Any ebay sellers here?

[disneysteve]

Letting that tax tail wag the income dog.

Yep. People would rather give stuff away for free than sell it for cash just to avoid a simple tax form.

I’ll take the cash, thank you.

 

[Paulz]

LOL....Not quite. I realized that the listing fees, ebay fees, mailing supplies, and then the taxes were resulting in a lot of hassle for minimal gain. Unless you move a lot of merchandise, I bet you are not making the profit that you think you are. The taxes...that was the point that I realized its really not worth it for me. Glad you find it enjoyable or make those big profits......

 

[COcheesehead]

LOL....Not quite. I realized that the listing fees, ebay fees, mailing supplies, and then the taxes were resulting in a lot of hassle for minimal gain. Unless you move a lot of merchandise, I bet you are not making the profit that you think you are. The taxes...that was the point that I realized its really not worth it for me. Glad you find it enjoyable or make those big profits......

EBay takes about 10%. Listings for most items are free. The post office gives you the Priority packaging for free.

Anything you sell is almost like free money.

 

[captain3d]

My funds from recent sales are on hold because they need to be sure my 20 year old, 750 x 100% rating accounts is not going to rip off the buyer

 

[COcheesehead]

My funds from recent sales are on hold because they need to be sure my 20 year old, 750 x 100% rating accounts is not going to rip off the buyer

Hold for how long? Mine are held for a couple days and then transferred. That’s the norm.

 

[OldShooter]

LOL....Not quite. I realized that the listing fees, ebay fees, mailing supplies, and then the taxes were resulting in a lot of hassle for minimal gain. Unless you move a lot of merchandise, I bet you are not making the profit that you think you are. The taxes...that was the point that I realized its really not worth it for me. Glad you find it enjoyable or make those big profits......

As a pro bono small business mentor I frequently see clients' books where they are breaking even or generating a small profit. They are fine with this until I point out that they are not paying themselves for the labor they are putting in.

Any small business owner is entitled to two separate income items. First, they should be paying themselves a market rate wage for the work they are doing. In the case of eBay this includes sourcing items and supplies, listing items, physical packing and shipping activities, keeping records, etc. Certainly this work should pay north of $20/hour.

The second source of income is investment earnings on the money put into the business. For risky businesses I would suggest 20-25% rate of return.

There is a technical term for endeavors that do not pay like this: Hobby.

 

[travelover]

My funds from recent sales are on hold because they need to be sure my 20 year old, 750 x 100% rating accounts is not going to rip off the buyer

Resistance is futile. I tried to sell a 1950s cap gun on eBay and they said "No Guns!". I protested that it is a toy, for gosh sakes. OK, but all toy guns must have an orange barrel tip. So, I put orange tape on the barrel and tried to relist it. Not good enough! I finally tossed it out.

 

[mebden]

I've been on Ebay since 2001 and I liked it as you never had to claim what you sold as it was supposed to be just a hobby to sell some things that were collecting dust but now, they want to send you a tax form, so I'll probably quit selling as I already pay enough taxes and they turned Ebay into a business site. I know there are new sites popping up to sell things for the local hobbyist without all the crazy fees Ebay charges along with crazy shipping prices

 

[disneysteve]

EBay takes about 10%. Listings for most items are free. The post office gives you the Priority packaging for free.

Anything you sell is almost like free money.

I wish they only took 10%. It's more like 15%, though I think it varies by category.

A lot of my items don't ship Priority, but I certainly do use those boxes when I can. For everything else, I use the myriad of boxes we get on a regular basis from Amazon and everywhere else. On occasion, I snag one from work if I don't have the size I need. But definitely all free.

I also save all (well not ALL but a lot) of the sealed air things that we get and use them for cushioning.

I have bought bubble wrap and I do buy envelopes and mailing labels, but I'm able to deduct all of those expenses.

 

[disneysteve]

I've been on Ebay since 2001 and I liked it as you never had to claim what you sold

Well that's not quite true. All income is reportable. That doesn't mean you will owe taxes on it, but legally, you're supposed to report it. Even if you have a yard sale, you're supposed to report that money. Nobody does of course, but that is the law.

 

[disneysteve]

As a pro bono small business mentor I frequently see clients' books where they are breaking even or generating a small profit. They are fine with this until I point out that they are not paying themselves for the labor they are putting in.

That's true for most crafters, too. My wife sews and quilts. She's made thousands of dollars selling her wares, but that's not accounting for labor. If she actually charged a fair price for her time, she'd never be able to make a profit because the items would be exorbitantly expensive. Even if she charged $10/hr labor, it would add a couple hundred to the cost of a quilt and nobody would be willing to pay that.

In my case, I enjoy selling. It's a fun way to pass the time. I don't need to be paid for my time as long as I'm making a profit on the merchandise. It beats sitting and binge watching Netflix.

 

[COcheesehead]

I don’t look at eBay as a business, I look at it as a revenue stream for fun money. If I can make $20-$50 and it takes me under 30 minutes which it usually does - winning!

As I said up thread, we make $3000-$5000 a year. It’s fun, it’s easy. So what if I have to pay taxes. That’s like saying I won’t take a job because I have taxes taken out of my check. C’mon man.

 

[captain3d]

Two weeks

 

[DrRoy]

I dealt in coins on eBay in the early 2000's. I gave it up around 2009 as the fees had gotten too high and the selling prices got softer.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

eBay, Venmo & Paypal will have to report anything over $600 to the IRS in 2022, forcing one to file a Schedule C. Easier to sell you used stuff on Local Facebook and Craigs list.

 

[COcheesehead]

Two weeks

That’s not normal. What’s the whole story?

 

[COcheesehead]

eBay, Venmo & Paypal will have to report anything over $600 to the IRS in 2022, forcing one to file a Schedule C. Easier to sell you used stuff on Local Facebook and Craigs list.

As someone else said up thread, technically you still need to report income no matter where you get it. I get cash tips in my part time gig and I report them. I would hate to have small things exposed in an audit because then they can keep digging. FB also records sales so there is a paper trail if the IRS wants sot pursue it.
FB is OK to sell stuff, but Craigslist is a disaster. Little traffic and full of weirdos. At least on FB you can see who you are dealing with.

 

[disneysteve]

eBay, Venmo & Paypal will have to report anything over $600 to the IRS in 2022, forcing one to file a Schedule C. Easier to sell you used stuff on Local Facebook and Craigs list.

I sell on ebay and Facebook Marketplace. I also give things away on our local Buy Nothing group. They each serve a different purpose. The things I sell on ebay would be highly unlikely to sell on Marketplace.

 

[iloveyoga]

EBay takes about 10%. Listings for most items are free. The post office gives you the Priority packaging for free.

Anything you sell is almost like free money.

I think I missed the notification from eBay, but their cut is now 12.5% or thereabouts plus 30 cents per listing.

 

[COcheesehead]

I think I missed the notification from eBay, but their cut is now 12.5% or thereabouts plus 30 cents per listing.

I based my 10% number on my most recent sales. It varies, but 10% ish has been my experience.

 

[disneysteve]

I based my 10% number on my most recent sales. It varies, but 10% ish has been my experience.

You all must be selling different stuff than me. I just pulled out my last 6 sales. Here are the percentages that ebay's fee represented for each:


18.8%
14.0%
17.6%
15.5%
19.2%
16.6%


Are you including the fact that they charge a fee on the postage, not just on the item price?

 

[COcheesehead]

You all must be selling different stuff than me. I just pulled out my last 6 sales. Here are the percentages that ebay's fee represented for each:


18.8%
14.0%
17.6%
15.5%
19.2%
16.6%


Are you including the fact that they charge a fee on the postage, not just on the item price?

Wow that is high. My January numbers were in the 8%-10% range.

 

[disneysteve]

Wow that is high. My January numbers were in the 8%-10% range.

Maybe we're doing the math differently.

Sale with shipping $13.49
ebay fee $2.09 = 15.5%

Sale with shipping $16.45
ebay fee $2.90 = 17.6%

Sale with shipping $54.95
ebay fee $7.83 = 14.2%

 

[captain3d]

That’s not normal. What’s the whole story?

All because I have not sold in a while. One year maybe. Plenty of buying and no problems otherwise.

 

[disneysteve]

Wow that is high. My January numbers were in the 8%-10% range.

I was really curious about this comment so I finally checked ebay's fee schedule.

For most categories, the fee is 12.55% plus $0.30/item.
For books, movies, and music, the fee is 14.55%/$0.30 per item.
For sports and trading cards, the fee is 12.35% plus $0.30/item.

There are a couple of niche categories that have a fee less than 12.35% but the overwhelming majority of items fall in the 12.35 to 15% range plus the $0.30/item.

The fee does drop significantly on very expensive items. The portion of sales over $7,500 is only 2.35% (but the first $7,500 is still 12.55%).

Here is the full fee schedule:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/frais-pour-les-vendeurs-particuliers?id=4822