Selling baits?

[oldwun]

I have a friend in Alabama who was pouring plastic bass baits. He got legal and all of that. He sold to small fishing shops for years. He finally got a contract with a big box store and thought he would make some money. End result was after 3 years he gave it up and stopped selling all together. Payments were slow coming and the big store would have oodles of returns just before they paid him. He lost over $120 kk in 2 years.

[Jiggin_Joe]

I started doing this as a hobby and thats all i wanted it to be but thanks to uncle sam it is becoming work lol but i like tying and I like seeing people catch fish off jigs i make so I follow the rules and make the best of it. will I get rich HELL NO but thats not why I do it so if you think you wanna try making a living at this just remember it wont be fun no more if you do.

JJ

[JUNGLEJIMJIGS]

If you want to make a few bucks try selling on ebay. Lot's of competition there,but you can make a few bucks if you put out a good product. I've been selling jigs on ebay for over 5 years and in that time the jig listings have gone from about 400 to around 2200-2500. I think there are several cc members that sell on ebay.

[slider1]

just fly under the radar, keep it small,and don't get crazy. there looking for the big boys

[brushnjigs]

Yes, if they have a patient, they do have to display the numbers with the product. Or have a pat pending if one has been filed. Also, the patent & trademark web page is not always up to date.

[brushnjigs]

mepperson,
I think my brain is going to mush from all the snow or just sitting on it too much this winter. Let me make my last statement more clear. The law states: If you properly mark the product patented with the numbers you can receive damages from the date you began marking the product. Wether they see your notice or not.
If you make or sell your products but don't mark them with your patent number, or mark them patented without the numbers, you can recover damages only from the date you notified the infringer of infrigement or from the date you file suit, whichever comes earlier. Hope this makes the mud a little clearer.

[shipahoy41]

Keep it small and low key and you will be fine. Be sure you have your local tax license. If you have a website you may want to pay for your own dot com domain name. It eliminates a lot of pop up ads on your site.

Now when you have a booming business like Skip and some of the other tiers on this site and sell wholesale or sell to Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops etc, then I would advise you to seek legal counsel for licenses and taxes.

Most tiers, like me, tie for fun or for personal use. The few they sell usually goes to purchase more materials so you really can't say you are "In the business."

[Jiggin_Joe]

Keep it small and low key and you will be fine. Be sure you have your local tax license. If you have a website you may want to pay for your own dot com domain name. It eliminates a lot of pop up ads on your site.

Now when you have a booming business like Skip and some of the other tiers on this site and sell wholesale or sell to Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops etc, then I would advise you to seek legal counsel for licenses and taxes.

Most tiers, like me, tie for fun or for personal use. The few they sell usually goes to purchase more materials so you really can't say you are "In the business."

I'm not so sure about that ship. when I called the IRS to see if there was a limit on when it stops being a hobby and starts becoming a business they told me if I sold 1 jig I had to claim the income and charge the %10 excise tax.

so with that said I would suggest that if you have a site and sell on it you might wanna do it right or take the chance and possibly get fined out the butt. Me I wont take that chance.

oh 1 more thing if you have a state tax id # and charge the sales tax and claim all that its even easier for the feds to track your sales so i would for sure get a EIN# from the IRS Then

JJ

[mepperson]

I can see that this stuff can get pretty complicated. Thanks for all of the input guys.

[Jiggin_Joe]

I can see that this stuff can get pretty complicated. Thanks for all of the input guys.

I'm not trying to talk anyone out of selling because it is alot of fun. I just dont want to see any of my fellow tiers that I think are some alright guys get burned. I'm just letting you know what was told to me by other sellers and my accountant and it may seem like a big pain but it really aint takes like 15 minutes to get a state tax id number and apply for a EIN# after that just keep good records of your sales and cost.

Its part of the hobby that sucks but i figure its worth it.

JJ