Coin Purchase expenses?

[bsshog40]

There has always been something that I have been curious about. I've noticed when someone is thinking of purchasing a coin or has purchased one, especially on ebay, that someone always brings up the price including s&h. So I thought I would take a poll. Do you always look at your expenses when you purchase a coin. Most anything bought on-line will have s&h, ebay, us mint, auction houses, etc.. Do you count your gas when you have to drive somewhere for a coin? I usually don't count these type of expenses myself because I know it's going to cost me something extra no matter where I try to purchase a coin. I don't pay extravagant s&h charges but they do have to be paid no matter where purchased on-line 99% of the time. It costs me $20 in gas to go to Ft.Worth to a coin dealer but I don't usually count that against the price of the coin. That's just a normal loss/expenses that is expected. So,

[MunkyMan95]

I account for all expenses. If it's at an auction house, Buyer's Premium will affect my bid. On eBay, shipping, insurance, and any other costs are taken into consideration. Also, Tax at a local coin shop will be taken into consideration.

[rrantique]

Bobby I treat coin purchases as a recreational hobby. Just like hunting,fishing,etc.

 

Just never set a coin budget so to speak. Know your limitations and stick to them.

 

And yes I am a "coin-o-holic" and attend nitely meetings on this forum

[CoinCurious]

I keep a cost list of all my certified coins. If I purchased the coin from ebay I include the shipping cost. If I purchased the coin raw and sent it in to NGC for certification I include the cost of the coin, shipping and certification cost. I like being able to look at my list and know exactly how much money I paid for each coin I have. Unfortunately I have never included gas cost. Now I will have to rework my entire list.

[bsshog40]

I do look at s&h very closely when buying on ebay also. I won't pay $2 for a $5 coin that has $6 s&h. I think ebay may be an exception to this post. We know that s&h charges can get jacked up to pay for fees. I guess what I'd be looking at more is like US Mint subscriptions/orders, and like I mentioned, driving 60 miles to go to a coin shop. If you find a coin say worth $100. You get it for that price but it cost you $20 in gas round trip to get to where the coin was. Would that coin be worth it to you then? So now the coin cost you $120 for a $100 dollar coin. Plus if someone posted a coin here and says, "Look what I got for $20", it's a $40 dollar coin, but it cost $20 in gas. Do you count that?

[cpm9ball]

If you were a dealer, then by all means, you should keep records of all your expenses for tax purposes. However, as a hobbyist, I don't think it would be worthwhile. Let's see.............I just spent 70 hours searching 11,000 listings on eBay for a particular medal......... .........I thought it was only hospitals and lawyers who "nickel and dime" you for everything!

 

Chris

[Zoins]

If you were a dealer, then by all means, you should keep records of all your expenses for tax purposes. However, as a hobbyist, I don't think it would be worthwhile. Let's see.............I just spent 70 hours searching 11,000 listings on eBay for a particular medal......... .........I thought it was only hospitals and lawyers who "nickel and dime" you for everything!

I think there were some reports earlier that the IRS was looking at making eBay sellers report their profits for tax purposes.

[Schatzy]

I count everything, I also keep trak of everything with an excel spreadsheet.

 

SchatzyJr

[BillJones]

I am aware of P&H charges, but if they are reasonable, I don't consider them when I bid or purchase something. They just come along for the ride.

 

As a dealer I am well aware of how much it costs to mail coins via the secure services, like Registered mail. Therefore if some one charges me $10 to $15 for a big item, I don't have a problem. Some dealers include the cost in their prices. At any rate you should include the shipping charges in the tax basis of the coins you purchase UNLESS you can charge them off as business period expenses.

 

Be advised though that if you pay for shipping charges the title to the property changes hands in you home state. That means you should not liable for sales taxes in the state where the dealer resides. If you are buying from a dealer in state like New York when the sales taxes outrageous (IMO), that can work to you’re advantage.

 

Buyers' fees for auctions are something else. I ALWAYS consider them when I bid. Now that they have gotten beyond 15% in some auctions, they really dampen my bids. I don't understand these auction bidders who treat buyers' fees like as "a throw-away." I wish my customers would pay me an automatic 15% mark-up and not complain about it.

[bsshog40]

I'm really surprised at these polling results. I would thought that more people would count some sort of expenses. The majority do not at this point. I think the one most important thing that most do look at tho' are s&h charges. The other expenses I think are just there for the norm of things. Just everyday expenses wether it's on coins or groceries. You certainly can't tell your grocer to come down on food prices because it cost you more for gas to get there.

[World Colonial]

If you were a dealer, then by all means, you should keep records of all your expenses for tax purposes. However, as a hobbyist, I don't think it would be worthwhile. Let's see.............I just spent 70 hours searching 11,000 listings on eBay for a particular medal......... .........I thought it was only hospitals and lawyers who "nickel and dime" you for everything!

I think there were some reports earlier that the IRS was looking at making eBay sellers report their profits for tax purposes.

 

I have not read any reports of this but it is only a matter of time before the IRS finds a way to target this revenue source. The last number I saw (dated) is that eBay's gross merchandise volume was $40 billion and at least some of this is not reported though we do not know how much. My guess is that what the IRS would prefer to do is to have eBay report sales volume (they cannot report profits) on the seller's behalf. To do this though, eBay would need the seller's EIN or TIN which the IRS could match to the tax return as they do for interest and dividend payments and securities sales.

[WinstonWare]

You know after thinking about this for a couple weeks (cause I’m quick like that) I finally realized that I do include shipping in my coin expenses. I generally, just include shipping to reach the total that I’m willing to pay for a coin. I’ll bid more on the coin if the shipping is low and a little less if the shipping is high. For this reason, I’ve recently made my ebay auctions include free shipping. I figure it will all even out.