So what the hell is up with this now???

Apparently as of Jan 1 2020 Ebay is now collecting taxes on everything you buy through them. How does that even work? Ebay is not a store, they are not the ones selling the stuff???

I just found out about it yesterday AFTER I won a item and went to check out. That seriously F'ed me up a bit as I work out my max price with what I am willing to pay with shipping included. My final price WITH TAX now... was more than I was wanting to spend. Not to mention the several other items I had been watching, which I guess I will no longer be bidding on.

I even messaged the seller afterwords just for giggles really, and he new nothing about it. It took a bit of searching before I found a ebay faq that mentioned it, and also found a bunch of other people that were equally surprised and irritated.

A few replies to most of them stated that the seller added the tax and it is shown under the shipping tab in the listing. It is not mentioned ANYWHERE on any of the listing I have been watching! And again being that the seller I bought from new nothing about it, this just don't make any sense at all.

This is going to put a serious damper on things

You can thank Congress for this, not the seller or eBay.

Paying sales tax on a most likely used item, from most likely an individual, in another state (or country) on ebay doesn't make sense. Maybe because they get a % of the sale? I quit ebay/paypal many years ago so haven't been on ebay since.

Wonder if it'll catch on with craigslist and other private sale sites?

The problem is that many eBay transactions are more alike Amazon, where they're selling for a 3rd party, than a casual sale. Many people are operating what are essentially on-line stores on eBay.

Still: I'm surprised eBay is doing this. Are you certain it wasn't the seller?

quote:

Originally posted by az4783054:
Paying sales tax on a most likely used item, from most likely an individual, in another state (or country) on ebay doesn't make sense. Maybe because they get a % of the sale? I quit ebay/paypal many years ago so haven't been on ebay since.

Wonder if it'll catch on with craigslist and other private sale sites?

Exactly. You are buying a used item from a individual, not a new item from ebay. I have bought from overseas many times as well. I'm not sure I even want to know how that is going to work anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
The problem is that many eBay transactions are more alike Amazon, where they're selling for a 3rd party, than a casual sale. Many people are operating what are essentially on-line stores on eBay.

Still: I'm surprised eBay is doing this. Are you certain it wasn't the seller?

The seller I bought from said he knew nothing about it. Didn't see anything different on his end. I didn't see anything anywhere about it until right before the "pay now" step during checkout.

I could kind of see it making sense for the "store front" sellers, but for everyone else it don't seem right.

All the digging I have been doing so far, most hits say it is the seller not ebay but if the seller doesn't know anything about it and it is not shown or listed anywhere in the listing, how can they be the one adding it?

This is a quote direct from the ebay faq that I found....

"Prior to the effective date, you should continue to collect and remit tax in these states if required. Additional states will be added to this list at a later date.

Once eBay starts to collect tax in the above states, no action is required on your part, and there will be no charges or fees for eBay automatically calculating, collecting and remitting sales tax. The collection process will apply to all sales, whether the seller is located in or outside of the United States.

When a buyer purchases an item on eBay, and the ship to address is one of the above states, eBay will calculate and add the applicable sales tax at checkout. The buyer will pay both the cost of the item along with the sales tax. eBay will collect and remit the tax.

Sellers are not able to opt out of selling items into the states listed above or opt out of eBay automatically collecting sales tax."


Looks to me that it is clearly ebay.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
You can thank Congress for this, not the seller or eBay.

Wrong.

It was a lawsuit heard by the Supreme Court brought by a number of States lead by South Dakota's Attorney General which mandates State sales tax be collected on internet purchases (with some qualifying thresholds).

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
You can thank Congress for this, not the seller or eBay.

Wrong.

It was a lawsuit heard by the Supreme Court brought by a number of States lead by South Dakota's Attorney General which mandates State sales tax be collected on internet purchases (with some qualifying thresholds).

Yeah, that prick screwed all of us over because his state (which has no income tax, and brags about it to attract industry and people) was missing out on the gravy from Amazon. Thanks SD.

LOL...........That aint nuthin. Wait until they send you form 1099-K for selling on EBAY.

quote:

Originally posted by BigJoe:
LOL...........That aint nuthin. Wait until they send you form 1099-K for selling on EBAY.

No problem. I only sell used things. My COGS is higher than my revenue.

quote:

Originally posted by BlackTalonJHP:

quote:

Originally posted by BigJoe:

LOL...........That aint nuthin. Wait until they send you form 1099-K for selling on EBAY.

No problem. I only sell used things. My COGS is higher than my revenue.

You buy something new, for ten dollars. As you use it, it depreciates in value. Say, for example, it has depreciated by seven dollars, so now it is only worth three dollars.

You sell it on eBay for five dollars. You just made two dollars, pay the tax man.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
You can thank Congress for this, not the seller or eBay.

Wrong.

It was a lawsuit heard by the Supreme Court brought by a number of States lead by South Dakota's Attorney General which mandates State sales tax be collected on internet purchases (with some qualifying thresholds).

Wrong how?

The courts don't levy taxes, Congress and the various states legislatures do.
This was just a court decision that upheld their authority to to so, the result from legislation they had passed.
Once this ruling came down, individual sellers would have to collect and remit those taxes to various states, a tremendous burden for individuals. Ebay realized this would put a lot of small business and sellers off their platform and made a business decision to handle it themselves.
Ebay decided that it made more sense for them to perform this function and this is the result.
The sellers don't have any part in this and many didn't know about it until after they sold something. They don't ever touch the money.

A number of states were pushing this, not just South Dakota.
For years online retailers just charged you tax if they had a physical presence in your state. Now things are changing and most if not all states will collect sales tax this way.
The bricks and motor retailers and the states taxing authorities were all pushing this.

quote:

Originally posted by BigJoe:
LOL...........That aint nuthin. Wait until they send you form 1099-K for selling on EBAY.

They have already been doing that for years if you sell above a certain dollar volume each year.
I think that's $20,000 AND 200 transactions annually.

https://www.ebay.com/help/sell...y-form-1099k?id=4794

If the item was new, or if the item was being sold by a business/reseller, then the taxes were due on it anyway whether they collected it or you filed it on your yearly use tax.

If it was a private party sale, then I would take issue with it.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
If the item was new, or if the item was being sold by a business/reseller, then the taxes were due on it anyway whether they collected it or you filed it on your yearly use tax.

If it was a private party sale, then I would take issue with it.

Exactly. If you are buying new from a "retailer" on line or other, then fine. I consider ebay as basically a on line rummage sale. I buy used items from a private party, any kind of tax shouldn't ever be a thing.

For me personally it will make it a lot harder to continue with a couple of my hobbies as I have no other option for most things other than ebay. It is hard enough as it is just finding some stuff much less at "reasonable" prices. Now I need to try and guess what I will be charged in taxes on top of trying to keep the costs of things reasonable. This is really gonna bite

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

..so now it is only worth three dollars.

You sell it on eBay for five dollars.

The fact that you sold it for $5 means it's worth $5

quote:

Originally posted by PakRatJR:
So what the hell is up with this now???

Apparently as of Jan 1 2020 Ebay is now collecting taxes on everything you buy through them. How does that even work? Ebay is not a store, they are not the ones selling the stuff???

I just found out about it yesterday...

If you just found out you haven’t been paying attention. Everyone does this now. Well... at least all the big guys. The email I received from JR Cigars a few years ago began like this, “Don’t blame us. Blame your governor.”

Taxes suck.
Government sucks.
But there’s nothing you can do about.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

..so now it is only worth three dollars.

You sell it on eBay for five dollars.

The fact that you sold it for $5 means it's worth $5

I sold a perfectly fine car to my step-son, for one dollar.

How much was that car worth?

[/QUOTE]I sold a perfectly fine car to my step-son, for one dollar.

How much was that car worth?[/QUOTE]

Not exactly an arms length transaction.
I would have paid you at least $5.