Having to provide eBay with SS#?

[TiScape]

I’ve been selling on eBay for a long time. Went on yesterday to list something and they said my selling privileges were locked until I updated my account. The update was asking for my SS# and DOB. Apparently it’s required of them by the government for tax purposes. They want all payments to go through them, not PayPal. Just don’t feel real warm and fuzzy giving out my SS to eBay! Anyone else experience this? If so did you do it?? 

[bladehunter]

That would be a hard NO from me.  Not going to happen. But I cut ties with them years ago over their bias toward the buyer. Now they want to help Uncle Sam collect income taxes off the sales ?  Please. That’s scraping the last ounce of gravy off the top for the seller.  Why not just give your stuff to the buyer and write  it off as a charitable donation?  I’d bet on it being more profitable on the Balance sheet. 

[Argonne69]

Curious how this is going to work. I occasionally sell used clubs in the site. Of course I'm taking a loss on the club, as golf is a hobby, and not a profit making endeavor. However, Ebay has no idea what the clubs cost me. Are sellers going to receive a 1099 from Ebay, and then have to fill out a Schedule C just to prove to the IRS that it's not a business? 

[bladehunter]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Curious how this is going to work. I occasionally sell used clubs in the site. Of course I'm taking a loss on the club, as golf is a hobby, and not a profit making endeavor. However, Ebay has no idea what the clubs cost me. Are sellers going to receive a 1099 from Ebay, and then have to fill out a Schedule C just to prove to the IRS that it's not a business? 

That was my worry too.  And then suppose you own a business. Good luck convincing them this wasn’t a business sale.  I specially if you’re a repeat club “ tester “.   It will look like a side business.    

[NixLix26]

I had a couple listings on Ebay, I listed before they changed over to the new payout method.  after items sold the new method was implemented.  Buyers had paid for items, but I could not see or get any of the Money unless I updated my information and payout method.  I was not too pleased, because the buyer had payed but and it was time SHIP.  it took a full week after i filled out the information they required, before i saw the money.  Kind of a pain in the arse.

[TiScape]

This is exactly what I was afraid of! Like Argonne, I’m a once in a while casual seller. A club here, some shoes there. Definitely not making a profit. Ugh Thanks for the replies everyone.

[TiScape]

52 minutes ago, NixLix26 said:

I had a couple listings on Ebay, I listed before they changed over to the new payout method.  after items sold the new method was implemented.  Buyers had paid for items, but I could not see or get any of the Money unless I updated my information and payout method.  I was not too pleased, because the buyer had payed but and it was time SHIP.  it took a full week after i filled out the information they required, before i saw the money.  Kind of a pain in the arse.

So glad I read this! I had an old concert tee listed as of 1 min ago with a BIN. If it sold I would have been in the exact same boat!  🙏🏼 

[deadsolid...shank]

I used to sell quite a bit there, but I think only one in the last couple of years. I think reading all this stuff here I’ll probably just leave it at that. Just means I won’t be able to buy as much!😢

[Insidious2]

Paypal is doing the same thing.

 

I won't be using paypal to receive funds anymore. Sorry BST'ers!

[RobotDoctor]

I will no longer be selling on eBay.  I was notified I had to provide banking information.  That's a hard no for me.  I didn't sell a lot but did sell moderately.  They will be losing the fees from my sales along with a lot of other sellers who will also stop. This will end up costing eBay a lot of money.  I ended up listing two items here and sold both same day using PayPal.  I will sell more here. 

Edited February 10, 2021 by RobotDoctor

[mjbfyb]

19 hours ago, NixLix26 said:

I had a couple listings on Ebay, I listed before they changed over to the new payout method.  after items sold the new method was implemented.  Buyers had paid for items, but I could not see or get any of the Money unless I updated my information and payout method.  I was not too pleased, because the buyer had payed but and it was time SHIP.  it took a full week after i filled out the information they required, before i saw the money.  Kind of a pain in the arse.

I’m no longer allowed to list new items as of Feb. 1, but received a PayPal payment yesterday for an item I listed previously. 

Edited February 10, 2021 by mjbfyb

[NixLix26]

1 hour ago, mjbfyb said:

I’m no longer allowed to list new items as of Feb. 1, but received a PayPal payment yesterday for an item I listed previously. 

If I had known that eventually I would of seen the payment in my Paypal.  I would of held off.  But I really wanted to see the money before shipping anything ( I shipped it anyway and was nervous)  Either way my fun paypal account which was used just for golf equipment has now been mixed around and the Mrs's can track all transactions now. LOL  no big deal, in the long scheme of things it will be hard to stay off of Ebay for me.  But I will try and do a BST listing on this site next time.  I've had a couple good transaction on Offer up and Facebook market, but sometimes people not showing up with no phone call or notice of can chap my buns.

[dcmidnight]

I've sold a few clubs on ebay recently and had no issues with it. Money took about the same time to get to me; before where it had to go to Paypal and then I had to do a withdrawal from there - now its just one step and it kicked off as soon as I shipped. Fees were right about the same as before when you combined the ebay and Paypal fees, maybe a dollar difference here and there but once was actually less than I thought it would be.

 

I have no issues with it. As a buyer I could argue it makes sense, dont release the money to the seller until he proves he shipped it to me. Being able to just list and sell a club without all the BS you deal with here - hey you cant spell BST without BS...amirite... - sometimes its more than worth it to me to just take it to ebay.

[TiScape]

3 hours ago, dcmidnight said:

I've sold a few clubs on ebay recently and had no issues with it. Money took about the same time to get to me; before where it had to go to Paypal and then I had to do a withdrawal from there - now its just one step and it kicked off as soon as I shipped. Fees were right about the same as before when you combined the ebay and Paypal fees, maybe a dollar difference here and there but once was actually less than I thought it would be.

 

I have no issues with it. As a buyer I could argue it makes sense, dont release the money to the seller until he proves he shipped it to me. Being able to just list and sell a club without all the BS you deal with here - hey you cant spell BST without BS...amirite... - sometimes its more than worth it to me to just take it to ebay.

So you provided them with your SS# and banking info? Just one more place to worry about sensitive info getting hacked. In the world we live in it’s inevitable, but I like to keep it to a minimum. Especially SS#. Not sure I’m ready to trade my SS# so I can sell my sneakers or driver. Haha

[dcmidnight]

I'm exactly 0% concerned about that. And again as a buyer it makes me feel even better that they are making sure sellers are who they say they are. I only have 450 transactions or so on ebay so I'm not exactly a heavy user but no, I am 0% concerned. So many utilities/services/stores require it these days that I stopped worrying about it a long time ago. 

 

Its funny here and in other threads, so many people stressing about giving ebay banking information but they had no problem giving Paypal the same information for years - including when they were owned by Ebay. How quickly we forget.

[TiScape]

8 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

I'm exactly 0% concerned about that. And again as a buyer it makes me feel even better that they are making sure sellers are who they say they are. I only have 450 transactions or so on ebay so I'm not exactly a heavy user but no, I am 0% concerned. So many utilities/services/stores require it these days that I stopped worrying about it a long time ago. 

 

Its funny here and in other threads, so many people stressing about giving ebay banking information but they had no problem giving Paypal the same information for years - including when they were owned by Ebay. How quickly we forget.

For me I don’t trip on banking info. SS#, call me old fashioned. That’s a lot bigger mess to clean up.  
I get what you’re saying about trusting sellers when you’re buying. I only sold on eBay bcs I didn’t trust sellers on eBay. Too much counterfeit stuff. 

 

Edited February 10, 2021 by TIScape

[VNutz]

On 2/9/2021 at 8:16 AM, Argonne69 said:

Curious how this is going to work. I occasionally sell used clubs in the site. Of course I'm taking a loss on the club, as golf is a hobby, and not a profit making endeavor. However, Ebay has no idea what the clubs cost me. Are sellers going to receive a 1099 from Ebay, and then have to fill out a Schedule C just to prove to the IRS that it's not a business? 

I believe this is 100% the issue. For years states have been trying to get tax information from either PayPal or Ebay with little success, but it appears they finally are. In the past PayPal has traditionally kept to a 200 transaction AND 20k threshold before they issued 1099s, but states are now setting their own rules and PayPal has complied; IL changed to a $1000 threshold in 2020 so you might be getting one, as did I. And now with the changeover from PayPal handling all the financial transactions to ebay, ebay will likely be issuing the same 1099s in the future for those who break the thresholds, hence the need for a SS#.

 

Just my .02, not a tax professional by any means.

[RobotDoctor]

2 hours ago, VNutz said:

I believe this is 100% the issue. For years states have been trying to get tax information from either PayPal or Ebay with little success, but it appears they finally are. In the past PayPal has traditionally kept to a 200 transaction AND 20k threshold before they issued 1099s, but states are now setting their own rules and PayPal has complied; IL changed to a $1000 threshold in 2020 so you might be getting one, as did I. And now with the changeover from PayPal handling all the financial transactions to ebay, ebay will likely be issuing the same 1099s in the future for those who break the thresholds, hence the need for a SS#.

 

Just my .02, not a tax professional by any means.

This is simply one more way the government is going to tax people.  Maybe it’s inevitable.  I can choose not to participate in this for principles sake.  I will most certainly NOT provide my SSN to eBay or any other online entity.  When PayPal demands that I will leave that site.  

Edited February 10, 2021 by RobotDoctor

[Argonne69]

There problem is that the state isn't going to get a dime from me in income tax because selling a used club at a loss is not a business. If I have to spend 10 minutes screwing around with tax forms just to prove that I don't operate a business I'll never sell another item on Ebay. 

 

[Rory4Pres]

So apparently law makers squeezed this in the Covid relief bill.  Wow, that is messed up.

 

https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/abblog/blog.pl?/comments/2021/3/1615153514.html

[mizuno player]

This seems a little like double taxation. You bought the clubs with taxed money. You sell it and have to pay tax,again?? No thanks. 

 

Are we going to get 1099's if trade-in at second swing or similar? They have to be able to differentiate between a business and some dude selling some old s**t. 

 

I don't thing I've ever sold anything on eBay. Sold a few things on the BST here. 

[Bonneville85308]

Last year I decided I'm done with selling on ebay after paypal put about a 25-day hold on a payment to me on a $150 item that I sold, which is about 18 days past when the buyer actually received the item and posted positive feedback. This despite having been on ebay since the 1990s and having a four-digit positive feedback rating. I know they've moved on from paypal, but still, I have no interest in dealing with tax forms for stuff I'm selling from my closet at a loss that I bought years ago.

[Argonne69]

I dabble in a few collectible markets, and I noticed that the number of listings is way down. It seems we're not the only sellers dealing with this.

 

I have to assume that Ebay is attempting to move in the direction of Amazon, with more control over its sellers.

 

[Conrad1953]

I wanted to sell some extra clubs on eBay but after reading this I was concerned. I finally decided

to go ahead and see what happened.  I put up 7 listings late last week. The first auction ended

today and I found I was able to proceed as I always have. The buyer paid right away and I went 

down the street to the post office and shipped the club.

 

I came back and marked the item as shipped and entered the tracking number. I then went to

Paypal and paid my eBay fee and transferred the rest of the money to my bank account; just as

I have for years. No one intervened and asked me for anything.

 

I've been an eBay member since 2004 and have just over 3000 feedback at 100%.......but most

of that is as a buyer; maybe 20% of that as a seller. The last time I sold anything was about a

year ago.  

 

Doesn't appear to me anything is going on nationally with eBay wanting SS#s, etc. Individual

states might be causing this in some areas or.......of course, sometimes eBay employees just

do weird stuff on their own if they're having a bad hair day or whatever.

[TheMoneyShot]

Wonder what happens if you give them a fake SS#?

[FairwaysToHeaven]

On 3/20/2021 at 7:04 PM, mizuno player said:

This seems a little like double taxation. You bought the clubs with taxed money. You sell it and have to pay tax,again?? No thanks. 

 

Are we going to get 1099's if trade-in at second swing or similar? They have to be able to differentiate between a business and some dude selling some old s**t. 

 

I don't thing I've ever sold anything on eBay. Sold a few things on the BST here. 

 you pay income tax on your earnings, then sales tax on your purchases, then capital gains on your investment earnings... covid relief going to bring a hefty tax bill 

[garyt]

On 2/9/2021 at 11:02 PM, RobotDoctor said:

I will no longer be selling on eBay.  I was notified I had to provide banking information.  That's a hard no for me.  I didn't sell a lot but did sell moderately.  They will be losing the fees from my sales along with a lot of other sellers who will also stop. This will end up costing eBay a lot of money.  I ended up listing two items here and sold both same day using PayPal.  I will sell more here. 

PayPal will be doing the same.  We will have to go back to checks and money orders

On 2/9/2021 at 9:16 AM, Argonne69 said:

Curious how this is going to work. I occasionally sell used clubs in the site. Of course I'm taking a loss on the club, as golf is a hobby, and not a profit making endeavor. However, Ebay has no idea what the clubs cost me. Are sellers going to receive a 1099 from Ebay, and then have to fill out a Schedule C just to prove to the IRS that it's not a business? 

And then you'll have to keep every postal receipt so you aren't taxed on the shipping 

[TiScape]

Just to update. After a horrible experience here selling a TSi3 head I turned back to eBay. Ended up only needing to provide the last 4 of my social so dove back in. Sold an item for $152 and after eBay fees I saw a whopping $132 of that. I don’t know if their seller’s fees went up, or if I just never noticed before. I’d only sell maybe a couple/3 items a year. But damn, seems like a big piece of the pie. I’d feel a lot better about a 10% fee and am sure it would still be a nice profit for eBay. Am I wrong in thinking it use to be 10%??? 

Edited May 7, 2021 by TiScape

[dcmidnight]

Honestly, that seems about right.

 

Instead of paying 10% to ebay and 3% to Paypal, you're paying 13-14% to ebay. Roughly.

[TiScape]

21 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

Honestly, that seems about right.

 

Instead of paying 10% to ebay and 3% to Paypal, you're paying 13-14% to ebay. Roughly.

Unfortunately that is correct.