Account Setup

[ryahasemeie0]

Hi, I volunteer for a library organization. We are seeking to setup and maintain an account for purchasing and mostly selling used and rare books. I'm pretty ignorant of eBay and other tech, so I'm not sure how to proceed with this. We're also seeking additional info on how involved it would be to maintain this type of account. Can anyone provide any suggestions? Thanks so much!

[downunder-61]

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling

https://www.ebay.com/help/ship-track

https://www.ebay.com/help/fees-billing

https://www.ebay.com/help/returns-refunds

[dbfolks166mt]

     You should be aware that eBay charges a 14.55% fee on the sale of books. That fee is applied to the total sale (book, sales tax, shipping) + .30 for each sale. For referencing how to go about setting up an account you can reference the following. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/account/default/ebay-account?id=4188

[iart]

eBay provides long time sellers of rare books a huge benefit by making it very difficult for new book sellers to break in.

You'll do okay as long as you only list books with an ISBN (and when ebay's catalog is accurate - only about half the time). But selling older and rare books is both time consuming and an invitation to make errors that invite returns and negative feedback.

[redmodelt]

Question, does the library have a checking account? Payments will need to go to a checking account, which because of taxes, I don't think you want in your name. Because the library would be nonprofit, there may be other considerations than just signing up for eBay account. I would suggest going to "eBay business" on Facebook during regular business hours and sending them a PM message with what you are planning on doing.

Supporting a charity is not the same thing that you will be doing. There are sellers such as Goodwill that sell here, so there should be a way.

[caldreamer]

All SELLERS are now required to enroll in the new MANAGED PAYMENTS.   You must provide your checking account (routing#) and social security# (for tax purposes).  Name on checking account, social security card and EBAY account must be EXACT MATCH.

EBAY no longer uses PayPal for their money management.    Money is deposited into your checking account.

[femmefan1946]

Books are a long tail item. I sold a book the other week that I had had listed for ten years.

Look at selling prices for titles not listing prices. But Addall.com is a pretty good guide to asking prices.

You may also fit into the 'charity' designation. 

 You and any other volunteers should use the eBay catalogue, but also MUST check that the book it spits out is the title and edition you are listing.

For a few years the ISBNs for Anne of Green Gables produced a stock listing for Lady Chatterly's Lover.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Is your library organization a 501 c 3 non-profit? If I were trying to raise money to help a library, that would be my first question. ebay has a special program for non-profits:

https://www.ebay.com/help/donating-ebay-charity/default/buying-selling-ebay-benefit-nonprofit-organi...

[donsdetour]

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@ryahasemeie0 wrote:

Hi, I volunteer for a library organization. We are seeking to setup and maintain an account for purchasing and mostly selling used and rare books. I'm pretty ignorant of eBay and other tech, so I'm not sure how to proceed with this. We're also seeking additional info on how involved it would be to maintain this type of account. Can anyone provide any suggestions? Thanks so much!

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Find some one who know how to do this: inventory and control of it is a major necessity.

Folks being able to access your inventory that is placed online, can cause difficulty if such is moved or taken..

Also true rare books are a target for scammers as well as new sellers.

https://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/stay_safe.html 

[dbfolks166mt]

     Quite true regarding the account information. For simplicity sake the Library may want to setup a separate account to handle the eBay funds. There will also probably need to be a connection to a business entity of some type maybe through a TIN where the 1099 will get sent for tax purposes. Depending on what state you live in those may come this year depending on the state threshold. In 2022 anyone selling over $600 in a calendar year will get one regardless of the state they live in. 

     Regardless of whether you receive the 1099 or not I am assuming the IRS will want to collect taxes on the net profit the Library realizes during the year.