Pitching at Flea Markets

[afarlow]

Magicman, let me see if I can help you.

I'm new to this forum, this is my first post, so excuse me if I step on toes or something. I don't mean to.

Just so you know, I have been selling at flea markets and other venues since 1996. I travel extensively throughout the United States.

Regarding resale licenses/tax permits (they are called different names in different states but they all mean one thing: the state wants you to be their sales tax collector): to be completely legit, you should have a New York permit for selling in New York as well as a New Jersey permit for selling in New Jersey.

Most flea markets are pretty informal affairs. The office takes your money and you get a space to set up in. They don't want to know your name or see your driver's license or if you have a state resale license or not. They just don't care.

In my opinion, the vast majority of flea market vendors have never ever applied for a state resale license and don't intend to, even though they've been selling at the same market for more than twenty years. It's all unreported income and quite frankly the only way the state will ever catch on is if they actually send a revenue officer around to check everyone for resale permits. What state today has the resources to do that? How many flea markets are there in any particular state? Thousands!

If you really want to find out if you need to get a resale/tax permit or not, just go to the flea market and ask around. Some vendors won't talk about it while others will, but it's not something they want to flash around, if you know what I mean.

Now as to the implications for your business. Don't you already have a resale permit for your business?

Having a resale permit is good if you want to purchase goods from wholesale companies that want to keep a copy of your permit on file (ie. covering their asses). But many, many wholesalers never ask if you have a resale permit, so take that for what it is. I order many thousands of dollars of brand new merchandise every year from companies that have never once asked if I have a resale permit or not. They only charge me sales tax if they ship it to an address within the same state they are located in.

If you actually get caught selling at a flea market without a resale permit, it will only effect your business if they find out about your business. The only reason you would need to link your business to your flea market sales is if you want to deduct the space rent as a business expense. Or do you plan to advertise your business at the flea market?

Again, what are the chances that a revenue officer will check permits at the flea market? I'd say slim to none and Slim just left town, but if you want to play it safe and be legit, get the permits and send the state something when you're supposed to.

In some cases vendors can sell under the sales permit of that individual flea market, placing the sales tax into an envelope and turning it in to the office at the end of each day. The office then sends it to the state and all is good.

Many vendors who have gone out of the way to get a tax permit will just send the state something to keep them happy. It will be outrageously off from the real figures (assuming the vendor even keeps track of the figures), but it keeps the state out of their hair and they can sleep better at night.

If you sell different products, there is no way the state can ever tell exactly how much money you made (and how much sales tax you owe the state) unless they were standing there watching you every minute of the day.

I sell more than one hundred different products. They all have set prices, but that doesn't mean anything. Someone might ask if I can accept less and depending on my mood, I might say sure and give them a couple bucks off. Or someone might come in and buy a large amount of goods from me, more than the average person, and I'll throw something in for free to make them happy and maybe turn them into a repeat buyer. Certain items that just don't sell anymore, I may just begin giving them away for free with each sale.

Do I write this down? Of course not. Do you realize how much trouble that would be for me? I'm usually so busy it's all I can do to stand there and take their money, make change and say thanks. It's not like flea market vendors bring their own cash registers.

But if you really want to be 100% above-board with the revenue office, get a permit for every state you sell in and keep detailed records of each and every transaction.

And watch a lot of your buyers set the merchandise back down and walk away because they don't feel like waiting for you to get done writing in your book...

I don't know about you, but there's only one reason I show up: to make as much money as I can, and that means taking care of my customers as fast as I can. Get their money, give them their change, say thank you and get them out of the way.

Many vendors have even dollar prices on their goods because it's better than trying to figure out the sales tax for each sale. Just say the tax is included in the price. That makes things a lot easier for you to add up. And as said above, just send the state something to keep them happy.

Send New Jersey theirs and send New York theirs, if you get the respective permits and if/when you make sales in each state.

Selling at fairs? You'll need a resale permit. They will ask for it. But at flea markets? Most likely not.