eBay Maddness and a Warning

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
So I stuck my old Nikon gear on eBay since it's not getting any traction and within 5 minutes I got offers for the full value of the items asking if I could ship FedEx Priority Overnight today if I received payment immediately. I look and the buyer has zero feedback. I then remember that eBay has stopped using PayPal and now accepts credit card payments directly, meaning that they wouldn't know about fraud until the bank notifies them, and by then the gear would have been in the person's hands and I would have been out the cash.

This may be my last foray with the platform until they can guarantee seller protection. If they can't identify fraud but require us to use their new payment system then I'm out.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Just add a line to your listing... "Paypal payments ONLY."

Because people listen. LOL

eBay is phasing that option out over time. I have always stated clearly, "Package will ship within 2 business days once payment clears". This criminal obviously didn't read it. My point in posting is that this type of con will continue until eBay does something about it.
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
Just ignore them... You sound a little tense... I've been on eBay since 1999 and never have a problem...

Selling anything, anywhere is a risk today... I don't know where to sell anything that doesn't have creeps trying to work some sort of scam...
 

Sandpatch

Senior Member
When I post, I check a box permitting PayPal payments only. It pays to be suspect.

I had an experience somewhat like BackdoorArts several years ago when I posted a Nikon lens. A Bidder replied the he was moving and would buy the lens only if I could rush ship it the next day. There was no way I was going to hurry an expensive shipment to a Buyer with such a requirement and I replied that I wouldn't do it. The Buyer replied with hostility and I explained again. The Buyer replied a third time, with even greater anger. I then sent him a list of five lenses exactly like mine for sale by other Sellers and asked why he saw my lens as such a rare jewel. He never responded. I sold the lens that week at a higher price under normal terms.
 

Dawg Pics

Senior Member
Interesting, because EBAY used to own PayPal.

Offers like that are always a scam. If they are that urgent and pushy then they are up to no good.

I don't do much business with EBAY thanks to scammers, counterfeits, and bad attitudes from EBAY regarding protection of both buyers and sellers. I used to love it because I could find some treasures, but now, I have to wade through pages of items with misleading descriptions, fakery and other shenanigans. I do cruise the camera equipment now and then. My D300 was a good EBAY purchase by my Dad. You just have to be more careful these days.
 
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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
It seems that something may be amiss on ebay. I just searched for a Nikon 600 mm f/4 and got many listings for lenses priced at $2.40 and $2.90, all from the same seller. Me thinks something could be a bit fishy.

There are other, more reputable venues to purchase gear from to put up with this.

WM
 

Dawg Pics

Senior Member
@Whiskeyman

I saw the same thing for a D750 and went through the images to find an image of text stating that the item is only 'buy it now' and to contact the seller through an email. They are using EBAY as advertising and trying to get out of paying fees to EBAY.
 
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BackdoorArts

Senior Member
When I post, I check a box permitting PayPal payments only. It pays to be suspect.

When I post there is no longer such a box, which is again my point.

The new system works well and eBay forwards the payment to your linked account rather quickly (it has to be a checking account so I set up a new one with my credit union to use only for this because I'm waiting for the day when they lock one down after they've transferred funds and a buyer screams fraud).
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
I've never used ebay for selling but have made several purchases over the years - and always with PayPal. Thanks for the heads-up. I wonder why they changed their payment method as I'm not sure I will continue any transactions there without PayPal.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
I quit selling on FleaBay years ago when they started siding with buyers for no reason. Even when the buyers flat-out lie, I gotta give 'em their money back. The heck with that.

I don't buy as much there as I did 10 years ago either. Not since most of the prices there are more than I can find in the local stores.
 

BF Hammer

Senior Member
I have been too afraid to sell on ebay for 7 years. I used to move a lot of old stuff that way. I noticed a trend at that time with buyers trying to get after-the sale discounts by making pretty much untrue complaints about the items. Selling a cassette deck was the last straw when the buyer insisted it did not function when I tested it prior to packing. My standard answer at the time was to ship it back the same method it was sent to them for a refund of the purchase price (at their cost). The cassette deck never came back. I just decided it was time to give up selling on ebay.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
I didn't know they were phasing Paypal out. I used to buy and sell a fair amount on Ebay. Now I can find lower prices elsewhere, and also sell with lower or no commission taken out.
 

Sandpatch

Senior Member
Came upon this thread and wanted to mention that as a result of changes to the tax code, beginning 01/01/2022, Sellers on eBay will receive a Form 1099-K from eBay if they generate $600 or more in annual sales. This will be reported to the IRS and Sellers will be responsible for taxes on the net profit for all items sold. The threshold was $20,000, so this is a significant change and will prove to be a headache for amateur Sellers cleaning out an attic.

This has probably been posted elsewhere here, but thought I'd mention it if not.
 

Peter7100

Senior Member
Came upon this thread and wanted to mention that as a result of changes to the tax code, beginning 01/01/2022, Sellers on eBay will receive a Form 1099-K from eBay if they generate $600 or more in annual sales. This will be reported to the IRS and Sellers will be responsible for taxes on the net profit for all items sold. The threshold was $20,000, so this is a significant change and will prove to be a headache for amateur Sellers cleaning out an attic.

This has probably been posted elsewhere here, but thought I'd mention it if not.

That might discourage people selling their secondhand camera gear which is a pity as I have often found a good bargain on ebay.
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
If you're a business, regardless of whether the vendor sent you a 1099 or not, you were obligated to report the business income. Those rules haven't changed in decades. If you're selling on eBay and doing 200+ transactions a year, you're a business and owe taxes on the any profit.

The 1099-K is for informational purposes only. It does NOT mean you owe taxes on the reported amounts.

If you're a business on ebay, then you/should be filing a Schedule "C"... in which case, you report the income, AND you also deduct the eligible selling/shipping expenses against that income. And pay taxes on the profit only.

It's the dishonest people on eBay that has triggered the IRS to mandate these measures... If you're gonna "blame" somebody, it isn't the IRS, it's the dishonest people that have been violating the law...
 

bluzman

Senior Member
From the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-k

Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third-Party Network Transactions, is an IRS information return used to report certain payment transactions to improve voluntary tax compliance. You should receive Form 1099-K by January 31st if, in the prior calendar year, you received payments:


  • From payment card transactions (e.g., debit, credit, or stored-value cards), and/or
  • In settlement of third-party payment network transactions above the minimum reporting thresholds as follows:
    • For returns for calendar years prior to 2022:
      • Gross payments that exceed $20,000, AND
      • More than 200 such transactions
    • For returns for calendar years after 2021:
      • Gross payments that exceed $600, AND
      • Any number of transactions

Some observations

1) The decrease in the thresholds from $20,000 to $600 and from "More than 200 such transactions" to "Any number of transactions" seems significant.

2) Not clear to me that the criteria below, per se, constitute a "business" that requires the reporting of taxable income.


  • Gross payments that exceed $600, AND
  • Any number of transactions

3) "voluntary tax compliance"...seriously?
 
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