Hi everyone! I wanted to ask those of you with e-bay stores.... do you find that it helps your sales? I am considering opening one but want to know if it really is worth the fees? What are the benefits of having one? Also, if you open one up must you report your earnings to the IRS during tax season? As a matter of fact, if you sell on e-bay on a consistent manner do you have to report that? Sorry my 1 question just turned into 2. Thanks!
Hi, in my case it is handy for slow moving items, particularly cheap items where auction or standard insertion fees could wipe out any profit, and the higher FVF fees do not create much damage. But you must also have auction items as shop inventory items have very little exposure when buyers search eBay.
I just subscribe to the basic eBay store, the traffic reporting via Omniture is ok but nowhere near as good as with Sellathon basic subscription. Even the latter I would only subscribe to as required.
The store is also useful for custom categorisation of all your auctions within your store display and certainly when your active listings climb though a hundred or more it makes your wares more easily searchable by a potential customer. You get limited branding options with your own logo on invoices and listing headers even with the basic subscription.
Ultimately the level of subscription you take must be balanced with your sales volume or the subscription will wipe out any profit.
Regarding tax on earnings there is a point at which you would have to declare the income in the UK. I expect an experienced US based community member could inform you about the IRS's requirements.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: ChooChooGuy,
Posts: 1884 | Location: England, UK | Registered: June 13, 2007
The IRS question When I prepared my taxes last year I DID have to declare everything I'd sold. From what I understand, and keep in mind it varies from state to state, if you are just selling stuff from around the house and your sales total is under xxxx a year, it's considered a hobby. BUT...if you buy things to resell, (like I do), you are considered a business whether you have a tax ID number or not. To be on the safe side, consult with a tax proffessional. There is also a wealth of information on the IRS website about online auctions at this site:
Originally posted by member_8880: Ebay does not release any pertinent info to the IRS.
Perhaps not routinely, but if the IRS audits you and happens to have knowledge of your ebay activity, they can probably get any ebay info they want to. You must be careful when it comes to the tax people, state or federal.
Generally, I would recommend that you declare your eBay income, whether you have an eBay store or not.
Audits don't just happen because of red flags - they can be completely random. If the IRS finds that you have unreported income, you will most likely pay some pretty hefty fines, as well as back taxes and interest.
I have had a Basic Store for about six months. I find I get people making multiple item purchases. I also use it to list items that I have more than one of and items that have not sold using auctions. You need to still list auction items to drive buyers to your store.
I sell on ebay UK and also wondered if it is worth opening a store.
I sell my old car magazines which I have collected over the years. I have about 300 left at least. a standard store in the UK is £6 per month. I always list via auctiva. Are there any hidden charges with a store? My average sale is around £2 per maagzine ($4's)
I would be very interest in your comments if you feel it would be of worth me having a store or should I just carry on as I am. I have about 10 to 20 listings running at anyone time
Posts: 9 | Location: Derby UK | Registered: October 05, 2007
I Sell on ebay-UK User ID: Hotbooks3 A Store it's Worth it if you have daily listings both store items and auctions - it's pretty cool you can market your store, design it and link everything with auctiva as well --- Put Links everywhere!
You get a 30 day free Trial -- I found it so good that after a while i even upgrated my store to the next level -- it's also motivational, you know you are paying for it -- so make it worth it --- Same old same old --- The more you put in --- the more You Get!!
I have had mentioned to me about SIF items using an ebay store. Bit confused as to how it would help me as apparantly SIF items do not get picked up in searches. Can anyone explain please
Posts: 9 | Location: Derby UK | Registered: October 05, 2007
As far as the tax issue, a CPA will always tell you to claim everything, then deduct as much as possible to avoid or pay little taxes. The IRS can only question your reporting for a short while, but they can nail you for unreported income forever! Also, personal items sold are technically a loss, since you probably paid more than what you sold them for, and you could probably get away with keeping them out of the tax equation anyway?
"I learned something today!" -SouthPark
Posts: 133 | Location: Arizona | Registered: August 06, 2006
I would recommend a store IF you are buying POPULAR items (like electronics) from a wholeseller. Otherwise for the items you have, I would say no. I had one last year...was thinking exactly like you at the time. However, store inventory listings do not show up in most searches performed by buyers (in the field at the top of the page). Your products will only show up at the end of the searches OR if someone is actually searching with the Stores field.
Unless you promote all over the internet through free classified ads, discussion groups, etc. (which is time consuming), no one will find your auctions. Plus, you would need to still list MANY items in auction format to DRIVE traffic to your store.
In regard to taxes, you are supposed to report your earnings if they exceed a certain amount. Amount depends on your filing state.
