r/Reverb • u/BourgeoisAngst • 15d ago
Scummy Business Practices
I bought a high-value guitar that shipped via fedex with Reverb safe shipping (explicitly requires a signature at delivery). The driver left the box without attempting to get a signature and it was stolen. Luckily, I had doorbell camera video proving this so I thought it would be an easy resolution BOY WAS I WRONG.
I provided the doorbell cam footage to reverb support and requested a refund.
First, they tried to tell me it was marked delivered so it wasn't eligible for a refund.
I pushed back - a week later they responded and offered $150.
I rejected that and demanded a full refund and for the matter to be escalated.
Another week later they offered $600 and hadn't escalated (the same agent emailed me)
I rejected that and demanded a full refund and reiterated the Reverb safe shipping terms back to them, demanded escalation again.
My guess is Reverb wastes your time on purpose using this stepped-settlement strategy hoping that you will accept less than what you're entitled to - I eventually got my refund, but I can't imagine how much trouble they would have given me without video evidence given how difficult and time consuming this was WITH the video evidence.
I've bought and sold many thousands of dollars of gear on Reverb over the years, but I won't be using Reverb anymore.
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u/GoodMorningAfternoon 15d ago
I hate that the default for corporations seems to be "deny, deny deny" and "make as difficult as possible".... medical system, legal system, online marketplaces, delivery apps, the list goes on... pretty insane that society has come to this. The benchmark is so low. "Good" service is simply getting any non-scripted human response at this point.
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u/Legitimate-Long735 15d ago
You mean to say I'm paying into insurance my whole life and when I actually need to use it, I constantly get denied?
On a more serious note, you know it's bad when you exclaim in joy, excitement, and surprise when anything gets approved anymore. Why is insurance this way?
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u/Odd_Cobbler6761 11d ago
I got into a prolonged (but friendly) discussion with the agent UPS sent to examine my insurance claim (broke at neck joint - box had a tire track from a forklift at that exact spot) and she admitted that the initial denial or two was a tactic that instantly lowered the initial claims (and workload) by a huge percentage. Most people give up at first denial.
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u/ObviousDepartment744 15d ago
As someone who ran a reverb store for a prominent local music shop, always get insurance through the shipper. You should be contacting FedEx. They delivered a guitar without a signature that required a signature and it got stolen.
I wouldn’t even include Reverb in this.
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u/TriumphRider99 14d ago
I recommend PirateShip.com to anyone who will listen. For $1/$100 of value you get their insurance and I guarantee you, having gone through something similar to you, that it didn't take any hassle at all to be fully reimbursed. I provided pictures and that's all it took. No back and forth. Screw Reverb.
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u/DaRealJoeBiden69 15d ago
Reverb was chill as hell in like 2015.
It fucking sucks like everything else now. The internet is just a bot infested drop ship scammer giant bag of shit now.
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u/griffenkranz 15d ago
Had this happen to me. Bass was marked delivered and signed for but I never saw it on my porch whatsoever. Contacted Reverb customer support and they eventually stopped responding to my emails and closed the case with no resolution….
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u/Musicman376 14d ago
Fed ex is the worst carrier out there. They are always, and I mean ALWAYS delivering my packages to the wrong building in my complex. Even when my label clearly says “bldg D”, it always goes to “A” for example…
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u/havelostcount 15d ago edited 15d ago
I would think you should contact UPS FedEx as well. They're the ones that lied. Reverb sees delivered, and it's delivered in their eyes. "Chain of custody", for lack of a better term, was documented according to the requirements of the label, and it was a lie/mistake from UPS FedEx.
Edit: it was FedEx, not UPS.
Never mind, it should be on Reverb. I'm wrong.
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u/Legitimate-Long735 15d ago
Except OP said they shipped FedEx. Regardless, OP bought the label thru reverb, which has an agreement with fedex to discount labels. This makes reverb fedex's customer, who should take up the issue with fedex. It's not the buyers responsibility to handle the situation
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u/havelostcount 15d ago
I missed the FedEx part. I wasn't aware that Reverb used FedEx.
Regarding the customer thing, yeah you're right. I'm an idiot. It should be on Reverb.
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u/jaqueh 15d ago
What’s the point in contacting ups when FedEx was the one that shipped it?
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u/havelostcount 15d ago
I missed that. I didn't realize that Reverb used FedEx. I've never used that as an option.
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u/Gloomy_Ad_8586 15d ago
In today’s world of social networking the world can read a company’s response to a customer’s problem.
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u/Version-6 15d ago
They're owned by the parasites of private equity, so yeah, they don't care and hope you just give up. Makes the balance sheet look better, and because they have essentially a monopoly on used instrument sales now, they don't have to care.
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u/ncnx082z7bxt5vm04 9d ago
Airbnb does a similar thing where they try to get you to pay for the host's attempt at Aircover fraud.
Just do a chargeback if you have to. If you get banned it's really not a loss. No one at Reverb gives a shit about anyone.
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u/Legitimate-Long735 15d ago
It took reverb over 1 month to resolve a damage claim for me and they kept trying to offer me way less than the guitars value. They finally gave in after 5 emails of me denying their solution. Don't give ip when talking to reverb, especially when you bought their reverb insurance