Ebay sales tax, buyers not happy.
derryb
Posts: 36,216 ✭✭✭✭✭
Beginning to have ebay's new "automatic" sales tax being questioned by my buyers. Most are assuming I added the tax.
Feel free to use my new standard answer in your listings:
"Ebay is now automatically collecting taxes for sales to some states. I do not add sales tax to your purchase. If your total purchase price includes state sales taxes, they were added by ebay. If your item is tax exempt in your state and ebay still charges you a sales tax, you will likely need to take it up with your state taxing authority. I have no control over ebay adding taxes to your purchase, it is built into their algorithm as they are attempting to comply with recent changes to individual state sales tax laws that now affect internet purchases. As Pink Floyd says: "welcome to the machine."
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Comments
“If your total purchase price includes state sales taxes, you will have to take it up with ebay”
Not that you solicited feedback about your listing language, but I would soften the “you will have to..” part.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Why do the government need to tax everything!?! Just spend less then they have more money to play with
Young Numismatist/collector
75 Positive BST transactions buying and selling with 45 members and counting!
instagram.com/klnumismatics
They will get used to it since every one has to pay tax.
Thanks, done.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Unfortunately, for now, many buyers are under the impression that the seller added the taxes, therefore making them negotiable. My descriptions will now include the attempt to explain the tax and to prevent ebay messages questioning the tax.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Actually, under Texas law, it's your responsibility to provide the marketplace with correct information about the tax status of what you sell. If you don't, it's YOUR problem not the marketplace's
Other states may differ...
https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB1525/2019
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
What a mess, thank goodness I decided to stop selling on fleabay in 2011....
Best, SH
Successful transactions with-Boosibri,lkeigwin,TomB,Broadstruck,coinsarefun,Type2,jom,ProfLiz, UltraHighRelief,Barndog,EXOJUNKIE,ldhair,fivecents,paesan,Crusty...
"Another brick in the wall," as well.
The only way I see this as applicable would be if you listed the item in an incorrect category, or if eBay's possible categories are insufficient.
Everytime a new group of states get added, I get several rounds of the same question asking why I added tax
I've been dealing with the "Why didn't my package arrive when eBay said it would?" questions for a while now so I'm not surprised that having to explain the added taxes to buyers will fall on me. SSDD.
"eBay - It's always something!"
They really shouldn't be, although they are. Reading is fundamental it isn't universal. eBay does pretty directly address the tax issue.
LOL
It's more the shortcomings of the customers than eBay.
Personally, I think this message is flawed. It is not "eBay's new automatic sales tax", it is the Sales Tax required by the state the customer lives in. And "I do not charge sales tax" is also not completely true, I would say, because eBay is collecting it on your behalf.
Clearly, you've spent too much time with @coinstartled (kidding) who wants to blame this tax issue on eBay. eBay fought it. Amazon didn't, by the way, because they already had nexus in so many states it didn't matter.
Rather than send them to eBay, maybe you ought to send them to their State government. eBay's hands are tied on the matter.
True enough. However, I buy stuff on eBay too, and am not impressed with the effort they put into educating buyers why things happen the way they do on the website they control. If I was of a suspicious mind, I'd be thinking that eBay doesn't mind too much that sellers end up catching some of the flak from things like this.
Depends on where you look. They do include a tagged note to buyers. They do also indicate the sales tax on the buyer's invoice.
Do they explain to the buyer that the seller has nothing to do with the tax being added- that this is something initiated and managed by eBay? I haven't bought anything requiring tax yet, so I couldn't say how well they are doing in this area.
Thought the tax issue/statement was stated in the “shipping, returns, and payments” section...?
Taxes are necessary but still annoying and until all internet sales are taxed (and certainly will be at some point) there will be some confusion.
No one likes paying taxes....oh, I forgot, we have one member who enjoys it....
The verbiage I've seen says something like "state tax assessed by ebay".
Also, currently buyers are getting 2 separate paypal payments: 1 to seller, 1 to ebay for tax. This is changing next month.
He's been very quiet since he got addicted to Instagram.
They'd be less confusing if the tax was based on the seller's location, not the buyer's. B&Ms have complained about online sellers not having to collect sales tax for a long time. Ok- fair enough. But those B&Ms don't collect tax based on where their customers live, do they? It's beyond ridiculous that any online seller should be expected to be aware of the constantly changing tax rules of thousands of taxing authorities across the country.
tax statement is not included in "shipping and payments" tab, but a link to the statement is. Many buyers do not even click on the "shipping and payments" tab in a listing and even more do not click on its link that explains the taxes.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Buyer sees the tax but it is not explained to him how it got there. He assumes the seller put it there, thus the issue discussed in the OP.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
I agree with you.
I think eventually the laws will be changed on this.
But for now, yeah, it's a murky mess.
Just went to look. I bet there can't be more than three eBay buyers on the planet who clicked the link and then read all the associated material.
Okay- maybe two.
Thanks, I knew I read it somewhere.
Message does not refer to "ebay's new automatice sales tax." It does correctly point out that ebay is automatically collecting taxes for sales to some states. Message corrected from "I do not charge sales tax" to "I do not add sales tax to your purchase."
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Back up cowboy! I never blamed the taxation policy on Ebay. I blamed Ebay for jacking the fees through the roof. Negating the once touted level playing field to the benefit of a handful of key dealers. And subsufficient customer serveve even as navigating the platform becomes much more complex.
Ebay fought the taxation issue valiantly and lost. It will spell their doom as Amazon eats them alive with heavily discounted shipping costs and and internal inventory control.
It's what it is, something we all have to deal with if we are going to buy and sell online..."how can you have your pudding if you don't eat your meat?"
It would be less confusing but it wouldn't solve the problem the States were trying to solve. They don't want their citizens to be able to bypass sales tax by going to another state. If the tax was based on the seller's location, buyers have 49 other states to choose from. With the tax based on the buyer's location, buyers have NO other state to choose from.
I didn't mean to imply that you had said exactly that, just that you blame eBay for everything. LOL. Said with love, of course.
I do think it's funny that you think Amazon will thrive while eBay suffers when they face the same basic issues, at least in the retail sector. Amazon makes money from its cloud services and subscription services that eBay lacks. But in the retail sector Amazon fees are HIGHER than eBay. Sales tax applies to Amazon as well as eBay. And Amazon faces headwinds on delivery as FedEx dropped them and USPS may be forced to renegotiate.
Compare prices at Amazon to Walmart and eBay. You'll find they are no longer generally cheaper.
I understand that. I'm not sure why making it a problem for the seller (who doesn't even live in the state) is the answer.
Aside, of course, from the fact it's a lot easier for the state to do it this way. More money, less work- what's not to like?
I haven't been negged yet over this, but I suspect it's coming sooner or later. I hope Ebay basically "automatically" removes it after I complain, instead of the usual begging I have to do to get them to remove one.
i've seen a few other sellers with a neg regarding this.
A simple rule of business that is often overlooked is that the transaction has to be profitable at every step or it ultimatley fails.
Sure someone along the continuum can take a loss for a bit, but not for very long.
Let's say that an independent Ebay seller can buy first quality Nike running shoes at a competitive price. He sells the pair for $100 on Ebay and pays for the shipping. He will pay about 12% to Ebay/Paypal in fees and it will cost him about $12 to ship the pair. Up until recently he had an edge over the B&M chains and then Amazon as well as he does not have to charge the seller tax. That 8% advantage as now gone and the unfortunate seller has to compete with Amazon's much lower cost of overhead (maybe a couple points in overhead per item) and he is probably at a $10 disadvantage on shipping.
He will either have to steer away from first quality shoes and start selling errors..er I mean factory seconds to look for a margin.
The clock continues to tick.
negged for what? I assume the buyer would just request cancellation and you would oblige. Or did the buyer not notice until later? Even then, they could just return it for a refund.
I don't think they thought through all the implications. The States (most of them) tried to not burden small sellers with the exemption. They went after the big "marketplaces". I don't think they considered the implications for non-businesses using the marketplace. Or maybe they did and are trying to prevent people from having a tax-free internet garage sale.
That ignores part of the equation: large sellers on eBay.
I don't disagree [I wrote it earlier] that this oddly places small sellers on eBay/Amazon on equal tax footing with the giant retailers. And you are correct that in some instances that may be a competitive disadvantage for the small sellers. [Sometimes small sellers are the one with the advantage, but that's another matter.]
What you are ignoring is that both eBay and Amazon both have a lot of small independents and a lot of giants selling through them. Amazon does have its own retail operation, but that is not tremendously profitable on its own and only a piece of the action. For actual small business and giants, eBay is still price competitive with Amazon, cheaper in fact. On the other hand, Amazon provides warehousing and drop-shipping services [at a fairly steep price, by the way]. So the total competitive balance isn't clear.
Amazon is also a direct competitor with Walmart.com as well as eBay in different segments. So the challenge to Amazon exists as much as it does with eBay in the RETAIL SEGMENT of its business. [Again, cloud services are a separate matter.]
Remember, the goal of the tax was to put eBay/Amazon/Wayfair on equal footing with B&M's not to punish eBay. It may be the revenge of B&M's or not. The overhead that Amazon generates from all the warehouse and shipping infrastructure it is building may ultimately make it less competitive with B&M's than eBay which does not have that infrastructure.
I agree.
Small potatoes but I'll mention I was recently in need of a new dentist and when I called a local shop the gal on the phone said "You'll have to go online and fill out the new patient form."
Ta Ta.
I agree with ya. But as mentioned, i've seen negs given regarding the buyer unhappy with the sales tax.
I would say so. B&Ms don't have to charge sales tax based on the buyer's residence. Why should internet sellers?
Well, it may be the response from the seller to the complaint.
Well, that's nexus the old 20th century way. LOL.
And yet, B&Ms aren't checking ids to see where you live in order to figure out how much tax you owe.
We are sales tax free on Coins, currency and bullion in my town and state. LB867
Premiums are tax enough, in this hobby.
_Amazon makes money from its cloud services and subscription services that eBay lacks. _
Wow...some else who knows this! Impressed...Everyone chats about how Amazon is destroying retailers (they are) but not too many folks know that the AWS division is the real money maker in the enterprise.
K
Yes. The other thing about Amazon is that they take a VERY LONG view. They are willing to lose money for years while driving out the competition. But I think they are up against it in the retail sector now. Walmart is cheaper than they are for many goods. Walmart also has the infrastructure to hit the next big goal of online retail: same day delivery. With Amazon now on level footing with B&M's due to the tax law changes and all the infrastructure they built, I wouldn't be surprised to see Amazon take a few lumps in the retail segment of its operations.
The goal of the tax was to allow states to collect revenue that they were entitled to. B&Ms benefited because it equaled the playing field.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Well, yes, of course. I just meant that the way in which it was implemented was intended to level the playing field not to punish anyone in particular.
I have laughed many times (and shed tears as well) over the message of this rhyme by 'anonymous'. Cheers, RickO
Tax his land, tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule
Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Tax his pants, tax his coat.
Tax his ties, tax his shirts,
Tax his work, tax his dirt
Tax his chew, tax his smoke,
Teach him taxes are no joke.
Tax his car, tax his grass,
Tax the roads he must pass
Tax his food, tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his sodas, tax his beers,
If he cries, tax his tears
Tax his bills, tax his gas,
Tax his notes, tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough
If he hollers, tax him more,
Tax him until he's good and sore.
Tax his coffin, tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays
Put these words upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me to my doom!"
And when he's gone, we won't relax,
We'll still be after the inheritance tax