Fraudulent Reverb Listings In Spades.

Exact same f'ing guitar as the one listed with a different seller. I bet they have some kind of coode
embedded in the listing (or photos, or their fake accounts) that allows them to phish for vital data
when a purchase is made by an unsuspecting buyer. No way these folks are spending all this time
repeatedly listing guitars at a majour discount for no payoff.

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TSJMajesty said:
Think maybe they're stolen, and they want to unload them before anyone knows they're missing?
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Pretty sure that is not the case here. The photos are "borrowed" from previous Reverb listings
and then used to create a "fake" listing at a price guaranteed to get some sucker to buy it.

Someone above knows more than me and thinks otherwise, but my guess is they are using
these listings to secure vital data, up to and including CC info. My hunch is Reverb's security
surrounding buyer's CC info is maybe not as secure as some would like to assume.
 
la szum said:
Pretty sure that is not the case here. The photos are "borrowed" from previous Reverb listings
and then used to create a "fake" listing at a price guaranteed to get some sucker to buy it.

Someone above knows more than me and thinks otherwise, but my guess is they are using
these listings to secure vital data, up to and including CC info. My hunch is Reverb's security
surrounding buyer's CC info is maybe not as secure as some would like to assume.
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Well I notice they're all foreign listings. I don't see how someone could not, at the very least, be cautious enough to pass, since these prices are so obviously well below even what someone might price an item for a quick sale. I go by the old saying, If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

And this shit will have the extra bonus of making buyers in general distrustful of people who are new to selling on Reverb.
 
I suspect a lot of these may also be fake/Chibsons or something... ie, the guitar is real, it's just not what it says it is. They look good enough online to get someone to bite - maybe you can tell in person but not from some pictures.

There are also some pretty good YT videos on how to spot fakes.

Larry Ball said:
Hopefully Reverb isn't ruined by the greedy people in the world.
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That would make it one of the only places in world that isn't ;-(
 
jefferski said:
I suspect a lot of these may also be fake/Chibsons or something... ie, the guitar is real, it's just not what it says it is. They look good enough online to get someone to bite - maybe you can tell in person but not from some pictures.

There are also some pretty good YT videos on how to spot fakes.


That would make it one of the only places in world that isn't ;-(
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It's all kinds of guitars, though. Martins. PRS. Gibson. None of them look fake to me. Like I
mentioned above, the pics are stolen from other listings, and then an account is created
that has ZERO feedback and a listing is made with the guitar priced thousands lower than
it would be if it were real. They are TRYING to entice and seduce a buyer. My question is
why are they doing it? Are they able to backdoor a way to someone's CC info if they make
the purchase---even though Reverb says it can't happen?

And if Reverb says it can't happen, then why is it happening dozens and dozens of times
per day? I am only posting the ones I catch---so there has to be an helluva lot of more.
 
shemihazazel said:
Our lead guitarist wants to "Fractalize" in the near future. The other day he was texting me Reverb listings for AF3s and FM9s. The asking prices were just plain bonkers, like $500-$1000 above what you could get one for NEW. The gall of some people, I STG.
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I have seen the same thing and thought as you, then I looked at the sold listings, and people are actually buying for those crazy prices.

Another is the package deals that are priced pretty high, but seem legit until you add up the retail and it's less. Specifically, I'm talking about Synergy set ups with many modules. Looks like a lot for a package price, but add it up and it's more than retail.
 
Mike Evans said:
I have seen the same thing and thought as you, then I looked at the sold listings, and people are actually buying for those crazy prices.

Another is the package deals that are priced pretty high, but seem legit until you add up the retail and it's less. Specifically, I'm talking about Synergy set ups with many modules. Looks like a lot for a package price, but add it up and it's more than retail.
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BTW, my first thought was people in other countries that couldn't get the stuff, but these sellers specifically only shipped to US.
 
TSJMajesty said:
Think maybe they're stolen, and they want to unload them before anyone knows they're missing?
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Didn't someone just steal a whole bunch of high end Gibson's recently? It was definitely the news,. I just didn't remember if the guitars were recovered or not.
 
Reverb has been flooded with these scams in the past month or so. It’s not just guitars, it’s all kinds of gear. In most cases, it’s a new seller account from outside the US with no feedback. The idea seems to be to lure in a buyer with a deal too good to be true, then not deliver, and hope the buyer doesn’t file a claim with reverb or PayPal. I suppose if only a small percentage of the scammed buyers don’t file a claim, for whatever reason, that makes it worthwhile. Reverb seems to be shutting down the accounts as fast as they can, but these are temporary accounts that are often only used to sell a single item, so Reverb is struggling to handle this problem.
 
But you are required to ship and upload tracking info---and then that info has to be
valid and updated with the shipping service used---before Reverb approves payout
to your financial institution? No valid tracking = no money.

That would mean these people with the fraudulent listings are not getting paid from
the sale---they are benefiting some other way. I see a more nefarious outcome I suggested
elsewhere in this thread.
 
No, it’s simpler than that. All the reports I’ve seen, they ship something and provide a tracking number so they get paid. It’s just not a valid item. Most people get their money back by filing a claim. The only imaginable motive here is to hope some buyers don’t file a claim. There is no other way to get anything of value from the buyer. Nobody can get your CC info by attaching a photo of a guitar to a Reverb listing.
 
la szum said:
But you are required to ship and upload tracking info---and then that info has to be
valid and updated with the shipping service used---before Reverb approves payout
to your financial institution? No valid tracking = no money.

That would mean these people with the fraudulent listings are not getting paid from
the sale---they are benefiting some other way. I see a more nefarious outcome I suggested
elsewhere in this thread.
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They ship you a box full of bricks.
 
BTW, this scam has been going on since the early eBay days.

  • Set up a new bank account using fake ID.
  • Set up an eBay/Reverb account.
  • List an item you don't actually own.
  • Sucker buys it.
  • Ship him a box of bricks.
  • eBay/Reverb stupidly pays you before item arrives.
  • Withdraw money from bank account.
  • Close bank account.
 
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