaving Reverb to steal money from other people.
Good Luck,

 

[ochrisl]

Hate to say but Reverb is right. Your responsible for delivering the amp to the buyer in the condition it was sold. If it gets damaged in shipping it's on you. You hired the shipper after all. You need to make a claim with your shipper and refund the buyer right away.Then it's up to you to battle it out with FedEx. Maybe he was wrong for opening it but it's still on you. Sucks but that's part of selling gear online these days. Also Ebay and / or Paypal would have done the same thing.
If you paid Fed Ex to pack and ship I would appeal the claim pointing that fact out and keep on them.

 

[Nomad]

I have to agree with the OP once the receiver opened the box and threw away the packaging he is now culpable in the situation. After the packaging is gone there will never be a claim accepted by Fedex and the shipper is screwed at that point. Both UPS and Fedex insurance is no good 99 percent of the time. I have never liked Reverb.com but could never put my finger on it. I would sue them in small claims court.

So let me get this straight orchrisl the seller doesn't even get the amp back, doesn't get paid, gets the claim denied and that's acceptable? Not in my world. They at least need to get the amp back to him.

First off Fedex sucks, UPS doesn't suck quite as bad but it sucks too. I use an independent packaging place that ships through UPS, they do the packaging and I have them double box. They charge me about $12.00 for packaging, I pay the insurance but the store says in this case they stand behind it not UPS which I like better. I have never had an issue since using them but I have had plenty of denied claims the other way around.


I purchased a power amp one time and I just cannot understand what in the world Fedex did to that thing but they destroyed it.


I bet the guy still has the amp, he will probably get it fixed with the refund and have a lot of money left over. Stay away from Reverb.com

 

[Nomad]

Also the amp is till at the guys house if Fedex denied the claim. No way they would have taken it back having denied a claim, so the guy still has it and hes playing dumb. So basically the buyer is ripping you off and Reverb too.

 

[MusicManJP6]

Man, this is a horrible story to read! The buyer definitely worked the loopholes in the system and I completely put the blame on him for the reason you got screwed by FedEx. Not sure why Reverb.com decided to issue a refund on your behalf. That doesn't seem right at all. I have only ever purchased a few pedals and little things I couldn't find anywhere else on there. I definitely won't be selling anything of value on there after reading this. Good luck getting your money back! I would definitely keep pushing both Reverb and FedEx to do something about this. This is in no way acceptable, and the buyer is a POS for disregarding your instructions. He knew exactly what he was doing. Sorry you had to deal with this, but thanks for sharing.

 

[danyeo1]

Something isn't right here. Did you pay for insurance for the shipping? Also, if you paid for FEDEX to pack the amp for you how in the hell can they say it wasn't packed right? If you ship a heavy amp without insurance you're taking a big gamble.

I don't know, nothing here sounds legit to me.

 

[Nomad]

Something isn't right here. Did you pay for insurance for the shipping? Also, if you paid for FEDEX to pack the amp for you how in the hell can they say it wasn't packed right? If you ship a heavy amp without insurance you're taking a big gamble.

I don't know, nothing here sounds legit to me.

Sounds like the OP had insurance since he said Fedex denied his claim.
Fedex, UPS and the like almost never honor their own insurance, IMO it's a scam.
This really sucks for you OP, I hope you at least get the amp back.
I have never liked Reverb and will not use it.

Please let us know how this pans out.
I would call Reverb and Fedex every 5 minutes until somebody does something, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

[DaveP]

If FedEx packed the amp it's on FedEx. Just like a UPS store that packs the item for you.
There is a tick box in the shipping info that they use to determine who packed it. If you packed it and it got damaged they almost always deny the claim.
They have rules to follow at the stores and that is usually the only way shipping claims are approved. If they pack it.

 

[roneysam]

If the buyer opened the package and threw away the packaging, then he has accepted the merchandise. Reverb's policy clearly says that it must be returned in the condition received to be eligible for a refund. this sounds like BS to me. Can't believe reverb could violate their own policy by taking the money before the item was returned to you. Did you make this up because you were mad at them and the truth didn't sound as good? There's either a lot more to this story than is being told... or a lot less.

 

[rectifryer]

I'd like to add to this even though I know it's an old thread.

Often times, escrow services side with the buyer even with the shipping agency sees no damage. Despite a third party that is endorsed by the escrow/storefront service saying that the item isn't damaged, the escrow/store still sides with the buyer. This has caused me to lose on $400 when selling guitar speakers that were packed flawlessly and beyond what was needed.

If reverb is going to follow down this path, then don't sell on there. You WILL lose out on money sooner or later. Internet "vendors" protect the quality of their merchandise with lop-sided policies. I'd rather hoard equipment or sell for less on craigslist than risk losing the entire value of a transaction because of unsubstantiated claims.

 

[lovetoboogie]

I could understand the frustration over having the funds taken back but that stuff is in the fine print. It's a customer/buyer driven market. The loyalty is with the customer/buyer first. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you view it, that is the nature of business. I personally prep and pack all amps, guitars and effects that leave here. I have accounts with FedEx, DHL and UPS... I buy and sell on both Reverb, eBay and TGP... In 25+ years of shipping gear I have seen the most absurd damage possible. **** happens, it's part of the game. Customer always comes first unless you have absolute proof you are being maliciously screwed over by them(This situation sounds more like stupidity and/or lack of communication between seller and buyer). Reverb had nothing to do with this...it's your responsibility to follow through, cover the sale,... and then battle it out with the carrier over the claim...

 

[izzwardo]

I just went through a HORRIBLE experience as well with reverb and I am going to shut my account down after this. I bought a 1990 Gibson Les Paul that was listed in "excellent" condition and from what I could see in the pictures it looked decent for its age, well I bought the guitar and when it arrived I was shocked to see that two of the Grover tuners were broken, the truss rod was broken and did not work, the volume knob was bent so bad that you could not turn it, and many other issues that were not disclosed in the listing. Well, I immediately requested a refund explaining what the issues were and basically the seller denied the damages saying it must have been UPS fault even though the box and the hard shell case was in perfect condition meaning no indication of it being crushed. Well he filed a claim with UPS and a week later they denied his claim. shocking. So I was advised by reverb to ship the guitar back to the seller and once it was in his hands he would issue me a refund. Yeah right, he kept the guitar AND my money. So after that I issued a claim with paypal which I should have done in the first place and then the seller claimed that I had broken the guitar then sent it back to him. At this point I was so pissed and upset I called paypal telling them I had been a loyal customer for 15 years and that they should escalate the case especially since this bonehead has the guitar and my money. Well they ended up issuing me a full refund a month after I had paid for the guitar. What really pisses me off is that Reverb had me ship the guitar back to this bozo and then told me that it is out of their hands and it was up to the seller to refund the money. After all of this I will NEVER use Reverb again. By the way the seller is PAT'S GEAR EMPORIUM. This guy is nothing but a crook and a thief.

 

[morgan138]

What really pisses me off is that Reverb had me ship the guitar back to this bozo and then told me that it is out of their hands and it was up to the seller to refund the money.

Wow, that sounds super frustrating. When I had a similar issue recently (bass arrived with serious neck problems, but no shipping damage) Reverb actually had me ship it to them at Reverb HQ, and then they issued the refund and dealt with the seller. So I guess that's an option if anyone finds themself in a situation like this...

 

[elvis]

I have had my share of Reverb (and Craigs) items listed as "excellent" or "mint" come as "good" or "poor". Stuff like "all original" that was CLEARLY modified, and poorly at that. I am getting better at spotting this, or gauging the likelihood of it. At this point, I assume the guitars will need fret work and electronics work and bid accordingly.

For bad truss rod or bad neck, that just sucks. Not much you can do to spot it. It does seem that there is at least more recourse as a buyer than as a seller. I'd be fine if I got a refund a month later as long as I got one.

Caveat emptor. And seller as well, apparently.

 

[trackerdan]

Fedex completely destroyed a guitar shipped to me. It was shipped to me in it's original factory shipping container. Fedex said improper packaging and the seller had to deal with Fedex for 4 months to get my money back. I had to drive the guitar to a far off location to get it returned.

And watch out for the PayPal scam as well.

 

[elvis]

It's funny, but over the years I have received packages that were completely inadequate for shipping that arrived fine, and other packages that were quite stout, but damaged.

One package I received had two 12" guitar speakers, and was shipped in essentially a dress shirt gift box with a couple pieces of tissue paper. One of the frames got bent. Totally the seller's bad. I'm surprised the box held together long enough to drop it with the shipper. We resolved it, but with some pain. Luckily it was peanuts for $.

Gotta go with the odds, though.

 

[OKLR]

I registered to this forum just to tell my story: i also get crooked by a buyer who knew how to take advantage of a loophole on REVERB.
( sorry in advance if my english is kind of messy, i don't write in english very often PP )

I sold an EHX Epitome to a guy on Toronto. Shipped the item on 29th of december ... and Canada Post Tracking system labeled it was delivered on the 3rd of january.

Great !!!

Until the buyer claim it didn't received the pedal !!! Ask for an inquiry at Canada Post. one week later they said they cannot find an answer to the inquiry despite their effort, so they say now the item is " lost ".

So now i have to refund the guy .... even if all of this is defined only on his fucking word ( over Canada Post tracking saying it's delivered ) . The shipping information was correct.

I know my responsability was to insured the package ... but i didn't do it since i thought it was only for case of damaged package etc ... my packaging was impeccable so ... i just assume it was not necessary. : /

Well ...

Now you all know ... if the item you bought was not covered ... and you didn't have to sign anything on reception ... just say you didn't received the package and trust me .. you'll be refund !! ... cause Reverb doesn't give a **** about me .... they trust his word i guess .... and this guy must have the pedal all along. ( i mean ... it was delivered to someone right ? and i double checked the address on my bill, everything is fine ) Just pretend you didnt received it.

There you go.

 

[draperjojo]

You might also want to take a picture of the serial number when you ship something off. I had bought a wireless guitar setup new right before the band broke up. I never used it, the box was unopened and it sat on a shelf for 1-1/2yrs before I decided to put it on Ebay. The guy that bought it claimed it didn't work and demanded a refund. He got his refund and I'm certain he sent his broken unit to me on the return...grrrrr

 

[Assault Bacon]

I use Reverb more often than I thought I would. In the last couple of years, I've sold four guitars, a couple pedals, and purchased odds and ends items from people all over the country. I've had only one issue and Reverb sorted it out rather quickly.

I purchased a Randall Diavlo 20 head from some yahoo who never shipped it. He said he would, but never provided a tracking number or a "shipped on" date. After three days, I contacted Reverb and they determined the guy was a scam artist. They refunded my money to me (a week or so later) and I went on my merry way. But I take precautions.

• Don't use your primary bank account to conduct transactions through PayPal or Reverb.com's Direct Checkout system or for that matter, e-Bay. The buyer is always right until you can prove otherwise. That's just the way it is and Reverb can withdraw funds from your connected account if it feels you've been dragging your feet on satisfying the aggrieved party.
• As mentioned, take photos of your merchandise, including serial numbers, prior to shipping it out and keep them in a safe place.
• Read up on packaging procedures and follow them. It costs a few bucks more to ship things properly but in the long run, you'll be happy you spent a couple dollars. I keep bubble wrap and packing paper at my house and I use it.
• I don't use FedEx. Your mileage may vary, but I've had FedEx drivers leave guitars - that required signature - on a doorstep without signature or even a doorbell ring.
• Declare a value, require a signature, and insure your package. That costs about another $10 at shipping but it's worth it. Doesn't matter how well you packaged, someone can screw it up for you. Human beings are human beings.
• In a dispute, insist from moment one that your merchandise be returned. That's a Reverb policy that you can push them to stand behind... however, after 4 months, something has to give and the payment system is likely going to side with the buyer.
• Speaking of payment systems... disputes with Reverb Direct Checkout are supposed to be handled by Reverb; PayPal is handled by PayPal. Reverb will try to help you with a PayPal dispute, but in the end, PayPal has the final say on disputes and you're obliged to follow PayPal's rules.

Hope this helps. I know this is an older thread, but it looks as though it's recently been revived.

 

[nancy123]

This is a horrible story to read! The buyer definitely worked the loopholes in the system and I completely put the blame on him for the reason you got screwed by FedEx. Not sure why Reverb.com decided to issue a refund on your behalf. That doesn't seem right at all.