PWCC & eBay - help us improve the hobby

[Peter_Spaeth]

"Yes, we offered this option to CA buyers in 2013/2014 until our move to Oregon at the start of this year. The State of CA was always paid the sales tax they were owed for all items shipped to CA buyers. This program was very expensive at times for us, but in 2013 our plans to relocate to Oregon were already in place, so we knew the program would be temporary. Bottom line, CA is a large market and we wanted CA based bidders involved in our auctions."

I am glad to hear you paid 8.25 percent sales tax even if you didn't collect it, meaning you must have lost money on each of those transactions ("we only clear a couple % on each sale"), but curiously the invoice I have seen instructing the winner how to avoid sales tax is dated 2011.

[calvindog]

PWCC tells us that it was so concerned about losing California bidders because of the law which requires the CA auction winners to pay 8.25% sales tax -- that because PWCC was planning on moving to Oregon at the beginning of 2015 anyway, PWCC would offer to pay the 8.25% sales tax on any auction wins by CA residents in 2013-14, thus losing money on sales to any CA resident for this relatively short period of time (1-2 years).

Except PWCC never advertised this in its listings, never telling CA bidders it wanted to keep their business by paying the sales tax for the auction winners -- thus the very bidders PWCC wanted to keep were never told of this wonderful program in place courtesy of PWCC's generosity;

Except PWCC was sending out invoices in 2011, not 2013-14, telling CA winners it could avoid CA sales tax -- which means Brent would have us believe that he took a loss on every single win by a CA resident from 2011 through 2014 (and putting the lie to what Brent wrote last night, that he offered to pay the sales tax starting in 2013);

Except PWCC never told CA winners that PWCC would be paying the CA sales tax for them -- instead it included in its invoices the language that CA winners could avoid sales tax if they would "1) Provide a valid CA resale license, or 2) Pay by check or money order." If I'm a CA auction winner who is paying by check or money order how am I not still liable for the sales tax? Nowhere did Brent say in his listings or invoices that HE would be paying the sales tax, thus removing the liability to the auction winners.

This story is ludicrous.

[Peter_Spaeth]

From a 2011 auction listing.

"Sales Tax 8.25% charged to some California buyers. We encourage CA buyers to contact us before bidding.

brent@pwccauctions.com 805-440-8903"

I guess you can draw whatever inference you want.

[calvindog]

Why would it be charged at all if PWCC was paying it?

[Peter_Spaeth]

I assume, if PWCC is to be believed, it would only pick up the tab where the buyer paid by check. If the buyer paid by paypal, sales tax was added automatically.

Still, assuming 10 percent or more of PWCC's business was California (based on population that seems certain), and assuming a reasonable percentage of people took advantage of the offer (who would want to pay an extra 8.25 percent?), that's a lot of money for a business with razor-thin margins to be paying out of pocket.

[pokerplyr80]

I had just noticed the conversation was pretty one sided and thought I'd say something positive. I thought it was harsh to call him a tax fraud when most of us buy online or pay cash at shows to avoid paying sales tax. If he's saying he paid the sales tax for CA customers who paid with checks, I'm sure he would have taken a loss on those transactions as the rate out here is 8-9% depending on the county.

Brent certainly doesn't need me to speak for him and seems to have provided a reasonable explanation for most negative comments. Whether or not everything he said is true is up for debate, but I have no reason to doubt him from my limited personal experience dealing with him.

[swarmee]

I thought his shrugging off of revealing even a seller ID number was disappointing, and it took about 20 guys on the CU/PSA board for him to decide it was a bad idea to continue selling aftermarket (by about 50 years) Christmas rack packs.
Some also set off my BS alarms, but he did actively respond to most of the feedback (not so much the overly bright scans pictured here).

[Leon]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

I had just noticed the conversation was pretty one sided and thought I'd say something positive. I thought it was harsh to call him a tax fraud when most of us buy online or pay cash at shows to avoid paying sales tax. If he's saying he paid the sales tax for CA customers who paid with checks, I'm sure he would have taken a loss on those transactions as the rate out here is 8-9% depending on the county.

Brent certainly doesn't need me to speak for him and seems to have provided a reasonable explanation for most negative comments. Whether or not everything he said is true is up for debate, but I have no reason to doubt him from my limited personal experience dealing with him.

We have rules about giving opinions. At the top of every page it says if you give an opinion your full name needs to be in your post... so your name is Je.sse Arn.ot (nothing personal, it's the rule) thanks

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

I had just noticed the conversation was pretty one sided and thought I'd say something positive. I thought it was harsh to call him a tax fraud when most of us buy online or pay cash at shows to avoid paying sales tax. If he's saying he paid the sales tax for CA customers who paid with checks, I'm sure he would have taken a loss on those transactions as the rate out here is 8-9% depending on the county.

Brent certainly doesn't need me to speak for him and seems to have provided a reasonable explanation for most negative comments. Whether or not everything he said is true is up for debate, but I have no reason to doubt him from my limited personal experience dealing with him.

We all have our opinions but I do have reason to doubt him given that he said he started the sales tax avoidance program in 2013 in contemplation of moving to Oregon but I am looking at an ebay invoice from 2011 instructing the California winner how to avoid sales tax. And an auction from 2011 asking California bidders to contact him regarding sales tax. I also find it hard to believe, although it's just an opinion, that he took a loss on that many transactions rather than just collect the sales tax. My two cents, on which I will pay sales tax.

And he never responded to the fact that he had claimed that a post on Net 54 was the first time anyone had ever raised a question about his scans, when just a couple of months before he had posted at length on CU about the same topic. To me, once you burn credibility, I have a hard time believing anything else you might say. Just my opinion.