Amazon Vine Program

[mark40511]

So I get this email from Amazon..It says I've been invited to join the Amazon Vine program..(never heard of it).. It said I was chosen because I have written some insightful and comprehensive reviews...I have written some reviews but they are very few and far between..

so I accepted the invitation to see what it was and it wanted me to fill out an I9 form (which I did) because I just wanted to see what it was all about..so now I'm signed up...so I head over to youtube to try to figure out what it's about..Come to find out, if you're in the USA, sure, you see an item you want, request it be sent to you (for free) but the IRS considers that income? Seriously? So amazon sends me an air cleaner filter for free that's $35, the IRS looks at that as if I earned $35 dollars?? That is the STUPIDEST thing I've ever heard

I'm not 100% sure...but I think if you stay $600 or under for a year you're OK... Of course, this is only in the USA... Other countries don't have to worry about that part of it..

I'm just curious if anyone else has done this? I hope it's OK to post this here...since it's Amazon and products related, etc.

 

[oreck_xl]

I wanted to become a "Vine Voice!!!"

I only found out about the program by purchasing an item through eBay that the seller got as a "Vine Voice." I didn't realize though that you had to fill out a tax form. So, in the end, even something FREE costs money. It may be cumulative, so if you get alot of $35.00 items which total over $600. for the year, you probably will have to pay something.

 

[human]

$600

I know it's cumulative when you sell on eBay now. The first $600 is tax-free, and then they send you a 1099 for anything over and above that. If you buy things to resell, you can deduct your cost from what you're selling, so you're paying tax only on your profit. This is what has stopped me from selling off stuff my dad's toy collection, as it was given to me to sell. It was a nice side hustle when the trigger point was $20,000, but now that it's $600, what's the point? Between eBay seller fees, PayPal fees, etc., there's no meat left on the bone for me.