Bottom line is this:
Losses on the sale of personal property are never deductible and never have been. Since you were not self-employed with your own business at the time of the sale, you have no losses to claim.
Generally, even a sole proprietorship has to register as such at the county/city/township level. So if you didn't do that, you can not prove that you were self-employed and "in the business" of buying and re-selling product.
