Trying to decide whether to go with Reverb’s Direct Checkout or PayPal as your account’s selected payment method when selling your music gear on Reverb.com?
This article will give you the low down on the two options, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and which to choose when listing your gear.
Check it out:
Which Should You Choose: PayPal or Direct Checkout?
Reverb’s Direct Checkout is a relatively new feature that allows sellers to accept payment for their music gear directly on the Reverb website.
When enabled, buyers can pay with their credit card directly on Reverb without needing to leave the website (as would be the case when signing into PayPal to complete a purchase). Payouts (the money you earn from your sale) are then deposited directly into your bank account.
The biggest benefit to sellers is likely the lower payment processing fee. Reverb’s Direct Checkout charges a 2.7% fee on the total sale value plus an additional charge of $0.25 (per transaction). PayPal, however, charges a 2.9% fee on the total sale value plus an additional charge of $0.30 (per transaction).
While the difference may be small, as a seller making the switch costs you nothing and it’s as simple as checking a box when listing your music gear.
Another added bonus to Reverb’s Direct Checkout is that if you select to receive payment as Reverb Bucks, you (as the seller) will receive payouts immediately into your Reverb account. Reverb Bucks are essentially a credit balance that you can use to buy gear on Reverb. So obviously, if you use this option, you’ll only be able to spend the money you made from your sale on Reverb.
However, if you do elect to receive payments as Reverb Bucks, you will also get a 1% discount on purchases you make on Reverb.
Having trouble selling your gear on Reverb? Then check out this FREE PDF, “5 Tips to Sell Your Gear on Reverb Fast”.
To reiterate, if you choose to use Reverb’s Direct Checkout, you do not need to accept payment via Reverb Bucks. This is simply an added option that will give you instant access to your money in the form of a balance on Reverb that you can use to make purchases.
A negative to using Reverb’s Direct Checkout, however, is that you’ll need to wait a bit for your money (if you do no choose to accept payment in the form of Reverb Bucks).
On your first transaction using Reverb’s Direct Checkout, payout will be initiated once the item you sold has been delivered (it will sit in waiting in the meantime). On any following transactions, payout will be initiated once a tracking number for the item you sold has been added. In some cases, payout can take as much as two days.
When using PayPal, you will receive your payouts immediately. So if you need the money right away, this may be a better option for you. Remember though, that it will still take a few days to transfer money from your PayPal account to your bank account. So the waiting time might even equal out.
Conclusion
In my opinion, Reverb’s Direct Checkout is a better option. At the very least, it doesn’t hurt having the option enabled as some customers would rather checkout directly on a site using their credit card rather than using PayPal.
With Direct Checkout, you are charged a smaller fee on your transactions. You can also elect to receive payouts in the form of Reverb Bucks which will give you access to your money immediately to use on Reverb.
So unless you need your money immediately, I’d recommend going with Reverb’s Direct Checkout.
Two major issues with the Reverb Bucks option: the first is obvious…you can only spend them at Reverb. But the other is that any of the sellers you want to purchase from in the future must accept Direct Checkout/credit cards as a form of payment (as opposed to PayPal) or else you can’t purchase from them. That’s very frustrating.
Let’s chat about the protection!
PayPal disputes anyone?
Buyer’s can file disputes within 180 days. Reverb has a 7-day window for buyers. That is some increased seller protection!
I hadn’t really thought of that. I didn’t know there was such a difference there. Thanks for pointing that out!
Do you guys think reverb payments options (Visa/MC/Affirm/etc) increases sales over paypal only?
Long story short, I learned by experience that Reverb will try to help when things go wrong between a buyer and a seller, but PayPal will not. It makes sense when I think about how many transactions PayPal must process a day. (I looked it up, it’s over 10 Million per day during 2020 if you divide their annual: 3.74B, by days in a year: 365)
I was the buyer, and would have been faced with an unfair predicament by PayPal due to their rigid policy. I forgot that I paid directly, so before I remembered that, I researched online and read forum posts to see what PayPal would do. For example, PayPal customer service told one person (a seller) explicitly that they simply do not read the details of a dispute (!). One-size-fits-all approach to refunds, end of story. So the seller was forced to refund, despite the item being returned in severely damaged condition. My case was unusual, so without going into too much detail, I am very grateful I made the decision to directly pay Reverb for my purchase. I was relieved when I logged in to PayPal and discovered the charge hadn’t been made there so I didn’t need to go through them!
Not only did it mean I was protected from an unfair outcome, Reverb actually reached out to me, unprompted, by telephone to resolve things with the seller. Good luck getting PayPal to do that. While I did have a contingency plan (filing dispute with my credit card company), it wouldn’t have been a sure thing if I’d gone with PayPal, since their terms of sale stand unless they say otherwise, and they don’t have a mechanism to make exceptions. Why? 10. Million. Transactions. A day.