Would you take this deal?

[RCMcKenzie]

Thanks, Bob. I feel like you should send me a bill for consulting. I don't do much selling or trading, but lots of buying. They used to have something called a casual sale. I actually have pretty good records on my cards.

[RCMcKenzie]

On a similar topic to Nic's.

A board member is working on a mid-tier hofer back run. He reaches out to me to see if I have a dupe of a rare card from T213-2 Coupon. I do. I paid $90 12 years ago from a BIN from Joe's Vintage. It has a sticker on the back that states "90-" in Joe's handwriting. SGC 10 with paper loss on front.

He offered a raw T213-3 common with front and back damage. I am thinking about it, and asked him to to throw in a low grade common t206. I haven't heard back. Should I forget about it?

[atx840]

Originally Posted by RCMcKenzie

I haven't heard back. Should I forget about it?

Rob, I wouldn't forget about it, they might have been traveling for work and then stuck on bed rest for a few days

[Touch'EmAll]

You have to consider eye appeal of the 2 cards in question, especially centering, and of course color, focus, print blips, tilt cut, etc.

If the card you currently have is better eye appeal - absolutely keep what you have.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by RCMcKenzie

On a similar topic to Nic's.

A board member is working on a mid-tier hofer back run. He reaches out to me to see if I have a dupe of a rare card from T213-2 Coupon. I do. I paid $90 12 years ago from a BIN from Joe's Vintage. It has a sticker on the back that states "90-" in Joe's handwriting. SGC 10 with paper loss on front.

He offered a raw T213-3 common with front and back damage. I am thinking about it, and asked him to to throw in a low grade common t206. I haven't heard back. Should I forget about it?

No, I wouldn't forget about doing such a trade, assuming you are happy to get the two cards you're trading for. The only thing is, you technically end up owing income tax on the difference between the $90 you originally paid for the T213-2 Coupon card you're now trading away, and whatever the then current FMV is of the T213-3 and T206 cards you traded for, as of the date you made the trade.

Just remember to keep track of/a record of the trade so you know what your tax basis going forward is for the two cards you just traded for. It should be the FMV of both cards at the time of the trade you then use to figure out how much in sales proceeds you'll be reporting on your tax return from the deemed sale of the T213-2 card you just traded away.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by BobC

assuming you are happy to get the two cards you're trading for.

Yep, thats the bottom line: does it make you happy? This is supposed to be fun. A card collection is:

"a magic carpet that takes you away from work-a-day cares to havens of relaxing quietude where you can relive the pleasures and adventures of a past day—brought to life in vivid picture and prose." --Jefferson Burdick.

[Yoda]

Screw the deal. Keep the card and you won't regret it. Plus you can stop agonizing about it. There are a thousand stories from folks on the Board, including me, about cards they have regretted selling or trading.

[mq711]

This thread Gotta be about some super cool Willie Mays card! Wish we could see it because probably pretty rare.

[Casey2296]

It's unfortunate that the deal breaker is "the Government" .

[BobC]

Originally Posted by RCMcKenzie

Thanks, Bob. I feel like you should send me a bill for consulting. I don't do much selling or trading, but lots of buying. They used to have something called a casual sale. I actually have pretty good records on my cards.

LOL

Don't worry, no bill is coming.

And the concept of casual sales still exists, but as I would try to explain it to clients, think of a casual sale as like a garage sale to clear stuff out of the house. You don't continuously do it all the time, so you aren't a dealer in a trade or business. And you're usually just selling your old used clothing, furniture and other junk that you originally paid a lot more for. In which case you are basically selling everything for a loss anyway, so why waste yours and the IRS's time by having to go through the trouble of reporting it all on your tax return when nothing will ever be owed? But now you're talking collectibles that aren't just used personal items that depreciate in value over time. Plus, with the way card prices are today, the values and amounts are no longer insignificant. And couple all that with people using online venues and platforms to sell a lot of their stuff nowadays, like Etsy, Ebay, Comc, etc. These are all initially assumed by the IRS, and many others, as more like dealers in business who use the online services to sell their stuff. Think of it this way. With that new lowered reporting standard that went into effect, starting this year, anyone selling $600+ worth of stuff on Ebay is going to get a 1099-K form reporting their total sales for the year of $600 or more, and a copy will be sent to the IRS as well. Now maybe you only used Ebay for a couple "casual sales" and only sold two or three cards this whole year, for a total of say $800 in sales. When the IRS gets that 1099-K form next January with your name on it, showing you had $800 in sales to report, want to bet if the IRS assumes you are a dealer or a collector selling collectibles? They are going to initially assume you are a dealer, unless you properly file your tax return and accurately report at least the total of those $800 in sales shown on your 1099-K form as gross receipts from individual collectibles sold.

So with the advent of online and other related types of sales and sales venues, the idea of "casual Sales" has been altered a little in the way it is viewed nowadays.

And keep up with the records. And if/when the time comes to have to report things on your tax return, estimate the tax basis of some cards if you have to. Just do the best you can. The IRS can, and does, work with people more than you may think when it is difficult to find every single record or receipt.

[BobC]

Thanks Bob. I'm not in that situation, but I would've thought what I proposed would've been OK to do, and not a "trick." I appreciate your clarification. I do agree with you that when it comes to the IRS, it's best to play by the rules and sleep well at night.


Very true Mark, very true.

The real trick is to make sure you get everything onto your tax return that the IRS knows about and has record of (W-2s, 1099s, etc.), and to then make sure you have everything reported in the right place, on the right forms, nothing is missing, and all the numbers add up properly (ie: you didn't screw up the math). When you electronically file your return, no person at the IRS actually looks at it. It goes into their automated system and is processed by their computers. It will automatically check for missing items, bad math, missing forms, and so on, and if it finds something is off, will generate a letter/notice to you about what they found wrong. So you want your return to be able to go through the IRS's computer checking system without a glitch. It is usually better to use a tax software program to do your return (if not an accountant/tax preparer) as the software typically makes sure the math is good, and usually alerts you to missing od otherwise deficient things on your tax return. It also then usually lets you electronically file your return so it goes right into their system, untouched by human hands. LOL

It is when you prepare your return and paper file it, actually mail your return into the IRS, that a human has to go ahead and enter everything into the IRS's system for you. Obviously, you now have a human looking at your tax return, and they can possibly make a mistake in entering it into the IRS's computer system for you. Don't worry though, these aren't going to be actual tax auditors entering your paper filed returns into the IRS's system, but still, the more hands that have to touch your return, the more chances for errors.