Reverb — Buy & Sell Music Gear Online| Music Tech Alliance
Reverb is the marketplace for musicians to buy and sell used, vintage, and new music gear like guitar, bass and effects online. As long as you pay the import duties and taxes, you can buy some rare instruments and gears in the world.
I have published a post “Avoid Overpaying for Buying Guitar or Bass” before, it has mentioned Reverb. This time, I want to share my experience of buying my first bass on Reverb.
Find the Music Gear You Want
You can download the Reverb Android and iOS app or open the website directly. It’s convenient to filter the instruments you want in website. If you ask for specific brand like Fender or Gibson, just open the Top Brands on Reverb page. If shops’ reputation is important to you, checking the feedbacks from buyers.
When you browse the instruments, there are many filters in the left side including the price and brand.
Import Duties and Shipping Cost
Before you buy something abroad, be aware of how much import duties and shipping cost you should pay.
In my experience, I shipped a bass from La Crosse in east American to Taiwan, the shipping cost is $305. I shipped from Japan to Taiwan, the shipping cost is ¥18,500.
The accurate number of shipping cost could be calculated by the shipping calculators below this FAQ page.
When it comes to the import duties, every country has different laws. In Taiwan, the tax rate of import duty is 10%.
Make an Offer and Start to Bargain
I think the most interesting thing in Reverb is bargaining with the seller. After you confirm what you want to buy, you can click the “Make an Offer” button to fill in the price you prefer and sending messages to persuade him.
Seller may not accept your offer, it is a progress of making offer constantly like real life. Whether the deal make or not, Reverb records all of the messages and prices in the “Offer History”. You can check them any time.
After seller and buyer accept a price without import duties, buyer can place the order and complete the payment using Paypal. In my experience, the import duties will be paid until the bass is delivered to you.
Be aware of the delivery status in the “Purchases” item. When your order is shipped, you will received an email from Reverb.
It’s not easy to be a seller in Reverb because Reverb charges you 3.5% of the total sale amount (including shipping) after your item has sold. If users pay items by Paypal, Paypal charges you 2.9% from the total amount transferred to your PayPal account.
No matter being a buyer or seller, respect each other because both of you can leave the feedback and rate the transaction.
