Reverb.com
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Reverb.com does
Reverb.com is an online marketplace dedicated to buying and selling new, used, and vintage musical instruments and audio equipment. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, the company operates a two-sided platform serving individual musicians, professional collectors, and music retailers across categories including electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards and synthesizers, effects pedals, amplifiers, recording gear, drums, DJ equipment, and band/orchestra instruments. The platform supports transactions globally through its website and iOS/Android applications, with auxiliary sub-brands Reverb Outlet (certified pre-owned and B-Stock gear), Reverb Gives (youth music education grants supporting 200+ programs since 2018), and Artist Shops featuring musicians such as Victor Wooten, deadmau5, and Sonic Youth.
The platform's underlying technology centers on a catalog-driven marketplace with listing autofill, a proprietary Reverb Price Guide built on historical sold-listing data, integrated shipping label generation (USPS/UPS), and a Reverb Protection program covering lost, damaged, or misdescribed items. Supporting infrastructure includes Reverb Payments, Reverb Wallet for faster seller payouts, Reverb Credits, and a Seller Hub with pricing assistance. Content surfaces include Reverb News, category-specific Buying Guides, and an Exclusives and Makers section for boutique builders, all of which feed top-of-funnel acquisition.
Reverb's business model is a transaction-based take rate: sellers list for free and pay a 5% selling fee on completed sales, plus payment processing fees, with optional paid services such as Bump fees for increased visibility, shipping labels, and cross-border fees. The company was acquired by Etsy in 2019 for approximately $275 million, then divested to eBay in 2025 for $105 million in cash, with the sale completed June 2, 2025. Reverb continues to operate as a standalone platform under eBay's ownership, reporting 2024 annual GMS of $918M (down 2.6% YoY) and Q4 2024 GMS of $228.3M, with a headcount of 251–500 employees.
Reverb.com firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Reverb.com
- Legal name
- Reverb.com LLC
- Website
- https://reverb.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Reverb.com industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Musical Instruments Marketplace
- NAICS
- Musical Instrument and Supplies Retailers (459140), Used Merchandise Retailers (459510)
- SIC
- Musical Instruments (3931)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Musical Instrument Retail (Guitars, Keyboards, Drums, Band/Orchestra) (CRALAEAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Used & Vintage Musical Instruments Retail (CRALAEAH), Pro Audio & Recording Equipment Retail (MI-adjacent) (CRALAEAC), DJ Equipment & Electronic Music Gear Retail (CRALAEAD)
Keywords
Where Reverb.com is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Reverb.com business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace Transaction Fees: Reverb charges a 5% selling fee on completed sales plus payment processing fees. Additional optional fees include Bump fees for increased visibility, shipping label costs, and cross-border fees for international transactions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard marketplace fee structure |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Reverb.com product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Reverb.com operates a dedicated online marketplace where individuals and retailers list and sell new, used, and vintage musical instruments and audio gear (guitars, pedals, amplifiers, synths, recording equipment, drums, DJ gear) to buyers globally. The platform provides listing tools, a pricing database (Reverb Price Guide), integrated payment processing, shipping label purchasing, and buyer/seller protection on completed sales.
Product overview
Reverb.com is a dedicated online marketplace for musical instruments and audio equipment, operating as a single unified e-commerce platform connecting buyers and sellers globally. The core Reverb Marketplace offers new, used, and vintage instruments across categories including electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars, keyboards and synthesizers, effects and pedals, amplifiers, drums and percussion, pro audio, DJ gear, and band/orchestra instruments. Supporting the marketplace are complementary features: Reverb News provides editorial content; the Reverb Outlet offers certified pre-owned gear; Reverb Price Guide and Buying Guides assist purchasing decisions; Artist Shops enable celebrity sellers; Exclusives and Makers showcases boutique builders; and Reverb Gives channels a portion of sales to youth music education programs. Seller operations are supported through Seller Hub, Reverb Payments, Reverb Wallet, and Reverb Protection. A mobile app extends access to iOS and Android users.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Reverb Gives: A charitable program that provides youth music education programs around the world with instruments and gear they need to make music. Since 2018, Reverb Gives has helped over 200 youth music education programs in need.
- Reverb Outlet
Products and services
- Reverb Marketplace
- Reverb Outlet
- Reverb Price Guide
- Reverb Buying Guides
- Reverb Mobile App
- Reverb Seller Hub
- Reverb Payments
- Reverb Gift Cards
Quantifiable outcome
- Reverb is the largest marketplace dedicated to music gear
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Reverb.com
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Reverb.com technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Reverb.com partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Regent SoundsminorRegent Sounds, the legendary guitar store on London's Denmark Street, partnered with Reverb for an exclusive five-week online auction of T-Bone Walker's 1949 Gibson ES-5N guitar starting February 23, 2026, with bids invited over £1,500,000. The auction coincided with Regent Sounds' expansion to four times its original footprint and the opening of their Vintage Lounge.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Reverb.com competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- eBay: eBay is now Reverb's parent company and the largest general-merchandise online marketplace. eBay hosts extensive music-gear listings across guitars, amps, and pro audio and is both a competitor for non-specialized gear and a strategic distribution channel for Reverb going forward.
- Etsy: Etsy is a two-sided marketplace for handmade, vintage, and unique goods and was Reverb's parent from 2019–2025. Marketplace mechanics, fee structure, and seller/buyer dynamics are highly comparable, providing a useful business-model benchmark.
Direct peers
- Sweetwater: Sweetwater is the largest U.S. online retailer of new musical instruments and pro audio gear. While primarily a new-gear retailer (not a used marketplace), it competes for the same buyer audience and overlaps with Reverb's category breadth.
- Guitar Center: Guitar Center is the dominant U.S. brick-and-mortar music instrument retailer, offering new and used gear across guitars, drums, pro audio, and DJ equipment. It overlaps with Reverb's product categories and competes for both entry-level and professional buyers.
- Discogs: Discogs is the leading online marketplace for music collectors, focused on vinyl records, CDs, and cassettes. It is a direct two-sided marketplace comparable to Reverb's model, serving overlapping collector and enthusiast buyer personas.
- StockX: StockX is a two-sided marketplace for collectibles and sneakers that has expanded into electronics and trading cards. Its authentication-driven marketplace model and dynamic pricing data are conceptually similar to Reverb's Price Guide and protection program.
- Musician's Friend: Musician's Friend is a long-standing online music instrument retailer (owned by Guitar Center) selling new and used gear across guitars, drums, recording, and DJ equipment—directly overlapping Reverb's product categories and buyer personas.
- Sam Ash: Sam Ash is a U.S. music instrument retailer (currently restructuring/winding down) that historically competed in the same product categories as Reverb, including guitars, amps, and pro audio gear for both entry-level and professional musicians.
Regional players
- Thomann: Thomann is Europe's largest music instrument retailer, with extensive new and used inventory across all categories Reverb serves. It is a comparable vertical-focused music-gear retailer, though its primary market is Europe.
Others
- Shopify: Shopify powers direct-to-consumer storefronts used by many independent gear makers and boutique builders (Reverb's 'Exclusives and Makers' section features such sellers). It is the primary alternative channel for sellers considering building direct rather than using Reverb.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Reverb.com social profiles
Digital presenceReverb.com financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Reverb.com leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Reverb.com funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Reverb.com M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Reverb.com
What does Reverb.com do?
Reverb.com operates a dedicated online marketplace where individuals and retailers list and sell new, used, and vintage musical instruments and audio gear (guitars, pedals, amplifiers, synths, recording equipment, drums, DJ gear) to buyers globally. The platform provides listing tools, a pricing database (Reverb Price Guide), integrated payment processing, shipping label purchasing, and buyer/seller protection on completed sales.
Is Reverb.com a public or private company?
Reverb.com is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Reverb.com founded?
Reverb.com was founded in 2013. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Reverb.com based?
Reverb.com is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Reverb.com make money?
One revenue line is on record: marketplace Transaction Fees.
Who are Reverb.com's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are eBay and Etsy. Direct peers are Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Discogs, StockX, Musician's Friend and Sam Ash. Thomann is listed as a regional player. Shopify is listed as an others.
Does Reverb.com have an API?
No public API is recorded for Reverb.com.
What industry is Reverb.com in?
Reverb.com's product category is Musical Instruments Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRALAEAA, Musical Instrument Retail (Guitars, Keyboards, Drums, Band/Orchestra), with a secondary code of CRALAEAH, Used & Vintage Musical Instruments Retail. Its NAICS code is 459140 and its SIC code is 3931.