Done selling on eBay, they are demanding my social security number to sell

Why else would they want our SS#?

so they can report your income to the IRS. Until recently millions and millions of dollars of goods were sold through eBay and other sites without any sales tax being collected and without the profits being reported as income. The seller could easily run a business on eBay and evade paying any taxes. The buyer could avoid paying any sales tax.

That has changed now.

With managed payments, PayPal is out of the chain except if the buyer uses it for payment. eBay now manages all the payments including collecting the appropriate sales tax for each state from the buyer. I live in a state with no sales tax, however this came from eBay's site:  

"If you're required to charge sales tax, you can set up a tax table and apply it to your listings. We'll then add the tax to the buyer's total at checkout. You're responsible for paying the sales tax to the appropriate authority.

Contact a tax professional to determine whether you need to charge sales tax on your eBay sales, or if you have questions about any other taxes. We can't provide tax advice or guarantee that our sales tax features meet all tax requirements."

You can KEEP YOUR PAYPAL AND YOUR EPRAY and i won't be calling a Tax Professional for some old audio equipment that won't
be worth a nickel, while the crooks in the government steal from
the hard working citizens, think about it. you pay the taxes when you purchase the equipment and NOW you have to pay taxes to sell it too
WOW who's fooling who. I just love Craigslist let me see DOES FACEBOOK MARKET NEED YOU SS NUMBER TOO?

anybody that buys things and sells them for a profit has a potential tax liability. That's how business and tax systems work.  The seller has no tax liability unless they make a profit so you are incorrect.,  you don't "have to pay taxes when you sell it too" unless you are making a profit. 

In most states buyers are supposed to pay sales tax when they buy something. Doesn't matter if it is here or eBay or a local thrift shop or wherever.

There is nothing crooked about it. 

gmosley

Although I am not a Seller, I concur with your assessment. This "change" negates the whole internet business model per se.
Keep fighting the good fight!