Has buying and/or selling audio gear changed?

Many do not use PP goods and services because if you recieve over $600/yr, paypal is required by law to send you, and the IRS, a 1099. that in itself isn't a problem since you probably lost money on the used equipment so you won't pay taxes.  but it puts you on the IRS radar and you are always at risk of the IRS being difficult.  everyone is afraid of the IRS.

Whether a seller buys insurance is frankly, none of your business.   The seller is responsible to deliver an item intact and if not, remunerate you.  They may buy insurance if they think it is a good business practice (it isn't) or just choose to take responsibility themselves (aka self insure).  you asking them to buy insurance is meddling in their business and frankly stating that you don't trust them to be financially responsible.

Jerry

@dill  Do you have a reference?  I'm hearing lots of rumors but paypal's website still says $600 in 2023.  I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm saying that I'm getting conflicting info.  thanks.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/will-paypal-report-my-sales-to-the-irs-help543

Thanks.  So that says that for 2023, the limit is $20,000 and 200 transactions.  Could be an issue for ebay sellers, but supposedly they are selling to make a profit, so indeed they do pay taxes.  

In 2024, the limit goes down to $5000, so that will affect a lot of audio equipment.

Jerry

@invalid Did you read my post?  Nobody wants to deal with the IRS.  People don't want to have to show that they didn't make a profit on it.  Many of them don't have a receipt for the original purchase and are afraid to be put on the spot, etc.

BTW, in the past 2 years, after speaking with the sellers, I have twice used protectionless payment (like friends and family)  to pay for 2 transactions totaling $17k.  It is possible to just avoid being a victim.

Jerry

@curiousjim Not that I know of.  $9k is most I've done.  

@viridian I think that is good insight.  In addition to the disenchantment, I think most of them didn't understand it.  Even the paypal website has it wrong (as I posted above and was corrected with an IRS link). 

jerry

@viridian I bought my first set of "good" speakers on AudioMart.   It was from a guy in San Francisco (about 400 miles away).  We met at a gas station on I-5 in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the winter with 40 mph winds, it seems like the surface of Mars.  We loaded 2 person-sized boxes into my truck and I gave him 22 Ben Franklins--a lot of money back then.  M3si's.

Jerry

@invalid I disagree.  In  the past, if you sold a personal item, not for a gain, you didn't report it.  Now, since there is a 1099, you have to deal with it.

Never ask the seller to buy insurance.  Now you're sharing in the responsibility for safe delivery.  It is fully the seller's responsibility.  Leave it that way.

Occasionally I see sellers saying that insurance is the buyer's option.  I usually respond that it it up to them.  If they are one of the sellers that states "not responsible for uninsured shipments" I generally move on.  not my job to try to set them right.  Also this statement indicates they've had problems before.

Jerry

For those of you who say "paypal goods and services of hit the road", what do you do if they don't take paypal?

@glennewdick I had a coin business for years.  In the coin business we have a saying that insurance stickers mean "steal me".  Most coin dealers on expensive packages do not use insurance but instead pay for signature confirmation.

Jerry