Good point. Also:
1. Use of Reverb-bucks bypasses Paypal fees.
2. Much lower fee compared to eBay.
3. The "make an offer" model leads to quicker sales and better deals than eBay's "But It Now" or waiting for an auction to end.
4. Physical, actual music stores often have a Reverb site. I can buy sticks and heads, and actually support a store, rather than some nameless, faceless broker. This comes in very handy when discussing returns or exchanges.
5. Just my impression here, but sellers seem to "dream" less about getting 95% of full price for used items.
When I buy musical instruments or the like on Ebay, I've purchased from DCP, Sweetwater (awesome, and in my state), Music 123, Cascio, etc. If you pay attention to whom you buy from, it's very safe. I've also purchased from individuals--once again, paying attention is the key (I will NOT buy from anyone with less than 98%, unless it's a situation where they have 92% feedback, but one negative feedback and 13 positive total, something like that).
I do understand the fees. I've not like eBay's fees for a long time. But, I only recently got back into drumming, never knew what Reverb was until this past December-ish.
Ebay allows offers to be made as well. I'm not some huge Ebay seller. I get nothing for saying anything positive about Ebay. It's just a simple and easy choice for many purchases. You simply have to be careful.
SELLING IS DIFFERENT. Absolutely, yes. But you have to set your parameters. You only ship here, you accept this pay preference. I mean honestly, some of you sound like you've sold items to crackheads or something on Ebay. I've simply never had that problem. I've NEVER sold $1000 worth of drums though either.
All I can say is, Ebay is big. I wouldn't deny myself the opportunity to sell to that many more potential buyers, because of some problems here and there. Fees suck, yes--no denying it. That's the one thing that Ebay does need to change.
I've negotiated on Ebay as well. Simply message a seller, or you can offer "watching buyers" a "special deal".