Done selling on eBay, they are demanding my social security number to sell

Nothing about the tax laws has changed in this regard. It has nothing to do with politics. What has changed is the tax collectors are catching up to all the people who were illegally evading taxes by dealing direct on the internet.

What this negates is people cheating on their taxes. If you approve of that as a "business model" then nothing I can do about that.

gmosley

Although I am not a Seller, I concur with your assessment. This "change" negates the whole internet business model per se.
Keep fighting the good fight!

anybody that buys things and sells them for a profit has a potential tax liability. That's how business and tax systems work.  The seller has no tax liability unless they make a profit so you are incorrect.,  you don't "have to pay taxes when you sell it too" unless you are making a profit. 

In most states buyers are supposed to pay sales tax when they buy something. Doesn't matter if it is here or eBay or a local thrift shop or wherever.

There is nothing crooked about it. 

You can KEEP YOUR PAYPAL AND YOUR EPRAY and i won't be calling a Tax Professional for some old audio equipment that won't
be worth a nickel, while the crooks in the government steal from
the hard working citizens, think about it. you pay the taxes when you purchase the equipment and NOW you have to pay taxes to sell it too
WOW who's fooling who. I just love Craigslist let me see DOES FACEBOOK MARKET NEED YOU SS NUMBER TOO?

With managed payments, PayPal is out of the chain except if the buyer uses it for payment. eBay now manages all the payments including collecting the appropriate sales tax for each state from the buyer. I live in a state with no sales tax, however this came from eBay's site:  

"If you're required to charge sales tax, you can set up a tax table and apply it to your listings. We'll then add the tax to the buyer's total at checkout. You're responsible for paying the sales tax to the appropriate authority.

Contact a tax professional to determine whether you need to charge sales tax on your eBay sales, or if you have questions about any other taxes. We can't provide tax advice or guarantee that our sales tax features meet all tax requirements."

Why else would they want our SS#?

so they can report your income to the IRS. Until recently millions and millions of dollars of goods were sold through eBay and other sites without any sales tax being collected and without the profits being reported as income. The seller could easily run a business on eBay and evade paying any taxes. The buyer could avoid paying any sales tax.

That has changed now.

I think eBay had figured out a way to stick sellers with the tax so they don’t have to deal with it. Why else would they want our SS#? I’m 

Everyone please note that while eBay charges the buyer the sales tax and collects it from them, PayPal charges YOU the seller the PayPal fee on that sales tax that eBay collects in your transaction but which you don’t receive. I don’t know how this all works with eBays new payment methods. But I have had it with selling on eBay and nearly so with buying big ticket items on eBay. Let’s all support our non-eBay audiophile aftermarket marketplaces! 

Sorry, I misspoke, checked a payment and you are correct.

It has been coming to me. It’s included in each payment I’ve received. That’s how I noticed I was getting more on the final payment than I expected.

 you have to pay back all sales taxes you’ve received. Correct?

no, you never receive it.. they collect it from the buyer and send it to the states.. it does not come to the seller

Hardly. I might sell $400 in a good month. I’m off eBay now, they don’t need my personal information with all the hackers out there.

Wrong Jiggy.  Starting next year you will get a 1099 from EBAY if you sell more than $600 worth of stuff. Its not Retroactive. As of right now the only way you will get a 1099 is from PAYPAL if you took in more than 200 payments a year AND hit the $20,000 Threshold. You must hit BOTH those numbers.....so if you sold 150 items and got $50,000 in revenue your safe

Have any of you noticed that eBay now charges sales tax on every sale? That’s why they want your SS#, so once they turn that info over to the IRS, you have to pay back all sales taxes you’ve received. Correct?

This "Identitiy" is a lie. I have been on ebay since 1999. They know who's who.

They want to save money on the "money back guarantee" when a seller flakes. 

Not my problem. It's getting too expensive anyways. Let big businesses with thousands of items for sale pay the fees. No way to sell a  pair of boots I provide SSN and Bank account. 

I am done selling too.

People, stick together. Refuse to let businesses own your most crucial information. Years ago when they raised fees people stepped away and ebay budged. 

I will sell on CL, and for every item there is a forum on the internet with a classified section. They are free. I am forced to save some money and I am gonna take it.

DO NOT STEAL FROM THE GOVERNMENT!!!! THEY HATE COMPETITION!!!!!!!!! The IRS is just as private as seven eleven !!!!

So, I purchase the item, I paid tax on it. After I sell on eBay for much less than I originally paid for. For 1/4 of the original price. Then, I pay tax on it again and the buyer also pays tax on it again! Not a good shopping experience!!!! Also, I want my privacy. Our SS numbers and birthdays and emails, and addresses, and everything is on 'open season" just "help yourself" and it is available for every country in the world, especially for the whole US and CHINA. And worst of all: Is there anybody to protect us?????

THAT'S WHY I LOVE CRAIGSLIST!!!!!

What? They want my social security number to verify my identity?? Really I have been with them since 2001..... I think with my 100% feedback and my years with them without any issue I have more than prove to them my identity.  Wait.... does that mean that if I sell something at a loss I would get a tax credit for my loss? This is a joke and it’s a bummer that they are asking for my social security number because I won’t. 

Now that eBay has eliminated PayPal, they deposit your money in your bank account after a 3-4 day delay. American Express made a fortune playing with the float time they created between the receipt of payment and the payout. eBay's lowering of the fees related to payment is more than compensated for by the profits they will generate with the float. We can always hope that another player will enter the market place to compete with eBay. Only through competition pressure will eBay return to respecting their customers.

It's worse than that. eBay could provide no justification for the request for the social security number. They claimed that it was needed to verify the seller's identity but could not explain what your social security number was being verified against. They guaranteed that their site was secure against hacking (unlikely) but would not take responsibility for any financial losses to their sellers in the event they were hacked. eBay's request also does not recognize that there is no legal requirement for someone to have a social security number. They would also not guarantee that your social security number would not be sold to a third party. No other reputable merchant that I know of asks for your social security number as it is not necessary to validate identity. eBay's request for this information flies in the face of all the warnings about releasing your social security number without provable justification. Beware of giving up the most confidential piece of information you personally own.

You can love or hate ebay but the fact remains they have a massive customer base to sell to.
Just this weekend I sold two audio items within hours of listing and not at giveaway prices but fair to all pricing.
These two items were also listed on USAM but not even a sniff there.
Now yes , costs at ebay are obviously way higher total nearly 13% all in.
But depends on whether you want to get your items sold fairly quickly or sit on them for xx amount of time?

Along with the hassles of eBay, were some of the customers themselves. It was my fault trying to sell a good product on a site that resembles a garage sale... at least that was how we might be treated by the buyers. 'What is your lowest price?" got old quick, since my items were selling nearly at cost to begin with. I have had better experience here and at US Audio Mart.

BTW, I thought Ebay owned Paypal.

Very old news on the "divorce", maybe 3 years ago now?
Very soon ebay will require ALL sellers to be using their managed payments so there is that to consider.

" BTW, I thought Ebay owned Paypal."
They did, however no longer. Their managed payment system has taken PayPal's place as the money collection vehicle for the seller. A buyer can still use PayPal, any credit card, Apple Pay and several other methods and then deposits it directly (in a few days) into your bank account. As an eBay buyer you can still use PayPal just as before.

Paypal is where I keep my play money. I'm not opening a separate bank account to replace that so once Paypal is out of the loop so am I. BTW, I thought Ebay owned Paypal.

" I don’t sell much if anything on eBay. I find their fee structure too high. Add in the PayPal fee and it’s almost 20% to sell on Fleabay"

With eBay's managed payment system now I am at between 12% - 13%, I was at 14.5% with PayPal involved. With eBay's managed payment system, PayPal is no longer in the seller's loop.

My issue with Ebay is that they do not disclose upfront as a seller your payment can be placed on a 21 day hold.
Ebay is not releasing my payment on PayPal for 21 days because of the brand,  they claim that Marantz has been prone to problems with the buying public. 
Although the buyer has left positive feedback they still want release the funds.

Ebay has long ago become unfriendly to transact with-difficult for sellers, who now seem to have become "suspect", complaining buyers, funds being escrowed, too many scammers. I stopped using it completely as it become too painful.

From another perspective, axeis1 complaining about eBay fees are like questioning the $10 sq ft rent in Los Angeles to the 75 cents sq ft rent in Clevland. LA can charge more because there are 10 million people in LA. Like it or not eBay has the traffic. My philosophy has always been I would rather make a fast nickel than a slow dime. That is why eBay is great for me since 1998. As a business owner, I’m focused on how much I sell per month not how much my rent is.
And cash on pickup is still an option on eBay.

I don’t sell much if anything on eBay. I find their fee structure too high. Add in the PayPal fee and it’s almost 20% to sell on Fleabay

herman

Thank You for sharing this important information. It is going to be interesting to learn how eBay changes their payment option(s).
Prior to the eBay/Paypal union, I used to pay sellers via postal money order. Never had an issue.

Happy Listening!

I was told by the eBay rep   that they are eventually moving everyone to managed pay. Once you are migrated, PayPal will not be an option for you to accept payments on eBay. Not everyone at once, but the goal is to get it done over the course of this year. So sooner or later you will either agree to be migrated to this program or you will not be able to sell. 

I guess I will eventually give in. In preparation, I opened a checking account to be used only for PayPal and eBay so they won't have access to my primary account. 

Interesting  I just sold two items on ebay and used paypal but no SS was reuqired.

I just looked this up. It is currently available to limited sellers on an invitation only basis. They say they want the majority of sellers on managed payments by 2021. It is NOT a current requirement and I don’t know if it ever will be. If you are a high volume seller it might make sense as you will save a small percentage of fees. I don’t plan on signing up for this at all. 

I haven’t been told that I need to do any of this.  

It appears that all of the interweb transaction companies are being hounded by the I.R.S to comply with  their new demands - this site included.

I closed my membership on this site because PP and Audiogon require defining one's self as a merchant,  a business.  I returned only because other sites for selling or buying good equipment suck - especially eBay.  You cannot even list an item COD here because of the new stipulations.  Ridiculous.

So, if I bought an amplifier in 1965 for $800, and sell it today for $2200, is there an adjustment for inflation caused by our socialized monetary system, thereby eliminating any gain in true value, or does the government get to steal that too?

Frank

Looks like it's back to cash 'n carry.

I get the big picture, eBay wants and will get the seller fee that PayPal has been collecting. Must be a tremendous amount of $$$.

It just flies all over me that they demand my SSN before they will allow me to sell.

Been on managed payments for maybe 7 months now, no issues to report.
It was inevitable after the eBay and PayPal divorce really.

The 1099 for the irs is also nothing new, just being enforced now by PayPal and eBay since 2016. Prior to that the irs was reliant on individual to report, yeah right like that was going to happen.

All to do with money and nothing more, good old government worried they were losing so much sales tax due to internet sales.
And of course all they came up with was a half baked scheme.

What a surprise.

This is not a problem if you are a casual seller. I have been on the managed payment system now for sometime now and it is not a problem. eBay is weening it's sellers away from PayPal as the money taker. eBay takes all the payments from the buyer and keeps them in house. Buyer payments go directly from eBay to your bank account automatically. The rate is a bit less than it was when PayPal was in the loop. In addition, eBay accepts more forms of payments that PayPal did. I was skeptical at first, but is is working fine. 

it asks if you are an individual or a business.  I looked at the business options. They had I think 3 categories that I did not fit in so they said I was an individual. Still want my SSN.

Looks like you’re considered  a business.

Its not required. eBay wants social security numbers in order to be able to report sales to the IRS. The stuff you buy new will be depreciated so that selling creates a taxable gain. Or even better, if you can't document what was originally paid then the whole sale is taxable income. Then if you buy and sell more than a few times guess what? Now you're a business. You'll need to buy a license, keep records, pay taxes. Think I'm kidding? Its exactly what they've been doing with cars for years.