[quote name='JSweeney'][quote name='epobirs']
So apparently your time is worthless. I, on the other hand see my time as having some value. If it takes me ten minutes to make the same amount of money compared to over an hour by having to engage in multiple transactions to achieve the same net amount then that is a far better way to use my time. Otherwise the time wasted on those multiple items is time I don't get for other things like actually sitting down and playing the games.
If you cannot comprehend the factor of time in a rate of return on an investment then I strongly suggest you never go into business for yourself lest you put in a whole day's work for what turns out to be less than minimum wage after all is said and done.
My eBay rating stands at 714. Most of that was received during a single year when I had a lot of material that was worth selling because the profit margin considered against the individual time for the item worked out to be comparable to a ggod working wage. I could easily have that rating into the thousands if I was willing to do auctions that only cleared two or three dollars after fees. A long time ago I timed how long each item typically took to process and found that if I only make 2 or 3 dollars on an item it's not worth the time to deal with the buyer, box up the item, and get it shipped. It doesn't get any better if you're doing this one at a time or a hundred a day. When minimum wage or better jobs that involve little more than sitting around and waiting for a phone to ring in the dead of night are easily available you have to use some logic in determining whether buying an item for resale is worth your time and effort.
I knew going in that it was very unlikely I'd find anything worth putting on eBay. I didn't see a single copy of Disgaea the whole day. What did make it worthwhile to buy multiples of some items was that a local dealer in used games would give me cash immediately. No setting up of auctions and no fees. Just walk in and walk out. If that opportunity didn't exist I would not have bought multiples of anything as I don't have much interest in trading.[/quote]
You know, these little "cottage industries" piss me off every so often.
Rather than do everything above board and actually be incorporated or have a liscence to conduct business, they skirt around the rules...
and in most cases, will not even bother with paying the required use tax on thier auctions and such.
All of this really hurts the independant store owner like Defender, since these people realize none of the requirements that a legitimate business must. Basically, they get just about all of the benefits and none of the negatives.
Buying games to play or trade or to give as gifts is one thing.
Trying to stock your little "cottage industry" is another, unless you're following the requirements the federal government places on them to the letter.[/quote]
If you like giving the government the money you've earned you're welcome to do so. I, OTOH, only give what they've demanded under the law. The volume of business I've done over the past 15 years would not be sufficent to sustain a single person living in this country and nowhere near the level at which personal income is taxed. There is a big difference in trading in a luxury to pay for your own supply of that luxury and turning it into a sustainable business.
Taxes are most certainly not being evaded when one sells to stores or through eBay. Just the opposite. Tax revenues are enhanced. Most areas have a form of free classified ads (
http://recycler.com/ has been quite big in Southern California in prints form since the 70's.) If I use such a publication to sell stuff privately the results are hidden from the view of taxing authorities. If I sell a game to GameDude when they resell it the transaction will include local sales tax. The same product has now been taxed twice. I could make more money selling privately to another individual but the sheer walk in, walk out convenience of selling to a business makes it worthwhile for all but the most coveted items. This in turn puts the product back into a taxable sales channel.
A similar thing happens with eBay. The IRS, just like everyone else, can easily see every auction I've ever held including the final sale price. If I were to be audited they can easily request a detailed report on all my transactions from eBay rather than searching their archives manually. eBay is the most transparent business in the world. Every single thing they do that generates income for them is done in public with the details for all to see. If I did so much business as to alter my tax bracket I'd be leaving myself completely exposed but the fact is the IRS doesn't care about my miniscule earnings. They have something better. eBay itself has a very open record of their income, as previously mentioned, and that income is taxed. In exchange for the immense audience and useful features eBay give me as a seller they charge me fees based on the results of the auction. The more money I make on eBay the more I contribute to the federal tax base.
I could easily do all of this in private and avoid those fees but the added work is more costly than the fees. So the fact that the fees are higher in part due to their being taxed is not a problem to me.