# Has Reverb spiked prices?



## Destropiate (Jan 17, 2007)

I'm noticing that since Reverb has become so popular, prices everywhere have seemed to fall in line. Especially seeing this with guitar amps on kiiji and FB marketplace. 
I've been finding things like Peavey 6505's, JCM 900 Dual Reverbs and Mesa Single Rectifiers posted for sale at 12-1500 dollars. These are amps that I've bought in the not too distant past for around 7-800 bucks. If you were lucky you could find them for 5-600 with some cosmetic issues. 
As I understand it, reverb charges fees to sell there and that drives the prices up. Pretty sure ebay works the same way but the high price of gear over there never seemed to have an effect on kijiji or FB marketplace. 
Are there other forces at work here or have people just decided to use Reverb pricing as the standard even when selling on a platform that charges no fees? 
Maybe I'm out of touch and a run of the mill 6505 is actually considered a rare and vintage gem these days? Instead of the "affordable workhorse" category they used to seem to fit into?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Eddie died and everyones evh related amp doubled in price. The rectos, no idea - but what is everything selling for?


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

I rarley bother with used anymore. I looked for a Pedaltrain classic 2 used here on the forum. There was one for $300. By the time you add shipping I may as well go down to Long and McQuade and pay $339 for a new one. So thats what I did. 
I did buy a custom shop strat used, recently, that I paid $4,200. The same guitar at L&M was $5,500 so I felt I did ok there. However while I was searching guitars on Kijiji most were so close to new prices it just wasn't worth it.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Prices only rise when people pay them. Lots of issues at play right now contributing to rising prices and it's not just happening with guitars and gear.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

guitarman2 said:


> I rarley bother with used anymore. I looked for a Pedaltrain classic 2 used here on the forum. There was one for $300. By the time you add shipping I may as well go down to Long and McQuade and pay $339 for a new one. So thats what I did.
> I did buy a custom shop strat used, recently, that I paid $4,200. The same guitar at L&M was $5,500 so I felt I did ok there. However while I was searching guitars on Kijiji most were so close to new prices it just wasn't worth it.


This reflects my recent experiences as well. I love picking up cool parts here in almost new or unused condition, particularly necks and pickups, but the asking prices I have seen for such items lately are much higher than I would pay. It's like the opportunities I used to find have almost completely dried up.


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## Mutant_Guitar (Oct 24, 2021)

Lots of up and coming suckers looking to get into playing music and guitar. Most of them are just coming up with new money and the market is not a place for good value propositions these days. Consider that money has no inherent value only that each side of the equation is willing to attribute to it. Plus I think the hypnotic suggestion to become a musician and say "fuckit" to the button-down job scene is at an all time high right now, and with social media platforms serving to essentially pare down and hollow out the work force. The soul of man is verging extinction and I think we're veering towards extinction level disaster. Enjoy your amps and guitars, people.


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## Parabola (Oct 22, 2021)

Reverb prices can be totally out to lunch, but seems to have become the pricing standard on some things on Kijiji.

On Kijij, the reasonably priced stuff always sells, you tend to get a feel for the local market as you do deals. I find I tend to deal with the same people, and we have a good rapport and realistic expectations on value.

If I see something I’m interested i, but is overpriced, I’ll usually send a message with my email that says, I’m interested but market value is “X” and if you’re interested at some point at that price please contact me. it usually sits a while, and more Often than not, I’m able to swing a deal.


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## xfitxl (May 2, 2018)

supply and demand, it’s worth whatever someone is willing to pay so to speak… as for Reverb, fees have constantly crept up, and now our governments have gotten their hands in the proverbial cookie jar as well… we saw this happen with pawn shops some time ago… try and find deals and pawnshops now, they are almost impossible to find.. with the web and people having free access to pricing comparisons, most are now able to get values for their items, whether we tend to agree on HOW they price is again a matter of opinion but I think it was inevitable we would get to this point. I think with everything around us going up and up, most feel it’s warranted to charge higher prices for goods.. if everyone else is getting their slice then why not me style mentality.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

The irony is sellers look at Reverb to set their price, but I've had buyers pull 3 or 4 years old ad from a Mom-and-Pop store as a "proof" that my gear was completely overpriced in today's market.


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## PTO (12 mo ago)

Yeah, I would say that Reverb has more standardized prices rather than raised them. The same has been true of eBay and to a certain extent kijiji, but Reverb has become the market setter in that regard.

But items on Reverb aren’t necessarily “priced to sell.” If it’s a seller with a lot of inventory, they might just price a used item at 10% below retail price and wait for someone who just wants to save the tax plus a little more. For someone who uses Reverb a lot, that might be an easy purchase to make.

Personally, when I’m listing something, my strategy is based on wanting it to sell quickly. And I’m happy for the buyer to get a little more of a deal.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

xfitxl said:


> supply and demand, it’s worth whatever someone is willing to pay so to speak… as for Reverb, fees have constantly crept up, and now our governments have gotten their hands in the proverbial cookie jar as well… we saw this happen with pawn shops some time ago… try and find deals and pawnshops now, they are almost impossible to find.. with the web and people having free access to pricing comparisons, most are now able to get values for their items, whether we tend to agree on HOW they price is again a matter of opinion but I think it was inevitable we would get to this point. I think with everything around us going up and up, most feel it’s warranted to charge higher prices for goods.. if everyone else is getting their slice then why not me style mentality.


Higher prices, yes. Used items priced same as new? Not for me.


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## mnfrancis (May 24, 2010)

I think that the REVERB price bump is real. What started as people just putting stuff "out there" in hopes that something will sell has slowly infiltrated the marketplace. Now people look up something that they want to sell on Reverb.com and see some crazy high price and think that they can get that locally on Kijiji. 

I think the key to Reverb is to look at the actual sold prices and not the stuff that sits on there for months or years. You also have to remember that you are getting exposure to a much greater audience for rare items. Factor in the fees that Reverb charges + the pain in the ass of packing things and the risk of shipping and you start to see that maybe some of those prices aren't as good as they look 

IMHO


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

Little known fact: Sold prices listed on Reverb are actually the item's original asking price, NOT what was ultimately negotiated via offers. Obviously that tends to skew those lists above actual market values...


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## mnfrancis (May 24, 2010)

StevieMac said:


> Little known fact: Sold prices listed on Reverb are actually the item's original asking price, NOT what was ultimately negotiated via offers. Obviously that tends to skew those lists above actual market values...


StevieMac - I did not know that this was the case. I went back and checked some purchases that I made where I negotiated a lower price with the seller and, sure enough, you are correct the original list price is what it was listed SOLD as and not the price I actually negotiated 

Thanks for clarifying that.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Reverb has an interest in inflating prices, dont expect them to be too honest now.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

There are a few items I have found on there that also have local pickup. The price difference between local pickup and the asking price has been pretty significant. And that's not taking shipping into account. Plus in a couple of cases I used the 'make an offer' option and it was quickly accepted. I have never sold in reverb, but I am guessing that as with many other services, their seller fees have gone up? 

The one other factor why I use it is that I have found a couple of parts on there that I had zero luck finding elsewhere. 

As far as new hardware? I've actually has great luck buying from the UK. Even with the exchange and shipping the prices have been low. The shipping is surprisingly cheap and fast. And there's shops with stuff that's not easy to find.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

StevieMac said:


> Little known fact: Sold prices listed on Reverb are actually the item's original asking price, NOT what was ultimately negotiated via offers. Obviously that tends to skew those lists above actual market values...


I bought a guitar off Reverb in the last month, and can confirm that the price I paid (not the listed price) is what showed up in the price guide for the same item. If you look at the sold listings in the price guide (the one with the graph) the prices are actual sold amounts without shipping.


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

BlueRocker said:


> I bought a guitar off Reverb in the last month, and can confirm that the price I paid (not the listed price) is what showed up in the price guide for the same item. If you look at the sold listings in the price guide (the one with the graph) the prices are actual sold amounts without shipping.


Interesting. When searching for a particular make/model and sorting through the fields to choose "sold listings", they display listed prices. Seems strange they'd utilize 2 different methods.


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## jfk911 (May 23, 2008)

I find reverb usually sets the initial asking price but sellers usually come down myself included. I recently sold my Modern Player Starcaster and ultimately got $1000 while the sold prices on Reverb were anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500 at the time. I traded for a MIM strat and told the guy ill take the Strat and $300 as Strats sell on the high end around $700 and Reverbs Low end at the time was $1,000.00 for the Starcaster, which I felt was fair at the time. Here is Reverbs recent price guide for the Starcaster, I still highly doubt any local person will buy a MIC Fender for $1300 unless its "that" guitar you have your heart set on.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

StevieMac said:


> Interesting. When searching for a particular make/model and sorting through the fields to choose "sold listings", they display listed prices. Seems strange they'd utilize 2 different methods.


Here is the guitar I purchased - sold listing shows asking price Gibson Flying V 2017 Red | Reverb










Here's the Reverb price guide page Gibson Flying V T 2017 | Reverb - you may need to take my word for it, the last time I checked it showed my purchase on February 26th but today they're only showing January. I'm leaving this post up in case anyone wants to confirm in the future.










Here is the actual sales numbers.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Reverb is a scourge on the music industry pricing.


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## Wucan (Apr 30, 2021)

Any time someone brings up Reverb prices as leverage in local sales, I just ask them why they aren't selling there instead.

The website takes a chunk of your sale, someone needs to pay for shipping, and there's always a risk of a partial refund or return. It's also way more work to deal with potential buyers.

I've only sold one item through the website, it was a signature 7 string guitar maybe 1 or 2 people in my town would ever be interested in. So I had to rely on the large pool of buyers to sell it.

I don't think Reverb is problematic, people just need to stop being smartasses.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

All I know is if I can get this kind of money for these two, it’ll be one of the best “investments” I’ve made. 😂


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

2manyGuitars said:


> All I know is if I can get this kind of money for these two, it’ll be one of the best “investments” I’ve made. 😂
> 
> View attachment 410413


It's like fishing with a bobber buddy, bait the hook, throw it out and see if you get a bite.

Everything in life is for sale as long as there is a greater fool willing to pay the price.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

I recently saw a guitar on Reverb that I own listed for $10K (it's worth maybe $3500). Then he cut the price to $5K. This is Canadian Tire marketing if you ask me.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

BlueRocker said:


> I recently saw a guitar on Reverb that I own listed for $10K (it's worth maybe $3500). Then he cut the price to $5K. This is Canadian Tire marketing if you ask me.


Yup. You can see that the first Strat in my screen grab is "on sale" for $1000 off.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

Reverb doesn't take an unreasonable fee for selling. Prices have been climbing due to supply and demand during the pandemic. They are also high just because people can ask whatever they want. 

I sold a Memory Lane 2 last year. They were selling for around 4-500 at one time. I saw that there were none for sale so I listed mine at a ridiculous 900 or something. Within a few days there were a couple more listed and they used my listing as inspiration and copied my price point. A couple days later I dropped my price to 700 or something and it sold because it suddenly looked like a bargain. 

I saw a late 60s SG posted a couple of days ago with a price of $19995. WTF? A couple of years ago $5k was hopeful. Anyway, Reverb just provides the platform, they don't set prices, sellers do. Most a way too greedy.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

zztomato said:


> Reverb doesn't take an unreasonable fee for selling. Prices have been climbing due to supply and demand during the pandemic. They are also high just because people can ask whatever they want.
> 
> I sold a Memory Lane 2 last year. They were selling for around 4-500 at one time. I saw that there were none for sale so I listed mine at a ridiculous 900 or something. Within a few days there were a couple more listed and they used my listing as inspiration and copied my price point. A couple days later I dropped my price to 700 or something and it sold because it suddenly looked like a bargain.
> 
> I saw a late 60s SG posted a couple of days ago with a price of $19995. WTF? A couple of years ago $5k was hopeful. Anyway, Reverb just provides the platform, they don't set prices, sellers do. Most a way too greedy.


Prices going crazy. No way I'll pay it. I can and will make music on a cheapy guitar if I have to.


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## Peel Ferrari (Jun 22, 2017)

100% ....Kijiji sellers list based on Reverb even though, Reverb is inflated to offset the 7.5% commission and processing fees. Just yesterday a seller posted his amp with no price saying taking offers based on Reverb prices. No low ballers. Etc. Etc......


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Reverb is world market price based on shipping it worldwide. Unless you're willing to ship then you're left with local pricing and that could take some price dropping to get it sold in a reasonable amount of time.
I watch 90s AS Strat pricing.... asking on reverb is anywhere from $1500to $3k US. Selling on kijiji in Canada... $1000 to $1400, and sometimes they sit at $1000...

A better gauge of pricing might be the used asking at Guitar Center.


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Prices are just nuts all over period. You can ask what you want but at the end of the day, its what people are willing to pay.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

People are also indexing the used prices on new guitar. Since Gibson and Fender prices went up it's natural for the use market to adjust. It sucks, especially now that I'm in the market for a 335 .
A vintage sunburst dot 335 used to sell around 2.5k$ 3 years ago on Kijiji, yesterday I've seen one sell within a few days at 3.4k$ on Reverb and a new one at L&M will fetch 4.1k$ + taxes.

We can remove Reverb from the equation it's not going to get the market back to pre-pandemic prices unfortunately (if it ever get back to it)


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

It's all good that Reverb is just a platform and seller do what they want etc. BUT- When I Google any piece of gear Reverb is the first or second hit in the search. So anyone going to sell something will click on Reverb and get their price based on their world wide search from Slezverb.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

player99 said:


> It's all good that Reverb is just a platform and seller do what they want etc. BUT- When I Google any piece of gear Reverb is the first or second hit in the search. So anyone going to sell something will click on Reverb and get their price based on their world wide search from Slezverb.


And it doesn't help there is no 'sold listings' on kijiji, as a price reference, as there is with ebay or reverb.


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## markxander (Oct 24, 2009)

the biggest difference between Reverb and this website is that when I list something for sale on Reverb somebody buys it


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## MetalTele79 (Jul 20, 2020)

tomee2 said:


> And it doesn't help there is no 'sold listings' on kijiji, as a price reference, as there is with ebay or reverb.


Prices are usually deleted in forum listings too so they often can't be used as a reference.

I usually base my prices on what I originally paid and then I decide what I'm willing to lose on the item. I may be pricing some things too low though because my Kijiji listings occasionally show up in the Kijiji forum 😆


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

Derek_T said:


> People are also indexing the used prices on new guitar. Since Gibson and Fender prices went up it's natural for the use market to adjust.


That's kinda' how I gauge used prices. "What would a new one cost you?"

There was a member who's no longer with us (don't worry, just perma-banned, not dead) who would chime in on any used price debates and would always bitch whenever someone was asking more than what the item cost when new. On the surface, that seems like a reasonable stance but when we're talking about new prices from 15, 20, even 30 years ago, you're just wrong.

I vividly remember in 2008, a new Gibson SG Standard was $1100 and you could snag a used one for 800 bucks. Heck, not that long before COVID, they were $1799 and $1200 seemed to be the accepted used price. Now that a new one is over $2k plus tax, the days of used $1200 SGs are done.

This aforementioned member would see someone asking $1400 for a 2008 SG and would go off on a rant about it being "more than the guy paid for it new". No amount of reasoning or pointing out that a new one is $2350 with tax, would talk him down. And don't even get him started on '90s American Standard Fenders. Lol


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

2manyGuitars said:


> I vividly remember in 2008, a new Gibson SG Standard was $1100 and you could snag a used one for 800 bucks. Heck, not that long before COVID, they were $1799 and $1200 seemed to be the accepted used price. Now that a new one is over $2k plus tax, the days of used $1200 SGs are done.


So if I listed a 2008 SG Standard on this site today, what is a reasonable price? (asking for a friend)


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

BlueRocker said:


> So if I listed a 2008 SG Standard on this site today, what is a reasonable price? (asking for a friend)


I dunno...
I’d have to check Reverb. 🤣


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## Parabola (Oct 22, 2021)

There are still deals to be found on SG’s, you just have to be vigilant and ready to strike. I picked up a nice one a couple of weeks ago, and a buddy grabbed one last week.

They may not be in the $1200 asking range anymore, but they don’t move until they are in the $1300-1400 I’ve noticed. In the last 8 months I’ve bought 2 in the $1100-1200 zone, sold another at $1200 and have seen 2 others go under $1400. These were all Standards from 2009-2014.


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## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

I think there's one in the GC Classifieds right now.


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

Reverb doesn’t matter at all when it comes time to sell something. Try it and see lol.


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## dmc69 (Jan 20, 2011)

Ppl quote Reverb for the high end. On the flip side of things, I get ppl who offer on gear based on new prices from the year the guitar was made. "Your 2005 Gibson LP was $1500 new. I'm offering $700 for it."


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

2manyGuitars said:


> On the surface, that seems like a reasonable stance but when we're talking about new prices from 15, 20, even 30 years ago, you're just wrong.


I get it, as I was saying a bit earlier I had buyers trying to argue price with me by fetching 3 or 4 years old used listing and telling me "I'm not paying more than that". I wish it could work like that, but the last 2 years happened and here we are.


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## Parabola (Oct 22, 2021)

In Ottawa, at least in my experience…the high priced stuff just sits there. I tend to see this on stuff from 2010-2015, where it probably hasn’t been touched since that time, and people are looking to cash out at a high price and are not motivated to sell it for less. 

Most guitar people seem to make reasonable asks for their gear, and I tend to get reasonable offers on my gear, aside from the usual ”trade my toaster and Spider-Man comics for your guitar/amp/pedal) type offers.


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## Mike_Blaszk (Sep 16, 2021)

I think Reverb is great. Theres a huge inventory of commonplace and rare gear available from all over the world. I know, theres a TONNE of overpriced crap listed there but you can usually negotiate and, occasionally, broker a steal if you know what you're looking for. Otherwise, just don't buy it. However, I find that the pricing history is relatively accurate to the reasonable used market if you take into account and subtract their 7.7% fee from the recent averages. Here, I understand that not everyone is comfortable dealing with strangers on a forum (kijiji, etc. included) in a financial process that involves a large degree of trust on the part of the buyer and that they're willing to pay these fees for the convenience of a trusted broker, return policy and access to an item that may not be available elsewhere. I dont really think this affects the pricing of used gear much (sellers overpricing their used items has been par for the course for generations) beyond more accurately educating sellers as to what the current market value is, more broadly. So basically, Reverb doesn't affect pricing; existing market conditions and buyers do.


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## Parabola (Oct 22, 2021)

Mike_Blaszk said:


> I think Reverb is great. Theres a huge inventory of commonplace and rare gear available from all over the world. I know, theres a TONNE of overpriced crap listed there but you can usually negotiate and, occasionally, broker a steal if you know what you're looking for. Otherwise, just don't buy it. However, I find that the pricing history is relatively accurate to the reasonable used market if you take into account and subtract their 7.7% fee from the recent averages. Here, I understand that not everyone is comfortable dealing with strangers on a forum (kijiji, etc. included) in a financial process that involves a large degree of trust on the part of the buyer and that they're willing to pay these fees for the convenience of a trusted broker, return policy and access to an item that may not be available elsewhere. I dont really think this affects the pricing of used gear much (sellers overpricing their used items has been par for the course for generations) beyond more accurately educating sellers as to what the current market value is, more broadly. So basically, Reverb doesn't affect pricing; existing market conditions and buyers do.


Reverb is also a good resource for those who don’t have a local music store or extensive used market.


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## pspguitar (Jan 21, 2021)

If people are willing to buy at a certain price, that's the price...the market always decides..

The used car market right now is no different, same with real estate.


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## Parabola (Oct 22, 2021)

Here’s something interesting, I was at my local LM 2 weeks ago, a Gibson Slash model was listed for $3,699. Last night that tag was gone, and another was there…$4399. I checked the Gibson site and they are still listed at $3k USD or $3700 CDN with exchange, so I’m not sure if that was a typo, or if the Gibson price increases of last Fall are finally filtering across the border. Other prices seemed the same, however there were only 3 Gibsons on the wall, and the rest were Epiphones, which seemed expensive to me…However I don’t follow Epiphone prices, so maybe they are well priced.


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

A few months ago , I seen an Epiphone LPC going for $ 900.00 USD, without a case !
Last time that I looked, it was still there, but now listed for $ 875.00 USD .


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## pspguitar (Jan 21, 2021)

Reverb will be adding taxes to all Canadian purchases as of July 1, 2022. Until now, only business sellers charged tax.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

pspguitar said:


> Reverb will be adding taxes to all Canadian purchases as of July 1, 2022. Until now, only business sellers charged tax.


This happened in the US a couple years ago but we didn’t notice because the borders were closed and no one was going down to pick up parcels on the US side. Reverb started charging state sales tax based on the shipping destination. This was due to a court ruling on collection of sales tax for online retailers. Now the Canadian govt has followed suit.

Basically Reverb is being treated as a retailer under the tax system and not as a classifieds site like Kijiji or FB Marketplace.

So now the “Reverb loophole” is closed. I made a couple of purchases over the last few years from actual retailers that also list on Reverb. If you bought from their website they’d collect sales tax, but if you found them on Reverb and did the purchase there, no tax.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

Email I just received from Reverb:



> Dear Reverber,
> 
> Starting today, July 1, Reverb will be collecting and remitting sales tax from shoppers in Canada on eligible orders. This is due to updated Canadian tax regulations.
> 
> ...


Oh good, PST in several provinces as well. Like I said before, the takeaway is that Reverb is being treated like a retailer. No different that buying a used guitar from L&M.


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## pspguitar (Jan 21, 2021)

Powdered Toast Man said:


> Email I just received from Reverb:
> 
> 
> 
> Oh good, PST in several provinces as well. Like I said before, the takeaway is that Reverb is being treated like a retailer. No different that buying a used guitar from L&M.


Yup, used gear from private sellers just became 13% more expensive for me in BC overnight... Deal breaking on more expensive gear.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

The sad part is this is going to increase the risk for both buyers and sellers as people inevitably make direct deals on the side.


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## pspguitar (Jan 21, 2021)

Powdered Toast Man said:


> Email I just received from Reverb:
> 
> 
> 
> Oh good, PST in several provinces as well. Like I said before, the takeaway is that Reverb is being treated like a retailer. No different that buying a used guitar from L&M.


eBay just sent the same message... wait until we have a digital cash society....taxes on everything. Best bet is to barter/ trade....


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

I just pulled all my listings off Reverb. Apart from GC, I think online blind purchases will take a backseat from now on. 
I don't believe that personal items that are used should keep being taxed everytime they are sold.


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## pspguitar (Jan 21, 2021)

zztomato said:


> I just pulled all my listings off Reverb. Apart from GC, I think online blind purchases will take a backseat from now on.
> I don't believe that personal items that are used should keep being taxed everytime they are sold.


It shows the desperation of the government and how broke they really are. The digital cashless system will get you in the end... A sad day


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

pspguitar said:


> It shows the desperation of the government and how broke they really are. The digital cashless system will get you in the end... A sad day


Yeah, I'm not sure who is to blame. Reverb sales in the US have been subject to state tax for a year or more now. It may be that the nature of the business model makes it subject to taxation on all sales. Reverb itself may be viewed under tax law as a retailer and as such required to submit tax. I know that if you are a retailer using Reverb to sell products, it follows that you have to charge sales tax. 
Anyway, increasingly I am inclined to leave a smaller digital footprint. Too much information.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

It sucks, between their cut and taxes it’s going to be a step up charge on asking price.

That being said, Reverb act as a consignor. When it’s your mom and pop store selling the guitar for you as a consignment the sale is taxed on the full amount and they take their cut.
Whereas Kijiji lives on ad revenu and services (ad bump…) but doesn’t act as third party in the transaction.

When you think about it, Reverb had a unfair competitive advantage over brick and mortar store.

Again, it sucks I agree, but I’m surprise this was not implemented earlier.


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## Fred Gifford (Sep 2, 2019)

pspguitar said:


> It shows the desperation of the government and how broke they really are. The digital cashless system will get you in the end... A sad day


agreed, but it won't be enacted during our lifetime.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

zztomato said:


> Yeah, I'm not sure who is to blame. Reverb sales in the US have been subject to state tax for a year or more now. It may be that the nature of the business model makes it subject to taxation on all sales. Reverb itself may be viewed under tax law as a retailer and as such required to submit tax. I know that if you are a retailer using Reverb to sell products, it follows that you have to charge sales tax.
> Anyway, increasingly I am inclined to leave a smaller digital footprint. Too much information.


A lot of retailers were selling on Reverb and not collecting sales taxes even on brand new gear. I found that sometimes if you found gear on a retailer's website it was worthwhile to see if they also had a Reverb shop with the same stuff listed. Many times they did. I bought a brand new guitar from Cosmo Music via their Reverb page and paid no sales taxes. However if I went to their website and put the same guitar in my cart it was calculating sales taxes on checkout. I bought another new guitar from another small guitar shop in Canada the same way and also paid no sales tax. 

So this has been a loophole for a while and the govt is now closing it. Sites like Reverb and eBay are being treated as retailers because they are facilitating transactions. It's not really any different from buying used gear from L&M. You pay sales tax there too. 

It does suck and I don't like it but it is what it is.


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