May 10, 2021 I Retail
Reverb Reports Another Record-breaking Quarter for Sellers
Reverb has announced the first quarter of 2021 was its best to date, with gross merchandise sales up nearly 50% compared to the same period last year. The company said it attributes the continued growth to a combination of consumers’ increased preference for online shopping and Reverb’s recent investments in seller tools and marketing to get sellers’ gear in front of more buyers online.
“There’s never been a better time to sell musical instruments online, with music gear in nearly every category in high-demand and selling quickly. Now that consumers have experienced first-hand the ease and benefits of buying music gear online, we expect they’ll continue to do so,” said David Mandelbrot, CEO at Reverb. “Our team is energized by the success our sellers are seeing right now, and it’s only strengthened our commitment to providing seller tools, marketing campaigns and more to help anyone looking for new or used musical instruments online find the perfect instrument from our seller community.”
Throughout the first three months of the year, guitar-related categories — acoustic guitars, electric guitars, accessories and more — remained popular. Reverb said it saw more searches for electric guitars in Q1 than it did during the busy holiday season, and effects pedals are the most popular they’ve ever been on Reverb. Pro audio gear remains popular, along with new analog and digital synths. Demand and prices for vintage synths and keyboards continue to increase. Reverb used as an example, the average price for the Roland Juno-106 has increased 15-20% in 2021. Reverb also stated that across many categories, used gear is being valued closer to the original price of the same item in brand new condition, citing that the average sale price for used gear was up 13% in Q1 compared to the same period last year.
In response to feedback gathered from its seller community, Reverb introduced in Q1 a new Advertising Dashboard aimed at helping sellers get their gear in front of as many buyers as possible. This new tool lets sellers see how buyers are interacting with their Reverb Bump promoted listings, dig deeper into what’s working and what’s not and more. To improve the shipping experience, Reverb also introduced the Reverb Shipping Corner, where sellers can print discounted Reverb shipping labels, find shipping materials, purchase Reverb Safe Shipping, and access additional shipping tips and tools from Reverb’s team of experts.
