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Has sales tax on Ebay purchases affected your pulling the trigger on coins?
Onedollarnohollar
Posts: 2,035 ✭✭✭✭
I have stepped away from purchasing several times because the tax made the coin "overpriced" in my opinion.
3
Onedollarnohollar
Posts: 2,035 ✭✭✭✭
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Ask the seller if he would’ve willing to give a discount equal to the tax amount. Sometimes the amount is so insignificant this might work.
As a seller I did this exact thing and the buyer paid immediately. The amount was $2.40.
A small bit. I've been leaning more towards great collections now.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
let's say the coin is around $3k, there's no offer option, and now you're looking at $300 tax, the seller might, if contacted, give you a slight break on price but doubtfully a $300 discount.
I have. There were many Enhanced proofs I would have bought but the sales tax killed it.
No tax on my state so no affect, the bigger issue is finding anything worth buying.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
The margin on most coins would not allow for such a large discount
Yes.
Big time.
There is a %9 sales tax on everything in Alabama, which includes everything purchased online from anywhere. There is even a sales tax on all foods. So yeah it has affected my purchasing power and desicions. This went into effect in April of 2019. Given there was already a state sales tax in place, but it was limited to local in person purchases and did not apply to most foods, now it is ridiculous as they are still taking huge chunks of my pay then taking it again whenever I need something to live on. I believe there is a word for this, extortion.
So, yea. It has affected my coin purchases.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/mysetregistry/showcase/6602
It's probably the one thing I truly dislike about my state !
Yep. Its over 9% in my area and flirting with 10%. That is a hefty bump! Fortunately, I live near the state line and tax is a bit less over the line and the local B&M makes sense if I can pick up the right coin!
Yes
YES, I will still buy inexpensive coins but it has put an end to buying auction or expensive ebay coins where the tax could be hundreds of dollars per coin.
So I credit the tax law for moving me from the acquisition phase of collecting to the deaccessioning phase.
Commems and Early Type
No.
Yes
Yes... I have only made one purchase from ebay since the tax program was implemented....and it was not a coin. I will not purchase coins from ebay anymore, and restrict purchases of any type to a 'must have' situation. I stay away from auctions because of their fees now.... I buy from online sources without taxes or fees. Cheers, RickO
Of course. We wouldn't it?
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
God bless the BST Forum.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
Yes. And in more areas than just coins.
What is this thing called sales tax on coins that you refer to?
Signed, Inquiring mind in Texas.
No tax on my state so no affect, the bigger issue is finding anything worth buying.
+1.
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
I had an interesting Ebay experience recently. I bought some discount US postage stamps and was charged no tax.
I am not sure if there is a special category for these that is excepted from the tax. I will try to pay more attention to it.
Also, I know the USPS sells on ebay. I assume there is no tax on those purchases as there would not be at the local PO.
Sears-Blockbuster-Radio Shack-Kmart- Montgomery Ward-Ebay...
It has led me to really slow down building my set. On the up side I now only buy coins I find to be perfect for my set. Only find a couple of those a year usually
We are not charged sales tax ( on coins, currency and bullion) in Nebraska. Go big red.
Oh but the property tax kicks our __ like Ohio State , Wisconsin, Iowa and everybody else on the schedule
Yup, I haven't been buying near as much as I had been.
yes, it sure does
Get used to it. It ain't going away. Personally, I've accepted it, but no longer will purchase from Foreign Mints that assess my States Sales Tax.
No sales tax in the (once) great state of Oregon.
Ebay ran for years on a great concept. Do it yourself online sales at a minimal cost.
Mismanagement for the last decade has left the sleepy giant unable to maneuver and absorb the taxation hit as Amazon successfully has.
Once a collector coin by and then resell a coin for about 5% on Ebay, all in. Add another percent or two for shipping.
I am not talking about a flipper looking to score a profit, just a guy that wanted to change direstion or maybe just didn't like a coin and wanted to dispose of it with only a small loss.
That really could not be done before Ebay and cannot now, particularly for those living in states where coins are taxed.
The once negligible 5-6% transaction cost is now up to 20% for the causal seller.
Congrats! Beautiful looking coin! I'm glad you weren't stopped by the sales tax.
Great post. Only time will tell with eBay.
I honestly thought they were turning the corner this year. I think the boat is moving in the right direction at least.
Even at $1500 & up they still charge sales tax in California on ebay for numismatic items ??? I thought that was considered exempt.
I still have good luck selling stuff at coin shows with a few select and honest dealers. Maybe the eBay sales tax issue will help out the coin show circuit and get more people coming to shows to buy and sell.
I buy more coins now than ever.
As a reseller, I never pay tax and may, in fact, be getting lower prices because others may not bid up items in Fear of the tax
California is exempt over $1,500 and eBay doesn't add sales tax above that level.
Ridiculously high seller pricing is much much more of a problem on eBay.
Still the very best venue for getting eyeballs to see your stuff.
Ebay should somehow level the playing field for non-tax states vs. taxable states. I don't know how but they must be feeling some pushback, lower volume of sales, which is hurting their bottom line. I know that I am dramatically slowing my roll with them.
Sales tax hasn't stopped me but some very high selling prices have.
It should help the coin show sellers and B&M dealers. One can argue that the internet was granted an unfair advantage over the local sellers of all types of merchandise. Amazon eliminated alone a tremendous number of independent merchants.
Coins are different though from other non discretionary items like golf clubs and washing machines as they are purchased with a an expected investment component as well. A thousand dollar coin is not that much fun to look at if you figured it would be worthless in a decade. Though the market has spiraled downward for the better part of the last decade, we still have an expectation of liquidation somewhere down the line at a decent price. That is not true of a set of clubs.
That is why many states exempt sales tax on coins and others set an arbitrary cap as California does.
The good thing is, the coins don't care who owns them or at what price or level of taxation. A hundred years from now when all of us here are gone, they will still be collected and admired and discussed by a future generation of numismatists.
Ebay should somehow level the playing field for non-tax states vs. taxable states.
I escaped from a high tax state to a low tax state and now you want eBay to punish me ???
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
Buying Bullion plus tax equals “got enough already”
Coins are not taxed here, but so far in 2019 I've purchased just one coin and that was from the U. S. mint and no ST was added.
Frankly since I'm now resigned to paying ST for non coin purchases I often find the best deals for stuff on eBay. If something is on Amazon, I can almost always find it or something similar cheaper on eBay. For non-Bay purchases like shooting supplies, I'll look to OOS sellers that don't collect IA ST.
So collecting ST for eBay purchases hasn't really done a lot to level the playing field for local businesses. And it's certainly cut down on non-essential purhses as well.
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
Yep. I've lost all interest in eBay coins between $400-$1500. Won't do it.
eBay is under the gun on the vast amount of non-coin items they move.
Although I have no idea how the bookkeeping is gonna flush out for buyers, but I won't be needing to figure it out.
Coins above that level are "usually" findable in websites with any imagination.
You should follow the eBay process for resellers and upload to them your sellers permit and you won’t have to pay tax on items you purchase.
My Ebay Store
My sales and offers have dramatically slowed on items over $100 since the change.
My Ebay Store
No sales tax in my state, so no effect on buying anything.
In California (and I'd imagine other states) claiming resale status without being a dealer can lead to a lot of problems.
Not worth it.
Dealers? Yes, of course.
I would think that coin dealers will have to realize that this element will affect their sales and will have to allow for that buyer resistance in their pricing.
Bad thing all around.
Tea/harbor/NOW !!!