Paypal FnF

I had no problems whatsoever figuring out the tax implications for my PayPal 1099-K.

My policy is that I request and price based on G&S. My responsibilities as a PayPal user are to not request payment for goods and services by friends and family. So I don't. Now, some people pay that way. If they do, I didn't request them to do that, so I haven't violated the PayPal ToS, and I have the money, so I just send them their knife.

Apart from the fact that the PayPal 1099-K was the last tax document I received, and so I had to wait a few days later to file than usual, it added maybe 20 minutes to the time it took me to file in TurboTax. We've known about this new requirement for years, so I have records for all my purchases and sales and can readily establish the cost basis for everything sold.

I could (and do) complain about the so-called "Inflation Reduction Act" that tried to pay in part for its many inflation-causing spending sprees by closing the PayPal loophole, but the simple fact is, if you're not keeping track of the values of your collection and when/how you got the pieces in it, you should be doing that for your homeowner's insurance anyway. Better to keep a spreadsheet than to risk losing access to PayPal or to catch an audit. Heck, for a collector, keeping track of the collection is part of the fun.
 
Lone_Wolfe said:
That's why I said "if paypal refuses to help". I thought the implication that you would have contacted them first was pretty clear.
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No, it was pretty clear. My point is as well.

madcap_magician said:
I had no problems whatsoever figuring out the tax implications for my PayPal 1099-K.

My policy is that I request and price based on G&S. My responsibilities as a PayPal user are to not request payment for goods and services by friends and family. So I don't. Now, some people pay that way. If they do, I didn't request them to do that, so I haven't violated the PayPal ToS, and I have the money, so I just send them their knife.

Apart from the fact that the PayPal 1099-K was the last tax document I received, and so I had to wait a few days later to file than usual, it added maybe 20 minutes to the time it took me to file in TurboTax. We've known about this new requirement for years, so I have records for all my purchases and sales and can readily establish the cost basis for everything sold.

I could (and do) complain about the so-called "Inflation Reduction Act" that tried to pay in part for its many inflation-causing spending sprees by closing the PayPal loophole, but the simple fact is, if you're not keeping track of the values of your collection and when/how you got the pieces in it, you should be doing that for your homeowner's insurance anyway. Better to keep a spreadsheet than to risk losing access to PayPal or to catch an audit. Heck, for a collector, keeping track of the collection is part of the fun.
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That's pretty much how I do it. If someone pays via PPFF and I don't request it (I only do for international transactions) then I offer them the option of either reversing the transfer or refunding them the fees.
 
gkgeiger said:
The reason I asked is I don’t use PP or Zelle. I have bought and sold a lot of firearms and firearm equipment on several gun sites. I personally prefer accepting and paying with a check. Obviously the seller can hold the item until the check clears. As I stated originally most ads say PP or Zelle only. I guess I just won’t buy from them. Thanks for the replies.
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Nailed it. I do use PayPal but don't buy things with friends and family. There is nothing on here that I need badly enough to take on the risk.
 
Again, I skipped buying a knife because they asked for F&F. Folks you’re only hurting yourselves, the knife will sell but it won’t be to me. I look at it as no protection and you’re cheating PP out of the fee. Personally, I’ve started only accepting personal checks, I sell more expensive pieces and most times the buyers know me.
 
This sums up my feelings precisely. "There is nothing on here that I need badly enough to take on the risk."
 
I will not purchase any knife using PayPal friends and family

Bladeforums has multiple rules regarding selling. Spark could eliminate this issue by prohibiting PP FF as a payment method
 
As far as I'm aware. There aren't any tax implications unless you sell at a profit. If everyone is selling at a loss (like many claim they are), there's nothing to worry about. Maybe I'm wrong, but if that is the case, scalpers are one crowd I'm perfectly fine with getting bent over the barrel by the IRS.
 
Ozmose said:
As far as I'm aware. There aren't any tax implications unless you sell at a profit. If everyone is selling at a loss (like many claim they are), there's nothing to worry about. Maybe I'm wrong, but if that is the case, scalpers are one crowd I'm perfectly fine with getting bent over the barrel by the IRS.
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Likely 50% don't know why they put it in their ads , other than that they saw it in someone elses and copied the format. Of course it has the added benefit of not paying fees, but they don't know what the triggers for a PP report arre, nor would need to pay any taxes.
I base this on other instances, such as limiting shipping to continenrtal US. New members copy others ads. If others are doing it, it must be the right way.
 
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Ozmose said:
As far as I'm aware. There aren't any tax implications unless you sell at a profit. If everyone is selling at a loss (like many claim they are), there's nothing to worry about. Maybe I'm wrong, but if that is the case, scalpers are one crowd I'm perfectly fine with getting bent over the barrel by the IRS.
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You still have to "worry about" dealing with the 1099K that you'll receive, and keeping records to prove you didn't make a profit. Some consider it a hassle that they don't want to deal with.
 
It's even more of a hassle if you've had the knives a while, and didn't keep records on what you paid for them.
 
I don't know if it varies by state, I am in CA, but Google informed me that in 2024 the reporting threshold was 5,000. 2025 It's 2,500 and in 2026 and beyond it will be 600. I know some people here sell enough and to where they would easily reach those levels, especially the whales unloading thousand plus dollar knives. I request personally PP G&S personally because I'm trying to earn my buyer's trust and make a sale. A couple balisong's i was trying to sell recently I was asking for PP FF because balisong legality and could be grey area for my protection on Paypal as it may be a prohibited item to sell in the first place. For the rest of my knives I ask PP G&S but i also wonder is there any reason any certain buyers skip on a PP G&S sale? Regardless many people here successfully sell there knives to buyers accepting PP FF weather they trust the person or feel they done their due diligence or just taking a gamble on a knife they want a lot. I like to give PP FF or zelle as option if buyer wants to place their trust in me but I will take PP G&S gladly for the protection and peace of mind of both people. This year I don't intend to sell as much as 2,500 and next year I won't sell as much as $600, anything then for me would have to be a trust agreement.

Some people occasionally sell knives out of need or in an emergency but some people have a lot of money continuously flowing through this hobby to where it's going to be draw attention of the IRS and I can see people trying to hide all that money with PP FF but like ooitzoo said the tax authorities at the state or federal level could probably get your PP FF transaction if you draw too much attention and get audited
 
After much consideration, admin has sided on freedom of personal choice. Hard to fault them for that.

Btw this thread is the deadest of horses.
 
You can mix and match solutions ,but if you do them all your chances of loss are very slim
Don't use F&F
Remove email from posts
Don't post in sales thread-showing interest
Have DM
Don't respond to emails, certainly when you have DM.
Skipping any of them makes you vulnerable to some extent
There are work arounds fo most of these, but they take extra effort. IMO the $10 basic membership is well worth the money, to not have to do all the extra work needed to be safe. If you doni't knock yourself out..
It's your money
 
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SwissHeritageCo said:
After much consideration, admin has sided on freedom of personal choice. Hard to fault them for that.

Btw this thread is the deadest of horses.
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And still the reports come in...

Unfortunately, my sympathy is down to austerity levels. It's time for folks to take ownership of their own poor decisions.
 
Blues said:
Unfortunately, my sympathy is down to austerity levels.
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I'm stealing that :)

As long as human error exists, someone will be able to exploit it. I still think that the number of successful scams has gone down dramatically though. As P Peter Hartwig pointed out, 95% can be eliminated through the use of PM's and the avoidance of email.
 
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