eBay selling and taxes

**emanon1501** · 08-01-2013, 09:59 AM

Originally posted by frugal saver View Post

I have probably 20 boxes of books that I've bought new, read and now want to sell on eBay. I know that after a certain dollar amount of sales, eBay will report to the IRS.

Because I bought the books at retail I truly doubt I would make an actual profit so I wouldn't actually owe any additional taxes. But since I obviously don't still have receipts for books I've bought over the last 10 years, I'm wondering how big of a hassle it might be tax-wise.

Anyone here who sells on eBay?

I learn this longtime ago. Anything you sell (does not matter if it is in person, eBay, etc.) and got less then what you pay for is not taxable. So, if you paid 20 dollar for a book and sold it on eBay for 10 dollars, no tax. If you sold it on eBay for 25, then you owe tax on 5 dollars.

**MonkeyMama** · 08-01-2013, 10:09 AM

It's not a big deal. Ebay is only reporting to IRS if sales are more than 200 transactions per year and more than $20,000 in revenues. (Per 2011, not sure if that has changed, but they are definitely not reporting at much smaller levels).

The IRS is reasonable when you are selling old stuff around the house. If you start selling hundreds or thousands of books, then it's hard to argue it's just a "garage sale" type transaction.

**shaggy** · 08-01-2013, 12:38 PM

Here is the official word from the IRS:

404 | Internal Revenue Service

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Tax-Tips-for-Online-Auction-Sellers

404

Tax Tips for Online Auction Sellers

Online Garage Sales

If your online auction sales are the Internet equivalent of an occasional garage or yard sale, you generally do not have to report the sales. In a garage sale, you generally sell household items you purchased over the years and used personally. If you paid more for the items than you sell them for, the sales are not reportable. Losses on personal use property are not deductible, either. However, see Sales of Appreciated Assets at an Online Auction below for gain reporting.

Home-Based Online Auction Seller Businesses

If your online garage sale develops into a business and/or you have recurring sales and are purchasing items for resale with the intention of making a profit; you may have started an online auction business.

Online Auction Sales Trade or Business

If you are operating a viable online auction seller business you may be entitled to deduct business expenses. Do you have an established business and you are augmenting your sales with online auction sales? Then, remember to include the online auction sales in your business income.

Sales of Appreciated Assets at an Online Auction

Examples of appreciated assets often include art, antiques and collectibles. If you have online auction sales of property where the sales price is more than your cost or other basis, you usually will have a reportable gain. These gains may be business income or capital gains.

**sblatner** · 08-01-2013, 01:30 PM

I had pretty good luck selling books on half.com. It was really easy to list and then prepare them to mail.

**disneysteve** · 08-01-2013, 02:15 PM

I agree with the fact that it really won't matter if you bought the books new.

I also agree that the site you want is half.com, not ebay (of course, ebay owns half.com). I sell books on there all the time and it is a great way to go.

**shaggy** · 08-01-2013, 06:19 PM

I wanted to add, congrats on getting rid of books. I used to have a hard time parting with them...now that I'm down to 200 or so books, I feel liberated.

Originally posted by disneysteve View Post

I also agree that the site you want is half.com, not ebay (of course, ebay owns half.com). I sell books on there all the time and it is a great way to go.

I like Half, but I like Amazon even better for selling used books. Just find the product page for the book and click "Sell on Amazon" over in the right.

eBay selling and taxes