Any Canadians reselling/investing as a primary source of income?

[lobo1969]

I just assume everyone is doing it 'part-time' , but if anyone is doing it out of their house on a full time basis it would interesting to hear from those individuals. I'm at the point where many months I gross more reselling only on eBay than I gross working my day job!

[Zender]

I do it just to pay for the stuff I keep but I have a good day job.

[lobo1969]

3 minutes ago, Zender said:

I do it just to pay for the stuff I keep but I have a good day job.

I'm sick of my day job, so I'm considering my options. :-?

[Sandwraith]

Mainly just to pay for my hobby and make a little extra money here. As much as i enjoy investing in LEGO; i can't help but feel an uncertainty in it's future. That and boxing/shipping/buying/dealing with buyers full time doesn't appeal too much to me, even though i too don't really enjoy my desk job.

[megahuts]

A couple of questions:

When you say gross, do you mean net after expenses AND taxes, or just overall dollar revenue?

Because the CRA would definitely want their cut, and you can't forget about the cost of goods sold.

Does the time you spend at your job prevent you from expanding your side business?

Quite simply, if you quit your job (I am assuming a 40 hour day job, please correct otherwise), will you be able to increase your sales by 3x (again, assuming you put 20 hrs a week into this).

Because, realistically, you are going to need to gross at least two times your current salary, just to have an after tax + expenses income comparable to your current income.

The other, really simple question, is can you buy enough Lego at a sufficient discount in your local area?

Depending on your answers to the above questions, you can see what the best choice is.

Also, one small question. How easy is it to get back into your industry after a break?

[lobo1969]

3 hours ago, megahuts said:

A couple of questions:

When you say gross, do you mean net after expenses AND taxes, or just overall dollar revenue?

Because the CRA would definitely want their cut, and you can't forget about the cost of goods sold.

Does the time you spend at your job prevent you from expanding your side business?

Quite simply, if you quit your job (I am assuming a 40 hour day job, please correct otherwise), will you be able to increase your sales by 3x (again, assuming you put 20 hrs a week into this).

Because, realistically, you are going to need to gross at least two times your current salary, just to have an after tax + expenses income comparable to your current income.

The other, really simple question, is can you buy enough Lego at a sufficient discount in your local area?

Depending on your answers to the above questions, you can see what the best choice is.

Also, one small question. How easy is it to get back into your industry after a break?

All your statements are valid and I have considered for sure, but as much I don't like my day job (I'm an IT prof) right now I'm not planning on leaving unless I'm in an impossible situation. I am looking to make changes but I would also would like to take my side business to the next level and am looking to get input from people who may be living the life of more or less a full time seller that is sustaining. 

[tacsniper]

I have a FT job but also incorporated for reselling online which I consider as my hobby. Once you decide to resell things for the purpose of making a profit, you are required to collect GST after your gross sales reaches $30,000 each year. FYI, CRA most likely requires market places like eBay and Amazon to provide them a list of sellers that reaches certain threshold where CRA determines its worth their time to do audit to make sure taxes are paid.

You should talk to an accountant to determine whether you should operate as a sole proprietor or incorporated.

[megahuts]

I have a FT job but also incorporated for reselling online which I consider as my hobby. Once you decide to resell things for the purpose of making a profit, you are required to collect GST after your gross sales reaches $30,000 each year. FYI, CRA most likely requires market places like eBay and Amazon to provide them a list of sellers that reaches certain threshold where CRA determines its worth their time to do audit to make sure taxes are paid.

You should talk to an accountant to determine whether you should operate as a sole proprietor or incorporated.

And one important thing. Even if you don't collect the GST from our buyers, you are still required to pay it... So eBay and Kijiji are out.

[gregpj]

16 minutes ago, megahuts said:

And one important thing. Even if you don't collect the GST from our buyers, you are still required to pay it... So eBay and Kijiji are out.

I don't see why you would say eBay and Kijiji are out? Plenty of businesses sell on eBay and "collect" GST and HST from buyers. Go to your "Account" / "Site Preferences" and under "Payment from Buyers" you can create a sales tax table to tax appropriately by province...

Of course, you could also just "absorb" the cost in your listings and pay accordingly (which is what you'd have to do on Kijiji or mention very clearly sales are taxable).

Some dude on eBay has written tons and tons about tax implications of all kinds for eBay. It would pretty much apply to selling on Amazon and Kijiji as well.
https://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/GST-HST-PST-and-INCOME-TAX-for-eBay-Sellers/td-p/280593

PS To anyone curious about whether eBay is required to disclose sales information to CRA, they are not due to privacy laws, but that doesn't mean the courts can't compel eBay to turn the information over. http://pages.ebay.ca/CRAinfo/

[tacsniper]

Which also means you are better off making copies of all your receipts and file them for 7 years in case. Yes it is a pain, but it will be a lot easier on you 6 years down the road if you get audit.

[jeff_14]

I have a good paying job but got into this one small step at a time. I had read articles about people in the Toronto area who were doing this full time and between my love of lego, comics, star wars, and having a son who's also interested in this stuff, I figured I had a good idea of what would be worth money, which was supported by my research into what some of my personal sets were worth if still in their sealed box. The eye opener for me was a few years ago when TRU had a promotion where you spend $35 on lego and get a free robin mini cycle polybag set. I ended up with 3 of these (one for me, 2 extra) and listed the extra 3 on ebay. I sold each for $65 CDN, which to my mind meant I got all the lego I had purchased for myself for free plus a little extra. So with all the trips to various toy sellers I was already making due to my and my son's interests, I started picking up sets whenever I saw them on discount and selling them after EOL. Now I am selling between $400-$800 worth of sets per month, and I figure close to half of that is profit.

I'm comfortable with the amount of time I put into this and don't feel like I'm really expending any extra time or money other than the time and costs of shipping since I'd be going to these stores anyway even if I wasn't reselling. Many of the sets I sell on Craigslist and Kijiji end up requiring nothing more than a short walk from my office to meet another office dweller since I work right by Union Station, which is surrounded by working parents with no convenient toy stores nearby. And there are lots of Canada Posts down here too so the Amazon sales also only require a short walk. I don't ever see myself giving up my job for this, but the side money is too good to pass up given the convenience. I can see myself doing this into my retirement years (which should still be decades away) as long as lego is still popular then. And even if it isn't, I expect kids who grew up with it when it was popular will want more sets when they're grown up like me.

My short term goals are to start buying more of the bigger sets soon, like the modulars and ultimate sets. I have a lot of them for my personal collection but just bought my first one for resale last week - the Ewok village with double VIP points plus the Ninjago giveaway. I have been pleasantly surprised with how much can be made with even the small $20-$50 sets. I can get these for 40%-50% off during clearance or other promotions from Walmart or Supercentre a few times a year, which makes reselling easier. I have never had a problem selling these kinds of sets fro the MSRP after EOL as parents will happily pay that price (and no tax) for something that can't be found, and they won't feel ripped off by paying less than the after tax price. And I get close to a 100% return at that price, which is often after only a very short turn around as I find a lot of those discounts happen right before a set goes EOL. 

When I was young, my friends and I dreamed of selling our comics for profit. That never panned out, but ironically I am now making money selling lego based on the comics I used to read. What a world.

 

Edited March 16, 2016 by jeff_14

[jonkiller]

But i need to know how much gross sale before amazon send infos to cra? I'm not collecting any taxes at this time! I have talk to amazon support but they don't have the info! And for paypal how much?

 

thanks

[Zelgazra]

I believe the advice given when you asked this same question in the other thread, was go talk to a certified accountant rather than asking "the internet". What "the internet" said will not protect you in court. 

[gregpj]

But i need to know how much gross sale before amazon send infos to cra? I'm not collecting any taxes at this time! I have talk to amazon support but they don't have the info! And for paypal how much?

 

thanks

I don't believe either Amazon or Paypal will report your sales to revenue Canada. Since you are just a small "business," it is your responsibility to report.

Have you read that thread I linked to earlier? I'm sure it had all that info... But as Z said, if in doubt spend the hundred bucks to speak with an accountant.

[YYZ]

Hi fellow Canadians,

I just have a couple of extra small items for sale like extra promo sets or polybags. Would you recommend I just try to sell these on Kijiji? Or would that just limit the potential buyers? For example, I have an extra toys r us minifigures set from their brickoctber promo. 

Also, do you find its better return to sell to Canadians because of less shipping costs?

Clearly, I am a newbie at this selling anything online and I'm trying to read up on the articles but I am wondering if there are special Canadian experiences and advices that you can share.

Thanks!

[gregpj]

Hi fellow Canadians,
I just have a couple of extra small items for sale like extra promo sets or polybags. Would you recommend I just try to sell these on Kijiji? Or would that just limit the potential buyers? For example, I have an extra toys r us minifigures set from their brickoctber promo. 
Also, do you find its better return to sell to Canadians because of less shipping costs?
Clearly, I am a newbie at this selling anything online and I'm trying to read up on the articles but I am wondering if there are special Canadian experiences and advices that you can share.
Thanks!

It's free to post on Kijiji and this is a wonderful time of the year to post polybags. Parents are always looking for stocking stuffers.

The rest of the year? You'll get more action selling on eBay or Amazon buy Kijiji is always free so I always try to keep a few active listings and just let them ride.