Did anyone get that letter from ebay about online taxing

nooshinjohn

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tonyb

Well Jess, as I figured. More taxation to uphold more public jobs. Sounds like it has agenda 21 written all over it. Interesting how they can just mandate this stuff and bypass the voter altogether. If I was your state, I'd tell the EPA to kiss something. Don't comply, if the federal government can pick and choose which laws to enforce, why can't states ?

I'm still on the fence about online taxation. I can see both sides as having valid points. I get the making things equal for all part but the big guys on the playing field would still have the advantage over the little guys by the sheer volume of stuff they can buy. They'd obviously get a better price on volume purchases. The other side of it hurts the small buisness guy looking to make a living or better themselves. Seems to me at every turn there's a roadblock for the little guy to advance his buisness. Just my opinion, I'm sure either way we'll all continue on.

billbillw

falconcry72 wrote: »

I do very well on ebay, even with the fees.

It's all about knowing your audience. For some stuff I go straight to ebay, other stuff is straight to CL, other stuff is straight to CP, and other stuff is straight to friends.

I only use ebay if it's for an item that I'm willing to start at 99 cents, with no reserve, and see what happens. That generally means it needs to be an item that is somewhat rare, but not TOO rare, it needs to have a consistent completed auction history, it needs to be something I can ship, and it needs to be in abnormally good/complete condition. An item that meets all of those criteria will bring in A LOT more money by doing a no reserve auction than it would doing Buy It Now, or just throwing it on CL.

Of course every sale is different, and sometimes you get burned, but overall I'm ahead in the count.

I know my audience and did very well on Ebay for a number of years, probably over 200 sales, some getting me 2-300% profit. I have always done the same consideration before selling on Ebay (vs CL or CP); However, Ebay has changed their treatment of sellers gradually over the years, and after the way I was treated as a seller the last few times, it just isn't worth it for me unless it is something that absolutely won't sell for even half the price elsewhere. Its too easy for the buyer to claim a problem and screw you. Ebay just doesn't support the sellers. My last sale was for my 5-year old Onkyo 805 Receiver. It was in perfect cosmetic shape, I had something like 8 detailed photos, showing the serial tag and everything (the tag showed Refurbished). The seller gets it and says, he wants like half of his money back because it is refurbished. I said ship it back, I'll refund minus shipping. Of course, he files a claim, Ebay sides with him and even gives him a free return shipping label (60lb receiver here). Mind you, the buyer never said anything was actually wrong with the item, only that it was refurbished. After 2 weeks, the **** never bothers to send it back, but of course, my account was locked for over 3-weeks trying to settle the issue. Ebay finally cancelled the claim, but they were obviously on the buyers side. If he had sent it back, I would have been out of at least $40 in shipping cost and who knows what damage the buyer would have done to the receiver.

And of course, sellers can't leave negative feedback anymore.

Oh, and WTF is up with putting final value fees on shipping charges? What a crock. I end up losing on the shipping every time now.

GospelTruth

billbillw wrote: »

Oh, and WTF is up with putting final value fees on shipping charges? What a crock. I end up losing on the shipping every time now.

I heard that some sellers were charging outrageous prices on shipping because eBay didn't put a fee on it. So something that would normally be a $200 item with $25 shipping was being auctioned for $25 with $200 shipping. In that way sellers were skirting around how much they paid in fees to eBay. I think eBay got around to just putting a fee on shipping as well so that shipping costs would be more accurate and they wouldn't lose out on their take of the selling price - more so on the latter. They should have just booted sellers who tried to skirt the system, but now everyone pays the penalty. Sooner or later, they'll tick off enough people where they end up hurting their own business by driving away the very people that make them money.

tonyb

I don't see how that solves the problem. You could still auction it off for 25 bucks and 225 for shipping with an added fee.

WilliamM2

tonyb wrote: »

I don't see how that solves the problem. You could still auction it off for 25 bucks and 225 for shipping with an added fee.

This way Ebay gets the same final value fee, whether you charge $200 + $25 shipping, or $25 + $200 shipping. That solves Ebay's problem, they want their money, they don't do it to benefit the buyer.

snow

tonyb wrote: »

I don't see how that solves the problem. You could still auction it off for 25 bucks and 225 for shipping with an added fee.

It helps no one but Ebay/PayPal neither the buyer nor seller benefits especially now that shipping rates via USPS have virtually doubled in the last 2 years it has if anything hurt sales.

I seen a Yahama NS-1000 woofer sell a while back for a very low $9.99 but the seller had $122.00 for the shipping costs I almost fell out of my chair laughing.


REGARDS SNOW

VR3

The biggest crock about EBay shipping is if you go with their calculated amount... I do not know what shoe box those guys are living in but their shipping rates are WAY off!

Syndil

heiney9 wrote: »

Maybe in Canada. Amazon only collects in a few states where it has a physical presence (distribution centers). Otherwise they DO NOT collect sales tax.

H9

Yup.

tonyb

Either way, it's a game. Like any game you have to know the players and the rules. As usual the end user or in this case the buyer always gets the bill. Doesn't matter who Ebay puts the fee on to, you the buyer will eventually pay it. Crap rolls downhill as they say.:biggrin:

monepolk

I have never understood why I should have to pay a business' taxes anyway. Why are they allowed to pass their tax burden on to the consumer?

tonyb

monepolk wrote: »

I have never understood why I should have to pay a business' taxes anyway. Why are they allowed to pass their tax burden on to the consumer?

To cover costs of doing buisness......they'd be out of buisness if they didn't.

tonyb

Like I said, crap rolls downhill. Many who think it's so great to go after buisnesses for more taxes, well duh, who do you think will pay those increased taxes in the end ?

monepolk

tonyb wrote: »

To cover costs of doing buisness......they'd be out of buisness if they didn't.

Price - should cover the cost of doing business.

tonyb

monepolk wrote: »

Price - should cover the cost of doing business.

....and taxes are a cost of doing buisness. Economics 101 my friend.

SCompRacer

ZLTFUL

"No taxation without representation..." I seem to remember a revolution having a premise similar to this.
But we won...now we have taxation with ****ty representation.

The IRS...the *only* Federal agency that's only purpose is to justify its own existence.