Ebay Collected Taxes

[dreambooks]

I know this is much discussed on this forum, but I still want to ramble on this issue.

First, Ebay collects fees on taxes from seller, of which sellers do not see a dime. They should collect their fees from their own coffer because the money is in their own bank, or collect it from the government because they got it.

Second, will they refund tax to customers when I do  a partial refund. I promised a customer to refund them half of their payment to resolve a shipping damage issue. But if Ebay does not refund the corresponding tax, they would not receive half of their payment back. On the other, better Ecommerce site, they always refund tax.

[dreambooks]

Just got eBay confirmation of the refund, they did not refund tax. Amazon always refund tax even if it is partial refund. It sucks.

[buyselljack2016]

eBay may not show "you" the amount of sales tax refunded to the buyer. 

[heckofagame]

The amount of fees you get refunded would include any that were charged on the tax. 

[heckofagame]

Also, if you had to file 50 sales tax returns every 3 months, you would be more than happy to have eBay collect and remit those taxes for a small fee. 

[dreambooks]

Is that a small fee? Amazon does not charge you any fee for collecting taxes.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

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@dreambooks wrote:

Just got eBay confirmation of the refund, they did not refund tax. Amazon always refund tax even if it is partial refund. It sucks.

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Do the arithmetic on the amount Ebay has reduced the amount you pay to refund to see if you have been credited for the fee on the portion of the tax which was refunded,

[monroe67]

"On the other, better Ecommerce site, they always refund tax."

You are free to conduct business on any Ecommerce site you prefer.  

[rosachs]

First - why does it matter to a seller if eBay collects sales tax from a buyer?  The seller isn't calculating, collecting, and remitting that tax - eBay is.  If the buyer feels they should not have to pay tax on the sales tax portion of the purchase, they should complain to their state's Attorney General's office.  If eBay is doing the calculation wrong, the AG would probably be the only one eBay will listen to and make changes for.

Second - if the buyer did not receive a refund of their sales tax paid, they need to contact eBay to determine why and/or get it corrected.  Again, the seller had nothing to do with the calculation, collection, or remitting of said sales tax, and therefor can do nothing for the buyer in that respect.  Since eBay often treats buyers better than sellers, it's quite likely they will get the tax refund owed them.

Amazon's fee structure is not directly comparable to eBay's - there are nuances of each that have to be considered.

-Bob.

[monroe67]

"Is that a small fee? Amazon does not charge you any fee for collecting taxes."

eBay's Final Value Fees (FVFs) are a percentage of the total amount paid by the buyer.  (Plus 30 cents per order.)  
The FVFs vary among categories from 6.35% for guitars to 15% for jewelry, even costume jewelry. 
The standard FVF, however, is 13.25%.  

My selling ID had a sale this morning, of an item in a category that carries the 13.25% FVF percentage. 
The buyer paid sales tax in the amount of $11.45.  
Therefore, eBay's fee for processing only  the sales tax on this one transaction was $1.52.  
The Math:  $11.45 x .1325 = $1.517125, rounded up to $1.52.  

Amazon's fees and volumes of transactions may allow them to "absorb" the cost of processing sales taxes.  But hasn't even the Great and Mighty Amazon ever changed and/or increased their fee structure or other conditions that sellers must follow?  

[luckythewinner]

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@heckofagame wrote:

Also, if you had to file 50 sales tax returns every 3 months, you would be more than happy to have eBay collect and remit those taxes for a small fee. 

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But as a small seller you  you wouldn't have to , because all of the states have exemptions - most around $100K.  

[luckythewinner]

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@dreambooks wrote:

Amazon does not charge you any fee for collecting taxes.

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What are your total fees on Amazon versus total fees on eBay for the same transaction? 

What particular label the site puts on its fees is a shell game - the only thing that matters is the total amount. 

[rosachs]

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@monroe67 wrote:

"Is that a small fee? Amazon does not charge you any fee for collecting taxes."

My selling ID had a sale this morning, of an item in a category that carries the 13.25% FVF percentage. 
The buyer paid sales tax in the amount of $11.45.  
Therefore, eBay's fee for processing only  the sales tax on this one transaction was $1.52.  
The Math:  $11.45 x .1325 = $1.517125, rounded up to $1.52.  

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eBay's fee is a combination of the old FVF, the payment processing fee (x%+30cents), and sales tax. 

Therefor, eBay's fee for processing only the sales tax is not the full $1.52 FVF that was charged, but actually just a portion of it.

-Bob.

[downunder-61]

While I think the % of fvf eBay charge for dispersing taxes is over the top, can you imagine what it would be like if all seller's were to handle this side of things themselves?

Apart from the headache of having to know each and every states and regions tax laws, (and keeping up with any changes etc) how many sellers do you think would:

1. Give up/too hard

2. Work it all out (taking up hours of their time)

3. Remember to keep up with constant changes etc

4. Due to all the above, actually bother to organise the tax at all

5. Take the opportunity to not send at all regardless 

It would be a nightmare.........