RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1499

Copyright © Harry Rinker, LLC 2015 

Questions and Answers

QUESTION:  I have a question about tax identification numbers.  When my wife and I buy at auction, we are asked if we have a tax number.  We are not in the business so the answer is “no.”  We pay the tax.  If I sell items at a flea market, do I need a tax number?  Would we qualify for a number if I offer some object for sale but only sold one or two each year?  If I do obtain a tax number, do I have to collect sales tax from buyers? – JG, WHATCHA GOT? Tune in Radio listener, Email Question

ANSWER:  If you plan to sell antiques and collectibles, you need a sales tax number.  A sales tax number allows the seller to purchase goods for resale tax free, the assumption being that the sales tax ultimately will be collected by a seller at the time of a transaction that removes the object from the secondary market.

Some collectors abuse the practice, obtaining a sales tax number with no intent to resell anything, only to avoid having to pay sales tax at the time of their purchases.  They file one after another “no sales” quarterly statements.

Unscrupulous buyers pick up seller business cards that contain a seller’s tax number.  Once in possession of this number, they utilize the other person’s number as their own.  I have heard buyers brag that they have sales tax numbers from dozens of different states, should the issue of state reciprocity arise.  Using another person’s sales tax number is illegal.

Sales tax is collected in the state in which the item is sold.  If a buyer is from another state, the buyer often asks the seller to write a receipt with an out-of-state address.  If an item is shipped out-of-state by the seller, most states do not require the collection of the tax.  It is illegal if an out-of-state buyer buys an object in a sales tax state, does not pay the tax, and takes the object with him/her.

I am not an accountant or attorney.  If you are planning to establish a business selling antiques and collectibles in the secondary marketplace, discuss with your accountant and attorney what procedure is advisable.  My advice is twofold.  First, obtain a sales tax number.  Second, never miss a reporting deadline, even if you made no sales.

Some dealers avoid collecting sales tax by adjusting their final sale price to include the state sales tax without informing the buyer.  This sends a mixed message.  First, it encourages buyers to think they are saving money.  They are not.  Second, sellers often are not as honest as they should be in reporting taxable sales.  The money from cash sales often has a bad habit of going unreported for sales tax and IRS purposes.

My advice is to collect sales tax and report it honestly to the state.  When you encounter customer reluctance to pay sales tax, explain that you treat everyone equally and, as much as you want to do business with the buyer, you cannot do so unless he/she complies with the law.

The honesty, integrity, and ethics of individuals involved in the antiques and collectibles trade is tested every day.  Be one of those individuals who takes the high road.

QUESTION:  I have a cigarette lighter from the “USS Liberty.”  Does it have any value? – J, Bozeman, MT

ANSWER:  The “USS Liberty” (AGTR-5) was built by the Oregon Shipping Corporation of Portland, Oregon.  Commissioned on May 4, 1945, as the “Simmons Victory,” the ship operated as a commercial vessel until 1958 when it was returned to the Maritime Administration as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet stationed in Olympia, Washington.  In 1956, the Navy acquired the “Simmons Victory,” converted her to a miscellaneous auxiliary ship, and renamed her “Liberty.”  On April 1, 1964, the “Liberty” was reclassified as a Technical Research Ship (AGTR-5).  While in Norfolk, the ship was outfitted with surveillance equipment to assist the National Security Agency in acquiring and assessing foreign communications.

The “USS Liberty” was deployed to the west coast of Africa.  In 1967, the “USS Liberty” was on duty in the Mediterranean.  When the Six-Day Israel-Arabic War broke out, the “USS Liberty” was sent to the eastern Mediterranean.

While in international waters on June 8, 1967, the fourth day of the Six-Day War, Israeli Defense Forces launched an unprovoked air and sea attack against the “USS Liberty.”  Thirty-four American crewmen were killed, 171 wounded, and the ship heavily damaged.  Although Israel apologized and Israeli and American investigations reached a “mistaken identity” conclusion, many still believe that Israel was culpable of a flagrant violation of the rules of war by deliberating attacking the “USS Liberty.”

After the attack, the “USS Liberty” was escorted to Valletta, Malta, to allow sufficient repairs for the ship to return to the United States.  The “USS Liberty” was decommissioned on June 28, 1968, and scrapped in 1973.  [For more information, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_%28AGTR-5%29.]

The critical question concerning the value of your lighter is whether it belonged to a crewman who served on the ship at the time of the attack.  If this can be proven, cigarette lighter collectors and military ship collectors will pay a premium.  However, the provenance must be impeccable.  The lighter commemorated the ship, not the incident.  A crewman assigned to the ship might have purchased the lighter and left the ship prior to the incident.

Although you did not indicate the manufacturer of the lighter, it was made by Zippo.  In researching the lighter, I did find references to a “USS Liberty” brushed chrome Zippo lighter with the ship insignia on one side and an image of the ship on the other.

Naval ship lighters, depending on the fame of the ship, sell in the $50.00 to $75.00 range.  If there is indisputable proof the lighter was on board the ship at the time of the attack, its value will double.

QUESTION:  I have a 1993 Star Trek telephone, still in its period box.  What is its value? – M, Reading, PA

ANSWER:  Lazerbuilt, an English firm specializing in developing licensed accessories, obtained the license and contracted with Telemania: Collectible Telephones to manufacture the 1993 Star Trek telephone.  In 1993, “Star Trek: The Next Generation” was in its seventh season.  “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” debuted.

The telephone, a three-dimensional model of the “U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701,” came with a numbered “Certificate of Registration,” a document that adds no value to the unit.  The phone featured red alert sound and warp nacelles flash when the phone rang.  A regular phone ring was an option.  The phone required a cord connection.  The phone stood on a black base shaped like the Star Fleet logo.

eBay.com always contains a large number of listings for the 1993 Star Trek telephone, many still in their period box with packaging.  Apparently, few purchasers actually used the telephone.  Asking prices on eBay range from $35.00 to $95.00.  A potential buyer need not turn to another website to comparison shop, there is a sufficient price spread on eBay to make an intelligent purchase.

QUESTION:  I have a Sears and Roebuck cider press, Model 242.87.  It has been barn stored under cover.  All parts are there.  My father kept the grinding pieces coated in lard and the bearings greased.  It has some outside surface rust, and the varnish is bubbled in a couple of places.  Could you please give me any information about it and estimated value? – RF, Email Question.

ANSWER:  The Red Cross Company, located in Bluffton, Indiana, began manufacturing windmills for Sears, Roebuck and Company under its Kenwood brand in 1904  This relationship continued until Sears switched to another supplier in the 1920s.  When Prohibition was enacted in 1918, Red Cross introduced cider/fruit presses for home use.  Sears, Roebuck, and Company sold these presses under its own Sears brand.

A similar cider/fruit press to the one you own closed on eBay on March 17, 2011 for $64.99.   A Sears, Roebuck apple/wine press sold for $210.00 at an auction held in Finneytown, Ohio.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.  Selected letters will be answered in this column.  Harry cannot provide personal answers.  Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned.  Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI 49512.  You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker@aol.com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

You can listen and participate in WHATCHA GOT?, Harry’s antiques and collectibles radio call-in show, on Sunday mornings between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM Eastern Time.  If you cannot find it on a station in your area, WHATCHA GOT? streams live on the Internet at www.gcnlive.com.

SELL, KEEP OR TOSS?: HOW TO DOWNSIZE A HOME, SETTLE AN ESTATE, AND APPRAISE PERSONAL PROPERTY (House of Collectibles, an imprint of Random House Information Group, $17.99), Harry’s latest book, is available at your favorite bookstore and via www.harryrinker.com.