The difference between what you buy something for on ebay and purchasing
quality merchandise from a reputable dealer are many.  I'll name just a few
off the top of my head:  the time and money spent by the dealer to acquire
the hardware, test it, send it back if it doesn't test out, fix it if it's
just a minor problem, store it, integrate it into the larger system or
configuration, test it all again, then set up delivery and installation to
the customer site and warranty the entire configuration against failure for
a specified period of time.  Somebody somehow has to do all of this.  If
the buyer has the time and resources to do this, then they buy from
(ebays).  If the buyer doesn't have time to do all of this,or if their time
is too valuable to be used for testing hardware, then they buy from a
reputable dealer and pay the dealer to do all of the above.

It seems to me that if I'm donating a fully configured and working system,
then I deserve to consider the value all of my and my employees' time and
expenses that made that pile of hardware into a working system.  Thus, I
figure that into my calculation for the system's value and use a number
close to it's retail value if purchased from a reputable dealer.  If, on
the other hand, I just donate a pile of hardware, unassembled, untested,
cables missing, burned console, won't boot up, no licenses, etc., then I
would use the ebay price.

It's no different than donating a used car.  You can have 2 used cars that
on paper are the same car, but their functinality and value are vastly
different, and that's perfectly legitimate.


At 05:08 PM 5/1/02 -0700, Stan Sieler wrote:
>Re:
>
>> documentable quotes for tax purposes. You're simply cheating yourself if
you
>> use eBay prices.
>
>No, you're preventing yourself from cheating the IRS :)
>
>The IRS doesn't care what you paid for something, or what the replacement
>value is, so much as what you could have sold it for ... because that's
>what you're giving away.
>
>In short, if you find 10 price points of $1, and one price point of $2,
>the fair market value is $1, not $2.
>
>>From IRS Publication 561 : Determining the Value of Donated Property
>http://www.irs.gov/    (Enter "561" in the "Form Finder" box)
>
>   Fair market value (FMV) is the price that property would
>   sell for on the open market.  It is the price that would be
>   agreed on between a willing buyer and a willing seller,
>   with neither being required to act, and both having
>   reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.
>
>So, that seems to bear out what I said: it's the value *you* would have
>received had you sold the equipment on the open market.
>(Like the difference between "Red book" and "blue book" prices)
>
>Later in 561, the IRS refers to "the blue book price".  Generally,
>a "red book" price is what a dealer charges when selling,
>and a "blue book" price is what a dealer would pay when buying.
>
>--
>Stan Sieler                                           [log in to unmask]
>www.allegro.com/sieler/wanted/index.html                  www.sieler.com
>
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>
John Lee
HP Account Executive
Vaske Computer Solutions
Minneapolis, MN
952-844-0054

We sell, service, support and integrate HP 3000/9000 and related hardware,
new and old, since 1988

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