New Law Requires Sellers to Disclose Identity and Contact Info

by: cvsharkey

Hey, I'm on board if small sellers band together....coalition, consolidation, whatever you want to call it. Can we keep it to US sellers??? Maybe US/CA? I agree with Walk Away.

BTW--the article I read said the 1099K may not be being released because of all of the confusion. So, could be tough to file taxes without one.

by: Alfacar

Marketplaces have problem giving sellers and buyers their phone nr- you have to request call back through bot. They have no problem lobbying to reveal your sensitive/private info that can be misused or can hurt sellers (identity theft etc) when such sellers have no resourses for hiring lawyers.
They lobby damaging laws just to save themselves some money on not having to do more work? Am I reading it all right?

by: Alfacar

Another reason for Marketplaces to push on this act to avoid liability of what’s being allowed to be sold on their platform

by: Weirdbooks

This Law is 100% about organized retail theft and reselling stolen goods on online marketplaces.   It is a HUGE problem,  for big-box stores all the way down to mom-and-pop main street shops.  Stuff gets boosted daily, only to show up for sale a few days  or weeks later on eBay or social media or online classifieds

I can't think of any other way businesses and law enforcement can approach this other than making sure the sellers on these sites at least are in some way traceable.  

If you are a professional seller, which most posters here are (or were in some cases), you should welcome this law.  It will at the very least eliminate some competitors who are selling stolen goods and competing directly with you for sales.  Hard to compete with someone who is not paying for their stock.  

by: Alfacar

It looks there is a  good news for sellers of USED items. Bill calls New and Unused items sellers to verify.
https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/s936/BILLS-117s936is.pdf
There has to be some protections for honest sellers who maybe a target of harrassment, false claims and targets of being robbed, hurt etc.

by: Rexford

"BTW--the article I read said the 1099K may not be being released because of all of the confusion. So, could be tough to file taxes without one."

I have been filing my taxes for over two decades without one and with one when I have met the threshold.  There is no problem doing so without one and if you aren't filing taxes on your earnings you are breaking the law.  You don't get to avoid paying taxes just because you do not receive a 1099.  The good news is that sellers have business expenses and they can write them off.

I sell on six sites.  I get a 1099 from only one of them but that of course will change this filing season and I welcome it.  I will know exactly what the sites are reporting to the IRS.  It will make my calculating much easier and I will have checks and balances.

by: Weirdbooks

Checked the Bill text and noted that it only applies to:  
"a third party seller and who, in any continuous 12-
month period during the previous 24 months, has
entered into 200 or more discrete sales or transactions of new or unused consumer products resulting in the accumulation of an aggregate total of
$5,000 or more in gross revenues."

So, sellers of only Used items are not swept up in this.  Unfortunately Sellers who have both used and new items may be included.  Venues may just select based on #1 Are you selling ANY New items, and #2 Did you make 200/$5000 in transactions?  It is possible that sellers who do 99% of their business in Used items and only handful of new items will be included even though their NEW item sales fall under the threshold.

This bill combined with the 1099 requirement being lowered to $600 (even if it is kicked down the road until 2023), may result in venues simply requiring ALL sellers to provide proof of identity and valid matching tax information.

Honestly, if you are trying to sell items you do not legally own, or are trying to dodge the taxman, you should be selling for cash in person anyway.  Given a motivated agency, every transaction you make online as a seller is traceable to you to some extent.

by: Stone Cutter

*** Have your address linked to a local attorney ***

As a jeweler on Etsy, my customers are professional women with sound minds. However, I agree that my address should not be made public before any sale.

This topic was brought up on the Etsy Forum a few years ago as Congress was tinkering with this idea around 2018. My husband and I immediately looked into how to keep my address somewhat private and this is what we found...

In my State, I can pay a small amount to have an attorney verify my identify and home address. And with that, my business address, WILL POINT TO MY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE ADDRESS, instead of my home address. As I recall, the fee for this service was around $150.  

by: LDWCallsOut

On Etsy, many of the items listed as ''vintage'' or USED aren't.  Most counterfeit luxury items on Etsy are listed as both ''handmade'' and ''vintage'', a double dipping practice Etsy has allowed for almost a decade now.  This means that even more brand new factory fresh from China merchandise will be listed as ''vintage'' in future.  

by: Stone Cutter

@Queen of Jungle

You say.... “Just another way for Big Brother to keep an eye on us and steal as much money as they can”.

Then please explain to me why this law would do that.

by: 4yourinfo

Many sellers such as myself have phone numbers on ebay when you click on contact...  Most of this info ebay requires due to the 1099k requirements. Ebay and Amazon are probably laughing their heads off as these lawmakers have no idea what is actually already known or required...

by: shut1968

Anyone who does not have an issue with this new law has obviously not been stalked and harassed by a crazed buyer... it's happened twice for me now and is the reason why no site will ever get my home address, the first time I had a buyer show up on my doorstep from 200 miles away to return a Sony 8mm VCR that got damaged by the post office in transit, this was back in the late 90's/early 2000's when you could still tell buyers they were to take responsibility for any damage if they opted to not pay for insurance, he didn't want to pay for insurance and CHOSE to have it shipped without any.. the mini VCR got damaged in shipping and he wanted his money back, I told him in the listing it clearly stated he had to pay for insurance if he wanted it insured otherwise it was buy and ship at your own risk... he harassed me through messaging and emails for over a week, I finally quit responding and he drove 200 miles and showed up on my doorstep with it demanding a refund ($80).. I would up calling the cops and having him trespassed.... after terrifying incident I went and got a mailbox rental to use for everything... maybe a year, year an a half later I sold a rare movie poster, was around $150, same scenario.. buy and ship at your own risk or pay the few dollars extra for insurance to cover it.. buyer chose to opt out of the insurance and sure enough the poster was in a poster tube for shipping but got bent in half, the buyer demanded I give him a refund.. I told him no and that not only did it say he had to pay for any insurance  fee's if he wanted insurance I messaged him twice to confirm he did not want to pay for insurance BEFORE sending an invoice to make payment with and he said no...  He tried to file an Ebay claim and lost.. then tried to file a PayPal claim and lost... I thought that was the end of it.. until one day I get a call from the gentleman who worked and the Pak-Mail store I had my mailbox rented at... He told me that three days earlier a man came in first thing when they opened asking about me trying to get my home address and he told him he could not give it out... He then came back in after shift change and tried to get other employee's to give him the address and of course they told him no as well.. so he decided to camp out in the parking lot for the next few days waiting to see if I would come check my mail and he was letting me know this creep was hanging around waiting for me to come up there... I went there.. with cops in tow and had him arrested.....I had a couple emails from him right after he lost his final PayPal claim that he was gonna get his money back or "get me".. and that combined with the stalking of the mailbox was enough to get him locked up...

It's bad enough we have to occasionally deal with these "Keyboard Cowboys" as it is now.. I will continue to do business online but I WILL find a way around the home personal address requirement one way or the other...

by: BlueDenim

Oh my goodness shut1968, that is terrifying! Sorry you had to go through that not once but twice.

I had a customer notice the area of the state I live in and mentioned he used to go to college that is right up the street from my location. He said next time he was in town he could swing by... I had no idea who this guy was other than he just bought something from the shop.  Went that afternoon and opened a P.O. Box  so my home address was no longer on the packaging.

I don't think our personal info should be so freely available to whoever.  

by: toolguy

All I have to say is if someone wants to "get you" they'll find a way.

Every brick & mortar store owner has to worry about irate customers.

The best policy for an upset customer is to just accept the return and refund.

by: Jeff Smith

Does this mean that in addition to the business name and address there will also be the business owner's name, SSN, and address published?

by: railady

Good news for those of us who have no business address (operating out of our home, using our residential address) and no business phone, only our own home phone, we are exempted (with some exceptions)

Here is the actual text of this bill:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/936/text

by: railady

I have had AT LEAST a half dozen people ask if I have a shop and can they come by. I do not have a shop, I rent space in an antique mall and sell online. Thankfully these people have been polite and asked and accepted my answer, but I have no way to know how many have tried to find my "shop" and given up.  I do not even claim space in my house on my tax return.  I do not give out my home/private telephone number - I have no business phone number.  

by: shut1968

@ toolguy

Nope, I carry now everywhere I go and have camera's everywhere including all three of my retail store fronts inside and out.

I back down to no one

by: Snapped

This is only part one of the issue.  Wait until local municipalities decide to se this info to look into who’s operating a ‘business’ (in a residential ‘zone’) without a business license.  

by: toolguy

@shut1968

I've shipped over 35,000 packages

Not once has anyone came to my door seeking a refund or replacement.

But I almost drove to a customers house once, he left me my 1st negative and only lived 100 miles away. Common sense told me I had nothing to gain and a lot to lose so I stayed home.