I'm considering closing my ebay store

[bobs409]

I'm taking the month of February to make the decision but I'm seriously leaning toward closing my store. I have thought about it a few times in the past for various reasons but I just feel like it's not worth it anymore. I get a discount for being with them all these years that I will lose but even with that discount, I feel like it's not worth bothering with any longer.

Simply, ebay is taking too much. For another, my sales are almost non existent but could partly be my fault as I have lost a great deal of motivation to even list things anymore. In fact, I downright dread it!

To be honest, the final nail in the ebay coffin is how hard it is come tax time. They KEEP CHANGING THINGS!!!!! They aren't even sending me a 1099K because I'm under the limit so I have been searching all over for a way to see my yearly sales. It's ridiculous the way they hide things! It shouldn't be like this!!!

I can always sell here in the classifieds and stay under the tax radar which will be a great BONUS! That's another thing, I'm SO SICK of the way our government is, it sickens me to send them ANY TAX DOLLARS! (that is a whole other rant!!)

There are other ways of selling too. Craigslist is a PITA but I could use it to sell large items. Perhaps I can find other forums similar to ours that offers classifieds. That is actually how I started out! I used to sell on team Chevelle and some other sites. Those were the days!!!! NO TAXES!!! Most paid by check but even if not, the government didn't find the way to make sellers pay up back then.


Well, I have a lot of thinking to do....

 

[1958 delivery]

If you're not getting a 1099 then you don't have to report any of it

 

[bobs409]

I'm already what I call, "on the radar" since I've been a business for many years it would probably raise a red flag if I don't file a return. I haven't added up this year but probably got in around 10k. I'm pretty sure anything over $600 dollars needs to be reported whether they send a 1099 or not.

 

[1958 delivery]

If there's no paper trail, then no return

 

[tom-k]

Bob, thats why I stopped selling on ebay, they just take too much and I had one guy that I sold a tether car to, he must have changed his mind when he got it, broke it, and then sent it back on my dime and ebay refunded his money==that was the last straw, cost me shipping both ways and I ended up with a broken car........................

 

[bobs409]

Yeah it's a shame what they did to ebay. It used to be a great place! These days, they continually screw the sellers while empowering the buyers. Some of the buyers know the game and can get stuff for free!

Then there are the shippers!!!! Don't even get me started there!!! It's just a big PITA all around.

 

[Shesrealfine]

I agree on the ebay screwings. The latest is that ebay charges the seller a commission on the sales tax that they collect from the buyer, which of course the seller never gets.

 

[4spd409]

Maybe it will bring a few sellers back to swap meets.

 

[4spd409]

As an occasional seller on Ebay who holds his nose everytime I see what it costs to sell an item I will now keep my annual sales below $600. I am sure if I kept track of all my expenses involved with the items I sell I probably wouldn't have to pay any taxes on the sales, but what a pain in the rear to keep track of all the crap. Just another case of the big guy is able to hide millions from taxes and the little guy wants to supplement his income or just clean out a collection of parts has to dig into his pocket and bury himself in paperwork. I can see going after the ones that are using Ebay as a full time business but $600 is crazy. Make it $5000 or so.

 

[Lt.FrankDrebin]

I'm taking the month of February to make the decision but I'm seriously leaning toward closing my store. I have thought about it a few times in the past for various reasons but I just feel like it's not worth it anymore. I get a discount for being with them all these years that I will lose but even with that discount, I feel like it's not worth bothering with any longer.

Simply, ebay is taking too much. For another, my sales are almost non existent but could partly be my fault as I have lost a great deal of motivation to even list things anymore. In fact, I downright dread it!

To be honest, the final nail in the ebay coffin is how hard it is come tax time. They KEEP CHANGING THINGS!!!!! They aren't even sending me a 1099K because I'm under the limit so I have been searching all over for a way to see my yearly sales. It's ridiculous the way they hide things! It shouldn't be like this!!!

I can always sell here in the classifieds and stay under the tax radar which will be a great BONUS! That's another thing, I'm SO SICK of the way our government is, it sickens me to send them ANY TAX DOLLARS! (that is a whole other rant!!)

There are other ways of selling too. Craigslist is a PITA but I could use it to sell large items. Perhaps I can find other forums similar to ours that offers classifieds. That is actually how I started out! I used to sell on team Chevelle and some other sites. Those were the days!!!! NO TAXES!!! Most paid by check but even if not, the government didn't find the way to make sellers pay up back then.


Well, I have a lot of thinking to do....

EBay ---> FeeBay I stopped selling on there after they started charging a fee on the shipping cost. That was the last straw. I pretty much only sell on FaceBook Marketplace and in the classifieds of websites like this one anymore. There are also local online "yard sales/flea markets".

 

[Shesrealfine]

I'm taking the month of February to make the decision but I'm seriously leaning toward closing my store. I have thought about it a few times in the past for various reasons but I just feel like it's not worth it anymore. I get a discount for being with them all these years that I will lose but even with that discount, I feel like it's not worth bothering with any longer.

Simply, ebay is taking too much. For another, my sales are almost non existent but could partly be my fault as I have lost a great deal of motivation to even list things anymore. In fact, I downright dread it!

To be honest, the final nail in the ebay coffin is how hard it is come tax time. They KEEP CHANGING THINGS!!!!! They aren't even sending me a 1099K because I'm under the limit so I have been searching all over for a way to see my yearly sales. It's ridiculous the way they hide things! It shouldn't be like this!!!

I can always sell here in the classifieds and stay under the tax radar which will be a great BONUS! That's another thing, I'm SO SICK of the way our government is, it sickens me to send them ANY TAX DOLLARS! (that is a whole other rant!!)

There are other ways of selling too. Craigslist is a PITA but I could use it to sell large items. Perhaps I can find other forums similar to ours that offers classifieds. That is actually how I started out! I used to sell on team Chevelle and some other sites. Those were the days!!!! NO TAXES!!! Most paid by check but even if not, the government didn't find the way to make sellers pay up back then.


Well, I have a lot of thinking to do....

I didn't know that you had an ebay store. What's the name on ebay ?
Thanks, John

 

[bobs409]

I didn't know that you had an ebay store. What's the name on ebay ?
Thanks, John

I have a link at the bottom of my sig file below:

 

[Shesrealfine]

Got it. Thanks.

 

[Tex63]

I'm frustrated with two things: the $600 reporting limit, and buyer no pays from auction wins.
Ebay should change to auto pay at auction close, why give buyer time to decide if and when to pay !

 

[bobs409]

I officially closed my ebay store this morning. It's bittersweet for me. I've been a seller there for a long time! I owe ebay a great thanks for all it did over the years for me, I restored a few cars and built my 2.5 car garage from selling there. (as well as it being my full time source of employment and living off it)

It's simply not worth it anymore in my line. My sales dropped off over the years and I believe ebay caused some of it. I think they manipulate the searches somehow. They do seem to cater to China but not sure if that would affect my used parts.

Back in the day, ebay was SWEET! But they continually find ways to screw it all up. They cater to the buyer and push the sellers around. They don't seem to realize, it is us sellers that they are making money from. (I know, you need buyers too but we didn't have a shortage of buyers back then)

It took me over 4 days to get a copy of all my 166 listings with a copy of all the photos! There is no bulk downloader to do all that. I did find one to download in a .csv file of the titles and prices so that helped a little. I had to manually go into each listing and copy the description and get a copy of each photo.

I always had a yearly subscription for my store so I got a discount. My store didn't run out until June so I had to pay an early termination fee of $21.95 (I swear ebay is run by the government sometimes! They get you coming and going.) I would have like to sell until it ran out but I didn't want to pass the $600 in sales. If I did that, they would send the IRS and myself a 1099 so I'd have to file again next year. I'm going to try doing things off the tax radar for a while. I think I can do some occasional horse trading on this forum and other websites and take check/money orders like the good old days! Sick of the government knowing every damn thing I do and having to pay THEM too! Especially with the way I feel about the CURRENT administration!!!

The plan now is to take some time off while I slowly build a webpage with all my parts. Then I can just link to it on various classified sites like we have here. If I sell a few things here and there, I'll survive. I don't have a lot of bills and live a simple life.


Well if you made it this far, thanks for reading. If you have any thoughts on the matter, feel free to post if you like.

 

[63impalass409]

I have tried not to sell too much off of ebay also but I am so sick and tired of people on offer up and craigslist!!!! Ebay gets more attention from people. Offer up for example I have a 65 impala listed car is a plain impala converted to a ss has 283 glide and runs and drives complete factory cruise control tilt column, factory wood steering wheel. Power windows , rear window defroster, front rear bumper gaurds 4 way flashers put needs new trunk and quarter work been off road since 2010 and these mutheruckers all from Cali all named Hector or Jesus or what ever want multiple pictures of this and that over and over so I'm about to just put it on feebay. Car is cheap(5500) so I will pay their fees and maybe I will get more than I want because of a bigger audience but Bob you are right on the money on how ebay is and I don't blame you.

 

[1958 delivery]

I'm already what I call, "on the radar" since I've been a business for many years it would probably raise a red flag if I don't file a return. I haven't added up this year but probably got in around 10k. I'm pretty sure anything over $600 dollars needs to be reported whether they send a 1099 or not.

Which tax year are you talking about? You already have $10K for 2022?, you posted this in Feb 2022

 

[bobs409]

Which tax year are you talking about? You already have $10K for 2022?, you posted this in Feb 2022

No, that 10K is for last year. I only have few hundred this year, that's how bad things are.

 

[1958 delivery]

Bob, I have smaller accounts. Ebay sent me a 1099 for a small one, $14000 then immediately sent a note stating that 1009 was sent in error and was not/will not be reported to IRS, the requirement for tax year 2021 1099's is $20000 or 200 transactions so I'll have to check with my CPA regarding this amount and what to do with it

see message:


A recent technical issue resulted in a 1099-K form being incorrectly provided to you. Please disregard the incorrect 1099-K form. The incorrect 1099-K form was not sent to the IRS or California Franchise Tax Board.

We’re working to resolve the issue and ensure that it will not happen again. Unless you had more than $20,000 in gross sales and 200 transactions in 2021, we will not submit a 1099-K form to the IRS or the California Franchise Tax Board.

We sincerely apologize for the error and any inconvenience this may have caused.

As always, thanks for selling on eBay, and for being part of the eBay community.

The eBay Selling Team

 

[Barry Taylor]

Well Bob! Now that you’ll be retired maybe you can sneak up on us at one of our races and let us meet the Genius to all this wonderfull madness! Come on Bob the cats can take care of themselves for a few days!!