Making money stealth way...to be blunt, is it...

celebrityphotos4you · #1 03-17-2016

simply that going back to eBay with stealth, you should under no circumstances try to have over $20,000 sales in one account because you don't want to go to that threshold because of sales being given to the IRS?

In other words, there is no way going back to the powerseller who makes $3K or $5K per month. Now the way to go, for example, is to have 5 of 6 eBay accounts that make $15K-$17K per year.

The reason I ask is I used to be one of those eBay accounts that would make 60K net per year (over 100K gross), but now that I have to go stealth, I can't do things in my own name

cmbhuy · #2 03-17-2016

You can apply for a LLC and get a EIN and do everything within a Business Name and you wouldn't have to go completely stealth.
you could also create a second LLC with your first LLC to further distance you from your real details if you're paranoid ?

JamesNorth101 · #3 03-17-2016

So long as you use an EIN you can go over the threshold without an issue

celebrityphotos4you · #4 03-18-2016

But how do you do an EIN if you have a stealth name and stealth address? The EIN won't match your name.

phaz0rz · #5 03-18-2016

When you upgrade to a business paypal account and supply your EIN, you only provide the EIN + the business name. The IRS does not share any of your personal info with Paypal.

I have a few EIN stealth's which gross $20k+ per month, way better than I ever did with my personal account back in the day.

Don't you worry, celebrityphotos4you. The earning potential for stealth accounts is unlimited. Just make sure you operate like a business once you upgrade to a business account, because you will be expected to file taxes for your EIN.

rsot · #6 03-18-2016

Always smart to spread risk over several accounts

shani1212 · #7 03-18-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

When you upgrade to a business paypal account and supply your EIN, you only provide the EIN + the business name. The IRS does not share any of your personal info with Paypal.

I have a few EIN stealth's which gross $20k+ per month, way better than I ever did with my personal account back in the day.

Don't you worry, celebrityphotos4you. The earning potential for stealth accounts is unlimited. Just make sure you operate like a business once you upgrade to a business account, because you will be expected to file taxes for your EIN.

" When you upgrade to a business paypal account and supply your EIN, you only provide the EIN + the business name. The IRS does not share any of your personal info with Paypal"

Doesn't PayPal required you to put SS #, along with your EIN # when you upgrade PayPal account to Business account?. Thanks

yankee · #8 03-18-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by shani1212

" When you upgrade to a business paypal account and supply your EIN, you only provide the EIN + the business name. The IRS does not share any of your personal info with Paypal"

Doesn't PayPal required you to put SS #, along with your EIN # when you upgrade PayPal account to Business account?. Thanks

no.

They have been asking for the last 4. just add the last 4 of the EIN.

shani1212 · #9 03-18-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by yankee

no.

They have been asking for the last 4. just add the last 4 of the EIN.

Thanks, Yankee

celebrityphotos4you · #10 03-18-2016

Where's the link to the business who'll set up LLC's in Nevada for the lowest cost?

phaz0rz · #11 03-19-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by celebrityphotos4you

Where's the link to the business who'll set up LLC's in Nevada for the lowest cost?

That would be you yourself. Just go to IRS.gov and apply for an EIN.

Afterwards, for Nevada, you will need to go to https://nvsilverflume.gov/home and file articles of incorporation.

It's a fairly simple process and there shouldn't be any need for you to hire anyone, unless you just want to for peace of mind.

slokor · #12 03-19-2016

The benefits of being a Powerseller or are far fewer than those of having multiple accounts - in my opinion.
Each account attracts less attention as a result of selling fewer items with a total amount being far lower. Less attention equals less problems in my book.
And if one account gets into trouble all the rest are still running.
Even financially speaking its better if youre not a big fan of reporting this sort of income.

celebrityphotos4you · #13 03-20-2016

I understand people running multiple accounts (even 10+)

but the thought of having one Ebay account / one PayPal account spread across let's say even 5 accounts (5 ebay acounts/5 paypal accounts) which means 5 different bank accounts.

Sounds overwhelming for a guy like me who's not too organized.

rsot · #14 03-20-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by celebrityphotos4you

I understand people running multiple accounts (even 10+)

but the thought of having one Ebay account / one PayPal account spread across let's say even 5 accounts (5 ebay acounts/5 paypal accounts) which means 5 different bank accounts.

Sounds overwhelming for a guy like me who's not too organized.

You'll get there - just takes time

yankee · #15 03-20-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by celebrityphotos4you

I understand people running multiple accounts (even 10+)

but the thought of having one Ebay account / one PayPal account spread across let's say even 5 accounts (5 ebay acounts/5 paypal accounts) which means 5 different bank accounts.

Sounds overwhelming for a guy like me who's not too organized.

10 accounts is not very many to be honest. Sometimes I use more than that in a day.

My suggestion is quite simply this, get organized. Not very hard to jot down, name address, telephone number, etc... in a notebook to start. Next step is keeping everything online. When I was buying accounts I just left the details in this forums PM system.

Start with one account, then add another next week. Then the week after add another. It really is not very tricky once you take action.

jack702 · #16 03-28-2016

Question...

If I want to attach my LLC EIN to paypal, but I want to have 4-5 accounts at least, then what are my best methods? I would like to stay under 20k per account if that was possible but it is not. I need to file and pay my taxes.

last year i did over 800k in sales and that would've taken 40-50 accounts. Not even going to try that!

So my question is will I need 5 different EIN's to run 5 accounts?

phaz0rz · #17 03-28-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by jack702

Question...

If I want to attach my LLC EIN to paypal, but I want to have 4-5 accounts at least, then what are my best methods? I would like to stay under 20k per account if that was possible but it is not. I need to file and pay my taxes.

last year i did over 800k in sales and that would've taken 40-50 accounts. Not even going to try that!

So my question is will I need 5 different EIN's to run 5 accounts?

Yes, it's as simple as that.

If you really grossed $800k last year then paying $2500 per year to maintain registrations for your businesses should be chump change to you..

jack702 · #18 03-28-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Yes, it's as simple as that.

If you really grossed $800k last year then paying $2500 per year to maintain registrations for your businesses should be chump change to you..

Yes I really did but...

COGS are high, competition is fierce, ebay and paypal fees add up quick and I pay a helper, business warehouse space, etc. Costs really do add up quicker than I like and 800k+ was my best gross sales ever. This year I'm expecting a big drop especially with losing my Top Rated account. Should've had backups in place but was forever lazy about doing it. Kept hoping this time would never come.

Now I see the costs of running all the separate accounts. Separate EINs, multiple addresses ( not free ), more time managing the accounts, buying the accounts initially, fee for VPNs.

It is pretty depressing starting all over.

Thanks for your help and clarification.

newjerseymax · #19 03-28-2016

I prefer to add EIN and stay below the limit. Found out that often when I reach 5-6K they begin to ask for EIN..... Rather just have it on there and stay more like $19,000 a year

jack702 · #20 03-28-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by newjerseymax

I prefer to add EIN and stay below the limit. Found out that often when I reach 5-6K they begin to ask for EIN..... Rather just have it on there and stay more like $19,000 a year

nice IF I could do that, but really not feasible for the volume we were selling - and where we want to get back to eventually but this time a lot more spread out.

phaz0rz · #21 03-28-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by newjerseymax

I prefer to add EIN and stay below the limit. Found out that often when I reach 5-6K they begin to ask for EIN..... Rather just have it on there and stay more like $19,000 a year

Doesn't it begin to look suspicious when you register an EIN and years later haven't filed taxes for it yet?

@jack702 - It will take you time to build up to where you want to be since your income has taken a dive, but it's possible. Streamline your business and maximize profits, that's what I focus on. If you were to print all of your postage in one place (stamps.com/endicia), there would be no need for maintaining multiple addresses. Plus you could possibly get access to commercial plus pricing by printing postage for all accounts in one place. Consider looking into registering businesses in other (cheaper) states like Newjerseymax suggested.

I employ a full time helper and I'm involved with a few fiercely competitive niches, and I'm still doing alright. Having multiple EIN accounts will take your business to the next level. Multiply that 800k by however many good accounts you set up this year.

You can do it!

jack702 · #22 03-28-2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

Doesn't it begin to look suspicious when you register an EIN and years later haven't filed taxes for it yet?

@jack702 - It will take you time to build up to where you want to be since your income has taken a dive, but it's possible. Streamline your business and maximize profits, that's what I focus on. If you were to print all of your postage in one place (stamps.com/endicia), there would be no need for maintaining multiple addresses. Plus you could possibly get access to commercial plus pricing by printing postage for all accounts in one place. Consider looking into registering businesses in other (cheaper) states like Newjerseymax suggested.

I employ a full time helper and I'm involved with a few fiercely competitive niches, and I'm still doing alright. Having multiple EIN accounts will take your business to the next level. Multiply that 800k by however many good accounts you set up this year.

You can do it!

Thank you again. I knew I was running a big risk by not having any backup accounts to fall back on. Never will I be this unprepared again! eBay kept nit picking at this top rated seller account until they could finally put the big kabosh on me.

One more important question.

If I buy the best accounts available 1k/25k limits, how slow should I start off selling? Like how many items? Is it a good idea to keep accounts selling the same type of items rather than a big variance? We sold a lot of variance and thought it might be easier to let one account specialize in this, and another specialize in that.

Thanks for your help and encouragement.

My other worry of running a stealth account is the 21 day holds and what if ebay/pp ever ask for photo ID? I won't be able to provide that???