Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Non-Petro Discussions Non-petro Discussion and Showcase More auctions on Old Gas, due to eBay changes??

First off gang....this is a discussion request posting...I'm not finger pointing or passing judgment on ANYONE here on the site.

Last spring, eBay announced they would be sending 1099 income tax forms to sellers who have a certain number of eBay transactions and a certain dollar volume of sales, using PayPal. Of course, for affected sellers, this means federal income tax to pay (assuming some sellers haven't been!) on net revenue from sales. Plus, you can bet states that have a personal income tax will now be in line to collect their share...and don't forget the sales tax they will also expect to be paid, when seller makes an eBay sale to a home-state buyer.

Not all eBay sellers will receive federal 1099 forms this first year, if they don't sell at a certain transaction and dollar volume. However, I believe that many more eBay sellers will eventually receive 1099's in the years to come, as the reporting threshold is likely to be gradually lowered. This tempting pot of untaxed revenue is just too big for the federal and state governments to ignore.

This turn of events at eBay is not much of a problem for the more professional eBay sellers. Many of these folks have been paying income tax on sales gains and collecting state tax, when applicable, for some time. However, the more casual sellers, who have been enjoying tax-free income from eBay sales for years probably are not going to like this turn of events.

It is my feeling that many eBay sellers missed or ignored this eBay rules change when it was announced last spring. But, the first round of eBay 1099's should be hitting the mailboxes any time now.

Thank you for reading this far to gain the backgound...I'm finally down to my DISCUSSION questions.

FIRST, do you think this push to tax eBay net sales proceeds will drive more and new sellers to sites like Old Gas?

SECOND, if you think we'll be seeing more and new sellers on Old Gas because of these changes, how do you feel about the liklihood of more auction-style "for sale" listings here (assuming these sellers would choose to use that method because of their eBay experience)?

Again Gang, don't shoot the messenger for posting!! And, once again, I'm not disrespecting ANYONE who has run a "for sale" item by auction on Old Gas in the past. I'm simply interested to know what some of the other forum members think about this possible effect on Old Gas from these eBay sales tax reporting changes. John

I may be wrong, but I don't believe Ebay is reporting sales.
In any event if you are selling enough on Ebay to get a 1009 you should be running a business not a hobby.
A lot of people complain about the cost of Ebay and Pay Pal, but the bottom line is Ebay gives FAR more exposer than ANY forum. I know I have listed items many times on the gas forums like Old Gas and the Cheesepit and never had a taker. Then I listed it on Ebay and far exceeded my original asking price.
With all of the discussions on the forums about the REAL value of Petroliana I don't know if you can list everything on forums and expect to get the most out of your offerings. What is rare to one person is not to another. Just like trying to use the Pump Guide for a price guide. Big mistake in my opinion. The buyer will pay what they feel it is worth. We have all been to auctions and said "Wow, that is more than I ever thought it would bring". That just means it went for more than I was willing to pay.
Bottom line: If you are selling more than $20,000 a year on Ebay or anywhere else you had better be running your hobby like a business. You ONLY PAY TAX ON PROFIT, NOT SALES. If you think you won't get caught............ well, I think you are wrong.
If you are only selling some extra parts or doing horse trading, you have nothing to worry about.

Posted on Pay Pal.
Starting in 2011, PayPal is required by the IRS to report the sales of goods and services for customers who, in a single year receive:
More than $20,000, AND
200 or more payments.

The new IRS 6050W changes apply to all payment providers, including PayPal. This includes payments

Posted on Ebay.
1099-K is a tax form that payment services like PayPal are now required to submit to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This affects high-volume sellers on eBay.

If you received Form 1099-K, it means that your sales exceed both of these levels in a calendar year:

•$20,000 USD in gross payment volume from sales of goods or services in a single year
•200 payments for goods or services in the same year
PayPal will ask you to update your account(s) by providing a tax ID number, if you don't already have one on file.

Please visit PayPal's website for info on what you need to do next.

why speculate on a future "whatif"
leave well enough alone

I already see a bunch more auction listing on this site. In the future i can only imagine this site will be busier than ever.

I agree with Thermoman !! Get ready

One problem about auctions on this site is their is no recourse if something goes wrong with the transaction. There was a recent discussion with PayPal purchases off of eBay, PayPal does not care.

First let me state that I don't sell,reason I'm allways short on cash I quess. If I understand Oldracer correct,a person like pogo that has the two wonderfull pumps for sell here wouldn't get a 1099 because it was only two sells through Paypal. just using him for example.
I agree that a person making a living buying and selling on ebay of the amounts of payments,needs a 1099 and should be running it like a business. Sure there is lots that will disagree. I also agree that there is no where else a item will get the same amount of exposer . So I believe ebay will still be the place to be for sales. As oldgas members I think its neat that members offer items to other members before items go to ebay.
Think of the tax free money big time sellers has recieved,and how many years they have been allowed to this.Nothing wrong with it ,if they provide a window to do it. But it doesn't suprise me that uncle sam wants his share. My only concern is that it doesn't effect persons like Jim just trying to keep this site going,and provide a service to people like us. Hey maybe the checks in the mail ,maybe coming back as the way to pay.

I don't sell petroliana on eBay, but I do know if you do $20k or more in sales a year, or over 200 transactions(I think) you will have to file. If you sell two things and they're over $20k, you have to file that if you went through eBay. eBay an PayPal are the same companies, and PayPal will send you an email saying you are over the limit and need to file.

Personally I think they need to leave EBAY alone the way it is. Less government is good government I say, leave the sellers alone go after crooks that are on the streets not honest folks that are just trying to buy and sell and have a good time doing it!

You have to sell more than $20k in a year AND have over 200 transactions in a calendar year for this to apply to you.

It's a wave of changes to collect money on ALL income. For example, if I hire a model for 500 hours of more, I must get his or her SS# and file a W2 on him/her, rather than leave it up to that individual to declare their income as a model to the IRS.

Common' admit it. There are folks that ask for cash or claim 'gift' on a payment to avoid declaring income. It's not only the big fish that are finding ways not to pay tax on income, is the small fish as well. There has been a HUGH push by congress to lower the deficit and this is one way they have tried to address it. There have been a lot of other sweeping changes as well.


For example, I also need to get tax information FROM all my materials suppliers for anything new (paints, canvas) I got last year if I list them as a business expense, whether a mail order supplier or a local art supply store. This is at least what my accountant explained to me last spring. Off the top of my head, I don't remember the names of these forms. And she dumped a lot of info on me, so double check with your own accountants on the acuracy of what I remember if something like this might apply to you. I think it's to prevent fraud from people claiming expenses that they didn't have, or didn't use for their business.

I haven't done it yet, but I will be meeting my accountant to see what the difference in return I get if I don't declare my materials as business expenses. I haven't painted a lot this year because of some minor but frustrating health issues so I haven't had to do a lot of restocking.


Please DO NOT use my post to rant against congress or our tax laws. It is not my intention to start something controversial and I know Jim does not want political discussions on this list. I am just posting what I know about some of the changes that are todays tax laws because I think there are some folks that will have to scramble to get all the paperwork required.

On a related note, what you are going to find before long is state governments collecting sales taxes (that you will be collecting from your "customers")from those who sell from the internet to buyers in the aforementioned state. I have friends in our state tax office and this is coming down the pike. Whereas the federal gov't will net taxes on the profits, the states will net taxes from each transaction. As soon as the mechanics are worked out it will be done. Realistically I have no argument against income taxes (only how that money is wasted) but I do have issue with sales and use taxes-I've already been taxed on the money when I earned it.

Now I wish I would have collected my unemployment. Instead of making cash on my own !!

1099 or not, Ebay sellers have ALWAYS been required report the income from their sales and pay taxes on the profits. Doesn't matter if you're selling a few personal items or if you're selling on ebay for a living. The threshold for reporting is $1. Obviously, they're going to go after the big fish first, but eventually they'll catch up with everyone.

Nicole, The provision you mentioned was repealed.

Thank goodness, vendors having to send forms to all their customers would have been a mess!

BTW why was this moved out of general petro? Because this could have gone into both 'sale and trade' and 'online auctions', isn't general petro a good choice as a catch all as it relates to the mostly petro stuff being purchased though this site under both categories?