Etsy???

[Lightyear]

Anyone selling anything on Etsy?  My wife is an avid photographer and has been giving prints to friends and family for a few years now.  She is getting lots of requests from third parties that have seen her pictures for prints.  She's looking at Etsy but has some concerns about the taxes and such.  Anyone have any experience?

[gweimer]

I don't, but my old singer uses Etsy to sell her jewelry and art.  It seems to be the de facto standard avenues for crafts/arts sales online.

[Dave W]

IIRC Barklessdog's daughter sells hats on Etsy.

[Lightyear]

Thanks guys, my wife does here share to support the people on Etsy for sure.  Here concern is whether it's worth selling there.

[Denis]

My girlfriend has opened a small store on Etsy in which she offers her crafty things. I took a little while for people to catch on to her store since it was new but she's sold quite a few things. Sometimes she trades and she can offer custom pieces if someone likes the look of what she has for sale currently. Overall she's pretty happy with her experiences there so far.

[Lightyear]

Thanks Dennis.  What has my wife concerned is the tax mess.  Amazon market place tells you that you don't need to bother with filing taxes until you get to a couple of grand.  Etsy suggests filing quarterly taxes.  Does your GF have any experience with this?  Has Etsy sent her anything to report to the IRS like a 1099 perhaps?

[chromium]

Thanks Dennis.  What has my wife concerned is the tax mess.  Amazon market place tells you that you don't need to bother with filing taxes until you get to a couple of grand.  Etsy suggests filing quarterly taxes.  Does your GF have any experience with this?  Has Etsy sent her anything to report to the IRS like a 1099 perhaps?

I think the same rules apply to any online auction/sales site.  The CC companies (Paypal, etc..) have to report a 1099 if payments to you exceed $20K, and there were 200 transactions or more.  Of course, you're expected to report self-employment earnings of $400 or more.

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/New-1099-K-Reporting-Requirements-for-Payment-Settlement-Entities

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Filing-Requirements-for-Self-Employed-Individuals

Not that I'm an expert by any stretch, but I just setup an LLC (fairly easy process) to work under, and I report the income on my personal income tax.  The thing Etsy is talking about with having to pay estimated taxes quarterly should only come into play if you owe more than $1K in taxes.

[Barklessdog]

My daughter made quite a lot of money on Etsy, enough to buy a top of the line Mac book Pro with part of the money. She does report it to the IRS and had to pay taxes and social security on it, so make sure you deduct all reasonable expenses allowed,

You can make a lot of money and its really cheap to list something, like three cents an item per month.


Great site, test the waters and if it does not work out, close your store.

[gweimer]

My singer got back to me on this.  Sales tax applies to tangible goods sold within your home state, and Etsy reports sales above $1000 to the IRS.  She also says that, from her experience, supplies and random vintage crap disguised as supplies, sell well. Art hasn't sold so well for her there.

[Denis]

I'll have to ask Sarah for some more details. She's sold hats, dolls, wooden boxes, necklaces, earrings, etc that she's made, as well as some vintage items.

[Lightyear]

Thanks for the info guys.  Sounds like there's little risk so I expect her to give it a try.