How you can be scammed out of $7000 on Reverb even with 100% positive feedback

This is a long story, so if you are truly interested in it - grab a beer and read on. 

As a true Slash fan, I dreamed of a Gibson SG Doubleneck (a black two-neck SG) that Slash always played on Knockin' On Heavens Door, Patience, Civil War and many other killer Guns N' Roses songs.

Back in April 2011 on VKontakte, I created a "want" album with the guitars I dream of. Back then, I had nothing but a dream. In the album, the most desired guitar was the doubleneck. Over nine years, a ton of guitars passed through my hands, including almost all of Slash's signatures, except the Gibson SG Doubleneck. And then, a miracle! In 2020, Gibson introduced the Custom Shop signature - Gibson Slash 1966 Eds-1275 Double Neck Aged and Signed - the guitar is aged and made exactly like Slash's guitar.

I actually saw this news on the guitarist's own Instagram. I started pestering all the dealers and distributors I knew - I really wanted to order one - but it turned out all the guitars were sold immediately, and even dealer acquaintances couldn't offer even a minimal discount. The price of the guitar was about $13000 excluding shipping and other costs. I kind of moved on from this idea with the goal of waiting for a used one later. Time passed... the coronavirus we all love arrived. I switched to buying vinyls of my favorite bands, sat down to write music, work on an album, started messing around and remembered my own dream - the doubleneck.

I went on Reverb and Ebay - yes, used options appeared - someone had touched it and was selling it immediately, dealers did lower prices to 11-12k. Options for 10000 pop up, but not cheaper. I wrote to a couple of sellers on Reverb to see if they would significantly lower the price, so that I could buy a used one in the range of 7-8k. Mostly they refused, or gave an insignificant discount like free shipping within the USA. Also, this option caught my eye on reverb.com - https://reverb.com/item/32105763-gibson-slash-1966-eds-1275-double-neck-aged-and-signed

This is where it all began ... 

Now you won't see the description there that I saw. So I will write what it was like:

the photos are the same, the description is basically the same, about how they "are owners and did not play the guitar", however, this text was also written -

If you want make us offer - Contact us live on chat: Copy link chat: tawk.to/chat/5eb47f88a1bad90e54a2bad7/default.

Whatsapp: +1 (901) 552-2024 / E-mail: marinecitymusic @ fastimap . com

It was also written that they reply on Reverb once a day.

Of course, I wrote to the email and the person replied almost immediately. The gist of the start of the conversation was about bargaining - how much they could drop the price if the payment was quick and the shipping was within the USA. We haggled on a good figure of $7000 and at first he even wanted $225 for shipping within the USA, but then he agreed on 7k including shipping. I asked to change the price on Reverb, but the seller refused, citing additional Reverb fees, and that he would no longer do such a price. I checked reviews everywhere - on Reverb, on Google, on Facebook - everything was good - 100% positive feedback - the store exists, is active, sells expensive guitars - and ONLY expensive guitars, there are no simple ones there - https://reverb.com/shop/chris-s-gear-emporium-2

I gave the green light for the purchase outside of Reverb - via invoice - in the next message I received a link to the invoice from the seller - this was a new app for me, or rather a site - the resource invoice2go - also called pay2go, and the invoice started with https://pay.2go.com/

I was immediately relaxed by several facts: the presence of positive seller reviews, the invoice contained the store name, the guitar with the full model Gibson Slash 1966 Eds-1275 Double Neck Aged and Signed, the price, and, importantly, the invoice authorization went through Paypal. I simply entered my Paypal details in the required fields and clicked "pay". This was May 24, 2020. The money flew off, however, for a couple of days it remained in limbo and various checks, because the amount exceeded $5000, this is basically normal, but I still wrote to the seller, to which he replied that there is no need to worry and everything is okay, the guitar will be shipped on Monday. The first alarm signal for me was that after a few hours, the seller did not remove from sale on Reverb the guitar that I had already paid for, and I wrote to him about it, asked him to remove it, because I had already paid for it... a day later I received an answer that the guitar would be automatically removed from Reverb after they added the tracking number to their system.

In what system? I have been selling and helping to sell guitars on reverb.com for about 3 years and the listing is removed from sale by clicking one mouse button. Well, this was the second red flag. Monday passes, I don't get the track, only on May 27 do I get a reply from the seller that the guitar "was picked up yesterday and will be at your address on Saturday or Monday. I wrote two more emails, asked for the tracking number again (it is usually provided IMMEDIATELY, as a label, and then sent in the USA) and again asked to remove the paid-for guitar from sale on Reverb. By that time, the money had even been deducted from the account and completely left the hold. As a cunning move so that the seller would not disappear with answers, I sent him a message that I was also interested in one guitar from those listed on his Reverb, the Billy Gibbons Pearly Gates Aged and signed for $34000 - https://reverb.com/item/7706653-gibson-billy-gibbons-pearly-gates-les-paul-aged-signed-45 so that his appetite would grow, if this is a "scam" with a question of how much he would let it go for. I IMMEDIATELY received a reply that he would let it go for 26500 and that it is a super price for this guitar. I did not receive an answer to the previous questions "why has the already purchased guitar not been removed from sale?", however, the seller forwarded a message from DHL (!) of this nature:

Your parcel is expected to be with you between 13:11 - 17:11 on 6/01.

Shipment number: unavailable

Your DHL Parcel driver will deliver your parcel on Monday. The driver is expected to be with you between 13:11 - 17:11.

I didn't understand why the track is unavailable. Why he used DHL - I also didn't understand, the thing is that in the USA everyone only uses UPS, Fedex and, at worst, the cheaper USPS for guitars. This served as a reason for my serious concern. I didn't wait long and immediately registered on the American DHL site and wrote to support that same day requesting if any parcels had been sent to my name, specifying the sender and my address - the recipient with the zip code, last name, etc. Well, I decided to wait until June 6, as indicated by the seller Marine City Music & Collectibles. I wrote a few more letters to him, but I did not receive any answers. On June 2, I went to Reverb again and checked if anything popped up with his reviews... such good ones. On May 29, another positive review was added about the sale of a guitar by this seller - a real guitar, a real person, a guitar in the 2.5k range - everything is okay ...it seems. Meanwhile, I received a reply from DHL that there is nothing in the system for shipment to my name and my ZIP code... it smelled like trouble. I started googling the seller's email that I was writing to, his Whatsapp number that he indicated in his listings up for sale - I didn't find any negative info, but I noticed that he didn't leave these "his contacts" with the offer to make an offer on all items. However, even in the description of the guitar sold for 7k on Reverb by him, I found this email - marinecitymusic@fastimap.com and mobile +19015522024 , which were indicated in the description of the guitar that I paid for, but then he deleted these contacts from the description. In general, some kind of incomprehensible garbage to me. Why would such a store with 100% positive reviews do this and disappear without sending the goods to the buyer? For me, this is a mystery to this day. Anyway, nothing happened, every day I wrote emails, I didn't get answers. On June 6, the guitar did not arrive, I sat down again to google what is happening with the seller's account (maybe someone hacked it), but no! The guitar I paid for was also not removed from sale, the descriptions were changed almost everywhere, now these contacts with a link to live chat, email and mobile phone were on other guitars on Reverb. I decided to search for the official website of the store ...

http://www.marinecitymusic.com/

here I found a link to the store on Reverb at the bottom of the page - http://www.marinecitymusic.com/about.html

everything adds up, the option that the seller was hacked is ruled out, everything was done consciously. Even the option of a "partial hack" (for example, someone hacked the store and added a "fake" phone and email to the descriptions of some guitars) is ruled out, because through his reviews I checked all the items sold on Reverb.com itself and found this guitar - https://reverb.com/item/26892301-gibson-custom-shop-joe-perry-signed-gold-rush-les-paul-2019-goldtop this is the only link where the seller's email and phone were preserved, which I also fell for. However, the review is positive, the buyer simply, apparently, did not bother with bargaining, but just bought it by clicking buy now on Reverb, and the seller, of course, knowing the serious responsibility, sent him the guitar. It is no longer possible to edit the description when the item has been sold on Reverb, so 100% fact that the page was not hacked. Moreover, naturally after seeing this, every normal seller would have changed the password, but no... this character moved these contacts from the description of one guitar to another for a very long time.            

the most fun part started right here - http://www.marinecitymusic.com/contact.html

in the contacts a number is indicated - +1.8104200906 and email marinecitymusic@gmail.com

These same contacts are also listed on the store's Facebook page, however, they differ from those that were indicated in the guitar being sold on reverb.com, the mobile phone is registered in a completely different state, and not even a neighboring one. 

Here I broke into a sweat and turned pale. Yana, my beloved wife, while processing another batch of guitar photos, saw me and immediately started asking what happened. I told her everything as it was, thanks to her for her support all this time, and the 100 grams of cognac poured, which I downed almost in one gulp to calm down.

I wrote to the support of the invoice2go site through which I paid for the guitar, in support they told me to contact the seller and that they do not bear any responsibility at all, but only provide a platform for convenient preparation of invoices, and all complaints are to the seller or Paypal. 

In convulsions, I started calling my friend and partner in the USA, told him the story, in response he could only sympathize, but also tried to support me, and said that it is normal if there is one phone on the site, and a different one in fact, because one person can be the owner, and another can handle sales, who, for example, moved from another state and gave himself as an example. Also my friend and partner in the USA said that he would call this seller on the mobile number listed on the official website. In general, I cooled down a little... I decided to wait longer. At this time, "black lives matter" riots were taking place in the USA and I thought that maybe there really were delays because of this.

What else did I do… I wrote on WhatsApp to the number from Reverb – just Hello! I received a reply only 4 days later - Hi. The number is marked as business. No one answered calls to the mobile from the official website, and they still don't answer to this day; my friend called the USA from different numbers – to no avail – an answering machine. I wrote to their Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/marinecitymusic/

With the question of whether your shop on Reverb is a copy or a fake? The messages were read, but no one replied. I also sent messages to the official email from the website – there was silence there too – 0 replies.

On June 10, I wrote an email to the address where the seller had replied to me earlier, and 12 hours later, I finally received a reply:

Hi! Sorry for your waiting, we have been informed that due to the present riots there are some serious delays.

 

DHL Notification:

Summary: (Last Updated: 06/09/2020; 16:32) Demonstrations across the U.S.

Ongoing demonstrations have led to service delays in locations across the country. DHL service continues and we are working to minimize any delays. Our priority is the safety of our employees and our customers. As an essential service provider, we will continue to make every effort to deliver to all areas as conditions permit.

Prior to shipping, please check to see if your recipient’s location is open, since some businesses’ hours may have changed either due to local restrictions or at the business’s discretion. Note that where a business remains open during our scheduled delivery day/times, we will make three routine delivery attempts before returning a package to the sender.

 

Basically, what I expected and the situation is the same – no tracking number, the guitar is still for sale. I decide to “show my cards” and write to the seller that I wrote to DHL and they confirmed information that there were no shipments at all under my name. 2 days later – June 12 – I receive the last message from the seller:

I have called DHL and I'm very upset how they managed this shipping, If they will not ship your guitar until Monday I want my item back in store and I will use another shipping company.

To which I respond again with a question about the tracking number and write that I no longer like this deal. After that, I wait for an answer for a few more days – I don't get one and decide to open a case in my account on paypal.com. Even though the payment was on a third-party resource, it went through PayPal and I could complain there, as it went through as “Hardware” (and not the guitar and its specific description), and the invoice itself did not appear in PayPal – it wasn't even visible where and to which email the payment went. The long-awaited button and on June 18 (almost a month after buying the guitar) the case on PayPal was opened regarding non-receipt of the paid item. In the open case, I described the whole situation as it was, provided screenshots of invoices, correspondence, attached them to the complaint, and armed myself with patience.

The case review process in PayPal is such that at first, you open a case and communicate only with the seller there. No one answered me anything, the seller was silent. After about a week of waiting, you can send the case to the PayPal Resolution Center – in other words – you ask for help and the intervention of the PayPal team. They showed me deadlines in the system - we have to contact the seller by July 11. To be honest, I said goodbye to the money back in early June, when I realized it was a “scam”. Closer to the end of the deadline, I checked the Resolution Center – but there was still no movement, no replies. On July 9, I went into PayPal and saw that the decision on the issue began to move further to July 16. With great difficulty, I went through all possible bot chats and so on and reached a real person who answered me only a day later that it was not possible to contact the seller and we are, they say, on your side…. Blah blah blah. These are all fairy tales. I thanked them and stopped going in and checking, having finally lost hope.

On the evening of July 12, I went into my PayPal and was stunned…

 

+7000 $ Refund – from a certain hugomedrano36@outlook.com – I understand this is the email of the crook himself, I don't believe my eyes – I go to the PayPal resolution center and see the long-awaited “The case was closed in your favor”.

I’m driving home to celebrate the refund with my family with champagne and thinking of a plan for how I will write this article and distribute it all over the internet, including English-language forums where I am also well known. After this article, I hope the shop and seller Marine City Music & Collectibles will be banned on reverb.com and with my negative reviews in their direction, I will be able to protect inexperienced buyers from their fraudulent schemes and deceptions. Returning to the question - why does a shop with 100% positive feedback need this? - a zero-interest loan for a month? Crisis in the country and with sales? ... For me, it remains a mystery... I personally cherish my name very much and it is stupid to lose it so stupidly even for 7000 dollars, even for 100.    

How to avoid fraud when buying a guitar or other musical equipment from the USA, on ebay.com or reverb.com?

- if you are buying yourself - try not to buy from sellers without reviews

- if you have no experience - use the services of intermediaries – whether it's ladkorguitars or another person or shop, otherwise the chance of losing money is too great

- try to buy on resources like ebay or reverb

- do not try to save money and do not buy goods via PayPal invoices, on forums, and from resources you don't understand – ebay and reverb charge sellers a percentage specifically for protecting their money

- if you still took the risk to buy – use a PayPal invoice and ensure everything is written there, the model and year and color, etc.

- if you are like me - a risky dumbass – and decided to pay for a guitar via a third-party resource invoice – under no circumstances pay directly by card, use PayPal to enter the system! But take screenshots of every step you take when paying!  

- never send money via PayPal Friends and Family to an unknown seller with whom you have not dealt before – you will not see that money again.      

- if you find yourself in a similar situation - never give up! Go to the end!          

I really ask you to spread this article around the world. For my part, I will ask my friends and acquaintances to help with this, guitar YouTube channels for example – Guitar Stories with Dima - please repost, please talk in your videos, tell your friends. I hope I can warn you and your friends and acquaintances from the situation that happened to me and you won't go gray with a few more tufts of hair and will live happily ever after!

Vlad Ladkor