Thanks I appreciate it, I think what your saying is if you offer free shipping then you can deduct C.O.G.S because it was an expense to you, since I am eating the cost of the shipping, and my receipts clearly show $-5.50 shipping (cost to me), directly taken from my profit according to the receipt of sale. I don't see how it matters if it was built into the total cost of the item price or not, it's still an expense to me as a necessary and ordinary part of doing business, so deduct through C.O.G.S
In the case of buyer paid shipping, buyer pays for shipping, my receipts show, shipping cost $0.00 (to me) but Mercari STILL reports those shipping costs from my sales to the IRS, even if it's the (customer) paying for it, so it's still sent to the IRS as total income. So it's actually the same thing, both count towards my gross un-adjusted income. Therefore my question: Can you deduct C.O.G.S in both cases. Thanks!
