[Milsurplus] Selling at Hamfests vs. ebay etc.

[Boatguy]

Here is what I have done and been thru.In Indiana it happened once a tax guy 
came around and handed evry vendor a form and said we needed to collect 
sales tax.I looked at the form ripped in half and said I am not a dealer 
this part of my private colection and I am selling to raise money for other 
things.Other did the same thing he left and didn't come back
In New Orleans a real cool guy came to us before the show opened and gave us 
all a form to fill out and said I know you guys are not going to let me know 
what you sold  so just give me something.The something was 5.00
In Kentucky form was given nothing paid said there were no sales.Same in 
Ohio (Dayton) no pay.Alabama paid 10.00.I really think they know that no 
vendor is going to pay or just a little bit
My big worry is Ebay is going to get hit by the FEDS and evryone will be 
getting a 1099 .That worried me as I sold some high dollar cars on ebay if I 
would have got a 1099 it would kill me

My 2 cents

Carl
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Todd, KA1KAQ" <ka1kaq at gmail.com>
To: "Ken Kinderman" <scr274 at gmail.com>
Cc: <Milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 11:31 AM
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Selling at Hamfests vs. ebay etc.


> On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 12:03 PM, Ken Kinderman <scr274 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Question: has anyone ever run afoul of state taxing watchdogs who are 
>> said
>> to prowl the grounds of hamfests and other swap meets? Maybe it's just 
>> urban
>> legend.
>>
>> But I don't think many of us carry a state business registration and tax 
>> id
>> number in our back pockets, not to mention accurate books showing cash
>> receipts and sales tax payables.
>
> Boy, it's been a few years but I think the incident you refer to took
> place at Gaithersburg or Timonium maybe 10 years back? I spoke with
> someone who was at the event, it did happen but I'd say it's more the
> exception than the rule (though in today's 'economy' anything is
> possible). I've never run into this in some 20+ years of attending
> hamfests up and down the east coast.
>
> Some of the "hamfests are dying" hype is related to the large number
> of small events that had sprung up over the years. In the 80s/90s it
> seemed like every club out there was having a hamfest to pay for new
> repeaters or whatever else. Some of these actually grew into yearly
> events but many have gone as a result of ebay and fewer hams looking
> for the stuff.
>
> This seems to be benefiting the bigger venues like NEAR-Fest, Shelby,
> and Timonium at least slightly. Shipping and ebay costs no doubt help
> as well. Rumor was that attendance and vendors were actually up a bit
> last year at Timonium, Shelby was huge, though it was my first visit
> so nothing to gauge it against. There seemed to be a lot of good stuff
> and a lot of selling taking place. NEAR-Fest took the place of
> Hosstraders in NH when those guys retired and is by all accounts the
> biggest 'fest in the northeast, spring and fall. Rochester NY is one
> of the large events that seems to be falling by the wayside, though
> venue issues and club politics seem to be the main reasons.
>
> At the end of the day, such events will only be as good as we make
> them. If I need to clear something out between events I'll use ebay,
> but much prefer selling at a hamfest for potentially less money but
> far fewer hassles. My time is worth something, after all.
>
> ~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4
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