R U willing to send personal check vs. using PayPal for purchases.

greg zinselmeier · Apr 29, 2022

What’s your thoughts considering all options, given the IRS tax rules changed for buying and selling used equipment.

Say for example, on APUG Someone is selling a camera for 100. USD. You want the camera and think it’s a fair price. It’s agreed upon, but the seller wants you to send a check via snail mail instead of PayPal. Would anyone agree to that? Hypothetically

Alan Edward Klein · Apr 29, 2022

For a small amount like $100, yes I've done that. But also for the small amount in taxes and service charges, it's just as good to have Paypal protection. If the seller is a stranger, why take chances? If you're selling to or buying from someone who has a track record in this forum, then the trust level goes up.

greg zinselmeier · Apr 29, 2022

Certified bank check

choiliefan · Apr 29, 2022

I'd prefer a USPS postal money order.
It can be verified as good at the post office when the package is mailed.
I used to do this back in the good old days before paypal was accepted as the go-to by the masses.

jnamia · Apr 29, 2022

NO

the last time I accepted a MO for something here someone attempted to send me a MO that cost $75 to cash, I want nothing to do with it.
someone refuses to use PayPal I won't sell to them or buy from them. It offers me a guarantee that the person didn't sell me something that
was claimed to be in good working order and was a piece of junk (and visa versa). the person I described above did that and even though he gave me a guarantee in writing that if it was not as described I could return it, he insulted me, insulted the repair man who I took it to and then tried to scam me with a MO that would have cost me more to cash it than it was written for.

Chan Tran · Apr 29, 2022

For $100 Paypal doesn't report to the IRS so why you have to use personal check?

bdial · Apr 29, 2022

I have taken and sent checks, but a USPS money order is better, they can be cashed with no fee at any post office. There are also USPS international money orders for foreign payments, but I understand that they are a hassle for the recipient to cash in most places, so it's probably not a viable option.

Arthurwg · Apr 29, 2022

Perhaps sellers here will need a feedback rating like Ebay. Can we add this to our Classifieds?

benjiboy · Apr 29, 2022

No, that's the whole point of PayPal, it's secure.

Alan Edward Klein · Apr 29, 2022

greg zinselmeier said:
Certified bank check

When I sold my car, the sites I advertised on told me not to accept certified bank checks as many are phony and will bounce when you process. Of course, by then you signed over the car and will never find the "buyer".

They also told me to be careful of Russians and out-of-state buyers or anyone who said they are sending an agent to handle it. I wound up selling it to someone fairly local and we closed the deal in a bank branch where I have my checking account. He handed over all cash which I immediately deposited in my checking account before I left the bank. I asked the branch manager if he could provide a room where the five of us sat and did the deal.

mgb74 · Apr 29, 2022

Alan Edward Klein said:
When I sold my car, the sites I advertised on told me not to accept certified bank checks as many are phony and will bounce when you process. Of course, by then you signed over the car and will never find the "buyer".

They also told me to be careful of Russians and out-of-state buyers or anyone who said they are sending an agent to handle it. I wound up selling it to someone fairly local and we closed the deal in a bank branch where I have my checking account. He handed over all cash which I immediately deposited in my checking account before I left the bank. I asked the branch manager if he could provide a room where the five of us sat and did the deal.

Very true. USPS MOs (as well as other MOs) can also be counterfeit. But you'll know when you cash your USPS MO at the PO. Non-USPS MOs can sometimes be cancelled before you cash it, so cash them before shipping.

As to the car sale, I would take a certified check or a cashier's check (which is a check from the bank's funds), if created in my presence. I.E, if buyer has an account at XYZ bank, we both go to a XYZ bank branch where the check is written by the bank. Of course that requires a branch within a reasonable distance.

As to IRS reporting, I think that will prove to be a non-issue unless you have a serious sideline selling stuff. The IRS just isn't going to focus on a few thousand dollars in sales. That's my opinion; you're free to have yours.

MattKing · Apr 29, 2022

mgb74 said:
As to the car sale, I would take a certified check or a cashier's check (which is a check from the bank's funds), if created in my presence. I.E, if buyer has an account at XYZ bank, we both go to a XYZ bank branch where the check is written by the bank. Of course that requires a branch within a reasonable distance.

Up here, banks are essentially doing away with certified cheques.
There is a couple of reasons for that, not least of which being that you needed to go to the certifying branch (not bank) to get the reassurance you need.
But most importantly, there is nothing to stop anyone from using those cel phone apps to cash a certified cheque before they hand it to you, and in most cases the bank software won't catch that.

mgb74 · Apr 29, 2022

MattKing said:
Up here, banks are essentially doing away with certified cheques.
There is a couple of reasons for that, not least of which being that you needed to go to the certifying branch (not bank) to get the reassurance you need.
But most importantly, there is nothing to stop anyone from using those cel phone apps to cash a certified cheque before they hand it to you, and in most cases the bank software won't catch that.

Good points. However, that's why I'd want to meet at the bank when the check is created. That eliminates the possibility of a counterfeit check and of a check that's already been cashed. Or, as Alan said, get cash. But carrying $30-40k in cash has it's own drawbacks.

greg zinselmeier · Apr 29, 2022

but on point! you, as a person who purchases and sells used equipment,. . . .. are you confortable using paypal with the 1099K attachment? OR are you looking towards "photo trade shows" in Hotels again to buy and sell used gear "in cash". Assuming "the check thang" isn't your thing? what options do you like to buy and sell?

MattKing · Apr 29, 2022

mgb74 said:
Good points. However, that's why I'd want to meet at the bank when the check is created. That eliminates the possibility of a counterfeit check and of a check that's already been cashed. Or, as Alan said, get cash. But carrying $30-40k in cash has it's own drawbacks.

If you are trying to avoid a records trail for a $30-40k transaction, you are dealing with a much more complex situation than those being considered (mostly) in this thread.
Strangely enough, the last car that anyone in our family bought was bought from a dealer, and they were happy with a personal cheque drawn on a local bank. Of course, cheques like that clear very quickly, and they have the ability to reverse the change of registration if the cheque bounces .
This and the PayPal and Taxation thread reminds me of the many clients I had who came to me with convoluted plans intended to reduce tax which would, if they had been put in place, end up complicating people's lives and, in many cases, cost them more than the taxes they would have saved.

greg zinselmeier · Apr 29, 2022

Arthurwg said:
Perhaps sellers here will need a feedback rating like Ebay. Can we add this to our Classifieds?

ask sean? I have never had any problems with any purchases I have had on APUG though. I see no reason to start, but perhaps others do?

greg zinselmeier · Apr 29, 2022

Chan Tran said:
For $100 Paypal doesn't report to the IRS so why you have to use personal check?

true, if that is your only purchase for the calender year. but if you purchase other items during thast year through paypal exceeding 600 usd, then they will give you a 1099k. that is the way i understand it.

Sirius Glass · Apr 29, 2022

darr said:
Only if I knew the seller.
Handing over your bank account information to the wrong person could be dangerous.

Alan Edward Klein said:
For a small amount like $100, yes I've done that. But also for the small amount in taxes and service charges, it's just as good to have Paypal protection. If the seller is a stranger, why take chances? If you're selling to or buying from someone who has a track record in this forum, then the trust level goes up.

Only if I know the seller. Why by pass PayPal when I am not going to have enough on the 1099s to bother with?

jnamia · Apr 29, 2022

unbelievable the amount of hoops someone will jump through, so they won't have to pay taxes on money that they earned from a side hustle or whatever ..

flavio81 · Apr 29, 2022

greg zinselmeier said:
What’s your thoughts considering all options, given the IRS tax rules changed for buying and selling used equipment.

Say for example, on APUG Someone is selling a camera for 100. USD. You want the camera and think it’s a fair price. It’s agreed upon, but the seller wants you to send a check via snail mail instead of PayPal. Would anyone agree to that? Hypothetically

In my book, this automatically means "scam", "fraud".

Arthurwg · Apr 29, 2022

Well, In the past we could sell $20,000 in used personal property tax free. But this year they lowered that to $600. {Moderator's edit deletion of political opinion}

greg zinselmeier · Apr 29, 2022

jnamia said:
unbelievable the amount of hoops someone will jump through, so they won't have to pay taxes on money that they earned from a side hustle or whatever ..

This conversation is all hypothetical, I am correct in this? I have not read or heard anyone accepting a personal check for payment to avoid 1099k or s or whatever. It seems to me thus far people are very content still using PayPal.? But the question in my mind was how far and what risks people would go to not to detected for sales and purchases. For me PayPal is preferred.

Arthurwg · Apr 29, 2022

Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's?

Sirius Glass · Apr 29, 2022

Arthurwg said:
Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's?

Render salad unto Caesar.

greg zinselmeier · Apr 29, 2022

Arthurwg said:
Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's?

Salad, haircut, pizza, type of birth, . . . .. what else can we give back that is rightly his????

R U willing to send personal check vs. using PayPal for purchases.

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