Tax Questions for Sellers (Schedule C)

[glchen]

I started selling cards for the first time last year, mostly via ebay (and some BST here, and am planning on using GSB in the future). I'm working on my taxes and am filling out schedule C for the first time, and have some questions. If this thread is not appropriate for this board, please delete it.

(1) For type of business (Line B at the top), would this be: 454112 Electronic Auctions?

(2) For revenue (Part I, line 1), I assume I exclude any sales tax paid to me by buyers (which I then pay to the state). Is this correct? Basically, I'm assuming that I do not need to put sales tax paid to me anywhere on my return.

(3) If I buy an item meant for resale, but then return it with a restocking fee, is there a particular line that is meant to handle this loss? For example, if I purchase an item for $100 but only receive $80 refund for it, is there a particular line that I put this loss on?

(4) Similarly, if I bought a card, but later find it is deemed worthless (e.g., because the card was not authentic), is there a line that I can write off this loss?

(5) If I lose/damage a card, is there a line to write off this loss? I'm not sure if (3-5) can just be grouped under separate line items in line 27 / Part V?

(6) For purchases under Part III, Cost of Goods Sold, line 36, I assume that this means any items (purchased for resale) that I purchased in 2010, and would include both items I sold in 2010 and items not sold (but placed in inventory). Is this correct?

(7) I assume under line 39, Other Costs for Cost of Goods Sold, I can put the costs of sending the cards to TPG's for grading / authentication. Is this correct?

(8) Finally, for checkbox 32a/b, the question is whether "All investment is at risk" or "Some investment is not at risk." Is it correct to check that all
investment is at risk? Although I don't expect all of my cards to go to 0, all of my cards can decrease in value from the price that I purchased them at. Is this the correct reasoning.

Again, thanks for any help here. I called the IRS on Friday night to ask some of my questions, and was on hold for 3-1/2 hours. I talked to them for 5 minutes, and then my call dropped. Crazy.