Where to Sell Guitars: Reverb, eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Local Options Compared

Where you sell a guitar depends on who is likely to buy it and whether you want to post it. A vintage Gibson, a mid-range Fender and a beginner’s acoustic each have a different buyer. Reverb and eBay reach players across the country. Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and Kleinanzeigen find someone nearby who can play it first. This guide compares them on fees, taken from each company’s own pages on 10 November 2026, and covers how to ship a guitar without it arriving with a broken neck.

We make FLUF Connect, a tool for listing the same item on several marketplaces. Most of this guide is about the marketplaces themselves.

Which Marketplace Should You Sell Your Guitar On?

How Do You Find Out What Your Guitar Is Worth?

Start with the exact model and year. The serial number, usually on the back of the headstock or on a label inside an acoustic, tells you where and roughly when it was made. Write down anything that has changed since it left the factory, such as replaced pickups, tuners or a refret. Collectors pay more for original parts, and an undisclosed change is a common reason for a return.

Then look at sold prices, not asking prices. The Reverb Price Guide records the price each time a used or vintage instrument sells on Reverb, and estimates values from sold listings in the same condition. It covers more than 240,000 products. On eBay, filter a search to sold items. A guitar’s own case adds value, and so does the original paperwork for a valuable guitar.

Who Buys Guitars on Each Marketplace?

Reverb: the marketplace for music gear

Reverb’s buyers are musicians looking for a specific model, so a niche guitar finds its buyer there faster than on a general site. In the US, Reverb charges a 5% selling fee on the total sale, including shipping, with a minimum of $0.50 and a maximum of $500. A payment processing fee of 3.19% + $0.49 comes on top. Listing is free. UK sellers pay an all-in 5% fee with no separate processing fee, plus 1% when the buyer is outside the UK.

Reverb also supports local pickup. The buyer pays through Reverb, and you are paid once they mark the guitar as received. FLUF Connect now supports Reverb crosslisting, paid-order detection and stock sync. Manage buyer messages, dispatch and returns in Reverb.

eBay: a broad audience and auctions

eBay suits a guitar whose price you are unsure of, because an auction lets buyers set it. In the US, Guitars & Basses has its own lower rate: a 6.7% final value fee on the total sale up to $7,500 and 2.35% above that, against 13.6% in most categories. Listing a guitar is free, and there is a $0.30 or $0.40 fee per order. In the UK, private sellers pay no final value fee. Fees apply if you list more than 300 items a month, buy optional upgrades or post overseas.

eBay UK also lets you offer collection in person, and names musical instruments as a good fit. The buyer pays at checkout, and you scan their code or type in their 6-digit code when they collect. Our eBay fee calculator works out the fee for your price.

Facebook Marketplace: local buyers who want to play first

Most guitars on Facebook Marketplace sell to someone who comes to try them. A buyer can check the neck, the electronics and how it plays before handing over money, which helps sell a guitar that photos don’t do justice to. For shipped orders in the US, Meta’s checkout terms set a Marketplace fee of 10%, with a minimum of $0.80, on the whole amount including shipping and tax. The Facebook Marketplace fee calculator shows what you keep.

Mercari: everyday guitars in the US

Mercari is free to list on and charges a 10% selling fee on the item price and any shipping the buyer pays, with no separate processing fee. It suits beginner and mid-range guitars, pedals and accessories more than collectable instruments. Try the Mercari fee calculator for a specific price.

Music shops: the quickest sale

A music shop will buy or part-exchange a guitar on the spot. In the US, Guitar Center evaluates gear in store and pays the same day on qualifying items. Expect less than a private sale, because the shop has to resell at a profit. It is a sensible route for a guitar that would sit unsold online, or when you are buying a new one anyway.

Sweetwater runs a used-gear marketplace, Gear Exchange, where you sell to other players rather than to the shop. It charges sellers a 5% seller fee and a 2.5% transaction fee, and waives both if you take your earnings as a Sweetwater gift card.

How Much Do Marketplaces Take From a Guitar Sale?

Here is what each would take from a $1,000 or £800 guitar, leaving shipping aside. Fees that are charged on the total go up once shipping is added.

On a guitar, eBay US costs less than Reverb because of its lower category rate. Reverb’s buyers may pay more for a niche model, so compare sold prices on both before you decide.

Should You Sell Locally or Ship?

Selling locally saves the cost and risk of shipping, and the buyer can play the guitar first. Shipping reaches far more buyers, which matters for anything unusual or valuable. You can do both: offer collection as well as postage, and let the buyer choose.

If you sell in person, follow the marketplaces’ own advice. Facebook suggests sharing your meetup plan with a friend and warns that cashier’s cheques can be counterfeit. Gumtree recommends meeting during the day in a busy public place and warns that payment confirmation emails can be faked. Kleinanzeigen calls pickup, with payment at handover, the safest way to trade, and warns about fake payment screenshots. Check the money has arrived in your own account, not on a screenshot, before the guitar leaves your hands.

How Do You Ship a Guitar Safely?

Reverb publishes a step-by-step guide to packing a guitar. Its main points:

• Loosen the strings and put paper between the strings and the fretboard. Take off a whammy bar and pack it separately.
• Box the case. A hard case on its own is not packaging. Put it in a shipping box with 2 inches of padding on each side.
• Pad around the headstock, not under it. On a guitar with an angled headstock, such as a Gibson, padding jammed underneath can act as a lever and snap the neck if the box is dropped.
• Keep the box under 48 inches long for an electric or acoustic guitar. A bass box can go up to about 52 inches.
• Pack for a 3-foot drop. Reverb notes that “Fragile” labels usually don’t change how a parcel is handled.
• Photograph the packed box from each side, keep the drop-off receipt, and add insurance or shipping protection.

Then check that the box fits the carrier. Guitar boxes are long, and that is where most surprises come from:

Reverb’s own shipping protection, Safe Shipping, is available on US Reverb labels and costs 1% to 3.5% of the sale price. Reverb’s discounted UK labels don’t cover guitars, so UK sellers buy postage elsewhere and add the carrier’s cover.

Where Do You Sell a Guitar in the UK and Europe?

• UK: eBay, Reverb, Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace. Most services on Gumtree are free, with paid extras such as Featured and Urgent priced by category and location. Gumtree’s own checkout covers clothing, footwear, accessories and children’s items under £250, so a guitar is paid for directly, usually in cash on collection, which Gumtree calls “often the safest option”.
• Germany: Kleinanzeigen is free for private ads in most cases; more than 100 ads in 30 days in goods categories costs €1.99 each. With its “Sicher bezahlen” payment, the buyer pays a service fee of €0.50 plus 4.5% and gets buyer protection for shipping within Germany. Sicher bezahlen is switched on for new ads; choose “Nur Abholung” (collection only) to turn it off.
• Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy: Marktplaats, Leboncoin and Wallapop are the local second-hand sites where guitars change hands.

Can You List the Same Guitar on Several Sites?

Yes, and it helps a guitar find its buyer sooner. A Telecaster might sell on eBay to a player three states away or on Facebook Marketplace to someone down the road, and you can’t tell which will come first. The risk is selling one guitar twice. When it sells in one place, the other listings have to come down quickly.

FLUF Connect lets you create the listing once, with your photos and description, and send it to the marketplaces you choose, out of 80+ it connects to. What happens after a sale depends on the marketplace:

You need your own seller account on each marketplace. Facebook Marketplace and Mercari connect through the FLUF browser extension or the FLUF Mobile app, and Gumtree through the browser extension.

How Do You Get a Better Price for Your Guitar?

• Clean it and fit fresh strings. A guitar that looks cared for and plays in tune photographs better and sells sooner.
• Photograph what buyers check. The headstock front and back, the serial number, the frets, the neck joint, the electronics cavity on a valuable guitar, and any wear or damage.
• Describe its condition honestly. List every modification and repair, and say how it plays: action, any fret buzz, whether the electronics are quiet.
• Include the case. A guitar with its original hard case sells for more and ships more safely.

Selling other gear and collectables? See where to sell vinyl records. If you sell more than guitars, our crosslisting app comparison covers tools for listing on several marketplaces.