Selling guitars to private parties online

BDuncan

BDuncan

Member
I've only sold a guitar on Ebay and not to a private party. If selling through social media, like Facebook, how should payments work? Should I demand a deposit of half the value? They would probably be just as cautious as I am.
 
If you sell through Facebook you’re going to get a 1099k to claim the profits for taxable income. Same goes for reverb or eBay.

If you’re selling to a private party and use goods and services of PayPal, you’ll still get a 1099k from PayPal.

If you use zelle, cash, or PayPal friends and family, no 1099k is generated since it’s just like cash. Just note those are not intended for regular sole proprietor business use. If you use it repeatedly for gear sales you do so at your own risk. Still plan on putting them on your taxes. You don’t want to fuck with the IRS.

Also depending on the sales you make, some states have taxable income requirements as well even if you sell online.

Selling privately has its benefits but as always cash is king and it’s best to meet in a public setting when selling for your own protection.
 
If I can't meet a private party in person, would some type of deposit system be best to reduce risk? How much of a deposit is acceptable?
 
BDuncan said:
If I can't meet a private party in person, would some type of deposit system be best to reduce risk? How much of a deposit is acceptable?
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No one is going to do a deposit.

Either you get paid in full and give an item in return in person or you hand over a shipment notification within 3 days of online payment, no more.

You could do cashiers cheque and wait for the cheque to clear your account but that has to be discussed ahead of time as that can take weeks from beginning to end.
 
OK. The guitar is a Carvin and I thought I'd put it out to the Carvin/Kiesel Facebook group first. It might be easier to go through Ebay/Reverb to reduce risk.
 
this is the wrong section for this. Let me know if you want it moved. Me personally-I will no longer ship. Last 2 deals I did selling something...a vh4 was damaged and I had it insured. UPS refused to do a claim. Last one was fed ex destroying a Laney 4x12 on a trade. told the dude to keep the remains and salvage the v30's plus his item I was trading for. Pretty big hit for me.
 
JackBootedThug said:
this is the wrong section for this. Let me know if you want it moved. Me personally-I will no longer ship. Last 2 deals I did selling something...a vh4 was damaged and I had it insured. UPS refused to do a claim. Last one was fed ex destroying a Laney 4x12 on a trade. told the dude to keep the remains and salvage the v30's plus his item I was trading for. Pretty big hit for me.
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Yup.

Done selling gear.

Barely missed getting burned on selling a Music Man combo amp a while back, on Reverb
 
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BDuncan said:
OK. The guitar is a Carvin and I thought I'd put it out to the Carvin/Kiesel Facebook group first. It might be easier to go through Ebay/Reverb to reduce risk.
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Got to watch FAGBOOK. You'll get offers from overseas....and have to play that game.
I sold once. Custom Charvel to a guy from China and I insisted that he find a way to get it shipped to a USA address.
Make sure you post that..."Shipping in the CONT US only"
 
glpg80 said:
If you sell through Facebook you’re going to get a 1099k to claim the profits for taxable income. Same goes for reverb or eBay.

If you’re selling to a private party and use goods and services of PayPal, you’ll still get a 1099k from PayPal.

If you use zelle, cash, or PayPal friends and family, no 1099k is generated since it’s just like cash. Just note those are not intended for regular sole proprietor business use. If you use it repeatedly for gear sales you do so at your own risk. Still plan on putting them on your taxes. You don’t want to fuck with the IRS.

Also depending on the sales you make, some states have taxable income requirements as well even if you sell online.

Selling privately has its benefits but as always cash is king and it’s best to meet in a public setting when selling for your own protection.
Click to expand...
So how does FB send you a 1099 on a local cash deal?
 
LP Freak said:
Even so, how would they ever know how much you actually sold it for to accurately give you a 1099?
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Because you list the price. They’re dumb enough to send you a 1099 for whatever you mark as sold. Take it from someone who has received a 1099 from them for gifts which is completely wrong, they don’t give a damn about accuracy. They’re fucking Facebook.

So quit bucking me on this and heed my advice - don’t mark shit as sold on Facebook and just delete your ad.
 
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