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Ebay Seller Request AFTER The Sale ......

Discussion in 'General' started by G.Rand, Oct 10, 2010.

  1. G.Rand

    G.Rand Well-Known Member

    I bought an item from an Ebay vendor earlier today. Both the seller and I are in California. The vendor did not charge me sales tax
    (9.75%) at the time of the sale.

    Later today, I received a message from the vendor:

    Item is being ship to california, so we have to collect sales tax. Sales tax is 9.75 % which comes to a total of 62.88. Please send the sales tax amount to [email protected]. Your item will be ship out on monday as soon as we get the sales tax amount.

    I'm not sure what to think about this request. As I see it, the vendor is asking me to complete the transaction outside of eBay, which is a bit questionable :tut: . I have several different thoughts about this request, but I am curious how the WERA members online would handle it.......
     
  2. ckruzel

    ckruzel Graphicologist Xtremeist

    he is going to have to pay it to the goverment, thats why he is asking for it, he may not have had it configured in the listing
     
  3. 2Fer

    2Fer Is good

    Well I am in small business myself, if I forget to charge it then I have to pay it. He should have had it setup correctly and pay it himself, but that's just me.
     
  4. SethG

    SethG Well-Known Member

    So he's going to mail it to LA? Because the sale belongs to your city not his, is that even your local sales tax rate?
     
  5. chadspaint

    chadspaint Well-Known Member

    What does comom sense have to do with ebay?:rolleyes:
     
  6. gixxersmitty

    gixxersmitty Well-Known Member

    Isnt the sales tax rate statewide?
     
  7. G.Rand

    G.Rand Well-Known Member

    There are 2 factors that determine your sales tax rate in CA:
    Your "local" use tax + State use tax = CA Sales Tax

    The local use tax rate varies from city to city, typically only 1/2% or so. But this issue really isn't about how much the tax is ...... it's more about the vendor coming after me for funds AFTER the sale was conducted and paid for. If it matters, it was a "Buy It Now" item on eBay, and the item was new.

    I feel that when the sale is done and paid for, any discrepancies or mistakes made by the vendor should be handled on the vendor's end. It is the vendor's duty to honor his sales price.
     
  8. xrated

    xrated Well-Known Member

    He obviously is going to have to pay the sales tax if the item is sold and shipped to a CA. resident. The issue that I would have with the transaction is that he is asking for sales tax $$ AFTER the completion of the sale. He/she should man up and pay the amount of tax themselves and NOT ask the customer for it. It was their mistake.........deal with it and move on and correct it for next time. Customer is happy, and the business man/woman is held up high for doing the right thing.
     
  9. bEeR

    bEeR Hookers & Blow

    I wouldn't pay it.

    I've sold things before and the shipping really burned me, I didn't ask the person for more money because shipping was higher than expected. I just bit it and went on.
     
  10. GoodKnight

    GoodKnight Well-Known Member

    Agreed. You honored the terms of the sale, so should he. Plus im sure ebay would LOVE the fact that he's requesting more money outside of their knowledge.
     
  11. Ga-Bandit

    Ga-Bandit Well-Known Member

    A seller cannot change the conditions of the contract after a sale w/o your approval. If it wasn't listed in the original listing than you have a right not to pay it or ya'll can mutually agree to cancel the transaction. You can also ask the eBay Misc Answer Center Community:

    A private individual cannot charge sales tax, only a business can charge it. If it's an honest mistake I would as a buyer tell the seller to refund me and re-invoice me the correct amount and pay it; as a a seller I'd eat it because it was my mistake.

    Everyone makes mistakes, how are you going to handle it?
     
  12. RubberChicken

    RubberChicken PimpMasterT

    Nice try to evade the tax, though. I am sure the vast majority of idtios here will chime in how it is now "his" problem. They are wrong. It is your problem. When you come up against the state tax folks, you might discover how wrong the beeb-diots are.

    Pay the tax, you made the purchase. Thank the vendor for taking the time and trouble to contact you instead of just forwarding it to the state. (They can seize your whole bank account for up to 90 days in some states until they unravel a tiny tax debt.)

    Taxes are COLLECTED by a seller, not CHARGED. That is a significant difference. State law REQUIRES that you, as buyer, remit the tax on YOUR purchase, and that the vendor collect and forward those monies to the state.Just because his PayPal account was not correctly configured for the tax calculation, does NOT exempt YOU from responsibility to pay the sales tax on your purchase. He was nice, he gave you a chance to clear it up and he'll handle the paperwork. If I had a customer refuse to pay the sales tax when he was notified of the liability, I would simply forward the communication to the state taxation agency. It is between you and the state. The vendor is performing a FREE service for you, i.e. collecting and forwarding the tax money, and you want to burn him for this service?


    If you don't like paying taxes, change the way you vote. That's Dungeon material.

    Jeez. You guys reinforce my opinion that business just ain't worth the trouble most days, too many customers expecting to get something for nothing.
     
  13. Sideshow

    Sideshow Free reach around expert.

    You sound like you would make an excellent scammer and a snitch lol.
     
  14. jamilrahman

    jamilrahman Well-Known Member

    Just pay the sales tax. You originally knew you had to pay it anyways. It's not like you were informed the seller was in your state after you made the purchase.
     
  15. Rodger

    Rodger RamJet

    Each state has different tax % rates . Md just raised the tax to 6% . Tn has been @ 9% . Only way to beat state tax legally is to ship out of state . Every time you go into a store , you pay the advertised price & they add the tax on . Not much different in this situation .
     
  16. Spitz

    Spitz Well-Known Member

    Does it say anywhere in the add Cali residents are going to get charged XXX tax? I agree it sucks to add it in afterwards and its really a mistake on the sellers part not to point it out. If it were me i'd either refund your money or eat it depending on how much i was making the said purchase.. I too have been burned on making bills out and being incorrect, i never go back to the customer asking for more money.
     
  17. bkeros

    bkeros Well-Known Member

    Interesting, if not unusual perspective. Not a pleasant reality, but I agree it's true. Clearly these are the words of a businessman, rather than just an average member of the public.
     
  18. speedluvn

    speedluvn Man card Issuer

    To the OP,

    Did you not know before this transaction that you had to pay sales tax on a in-state mail order transaction?

    OR

    Are you solely trying to evade the taxes because the seller neglected to inform of the sales tax before the completion of the deal?
     
  19. 2Fer

    2Fer Is good


    Yeah that's why South Carolina sends me nice letters when I don't pay them the tax on items I have sold. Sorry, at least in SC the seller is on the hook for the sales tax, not the buyer, at least in face to face transactions, internet might be different.
     
  20. KBacon

    KBacon Well-Known Member

    To me it depends on if the seller was using ebay as a business or selling personal items...

    If as a business.. There should be a stipulation some where that states that Cali residents have to pay X% sales tax on top of the purchase price...

    If selling personal items... the seller is just trying to get more $$$ out of you...

    To me this is no different than purchasing off an internet website.. local residents get charged sales tax... out of state customers do not. On the same token as if the seller didn't list a shipping price.. and gave you the shipping price after the auction was over depending on location... Not so common anymore.. but was very common just a few years ago.
     

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