Selling on eBay? Keep an Eye on Gains

By Charles Delafuente

EBAY and other Web sites have transformed the neighborhood garage sale into a never-ending global auction, vastly expanding the number of potential buyers. The market for a Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card is no longer limited to the kids on the block — nor is the price determined by what those kids are able to pay.

Higher prices and greater profits, in turn, mean increased income tax liability for sellers, at least in theory. In practice, though, the I.R.S. is interested in enforcing the rules for high-volume sellers, not for people who occasionally sell personal items of limited value.

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