Reverb, the largest online marketplace dedicated to buying and selling new, used, and vintage musical instruments, recently announced that it continued to see growth in gross merchandise sales for Q2 2021 compared to the extremely strong growth in sales it reported a year ago. Reverb attributes its sellers’ success to the company’s continued focus on improving the seller experience and finding new ways to get sellers’ inventory in front of Reverb’s global community of approximately two million music makers.
“Even as stores reopen and restrictions ease, consumers are shopping for musical instruments online. Players have experienced firsthand not only how easy it is to shop for music gear online, but also how a marketplace like Reverb gives them access to music gear from shops all over the world,” said David Mandelbrot, CEO at Reverb. “As these music makers return to Reverb, we’re committed to continuing to evolve the platform to make it easier for buyers to find exactly what they’re looking for from our sellers. My message to sellers is this: List all of your inventory on Reverb and we’ll do everything we can to get it in front of the right buyers.”
Over the past year, Reverb sellers have sold nearly 3 million pieces of gear on Reverb. In Q2, music gear across categories remained in demand, with guitars, amps, and accessories among the most popular items. When comparing to pre-pandemic results of the second quarter of 2019, orders for brand new guitars and amps were up more than 135%, and orders for brand new drums, keyboards, synthesizers, and pro audio were up 75-110%. Used gear was also popular, selling quickly—in the US, more than 50% of used gear sold within the first 30 days of being listed on Reverb, with a significant portion of that gear selling within seven days. Prices for vintage items remain high—as an example, the price for a Tascam Portastudio 414 MKII 4-Track Cassette Recorder has increased by nearly 50% since last year.
In Q2, Reverb launched a new search filter that helps buyers find nearby sellers, with the goal of driving more local buyers to dealers. Reverb also continued to improve the shipping process, including helping sellers more easily estimate how much it will cost to ship an item. Throughout the quarter, Reverb promoted sellers’ gear through marketing campaigns like “Maker May,” which highlighted more than two dozen independent gear makers. Marketing campaigns like this are created to drive more high-quality buyers to Reverb sellers.
“The quality of buyers on Reverb is what sets it apart from other e-commerce platforms. Reverb is more than an online marketplace, it truly is a community of music makers,” said Sharone Bechor from Rock & Soul in New York City. “Reverb has ultimately allowed us to reach the best possible buyer audience. We are now able to connect with passionate musicians and creatives all over the world.”
The Reverb team is constantly coming up with new ways to help dealers and brands connect with buyers. If you’re interested in helping shape the seller experience by testing out new features and tools, join the Seller Soundcheck program.
