Am I the only one worried US media mail will get eliminated in near future?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by 12" 45rpm, Mar 30, 2021.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. 12" 45rpm

    12" 45rpm Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    New York City
    I have read some news that USPS is planning some major overhaul of their shipping prices and options. I would not be surprised that media mail will get axed. For sure it was a relic from a bygone era. Because of this I think sellers should try to get rid of as much of their cheaper records now. What do you think? Am I being too paranoid about this?
     
  2. kings81

    kings81 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    I agree, you never know these days but if its on its way out anytime soon it's going to be a whole different ballgame.
     
  3. rolli

    rolli Forum Resident

    Yes, I read that as well... and the nixing of media mail was one of the first things that came to mind. I’m also waiting to see the impact of the ever increasing cost of gas (oil) on everything. Maybe I’m getting too far ahead of myself though.
     
  4. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I wouldn’t say I’m worried, because I think it would be fine. The intention of Media Mail was not really to be used for the kinds of commerce for which most of us here use it. We’ll pay a few more bucks for Priority Mail, and it will be fine.
     
    Archguy, Simon A, Rolltide and 3 others like this.
  5. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Won't be a big deal for big money items.

    Would effectively kill the market for stuff < $10 that weighs more than a few oz, especially heavier items like books.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2021
    12" 45rpm likes this.
  6. 12" 45rpm

    12" 45rpm Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    New York City
    90+% of records and books fall in this under $10 category..
     
    McLover likes this.
  7. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    Elections have consequences . . .
     
    bubba-ho-tep, ScramMan2 and showtaper like this.
  8. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    Good riddance. :buttkick:
     
    Cronverc likes this.
  9. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    You have to think back, I suppose, to what brought Media Mail into the picture in the first place. Was it a means of prioritizing specific classes of parcels around books and discs, or was it a means to save money on delivery expenses and burdens.

    I'm skeptical about how soon they're going to get around with re-assessing something that, to their way of thinking, solved a problem for them in the first place. They have other fish to fry, such as getting automatic sorting mechanisms back into the system, and re-structuring their finances if they roll-back their mandated pre-funding of their pension system. Then there's that little matter of canceling that gas-powered vehicle contract they're locked-into with OshKosh, which should never have happened in the first place: if they're gonna compete with Amazon's fleet, they need to get back to electrical vehicles stat!

    And maybe, re-paint that cell in Guantanamo before DeJoy gets down there...:D
     
    riverrat, zongo and curbach like this.
  10. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    What is far more alarming is the new tax regulations on small-time sellers. Paypal, Ebay, and Amazon will 1099R sellers who reach $600 of sales for the year 2022. And you will pay taxes on all sales after you reach this threshold. I suggest everyone start saving receipts now for every new or used item you buy in music. You will need it to bring down your tax liability.

    The big issue I have is that the tax and shipping charges added to your sales will help you reach that $600 very quickly. An international shipped item will be $17 to $30 shipping but counted as revenue by PayPal.

    If they dump media mail on top of this, it will kill most all small-time sellers who just want to unload a few things to make more purchases.
     
    Archguy, ScramMan2 and Dillydipper like this.
  11. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Imagine LP's at priority rate......you'd see the cheaper albums go under.
     
  12. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I already pay sales tax on purchases like this all the time, and it has never once killed the sale for the person selling anything to me.
     
    showtaper likes this.
  13. dr jazz

    dr jazz Forum Resident

    Location:
    park ridge,il,usa
    I believe he is talking about personal income tax
     
  14. hvbias

    hvbias Midrange magic

    Location:
    Northeast
    We were always supposed to be paying tax on these sort of things, just because Ebay or Paypal were too lazy to issue a 1099 in the past doesn't mean the IRS didn't want you to not pay tax on that. My brokerages would issue 1099s even if I just made one penny a year.

    <Moderator Edit>
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 2, 2021
  15. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    You simply must tell me where you are buying 90% of records for under $10...
     
  16. 12" 45rpm

    12" 45rpm Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    New York City
    The IRS has A LOT bigger fish to fry then people making some pocket change from their hobby. I just use my best guess for yearly profit and pay tax on that. I am not going to bother tallying up every $5 sale..
     
    Big Blue likes this.
  17. Big Blue

    Big Blue Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    OK, that’s news to me, but what could the hit to income tax liability really be on $600 worth of used record? How much does that really impact the asking price for each record?
     
  18. Veronica Mars

    Veronica Mars Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I really miss surface mail. If I was sending stuff to my family in Liverpool I would use it all the time. 9 times out of 10 it would get there as quick as airmail. I asked a post office person who I was friendly with how this happens. She told me if the package is small enough and there is room they just throw it onto the plane.
     
    Big Blue likes this.
  19. Veronica Mars

    Veronica Mars Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Be careful with the political comments.
     
    McLover likes this.
  20. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Amazon, eBay, and Paypal will do the tallying up for you all automatically. And then report that to the IRS for you. You need not do anything, except pay the big bill at the end of the year.

    Oh, and fill out some additional forms for your 1040 tax filing.
     
  21. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Adding insult to injury, the irs hasn't bothered to create a worksheet for the 1099r, and you're supposed to just "figure out" how to declare the income and any costs.
     
  22. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    The current limit to not get a 1099R is under $20,000. Not many sellers around the forums and the bay with used media are hitting that mark yet. Not until jan. 2023 are folks going to have to deal with their $601.00 in online sales.

    It might not be a worksheet. It might be what is called a Schedule C that is required to get the benefit of the costs and expenses write-offs. Sure one could just add the income from the 1099R to the total taxable income before deductions (which is what you generally do with 1099 income), but I am going to want to write off the paypal fees, record mailers, tape, postage, poly outer sleeves, rice paper inners, and shipping labels, and every CD and LP purchase (for even the unsold stock) it took to get those LPs listed at Discogs, etc.

    Some of us will have to run this as a small business in order to get all of the write-offs.
     
    McLover and chazz101s like this.
  23. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    If you live in MA, you've been getting the 1099r for over $600 for the past two years. And if you don't want to pay tax on the entirety of the 1099r, you need to put the cost of goods somewhere. They don't provide a worksheet for that. And if you don't run a business, the last thing you want to have to do is start dealing with a schedule C as if you do...
     
  24. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Well, what have the MA folks been doing with their 1099Rs? The last thing you want to do is often not what you'd want to do I agree. But you do what you have to do, or shut down your little trading hobby after you hit $590 a year in total pp receipts. I see no other way.

    I am going to spread out my sales on several platforms, and see if I can avoid pp on three of them. But mainly what I am going to do is try and complete a lot of sale this year, by selling off things I was going to hold onto for a while longer. I only relaunched sales last year due to covid. And planned on only doing a few more months of it. But now, I think I should go full blast through Dec. Then call it quits for a few years. Or stay under $600 for a few years. Staying away from international sales will keep your shipping fees charged much lower as well.
     
  25. zongo

    zongo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Davis, CA
    Just so I understand: the $600 upper limit only goes into effect starting in 2023 unless you live in Massachusetts? Correct?
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine