Where to Sell a Guitar or Music Gear in 2026: Reverb, eBay, Facebook or Mercari?

Profitvana Editorial Team · Updated November 9, 2026

Two platforms matter and the answer depends on the instrument. eBay charges 6.7% plus $0.40 in its guitars and basses category with payment processing included; Reverb, the gear specialist, charges 5% selling fee plus 3.19% + $0.49 processing, about 8.2% all-in. For a guitar, eBay is cheaper; for a pedal, synth or microphone, eBay reverts to 13.6% and Reverb wins by a wide margin. Shipping a 10 lb guitar in a hard case costs $40–60 and dominates the sum on anything under $300.

What you receive on each platform: $600 guitar, buyer pays $40 shipping, insured label costs you $40

Computed from each platform’s verified fee schedule in our registry, on the same sale, ranked by what lands in your account after fees and the label. Costs the schedule does not carry (optional promotion, returns, your time) are in the notes and the text below.

#	Platform	Fees	Label you pay	You receive	Schedule used
1	Facebook Marketplace Local pickup, cash: no fee; buyer plays it first	$0.000% of price	$40.00	$600.00	no platform fee
2	eBay 6.7% guitars & basses rate + $0.40; other instruments 13.6%	$43.287.2% of price	$40.00	$556.72	Final value fee (6.70%) + Per-order fee
3	Reverb 5% selling fee (capped at $500) + 3.19% + $0.49 processing	$52.918.8% of price	$40.00	$547.09	5% + 3.19% + $0.49
4	Mercari 10% on item + shipping	$64.0010.7% of price	$40.00	$536.00	10%

Guitars: eBay's category rate beats Reverb

eBay's guitars and basses category carries a 6.7% final value fee (raised from 6.35% in February 2025) with payment processing included and the usual $0.40 per order. Reverb's 5% selling fee plus 3.19% + $0.49 processing comes to about 8.2% plus $0.49 on the same sale. On a $600 guitar with $40 shipping the difference is about $10 in eBay's favour, and on a $2,000 guitar about $27. Reverb's buyers are musicians and its listings carry gear-specific detail, so many sellers list on both and let the buyer decide; the fee difference is real but not large enough to forgo Reverb's audience on a rare instrument.

Everything else: Reverb, by a wide margin

The eBay category rate applies to guitars and basses only. Pedals, synthesizers, drums, microphones, amplifiers and pro audio are charged at eBay's 13.6% standard rate, against Reverb's 8.2% all-in. On a $300 synth that is about $41 on eBay against $25 on Reverb. Reverb also caps the 5% selling fee at $500 per item, so above $10,000 the effective rate falls; processing is not capped.

Local sales and the shipping problem

Shipping is the hidden decider. A guitar in a hard case costs $40–60 to ship insured in the US and can arrive damaged; a drum kit or an amp head is worse. Facebook Marketplace and local music-store consignment carry no platform fee, let the buyer play the instrument, and remove the shipping risk. For anything heavy, local first; for anything rare, Reverb or eBay with the shipping priced in. Mercari's 10% is competitive on fees but its buyers are not gear-specific and its shipping-label weight limits rule out most instruments.

Verdict

Guitars and basses: eBay at 6.7%, or both eBay and Reverb for a rare instrument.
Pedals, synths, mics, amps, drums, pro audio: Reverb.
Heavy or local: Facebook Marketplace or store consignment, no fee, no shipping risk.

Frequently asked questions

Is Reverb or eBay cheaper for selling a guitar?

eBay, in its guitars and basses category at 6.7% + $0.40 with processing included. Reverb's 5% plus 3.19% + $0.49 processing is about 8.2%. For any other instrument category eBay charges 13.6%, and Reverb is cheaper.

Does Reverb cap its fee?

The 5% selling fee is capped at $500 per item, so above $10,000 the effective rate falls. The 3.19% + $0.49 payment processing is not capped.

How this page is computed

The table runs one realistic basket for this category through the fee schedule of each platform as held in our registry, where every schedule carries the official page it was read from and the date it was last checked; category-specific rates (eBay’s sneakers, electronics, clothing, books and guitars rates, StockX and Whatnot tiers, Grailed’s price bands) are applied where they change the result. Platforms not yet in the registry are discussed but not ranked. Rates move: the change log records each change and this table recomputes with it.