HF FS/T scam - thoughts / a nod to the community

[SunnyD]

I'll happily F&F if I know you and I can verify it's you. If I don't know you - well, this ain't craigslist where I'm going to walk away with something physically in my hands when I hand over my money... so you're going to get G&S. If you want to dodge taxes (regardless of what you think of the rule), that's on you.

 

[Thug Esquire]

For folks who are willing to pay the fee and want purchase protection, I accept CC payments via Square. Works great and no PayPal.

 

[Executioner]

I mostly buy here, but I may sell an item. I've been lucky so far with no issues. I usually pay as F&F if the seller has been on here for a while and has good heat. My Heat goes back to 1999, and before that when digital and Heat did not exist, I had to send a cashier's check for the item(s).

Since I'm retired, I've been doing laptop repair, and sell used laptops on FB. I don't make that much, but it keeps me off the streets. I did have on 2 occasions where a buyer on FB wanted one of my laptops, and wanted to pay via Venmo which I accept. The scam is after they tell you that the money has been sent to your Venmo account, to look at an email with further instructions, with nothing on Venmo indicating the money has been sent. The instructions in the email state to send the same amount over to the buyer because my Venmo account is not a business account (the scam).

Since I'm an old fart, I told the person to get a real fucking job and go pound sand instead of ripping people off. They then old me the FBI will be knocking on my door LOL. I collected all the information and sent it to FB.

 

[narsbars]

Yup that is the reason, the new-ish tax rule.
Two of my buyers on this forum paid F&F. One asked to cover the fees with G&S. Happy to oblige since it was under $600.
I have extensive references, but can't be too careful.

he new ”$600 rule”​

Under the new rules set forth by the IRS, if you got paid more than $600 for the transaction of goods and services through third-party payment platforms, you will receive a 1099-K for reporting the income. I believe it will be total, not per transaction.

 

[LFaWolf]

he new ”$600 rule”​

Under the new rules set forth by the IRS, if you got paid more than $600 for the transaction of goods and services through third-party payment platforms, you will receive a 1099-K for reporting the income. I believe it will be total, not per transaction.

Yes, total for the calendar year, not per transaction

 

[trikat]

I mostly buy here, but I may sell an item. I've been lucky so far with no issues. I usually pay as F&F if the seller has been on here for a while and has good heat. My Heat goes back to 1999, and before that when digital and Heat did not exist, I had to send a cashier's check for the item(s).

Since I'm retired, I've been doing laptop repair, and sell used laptops on FB. I don't make that much, but it keeps me off the streets. I did have on 2 occasions where a buyer on FB wanted one of my laptops, and wanted to pay via Venmo which I accept. The scam is after they tell you that the money has been sent to your Venmo account, to look at an email with further instructions, with nothing on Venmo indicating the money has been sent. The instructions in the email state to send the same amount over to the buyer because my Venmo account is not a business account (the scam).

Since I'm an old fart, I told the person to get a real fucking job and go pound sand instead of ripping people off. They then old me the FBI will be knocking on my door LOL. I collected all the information and sent it to FB.

I always meet at a police station / office. Weeds out all the bad buyers - many buyers stop replying after I mention that. Started putting the meet location in the listings to cut down on scammer contacting me.

he new ”$600 rule”​

Under the new rules set forth by the IRS, if you got paid more than $600 for the transaction of goods and services through third-party payment platforms, you will receive a 1099-K for reporting the income. I believe it will be total, not per transaction.

Yea my wording isn't the best. I'll edit that.

 

[Zoop99]

I have no problem taking GS if you pay fee. But I don't do it for anything over 600. Not doing the IRS thing paypal is doing lmao. Sorry for that in advance. This is one of the reasons lot of users now ask for F&F or zelle, cuz of that stupid rule. Always tell people if there is no trust don't do transaction, everyone happy.

Bingo. Im not looking to do detailed paperwork for the IRS for a 1099k when all my sales are literally at a loss. Seriously FJB for sneaking that into the covid relief bill. It really screwed a lot of small time sellers. Paypal now now instantly reports to IRS over 600 in total sales (which is like maybe 1-2 items max sold on the forum). So unfortunately it pushes me to zelle and venmo. But ive bought and sold 3-4 thjings in the last month alone without any issue. I always take back returns too even if zelle. My reps super important to me <3.

 

[kirbyrj]

he new ”$600 rule”​

Under the new rules set forth by the IRS, if you got paid more than $600 for the transaction of goods and services through third-party payment platforms, you will receive a 1099-K for reporting the income. I believe it will be total, not per transaction.

Just because you receive the 1099-K doesn't necessarily mean you need to report it as "income." If they think you are actually selling it to make money, then you have to deduct the cost of goods sold.

So if I buy a $1200 GPU, and then sell it for $1000. It doesn't mean that I have to pay income tax on $1000 because technically you "lost" $200 in the sale. You just have to keep better records to document the cost of goods sold for whatever you sell.

 

[Zoop99]

Just because you receive the 1099-K doesn't necessarily mean you need to report it as "income." If they think you are actually selling it to make money, then you have to deduct the cost of goods sold.

So if I buy a $1200 GPU, and then sell it for $1000. It doesn't mean that I have to pay income tax on $1000 because technically you "lost" $200 in the sale. You just have to keep better records to document the cost of goods sold for whatever you sell.

That's the problem, im buying from facebook groups, and locally, as much as forums like [H]. Many people on [H] now also want only zelle or venmo. So i dont really have an origination price or a receipt to show its selling even or at a loss.
So now when you have like over 40+ things bought and sold in the year with 95% of them without original receipts.... it makes the IRS scream audit audit audit. it also forces me to do a lot of unnecessary paperwork. So yeah, just overall its unnecessary and im always afraid of an audit now because of the 1099k and prefer to just avoid it all together by using venmo/zelle/cashapp or paypal gift. I think this is the case with many other traders here too.

 

[Burticus]

Maybe we just transition to a Amazon GC monetary base, LOL

 

[kirbyrj]

That's the problem, im buying from facebook groups, and locally, as much as forums like [H]. Many people on [H] now also want only zelle or venmo. So i dont really have an origination price or a receipt to show its selling even or at a loss.
So now when you have like over 40+ things bought and sold in the year with 95% of them without original receipts.... it makes the IRS scream audit audit audit. it also forces me to do a lot of unnecessary paperwork. So yeah, just overall its unnecessary and im always afraid of an audit now because of the 1099k and prefer to just avoid it all together by using venmo/zelle/cashapp or paypal gift. I think this is the case with many other traders here too.

So you have to do a little extra legwork. Make an excel spreadsheet detailing where you bought it and the price you paid. You can always go back to a bank statement or CC statement to show the same dollar amount that you stated that you purchased the item for. Even if you pay in cash, you still have a record of some sort detailing your expenses.

Let's be realistic. Unless you have tens of thousands of dollars in sales, the IRS isn't going to waste its time or resources.

 

[SunnyD]

The other alternative if you don't want to be a tightwad about taxes is to simply donate whatever crap you intend to sell to a charitable. Then you can stick it to the man and write off the value of whatever you got rid of instead of paying taxes on it.

 

[DooKey]

The other alternative if you don't want to be a tightwad about taxes is to simply donate whatever crap you intend to sell to a charitable. Then you can stick it to the man and write off the value of whatever you got rid of instead of paying taxes on it.

I sell all of my stuff at a loss. It's used, by me. I don't want to have to track those losses and prove to the feds I lost money. No sticking it to the man here. I just don't want to have to do the useless paperwork for a pittance. YMMV.

I will sell my stuff online until I reach $590 in sales and then go local for cash.

<shrug>

 

[compgeek89]

The IRS rule scoops up in its net all the used item selling and trading, which is done nearly universally at a loss, but on countless items that never warranted receipt documentation. We're just living lives, not running a business.

However, that's exactly the intent of today's IRS, one more step toward:
(1) No transaction being possible without government oversight
(2) Making more people inadvertent criminals just in case you ever need an excuse to arrest them (e.g. incorrect political views)
(3) Minimizing the ability of individuals to have a "local economy", i.e. to not be dependent on the centralized institutions and corporations for everything they do and need. They know fewer people will execute peer-to-peer transactions by making things more difficult, and that's part of the goal.

The current gov't, like all big gov'ts, does not want you to have the ability to be independent. The more you are subservient to and dependent on them, the less you'll think your own thoughts and have your own will. And they've got 80k new agents, and a nice stockpile of "coercion equipment" to make sure you don't get comfortable.

With all this in mind, I gladly use forms of payment other than PayPal (never mind my desire not to give paypal any money in the first place). I consider any good trader on [H] a friend, and if all the boxes regarding trade reputation and good communication are checked, I will gladly take the risk and trust God with the rest. If I get screwed, I can just be thankful I am not the one committing the theft. I do not in any way desire to evade tax law. This isn't about getting away with little things. Being set up to need small business level accounting practices just to justify your trading of used gear is decidedly unjust and not something that would be possible in a just and free society.