PayPal Friends & Family listings. Why is this becoming so common?

I've purchased several items with f&f with no issues.

I've now started asking buyers to use PayPal F&F or bank check, or even personal check (ships when cleared), not just because of the PayPal fees, but also because the new rules compel PayPal to generate a 1099 form, which complicates things enormously where I live. If it were only my federal/state  tax return I had to worry about, it wouldn't be that big an issue because I can document the purchase price if the item compared to the price it sold for (usually half or less of retail). But in my city, they now require us to get a business license and pay tax on the GROSS income amount for any 1099 amount in excess of $600, calling this a home-based business. That's kind of the final straw for me. 

What o you get for those home base taxes? 

@jafant

The bigger issue in all of this, is that, the scumbag (D) party. made the IRS and Tax changes.

Some people prefer to curse and complain - while having absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.

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South Dakota vs Wayfair - U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the national online sales tax.

5:4 decision. 4 conservative justices + 1 liberal justice voted for the online sales tax.       3 liberal justices + 1 conservative justice voted against the online sales tax.

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- Request for a national online sales tax filed by a Republican state, South Dakota.

- Argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court during Trump’s administration in 2018.

- Here’s Trump’s tweet in favor of the national sales tax ruling.

Big Supreme Court win on internet sales tax - about time! Big victory for fairness and for our country. Great victory for consumers and retailers.

Another thing to consider: Venmo is secure in the sense that buyers cannot stop or reverse payments, so once it's in your Venmo it's good as cash.

Except when it's not. There's a loophole that goes like this: if - and only if - the Venmo transaction was backed by a credit card and the cardholder disputes the charge with his card's issuer, that dispute takes precedence over Venmo's own T&Cs, and Venmo will reverse the payment (could be one or two months after the fact) and take the money out of your account while the dispute is being investigated. Then the card issuer may or may not find in your favor, and if they don't then you're out the money.

It can happen with Paypal too, because (a) this loophole is based on federal regulation so it applies to all payment providers, and (b) PayPal itself mentions it, however opaquely, in the T&Cs of its buyer protection program.

tt does not matter whether the disputed transaction took place under Goods and Services or Friends and Family.

It would not necessarily be fraud, it could just be a dispute over the goods sold. But the process is kind of onerous, so if you've sold something for $200 you're most likely safe.

What I know is based on experience that's two years old. Rules may or may not have changed since.