[raiderguy10]

Originally Posted by kajshack

See, that's what I'm confused about. The average guy who spends $2000 in a year on wax and sells his non-PC stuff on ebay for $1000 has to report additional income of $1,000 when it was actually a $1,000 loss?

If I bought a TV for $1000, decided 6 months later I didn't want it, and I sold it on ebay for $800, how would I report that on my taxes? And why would cards be any different?

You are also missing a big piece. You have to report your GAIN on a sale not your gross income. If you have $2,000 invested and you sell for $1,000 you don't have a gain. Your adjusted basis is the amount you have invested in an item. Anything you sell above your basis is the gain a is subject to taxation. If you don't sell anything for more than you are invested you don't have a gain and aren't subject to tax. Don't get your basis and your expenses confused. They aren't the same.