What we fail to realize

[traditonalproducts]

Over the last 6 months I have really dived into these discussion boards reviewing EBAY fees, increases and whatever. I want to present a hypothetical situation which some of the result applies to all of us. One note, I had this discussion with a friend and from past experience. Let's say a person purchases an abandoned storage unit every month. Your costs were to purchase is $400/month. Thats $4800/yr. So, let's say you donate roughly half of the storage unit to goodwill, the other half you sell on a platform and lastly you have rented a storage unit for $125/month to house your items that you purchased. Tax implications, you have a LLC it's a business. Tax write-offs include the storage unit u rented, any use of your car to and from a facility to ship your products, pick up supplies, maybe you rented a U-Haul or used your car to pick up your items, and the list goes on. So, my final statement is, does a .35% increase in seller fees on a platform really play into the overall numbers? No, in this case it does not. In other case's maybe so but I doubt it. What we sometimes forget is all the extras that can be applied to our taxes that we are not accounting into the equation. I am sure some people will contradict me but so be it. I know the numbers based on this situation. 

[krazzykats]

And dump fees.  There's a lot of rubbish in storage units to haul off.

[caldreamer]

My CPA (former IRS agent) said even cost of hotel and meals are deductible if you go on a out-of-town "buying trip".    Another big expense that many people overlook is the "home office deduction" (% of your rent and utilities).  

[chapeau-noir]

---

@caldreamer wrote:

My CPA (former IRS agent) said even cost of hotel and meals are deductible if you go on a out-of-town "buying trip".    Another big expense that many people overlook is the "home office deduction" (% of your rent and utilities).  

---

Meals and lodging (along with mileage) are usual customary deductions for business travel, but the home office deduction/utilities can be a red flag for audits - make sure that is clearly defined.

ETA: It's better not to deduct at all if there is any question as to space/utilities usage.

[mam98031]

Why would anyone contradict you.  Along with all the stuff you talk about, I write off the square footage of my home office along with utilities for that area, mileage to the PO, Office supplies, computer updates, new hardware, my Cell Phone, etc.  There are many allowable deductions.  Reviewing a Schedule C can help those that are trying to figure things out.

[movieman630]

Bottom line is you have to spend money to make money.  It's never about the sale of a single item.  It's about the sale of multiple items.  At least if you do it for a living.  I can see someone selling their Grandma's stuff it might be frustrating but you're right.  It's just the cost of doing business in 2023.

[coltsde29]

I see what your saying. That's goes well if that is your first year doing all that. If you have already  been doing that same way the last few years there's  no way possible that you wouldn't see the increase. Every  increased fee no matter how big or small it my be comes out of your  pocket and will be noticed on the bottom line. I don't understand when people say you won't notice. The only way is if you sell 1 or 2 things in a year. If you sell 200 items a month with a .35 increase  that is $70  a month times that  by a year and it's $840 a year. Would you  notice if you were missing  $840 ? I sure would

[mam98031]

---

@coltsde29 wrote:

I see what your saying. That's goes well if that is your first year doing all that. If you have already  been doing that same way the last few years there's  no way possible that you wouldn't see the increase. Every  increased fee no matter how big or small it my be comes out of your  pocket and will be noticed on the bottom line. I don't understand when people say you won't notice. The only way is if you sell 1 or 2 things in a year. If you sell 200 items a month with a .35 increase  that is $70  a month times that  by a year and it's $840 a year. Would you  notice if you were missing  $840 ? I sure would

---

Because other fees were lowered.  Especially if you ship internationally.

[yuzuha]

---

@coltsde29 wrote:

If you sell 200 items a month with a .35 increase  that is $70  a month times that  by a year and it's $840 a year. Would you  notice if you were missing  $840 ? I sure would

---

It's not a .35 increase, it's a .35% increase, which means that for any items under $100 it will be less than .35 per item. On most of the items you currently have listed, it would work out to an increase of a few pennies per item.

[yuzuha]

To give concrete examples, the increase on that $30 item I just sold would be .11. The increase on the $20 one would be .07.

[dnasilver]

As long as the meal is business related it is deductible at 50% (from approx July 1 2021 to end of 2022 100%). The meal must be business related. Documentation of who your client was and what is discussed is important. Overly lavish meals for the type of business value conducted can be a red flag. It is not a blanket write off when just traveling on business. ex: you alone ate breakfast just as you would every day. No business purpose even though you were traveling on business.

Home office is often overlooked but in many cases it should be skipped. The average person does not have a dedicated space only used for business purposes.

Having a CPA and a tax attorney can save a person thousands/ tens of thousands if they are operating a business with the intent of earning money and they maintain the proper documentation. 

It is not for the average person just cleaning out their stuff and selling it on eBay.

[traditonalproducts]

Agreed. I have never utilized the home office deduction. I have been lucky enough to to have worked remote since 1998 plus my LLC. Its not worth the headache of an audit.

[traditonalproducts]

exactly! All the carriers went up well over .11 cents. Its the shipping costs that play a more hefty role than EBAY at this point.

[pennysdream]

To make this point real.  I went to a train show thanksgiving weekend.  If I had been smart enuf to realize it, the most of the trip could have been written off... 

[fern*wood]

I guess I'm not getting your point.  An increase in fees will always be an increase.  Of course we all have deductions to take when we file our taxes, which can wipe out some of our costs, but without an increase in fees (regardless of the size) we would have ended up with more money.

If you are saying up your price a little to offset it, then I get it.  I've always had the deductions, so that doesn't change.