Charging tax on United States coin sales

[hajnick]

Does eBay still charge tax on the sale of U.S. coins? I have not sold coins on eBay recently because eBay has been charging tax on the sale of U.S . Coins. They have lost my business because charging tax unnecessarily by eBay is a big ripoff and I do not want to be ripped off by anybody. I will resume selling coins on eBay only if eBay does not charge a tax on the sales of U.S. coins. Can eBay shed light on this sickening issue? U.S. Mint sells yearly proof sets to the public and resale value of these sets nowadays is roughly one tenth, yes 1/10th, of the U.S. Mint issue price.  What a wasteful investment! Buy a set from U.S. Mint for $22 plus shipping and resell the same set for $2.00. What a shame! Now we have to pay tax on the $2 recoup and net 9 cents on the dollar; with shipping, it will become a return of 8 cents on each dollar.  I don’t mind the big loss because I enjoy the hobby. But I mind adding fuel to fire. 

[dbfolks166mt]

If, for some reason, a seller receives negative FB because the buyer thinks he shouldn't have been charged state sales tax on a coin sale, the seller is free to explain very calmly and professionally the rules/information about coin sales.  

The seller could probably also have the negative feedback removed. 

[dnasilver]

Great list. There are certain things that can change if an item is taxable or not. Part of Indiana's law states:

Numismatic Products. Products with an external value above and beyond the base value of the underlying Precious Metal, due to the item’s rarity, condition, age or other external factor. Taxes are to be collected.

Seems to leave an opening for interpretation. If a Gold Eagle Bullion Coin is graded flawless (70) and has a low mintage the value would be considerably higher than the underlying Gold value.

Bullion Coins are different from commerce coinage. Some folks do not understand the difference. eBay may be charging tax based on an incorrect category being chosen: Old Gold Eagles were made for commerce and Todays Gold Eagles are bullion and not released into the mainstream markets.

[dnasilver]

We would classify a small dealer as under 2 million in worldwide yearly sales. There are also others who do not classify themselves as dealers but as investment sellers. 

[monica-sells]

@dnasilver 

Thank you for that clarification.

I assume most sellers do not designate themselves as "a certified 2 million dollar Large Dealer" in their listings.......

My rubbish remark was how could that individual know if they were purchasing from a "large" dealer or a "small" dealer on ebay? And how could ebay possibly identify them differently for sales tax collection. (unless the "item" is not listed correctly....i.e. category, specifics, etc....) The algo that determines the sales tax collection can only determine it's conclusion based on the location of the buyer and the input obtained from the item listing....

[dnasilver]

We agree eBay does not look at size. The number of what we consider large would not be just eBay. We have never experienced what the OP is claiming as an issue.

[soh.maryl]

At the beginning, it seemed like the OP was stating that his buyers were complaining because they were being charged state sales tax on their purchases from him because he's located in Illinois, a state which apparently doesn't tax coin sales.

After it was explained to the OP that the state sales tax is based on the buyer's location, not the seller's, we wandered around to different issues.  

[mam98031]

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@monica-sells wrote:

 "...If I make a purchase through a larger dealer here, there is not sales tax charged. If I buy from another small dealer, they DO charge me tax..."

rubbish....define a "large dealer" as compared to a "small dealer"

how would you know that?

be careful....one of the larger dealers in the world has only 500+ feedback here on ebay

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You can accomplish this [no sales tax] if you are using your selling account to purchase with and you have provided Ebay with your Tax Exempt certificate with your state for your business.  Maybe that is what they did?!?!!

[monica-sells]

"...If I make a purchase through a larger dealer here, there is not sales tax charged. If I buy from another small dealer, they DO charge me tax..."

negative....this quoted statement refers to the mumble jumble rambling from a previous post about ebay determining sales tax remittance based on the sellers "size" (not the OP).......

I was asking the poster about how they determined the "size" of the seller from a listing.....

[mam98031]

I understand that.  However it doesn't change what I said.  There is a way to avoid sales tax if the seller does as I said in my previous post.  Regardless of the size of the seller.

[hajnick]

Thanks! I will check that out. Nick

[hajnick]

Thank you for reminding me I am not up to date on this. I think I will give it a shot and see how the waves will flow. Best, Nick

[hajnick]

So sorry about that.  ‘My bad’! Thank you for your politeness. It is appreciated. I learned a lot within the past 12 hours or so. Have a great rest of the weekend! Nick

[hajnick]

Thank you Bob! Very thorough and helpful. Nick

[monica-sells]

gotcha.....

...my bad

in the OP case, it would solve part of his problem...but it was stated as a "seller" (not a buyer) in the opening post.....

 "...I will resume selling coins on eBay only if eBay does not charge a tax on the sales of U.S. coins..."

[hajnick]

I understand. Thanks for the response. Many buyers of relatively low cost items: Proof sets, ASGs, circulated Morgans, and the like, may not be as seasoned as the buyers you are referring to. You are right, very likely , seasoned buyers will understand the eBay sales tax charge situation. There are unseasoned buyers of coins out there. And those are the ones I fear the most.  I am a hobbyist and can become out of touch at times. Thanks again, Nick