Gunbroker fees for dummies.

September 19, 2022, 04:30 PM

Rick Lee

I sold a gun last week on GB and the final auction price was $1100. I said $25 for shipping and was expecting a check for $1125. Check came today for $1202. I went back to my listing page and, indeed, it said $1202 was the payment due to me. But there was not a breakdown. The state sales tax where this is going is 6%, but that still doesn't cover the delta and I didn't think I'd be paying that anyway. How do these fees add up?

September 19, 2022, 04:59 PM

Chowser

Gunbroker added the tax and their service fee. They send that total to the buyer.

The buyer pays you.

Next month, GB will collect the tax from you.

Something like that.

Don't quote me.

lol

September 19, 2022, 05:16 PM

Rick Lee

Ok, I'll take the small float. LOL.

September 19, 2022, 08:14 PM

12131

Exactly what Chowser said. The buyer's fee, what GB calls their BS Compliance Fee, is 1%. And don't forget the seller's fee that will come in a separate invoice.

September 19, 2022, 08:40 PM

hjs157

It's a bit convoluted. Here's a detailed breakdown based upon your example:

Final price - $1100.00
Shipping - $25.00
Sub Total (A) - $1125.00
6% Sales Tax - $67.50
Sub Total (B) - $1192.50
1% Compliance fee - $11.00

Total - $1203.50

As Q pointed out, not only does GB invoice the seller for their listing/final value fees, they also collect back from the seller the state sales tax and compliance fee which the seller is required to collect from from the buyer.

September 20, 2022, 12:41 PM

rebut10

hjs157's example is right except they don't tax the shipping fee. Move the shipping fee down 2 places (below the sales tax) and the numbers should match up.

September 20, 2022, 12:45 PM

Rick Lee

Thanks guys. That makes it pretty clear.

September 20, 2022, 09:27 PM

hjs157

quote:
Originally posted by rebut10:
hjs157's example is right except they don't tax the shipping fee. Move the shipping fee down 2 places (below the sales tax) and the numbers should match up.

I just purchased an item through GB (PA resident buyer + PA FFL dealer seller) and I'm certain the shipping was subject to sales tax. Since I'm planning to pick the item up in person tomorrow (intra-state sale), the seller apologetically informed me that while they are able to subtract the shipping charge from my total, they are unable to credit me for the PA state sales tax on the shipping which is automatically included in their auction fees as calculated by the GB invoicing system. Per your post, I now suspect in some states shipping is a taxable item while in other states it is not. This would explain the discrepancy between the $1203.50 total in my example vs. the $1202.00 in the OP's example. Thanks for the clarification!

September 21, 2022, 12:25 PM

rebut10

quote:
Originally posted by hjs157:
quote:
Originally posted by rebut10:
hjs157's example is right except they don't tax the shipping fee. Move the shipping fee down 2 places (below the sales tax) and the numbers should match up.

I just purchased an item through GB (PA resident buyer + PA FFL dealer seller) and I'm certain the shipping was subject to sales tax. Since I'm planning to pick the item up in person tomorrow (intra-state sale), the seller apologetically informed me that while they are able to subtract the shipping charge from my total, they are unable to credit me for the PA state sales tax on the shipping which is automatically included in their auction fees as calculated by the GB invoicing system. Per your post, I now suspect in some states shipping is a taxable item while in other states it is not. This would explain the discrepancy between the $1203.50 total in my example vs. the $1202.00 in the OP's example. Thanks for the clarification!

Looks like you're right. I just verified my most recent GB transaction...no tax on shipping in my state. Some states tax shipping, others don't and it is handled in the GB system.