Garage Sale Honesty

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sherrick13

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In this case it would be capital gains. If it's income then you're in the business. What you have to report though depends on a lot of different factors. If you're to the point where an accountant would advise you to self report because you have obvious unexplained income, then you're way over the line with the ATF, too. To generate that kind of money from guns you would have to be selling multiple guns a day likely.
And that would apply to selling anything. Totally unrelated to guns
 

VarmintHunter59

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Thought this was too good to pass up. The wife and I decided to have a garage sale today. Inadvertently I put out some firearm related items like ammo cans and an optic for sale which signaled some folks to ask if I had any guns/ammo for sale.

One person in particular approached and asked, so I brought out the firearms I was selling. We chat, he asks what I want for them one by one, making various facial expressions as he inspects them, and then moving on to the next one.

After he checked out all of the firearms he looks me dead in the eyes and says that firearm A and B are good prices but that firearm C is way too much. He then says "at that price, I can't make any money on it, that's just how it is, you know?" Then, without any response on my part, he hands me it back, tells me how he buys guns all over the place and shops hundreds of garage sales, and leaves.

Not sure if I should be offended if someone says the quiet part out loud or if I should be thankful for his honesty

Sometimes the best deals you make are the ones you don't make!
 

JR777

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And that would apply to selling anything. Totally unrelated to guns
Absolutely. It could be baseball cards and if you're driving around in a Mercedes you can't explain then the tax man is going to start asking questions.

In the case of guns, though, if the IRS had a case against you for unclaimed income, that would certainly be a slam dunk reason for the ATF to go after someone for dealing without a license. Again, though, with the tiny little profits you get on gun sales, and the amount of leg work flipping guns requires, you would have to be doing it full time to generate that much money. Most bonafide gun stores don't even make a living off their guns. They're just the candy to lure people in to buy the accessories. I think that's why you don't really hear about hobbyists going to jail for dealing without a license. To claim dealing they have to show income, and boy if that's not a hard thing to come by in the gun business.
 

JD8

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The ATF has actually been very consistent when it comes to the braces. A lot of manufacturers just massaged the truth a little, and some straight up lied. And even then, it's not like they started arresting people. Even the manufacturers who straight up lied got a pass, despite the ATF having them dead to rights for having sold lots of unregistered SBRs, technically.

Yeah, that's just not true and it's strange to see someone say that the ATF is consistent on this board LOL.

We go from "brace is ok"..... "but don't shoulder it"..... "nah, you can shoulder it"..... the latest?..... the brace is ok if it's...."objectively designed and intended as a “stabilizing brace” for use by individuals with disabilities, and not for shouldering the weapon as a rifle. Such stabilizing braces are designed to conform to the arm and not as a buttstock."

Sorry but the facts just aren't in your favor on that one.
 

JR777

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Yeah, that's just not true and it's strange to see someone say that the ATF is consistent on this board LOL.

We go from "brace is ok"..... "but don't shoulder it"..... "nah, you can shoulder it"..... the latest?..... the brace is ok if it's...."objectively designed and intended as a “stabilizing brace” for use by individuals with disabilities, and not for shouldering the weapon as a rifle. Such stabilizing braces are designed to conform to the arm and not as a buttstock."

Sorry but the facts just aren't in your favor on that one.
The ATF approved a very few braces very early on, as part of a specific complete pistol. They never just blanket approved them as was claimed by some manufacturers. This whole thing was 100% predictable from the beginning. And again, nobody got charged with anything, despite technically committing a crime.

You do you man. If you don't think it's safe to buy and sell guns as a hobby then don't. I'm certainly no lawyer. But don't say we didn't warn you on the brace issue and somehow make that out to be comparable to a little horse trading now and again. The two things aren't even remotely on the same planet.
 

JD8

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The ATF approved a very few braces very early on, as part of a specific complete pistol. They never just blanket approved them as was claimed by some manufacturers. This whole thing was 100% predictable from the beginning. And again, nobody got charged with anything, despite technically committing a crime.

You do you man. If you don't think it's safe to buy and sell guns as a hobby then don't. I'm certainly no lawyer. But don't say we didn't warn you on the brace issue and somehow make that out to be comparable to a little horse trading now and again. The two things aren't even remotely on the same planet.

You're all over the place on this one. I just said the ATF was inconsistent, the facts of their statements, rulings, and proposals show this is true. Apologizing for them because they haven't yet kicked in any doors on the matter, is a very interesting argument, you sure you want to go down that rabbit hole?
 

JR777

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You're all over the place on this one. I just said the ATF was inconsistent, the facts of their statements, rulings, and proposals show this is true. Apologizing for them because they haven't yet kicked in any doors on the matter, is a very interesting argument, you sure you want to go down that rabbit hole?
I'm not apologizing for anyone, least of all the ATF, but there's a very huge difference between these two things. The brace people knowingly and intentionally poked the bear. Initially for political reasons, then for profit, and they hooked a bunch of gullible people into believing their nonsense. They put words in the ATF's mouth and made baseless claims about the legality of their products when the scant ATF documents on the matter said otherwise. The ATF said from the VERY beginning, and never reversed course, that brace X was approved in the configuration as it was submitted, but may not be deemed legal in another configuration. They knew they were being baited, so they baited a trap of their own. Again, this was all very predictable.

Buying, selling, and trading guns as a hobby, to enhance one's own personal collection, is and always has been 100% legal. Period, end of story. And like I keep saying, if you're making enough profit for them to show unexplained income, which is an essential part of any potential case they might build against someone, you're pretty much by definition doing it as a job. It's not like you're going to buy and sell a few guns a month in your spare time and somehow generate anything that could be construed as income from that. At least not consistently.

This is a non issue that everyone is freaking out about. Of all the things the ATF might pinch someone for, this is probably by far the last thing that would take a person by surprise.
 

Jack Johnson

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The ATF is knowingly abusing it's authority, it was never supposed to make or interpret law, that's for congress and the courts. The ATF is only an enforcer of law. Any other act is purely unconstitutional, that's why there is a house bill before congress to do away with the ATF entirely as we post. I'm sure it won't pass during this term, but man, just think if 2022 roles around and the conservatives get a little payback. I could see Rep. Green and some other great congressmen and senators dismantling the ATF and repealing the NFA. What a world that would be....
 
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