Selling for snowbirds

[websight.2020]

I am retired from non-eBay work. We spend some weeks each year on the West Coast. My plan is to take several boxes of stuff with when we travel there -- items that are already up for auction or Buy-It-Now and/or in my store. I will change the address on eBay to the West Coast address so that the shipping is correctly calculated.

So, since I am simply shipping from there, not listing anything new, am I correct that all my sales are associated with my everyday location, and that I am not somehow establishing a business presence on the West Coast?

[lacemaker3]

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@websight.2020 wrote:
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So, since I am simply shipping from there, not listing anything new, am I correct that all my sales are associated with my everyday location, and that I am not somehow establishing a business presence on the West Coast?

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Since you have come back to your own thread with more info, I will address this original question because I don't see that this has been answered yet.

Actually, if you are shipping items from another state, and storing them in that state (even temporarily), and working on your business (processing sales and shipping while you are in that state, even if you don't make new listings), I believe that you are in fact, establishing a nexus (a business presence) in that state.

I don't know what effect that will have on your business ... it used to be that the nexus primarily affected eBay sellers because they might be required to collect sales tax for all states where they had a nexus, but eBay collects the sales tax now for all states that require it, so sales tax is not an issue any more. Probably, the west coast state where you are snowbirding may have a legitimate claim to income tax for your income earned while you are there.

I'm just responding because I don't believe your understanding was correct about the nexus issue. I think you need to do some deep research into the state income tax issue.

[luckythewinner]

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@websight.2020 wrote:

I am retired from non-eBay work. We spend some weeks each year on the West Coast. My plan is to take several boxes of stuff with when we travel there -- items that are already up for auction or Buy-It-Now and/or in my store. I will change the address on eBay to the West Coast address so that the shipping is correctly calculated.

So, since I am simply shipping from there, not listing anything new, am I correct that all my sales are associated with my everyday location, and that I am not somehow establishing a business presence on the West Coast?

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Well, technically you are establishing a business presence on the West Coast, but I do not think that would matter to to eBay as long as your shipping addresses are accurate.

But if returns are a thing you may need to be careful that your return labels are sending the items to the right place.

But that business

[maxine*j]

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@websight.2020 wrote:

I am retired from non-eBay work. We spend some weeks each year on the West Coast. My plan is to take several boxes of stuff with when we travel there -- items that are already up for auction or Buy-It-Now and/or in my store. I will change the address on eBay to the West Coast address so that the shipping is correctly calculated.

So, since I am simply shipping from there, not listing anything new, am I correct that all my sales are associated with my everyday location, and that I am not somehow establishing a business presence on the West Coast?

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Interesting question.   You should look into your status as a visitor to the U.S.  So far as I know, nothing has changed and, as a Canadian, you need an H-1B, TN, L-1, or O-1 visa to work in the U.S.   I assume that you enter on a B1/B2 with the waiver, and work is not allowed in that status. 

I am not trying to complicate your life or be an alarmist, but things are not nearly so loosey-goosey as they used to be in these matters.

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[kh-cathy]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.