I receive items from Amazon for review. Upwards of $10,000 a year. The problems I'm encountering:
Items that are defective or damaged - they're still on the 1099.
Items that were of such poor quality I could not review them - literally in the trash - they're still on the 1099.
Fair market value - American brands follow the rules. If it retails for $50, they give a fair market value of $40. The Chinese companies? They'll have the product "selling" for $200 with a 50% off coupon. The reported tax value is $200, yet it could be purchased for $100. A month later, it's selling for $50.
Most of the items have no warranty. I don't actually "own" them for 6 months. By the time that 6 months is here, literally half the products don't work or are selling for a lot less. We're not allowed to sell them, but can donate them. I donate about 80% to the local Goodwill and Salvation Army.
One example - I was sent a TV to review. Tax value was $1400 with a $600 coupon. By the time it arrived two weeks later it was selling for $700 without a coupon. It stopped working three weeks after I received it. No warranty and repair was not even an option on this off-brand Chinese TV. What would the tax value be? It was literally in the trash less than a month after I received it. Had I purchased it, I could have returned the item. It's still on the 1099 for $1400, although nobody ever paid that price.
