Europe doesn't have one used-gear market. It has a dozen, split by country and by habit: a Telecaster in Lisbon lives on OLX, the same guitar in Berlin on Kleinanzeigen, in Madrid on Wallapop, in Paris on Leboncoin — and a fourth copy sits on Reverb priced for the whole continent. Nobody browses all of them, which is exactly why the same instrument can differ by hundreds of euros between two tabs.
We watch these marketplaces continuously — that is the whole point of Doirado — so this guide can do something most "best places to buy gear" articles can't: tell you what each one is actually like, with measurements.
One number to hold onto
Across the tens of thousands of live listings we track, asking prices sit roughly 25–30% above what the same gear actually sells for. Sellers anchor high and drift down. Two practical consequences: never treat an asking price as a market price, and never feel rude offering less — the market already does. (Facebook Marketplace is the exception: asks there sit closest to real selling prices, about 8% over.)
The gear specialist: Reverb
The only major marketplace built solely for music gear, and the only one that behaves the same in every country. Listings are well-described, searchable by model, and shipped across borders as a matter of course. You pay for that: seller fees plus payment processing push prices up, and our data shows Reverb asks running among the highest of any platform for identical gear. In exchange you get real buyer protection, honest condition grading (mostly), and access to rare gear that will simply never appear on your local classifieds.
Best for: anything rare, anything you can't find locally, first purchases where protection matters more than price. Watch out for: "Make Offer" is the norm — the listed price is an opening position, not the price.
The auction floor: eBay
eBay's country sites (ebay.de above all — Germany is the biggest used-gear market in Europe) still host the continent's real price discovery: an auction that ends is one of the few moments a true market price becomes public. Buyer protection is solid. Fixed-price listings carry the same ask-inflation as everywhere else, but auctions ending at odd hours remain one of the last places genuine bargains surface on a protected platform.
Best for: mainstream gear in Germany and the UK, price-hunting via auctions, protected cross-border buying. Watch out for: shipping costs that quietly erase the bargain.
The local classifieds: OLX, Wallapop, Kleinanzeigen, Leboncoin, Marktplaats, Subito, Blocket
Different names, same species: free local listings, cash on pickup, no protection, no fees — and therefore the lowest real prices in Europe. This is where most of the continent's used gear actually changes hands. OLX rules Portugal, Poland and Romania; Wallapop is Spain; Kleinanzeigen is Germany's default; Leboncoin France; Marktplaats the Netherlands; Subito Italy; Blocket Sweden. No cross-border shipping culture, thin descriptions, photos taken on a couch — and the best deals you will find anywhere, precisely because the audience is only one country deep.
Best for: the lowest prices, trying before buying, heavy gear (amps, cabs, pianos) that nobody wants to ship. Watch out for: no recourse after cash changes hands. Meet in person, test everything, and check the price against real sold data first — a "bargain" is only one if the market says so.
The everywhere option: Facebook Marketplace
The largest audience and the least structure. Listings are thin, search is poor, scams are real — but the reach is unmatched and, measurably, sellers there price closest to reality. Local gear-trading groups (often instrument-specific) are frequently better than Marketplace itself: moderated, reputation-based, and full of people who know what things are worth.
Best for: local deals, fair asking prices, niche communities. Watch out for: payment-link scams and "my courier will collect it" messages. Cash, in person, always.
The shop counter: Thomann and dealer used programs
Thomann's B-stock and used sections — and the used walls of large dealers — sell at retail-adjacent prices with warranties attached. You will not find a deal here in the flipper's sense, and that's the point: it's the option where nothing can go wrong, priced accordingly.
Best for: buying peace of mind; gauging the ceiling a used price should never cross.
The comparison, in one table
| Platform | Where it rules | Protection | Fees | Real price level | |---|---|---|---|---| | Reverb | All Europe, specialist gear | Strong | Seller ~5%+ | Highest asks (~+29% over sold) | | eBay | DE, UK, FR | Strong | Seller ~10%+ | High asks; auctions = true prices | | OLX / Wallapop / Kleinanzeigen / Leboncoin | One country each | None | None | Lowest — asks ~+25%, cash talks it down | | Facebook Marketplace | Everywhere | None | None | Asks closest to reality (~+8%) | | Thomann / dealers | Mail-order Europe | Warranty | Built into price | Ceiling prices |
How to actually use this
Buying: check what the gear really sells for first, then shop the local classifieds of your own country with that number in hand, and fall back to Reverb or eBay when it's rare or far. Selling: list locally and on Reverb, price near the real market, and let velocity — not hope — set your patience.
Or skip the tab-juggling entirely: the engine already watched everything this morning.
OLX Portugal
