utility prices

 

It looks like electricity is up 31%, and natural gas 50%.

Health care was only up like 3% lol

Where I think many overlook that, is if the employer maintained their % of the contribution. Often times they lower it over time, such as the last 10 years (for example our house doubled in the 2020 assessment and taxes went up < $25/yr.--BUT the county taxes went up 7%, while school and township taxes actually went down).

Good thing my annual raise and bonus more than covers the above.

p.s.--that was sarcasm!

Medicare Part B is going up 14.1% next year

Looks like Medicare Part B is taking a big jump next year due to Congress keeping the increase low last year and the fact that they are going to start covering an Alzheimer’s drug that costs over $50,000 a year. This is a drug that testing has been inconclusive on and when it was approved, three members of the panel quit in protest.

--
With God, all things are possible. ——State motto of the Great State of Ohio

Back in early summer, locked

Back in early summer, locked in an electrical supply rate of 6.09¢/kwh from https://energyharbor.com . This is about .5-1¢/kwh than the utility. Their best rate now is 7.59¢/kwh. It's a 3 year agreement with no etf. Figure it should save about $70-100/yr, maybe more if they keep raising the rate. That's the best supply rate i've seen in quite some time.

Current util rate is 7.277¢/kwh so this third party supplier would not be a good idea at this time.

Wish I could get a good deal on nat gas prices.. They're crazy high. SO much so that we're keeping the thermostat at 67 during winter (chicago), vs 68-69 as in prior years.

Edit. Gas prices are 68¢/therm now... a year ago, 23 cents!

VOTE

And there is nothing we can do about it.

I Just Locked In $0.599/Therm Price For Natural Gas

About this time last year I entered into a one-year contract with my natural gas marketer at the rate of $0.449/therm that ends 12/01/2021. The current price for natural gas to re-up a one-year contract with my current marketer is $0.669/therm so I searched around to find a better price.

A couple of days ago I entered into a new 2-year contract to begin on 12/01/2021 with a different natural gas marketer at the rate of $0.599/therm.

Two months ago natural gas prices were a lot less expensive but most natural gas marketers in Georgia are currently in the range of $0.72/therm for a one-year contract price according to the mailers I've been getting in the mail and Internet searches.

Moderation

Please revisit the forum posting rules & refrain from posting opinions that name specific politicians or follow specific party lines.

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/28855

I haven't really looked at

I haven't really looked at my electricity bill in awhile due to autopay. But wow it went up! Gotta quit using these high power GPUs

that's

zx1100e1 wrote:

Back in early summer, locked in an electrical supply rate of 6.09¢/kwh from https://energyharbor.com . This is about .5-1¢/kwh than the utility. Their best rate now is 7.59¢/kwh. It's a 3 year agreement with no etf. Figure it should save about $70-100/yr, maybe more if they keep raising the rate. That's the best supply rate i've seen in quite some time.

Current util rate is 7.277¢/kwh so this third party supplier would not be a good idea at this time.

Wish I could get a good deal on nat gas prices.. They're crazy high. SO much so that we're keeping the thermostat at 67 during winter (chicago), vs 68-69 as in prior years.

Edit. Gas prices are 68¢/therm now... a year ago, 23 cents!

What I locked at, 7.6 cents for 12 mos no ETF, higher than the local which is 7.
0x. Why...well the local is only good until 2/28/22.

This summer, however, I was at 5.6 so I guess I wasn't looking to increase my charges during peak, and actually, not even thinking about it...in reality no matter how it's sliced we're talking about $3/mo....I do care as the % stands out...

If prices rise, I'll be better off as you are when you made your switch, if prices fall, I'll switch before summer...

Bad Decisions Leading to Higher Energy Costs

Just a couple of years ago the US had an abundance of energy and was not dependent on outside sources for it. Now pipelines have been shut down and oil production has lessened resulting in higher costs for energy and fuel. Now when you go to the store, food is at least 30% higher and many other items have risen in costs due to the higher price of fuel. There is enough oil and energy in the US to make the country self-sufficient, but it is not being utilized properly. Most of the people in the US who are not getting a hand out are paying the price by having to dig deeper in their pockets in order to buy needed consumables.

I wonder which bad decisions you are talking about

panama wrote:

Just a couple of years ago the US had an abundance of energy and was not dependent on outside sources for it. Now pipelines have been shut down and oil production has lessened resulting in higher costs for energy and fuel. Now when you go to the store, food is at least 30% higher and many other items have risen in costs due to the higher price of fuel. There is enough oil and energy in the US to make the country self-sufficient, but it is not being utilized properly. Most of the people in the US who are not getting a hand out are paying the price by having to dig deeper in their pockets in order to buy needed consumables.

I wonder which bad decisions you are talking about. The world-wide price of petroleum is indeed high. Is it the OPEC cartel? The rumors (now policy discussion) of the US dipping into the petroleum reserves instantly affected world oil prices.

In Southern California

we are reducing our power costs by taking advantage of our particular circumstances. The power company offers a plan that charges more for power between 4PM and 9PM, but less for power at all other hours.

We live within a mile of the ocean, so we almost never turn on air conditioning and our power usage is low from 4PM to 9PM. At night my wife, who is VERY cold-blooded, runs a couple of space heaters in the bedroom while the rest of the house is unheated. The variable rate plan saves US money compared to the flat rate plan, although it might not work for other people elsewhere.

- Tom -

--
XXL540, GO LIVE 1535, GO 620

Solar Panels.

I have a fairly large unshaded roof span on the SW side of my house. I may consider having some solar panels put on next summer.

--
Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

This thread prompted me to

This thread prompted me to research 3rd party gas suppliers. I'm happy to report I found a good deal with energyharbor.com. 56.9¢/therm for 4 years fixed, no etf. Im hopeful rates will drop sooner than that, but at least for the short term i'll be paying less than the 68¢/therm the utility is charging.

This is the same company we've had as electrical supplier for the last 2 years, currently at 6.09¢/kwh for 3 years from July of this year. Beats the 7.2-7.7¢/kwh util is charging.

Heating oil in Maine

Maine, which relies heavily on heating oil, is really struggling with heating oil prices. Last week, the average cost of heating oil in Maine was $3.16 per gallon according to the governor's office. Last year, it was $1.90. They are forecasting that heating oil prices will increase to almost $3.50 per gallon by next year. That folks, is inflation.

--
With God, all things are possible. ——State motto of the Great State of Ohio

Really?

minke wrote:

I wonder which bad decisions you are talking about.

That would be the decisions of the current administration. You know, the "New Green Deal" one...

--
nüvi 3790T | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable ~ JFK

How did that affect ...

Juggernaut wrote:
minke wrote:

I wonder which bad decisions you are talking about.

That would be the decisions of the current administration. You know, the "New Green Deal" one...

Perhaps you can help me to understand. I don't wish to make my request onerous. What I'm hoping for are simple answers and hopefully I can jump thru hoops myself to fill in the blanks.

Has the Green New Deal started yet? What has already changed? How did that affect the worldwide price of petroleum?

interesting

zx1100e1 wrote:

This thread prompted me to research 3rd party gas suppliers. I'm happy to report I found a good deal with energyharbor.com. 56.9¢/therm for 4 years fixed, no etf. Im hopeful rates will drop sooner than that, but at least for the short term i'll be paying less than the 68¢/therm the utility is charging.

This is the same company we've had as electrical supplier for the last 2 years, currently at 6.09¢/kwh for 3 years from July of this year. Beats the 7.2-7.7¢/kwh util is charging.

Not sure if we can lock that long in PA, I've never seen greater than 12 months. Like anything else, normally, there is a risk factor incorporated into long term agreements (just like interest rates). With most of the agreements not having a etf or monthly fee, I would be willing to take that rate if it were available...

I periodically check rates

I periodically check rates for electricity too. We were at 6.59 or 6.69¢/kwh since june of 2020. I happened to be looking at rates for whatever reason back in july and saw the 6.09¢/kwh. Put the request in right away to get switched over. That was for a 3 yr term.

I don't think the locale dictates the term length (or shouldn't). More so the supplier does. Their best rate right now is 7.59 for 36 months. This does not compare favorably with the utility rate at 7.277¢/kwh. It's a bit of a cat and mouse game. Unfortunately, switching can take a cycle or two, so it's not so easy to jump back and forth.

Not Utilities...

The utilities are high but it's actually the cost of gasoline that's killing us here in California.

--
GPSMAP 76CSx - nüvi 760 - nüvi 200 - GPSMAP 78S

what changed

Everything seemed so well under control not that long ago. I wonder what changed?

--
___________________ Garmin 2455, 855, Oregon 550t

I'm sorry for your

I'm sorry for your misunderstanding. The pipelines that were shut down were to transport oil from CANADA to the Gulf for export. There was no benefit to US.

california

California mandated more and more Green Power

for a 4 bedroom, electricity was $75 when we all used 100 Watt were incandescent bulbs...

then we switched to Fluorescent.. damn spirals full of mercury...

and now Low power LED

Power went from $75 to $150

In 2022 with the new mandates... Power will be up another 60%

Windmills
Solar
$5.50 for gas last weekend...

Don't need inflation to kill us... the Green mandates are already doing that

Conditioned Attic

I currently have a house under construction. One of the things I specified is a conditioned attic which is part of the house envelope. It always seemed crazy to run 55 degree air conditioning ducts in a 140 degree conventional attic in the summer. According to DOE, the payback in energy savings is about 5 years depending on location. Also in the plan is a heat pump water heater with a typical 3 year payback.

Solar panels can be great, I had them on a previous home, but it is much more cost effective to first increase efficiency before trying to replace the energy used with solar.

here's

zx1100e1 wrote:

I periodically check rates for electricity too. We were at 6.59 or 6.69¢/kwh since june of 2020. I happened to be looking at rates for whatever reason back in july and saw the 6.09¢/kwh. Put the request in right away to get switched over. That was for a 3 yr term.

I don't think the locale dictates the term length (or shouldn't). More so the supplier does. Their best rate right now is 7.59 for 36 months. This does not compare favorably with the utility rate at 7.277¢/kwh. It's a bit of a cat and mouse game. Unfortunately, switching can take a cycle or two, so it's not so easy to jump back and forth.

What happened to me....I was at 5.7 cents through 12/5/21, I got that rate in December 2020 for 12 months.

I decided to switch and lock into 7.6 cents for 12 months, which is higher than the local utility's rate, which was going to 7.021 eff 12/1/21.

For the first time ever, the switch did not go through. When I called Friday after Thanksgiving, they said I needed to complete a verification process. After 2 attempts and waiting on hold over 10 minutes, I gave up. Again, I've switched over 15 times in the last 10 years and never had a "verification" process. Bogus maybe.

So on that same day I called PECO Energy, and without speaking to anyone, used the automated process, which said we will switch you back to PECO on 12/3/21. That is 7 days from that Friday after Thanksgiving--the process is now more efficient.

So once again I did shoot myself in the foot, I voluntarily raised myself from 5.7 to 7.021 3 full days early--this does matter in the big scheme--imagine everyone doing that. Although, when prices are falling, I suppose same thing.

PECO estimates 7.021 through 2/28/22, and then 7.166 from
3/31/22 through 5/31/22. Still not 7.6....

Another thing is it's been a long time since the local utility had lower rates than the competitors....what's happened really throws all conservation effort out the window, we didn't expect this, did we...I really wanted to see way better numbers having gotten a 94% furnace and new AC (only 16.5 SEER but the old was 10). Meaning I wanted to see a huge $ drop, which won't be happening.

One thing to note, when I throw around the 5.7 cents or 7.021 cents, that's just the variable part. There is still another charge of 6.33 cents and 0.633 (generation and transmission charges) to add to the 7.021 to get the total per kwh.

Still want to leave that coffee maker warming the pot? lol

Part B

and there is nothing we can do about it.

Makes You Wonder..

Is that electric vehicle you plan to buy really going to save money??

savings $$

johnnatash4 wrote:

Still want to leave that coffee maker warming the pot? lol

Our last bill just posted, even at 6.09¢/kwh, the effective rate after taxes other fees is 13.9¢/kwh.

I think i mentioned this elsewhere (or maybe in this thread). Earlier in the year, I prepaid the electic bill, ~$1200 worth. This was needed to meet the $4K in 3 months requirement on a new chase card. The perk was you get 100,000 points after doing so. Cash equivalent of these points was $1000. At the time, they had another promo going where points could be redeemed at 1.25x on certain categories. I bought $1250 worth of grocery gift cards.

I look at it this way, I got $4K worth of product or service for $2750. Since then, the card has been dormant. Near the end of the first year, will call in to downgrade to one of the freedom variants to avoid the annual fee (which btw was waived).

The other option is to pay with paypal key. This allows using paypal at merchants who don't normally accept it. Paypal generates a virtual credit card number. Transaction shows up as paypal at chase, get 5% back. It's not a lot, but adds up over time.

Electric vehicles

bdhsfz6 wrote:

Is that electric vehicle you plan to buy really going to save money??

Give this some thought!

Imagine Florida with a hurricane coming toward Miami. The Governor orders an evacuation. All cars head north. They all need to be charged in Jacksonville. How does that work? Has anyone thought about this? If all cars were electric, and were caught up in a three-hour traffic jam with dead batteries, then what? Not to mention that there is virtually no heating or air conditioning in an electric vehicle because of high battery consumption.

If you get stuck on the road all night, no battery, no heating, no windshield wipers, no radio, no GPS (all these drain the batteries), all you can do is try calling 911 to take women and children to safety. But they cannot come to help you because all roads are blocked, and they will probably require all police cars to be electric also. When the roads become unblocked no one can move! Their batteries are dead.

How do you charge the thousands of cars in the traffic jam? Same problem during summer vacation departures with miles of traffic jams. There would be virtually no air conditioning in an electric vehicle. It would drain the batteries quickly. Where is this electricity going to come from? Today's grid barely handles users' needs. Can't use nuclear or natural gas. Oil fired and coal is out of the question, then where?

What will be done with billions of dead batteries, can’t bury them in the soil, can’t go to landfills.

The cart is way ahead of the horse. No thought whatsoever to handle any of the problems that batteries can cause.

Why doesn't the press want to talk or report on any of this.

Also, what will happen when you have a 10 or 12 year old vehicle and it needs a new battery. Unless battery prices drop significantly, the battery will cost more to replace than what the car is worth. What happens then?

--
With God, all things are possible. ——State motto of the Great State of Ohio

^^Thanks for summarizing

^^Thanks for summarizing this so well. I'd love to hear answers these concerns.

All Very True

maddog67 wrote:
bdhsfz6 wrote:

Is that electric vehicle you plan to buy really going to save money??

Give this some thought!

Imagine Florida with a hurricane coming toward Miami. The Governor orders an evacuation. All cars head north. They all need to be charged in Jacksonville. How does that work? Has anyone thought about this? If all cars were electric, and were caught up in a three-hour traffic jam with dead batteries, then what? Not to mention that there is virtually no heating or air conditioning in an electric vehicle because of high battery consumption.

If you get stuck on the road all night, no battery, no heating, no windshield wipers, no radio, no GPS (all these drain the batteries), all you can do is try calling 911 to take women and children to safety. But they cannot come to help you because all roads are blocked, and they will probably require all police cars to be electric also. When the roads become unblocked no one can move! Their batteries are dead.

How do you charge the thousands of cars in the traffic jam? Same problem during summer vacation departures with miles of traffic jams. There would be virtually no air conditioning in an electric vehicle. It would drain the batteries quickly. Where is this electricity going to come from? Today's grid barely handles users' needs. Can't use nuclear or natural gas. Oil fired and coal is out of the question, then where?

What will be done with billions of dead batteries, can’t bury them in the soil, can’t go to landfills.

The cart is way ahead of the horse. No thought whatsoever to handle any of the problems that batteries can cause.

Why doesn't the press want to talk or report on any of this.

Also, what will happen when you have a 10 or 12 year old vehicle and it needs a new battery. Unless battery prices drop significantly, the battery will cost more to replace than what the car is worth. What happens then?

All of what you say is true however the same fuel shortage occurs when thousands of gas powered vehicles try and fuel up during an evacuation. It gets worse when gas stations are out of power and can't pump.

Here is a real life example of where an electric vehicle had an advantage over a gas powered one during a disaster:

My brother lives on Oak Island NC. During hurricane Isaias in August of 2020, he was out of power for 3 weeks. Few gas stations were open within a 70 mile radius. Those that were had very long lines and limited purchases to 5 gallons per customer.

Rather than use up the gas he had in his two vehicles in a futile attempt to find more, he siphoned it into his portable generator. The generator powered the household essentials and he was also able to charge the battery on his electric bicycle.

He used the e-bike for local transportation since it could go where larger vehicles couldn't due to the extensive road damage. He used the bike to get groceries, drugs and other essentials and was able to get through the 3 week power outage.

If we do nothing...

If we do nothing then in 20 years (± some error) the gas vehicles and the EVs will only have flooded roads to drive on (says someone whose only vehicle is an F-350). I’ve seen the tides coming up the sewers near Miami so I say this without too much hyperbole.

At my age I don’t ski any more (injuries take too long to heal) but I couldn’t use an EV to ski 150 miles from home. I don’t think any EV can have a range of 300 miles round trip at -10°F. Once at a Tesla dealer I asked if the heating was resistive, a heat pump or what. All I got was a perplexed look.

The questions you are asking need to be asked but doing nothing (as I am currently) is not an option.

resistive going to heat pump

minke wrote:

Once at a Tesla dealer I asked if the heating was resistive, a heat pump or what.

An article published at TopSpeed.com in March 2020 asserted that as of then the previous Tesla models, including model 3, used resistive cabin heating, but the Y had a heat pump.

If they see a significant saving, I'd expect it to propagate around their product line soonish. They are not shy about changing things.

--
personal GPS user since 1992

Let me just say

zx1100e1 wrote:

^^Thanks for summarizing this so well. I'd love to hear answers these concerns.

I am not adverse to EV’s. My brother has one and he loves it. What I am saying is that we need to get our ducks in a row. We need to build out the charging systems first and then go towards replacing internal combustion engines with EV’s. Not the other way around. We need to figure out how we can change over existing gas stations to EV charging stations and be able to charge car batteries as fast as you can fill up an existing gas powered vehicle. (And I don’t know if that is possible.)

--
With God, all things are possible. ——State motto of the Great State of Ohio

On a whim I decided to check

On a whim I decided to check energyharbor's current pricing. They show a 54.90¢/therm rate. When I called in to change, they offered 52.90¢/therm for 36 months (instead of 48). Still no monthly fees or etf. Based on last year's usage, this should save about $5. I expect larger savings in the months of Jan - March - usually the coldest in this area.

Seems lately gas futures rates have gone down, but when will the customer actually see this..... ?

Got the latest gas bill this

Got the latest gas bill this morning. I shopped and switched suppliers shortly after getting the nov '21 bill along with price shock. Util was charging 68¢/therm (compared to 26¢ previous year). Found a supplier offering 52.9¢/therm. New supplier took effect after the dec '21 reading. Jan util price is 61¢/therm.

Anyways, based on usage, saved ~$20 (~183 therms) in gas costs compared to util prices. This coupled with keeping the temps colder (67F day/64F night) kept the bill under $200 (~$170). For comparison, last year's jan bill was $60 less with roughly similar consumption. However, last year's temp was kept at 68F day and night.

Next is a smart thermostat. Don't expect huge savings with it but more granular control should save a few more bucks and offer much better insight into trends.

Listen to your wallet when

Listen to your wallet when voting.

^^In this commie area

^^In this commie area (chicago metro part of IL), majority of population has been brainwashed.

just

sunsetrunner wrote:

Listen to your wallet when voting.

I just found out that eBay sales generate a 1099-K and $600+ is taxable income, down from $20,000, for 2022. HUH? lol

I agree with what you say, it's unfortunate that my wallet and beliefs are at total odds, but believe me, I'm starting to think wallet is more practical lol

To use practical terms, I sold an item. Buyer paid state sales tax bringing the purchase to $216.

I will see about $119 net from the eBay sale.

eBay is 14.55%--big, but not as big as income tax.

So let's say my mom sells an item from her basement for $216--should she expect to net $119? Is that reasonable? And, for an old item, does it make sense to tax it as income, when sales tax was already paid on it long ago?

Anyway my utility bill did go up and I didn't break it down, it's painful to do so, but I will. And I have a 94% furnace.

Utility Prices

Utility Prices
Kind of hard to shop around for cheaper gas and electric rates when we only have one option unless you live in rural Utah, where they use propane sometimes, then you may get different gas rates.

--
johnm405 660 & MSS&T

ok I checked

our natural gas is in fact 43% more per CCF than before. That's obviously not nothing.

Also, when I just looked for electricity, virtually all are higher than the the incumbent.

There is one that is $0.001 less, and willing to lock for 12 months. If I had to decide right now, it seems like a good deal, as there are no fees to cancel.

I will say this, for the first time in more than a decade, a "switch" didn't go through. The co. I was switching to wanted personal info from me over the phone. What?? And it was during Thanksgiving, so after waiting 2X for over 20 min, they couldn't do it until Monday after. I was able on Saturday, to switch to PECO, the incumbent, without talking to anyone. And, the change took effect in one week, i.e. the Friday one week after thanksgiving. About 3 days before my low rate expired.

I did "forget" about a rate expiration once and the rate doubled. I called even though I was the one who forgot, and thankfully, they gave me a credit and I switched away. I did say that I'd likely post on social media the outcome of this phone call, and so they were willing to credit me I think over $30....which is not a lot to get positive feedback.

Notification

johnnatash4 wrote:

I did "forget" about a rate expiration once and the rate doubled. I called even though I was the one who forgot, and thankfully, they gave me a credit and I switched away. I did say that I'd likely post on social media the outcome of this phone call, and so they were willing to credit me I think over $30....which is not a lot to get positive feedback.

Sometimes, these electricity suppliers fail to notify you of a rate expiration. They of course deny this since the law requires such notification in my state.

My brother was taken by this illegal practice and his rate more than doubled. By the time he was able to switch suppliers, the added expense more than erased the savings he received.

If you shop for your electricity, make sure you mark your calendar with the expiration date!

@johnnatash4 When you do

@johnnatash4 When you do your taxes, you deduct the selling price of personal items when sold for less than original value. https://www.1040.com/blog/2019/7/12/selling-stuff-online-tax...

@bdhsfz6 I don't think it's the responsibility of third party suppliers to notify you of rate expiration. While many claim they'll send you a letter 30-60 days prior, some do, some don't, given my experience with the usps, sometimes it may never arrive.

Totally agree one should create a calendar alert to be notified 30-60 days prior the expect expiration. Also, it doesn't hurt to shop around periodically. I found a better rate (45.9¢) than 52.9¢, will call monday to see if the existing supplier will match that (sometimes they do) if not, then i'll switch, this only 2 months into the term.

the thing is

with the last potus doubling (nearly) the standard deduction, and eliminating exemptions, how many people actually do schedule A anymore? I know that even 2 years before trump I had no need, the standard deduction was greater than itemizing. I remember what was it spring 2019, when so many people on the news were shocked their taxes went up. I felt man, they didn't follow or understand what changed. At a business meeting the guy next to me was from Toms River, NJ. He said he carefully planned each year to have about a $0 refund. That year, he owed $7k+. I knew already why. For one, the SALT deal, among others.

What's truly painful about the above? Since the gentleman (btw he's one of our vendor reps great guy) is very careful, he actually needed to deduct an additional $270/pay, so that come next April, he will be back at the $0 he's used to. That's $540/mo thanks to the potus' reform, for an ordinary guy in NJ. I suppose I'm glad that I happened to live in PA--it's not something we can change easily.

Again my relatives in Canada never had an interest deduction on their homes, and their habits were formed accordingly (what did surprise me was their interest rates are not locked either beyond 10 years). imho even though the system changed on us, we don't seem to change that quickly.

Simple example, when my wife donates things, I tell her no need for the receipt. Just donate them, we're not itemizing...

net net is I don't think that was a gradual change by any means, from $20,000, to $600.

And I agree ultimately we are all responsible for our own matters. In my case, ultimately I should have switched my utilities before my rates skyrocketed. At the same time, what I just said. We're all responsible for our own matters. Therefore I told them whatever happens, I'll let social media know the outcome, good or bad, so people will be aware. They were willing to issue a credit such that the rate applied was the previous.

edit: btw thanks for the link! That clarifies that the $600 is per transaction, not aggregate per year. Also, when you said deduct, I see now that you did not mean schedule A, you meant subtract, i.e., schedule D. Now, if schedule D, the time acquired would come into play, and therefore in reality, much should not be ordinary income after all. I have some cds purchased for $160 in 2019, and they are going for $500 now. I didn't list it because I figured I would list for $600 plus shipping, and that would cause me to pay taxes on my recent $216 sale. NO. The $600 is per item. Again, thanks for the link!

edit2: dang, $600 is a required report to IRS, but the 1099-K still reports everything that happened over the year. So sounds like a $216 transaction isn't reported, but the 1099-K will report it, as well as anything else. Transactionally, $600 is like $10,000 at a bank. Not good lol

My understanding was $600

My understanding was $600 combined, not per transaction. Either way, I've made more than that selling on ebay last year as well as making a profit. When doing the return, all the fees incurred are line items; ebay fees, shipping fees, fees for packaging materials, labels, toner, cost to procure product, etc. I've been selling on ebay for a number of years so there's no shock at tax time. Last year was shittier than previous years wink.