Marketplace sellers & custom goods

Books and taxes for car parts ecommerce sellers.

An eBay Motors payout, a core charge refunded when an old part comes back, heavy freight on an engine or transmission, and a warranty claim months after the sale. Your own bookkeeper keeps it straight, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
AprilExample month
$7,300
what you made

April came in at $7,300. Two engine sales included core charges that came back once the old parts arrived, so I kept those apart from your regular part sales.

  • eBay Motors payoutPart sales
  • Core charge refund issuedCore charge refunds
  • Freight, engine shipmentFreight and shipping
  • Salvage yard purchaseInventory purchases
  • Warranty claim replacement partWarranty returns
Money in$27,400
Money out$20,100
Set aside for taxes$1,900
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Car parts ecommerce books go wrong in a few specific spots.

A generalist sees a part sale and a shipping bill. Your business is a core charge that gets refunded when an old part comes back, freight costs that can rival the part's price on something heavy, and warranty claims that surface months after the original sale. When the books do not know that, margin on heavy parts is easy to misjudge.

  1. 1

    Core charges are a deposit, not a straight sale

    A core charge collected on an engine or alternator sale is refunded once the old part is returned. Counted as a straight sale, the books overstate the real price and miss that a chunk of it is owed back.

    What we doKeeps core charges as a refundable deposit until the old part is confirmed returned, so the real sale price stays honest.
  2. 2

    Freight can eat most of the margin on heavy parts

    Shipping an engine, transmission, or axle by freight can cost nearly as much as a smaller part sells for outright, and if freight is not tracked closely against the sale, it is easy to misjudge which heavy parts are actually worth selling.

    What we doKeeps freight cost tracked against the sale it belongs to, so margin on heavy parts stays visible instead of assumed.
  3. 3

    Warranty claims land long after the original sale

    A part sold with a 90 day warranty can come back as a claim well after the sale, in a different month and sometimes replaced instead of refunded, which makes the original sale look more profitable than it turned out to be.

    What we doMatches warranty claims back to the original sale, so a later claim reads as what it is instead of an unrelated cost.
  4. 4

    Salvage and teardown inventory has an uneven cost basis

    A whole vehicle bought for parts gets torn down into dozens of individual pieces with no per-part invoice, making it hard to know the real cost and margin of any single part sold from it.

    What we doSplits a vehicle's teardown cost across the parts it yields using a reasonable method, so per-part margin still means something.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a car parts ecommerce seller.

Set up once for how a part gets sourced and sold. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Part salesIndividual part sales through eBay Motors, a direct site, or a marketplace.
  • Core charge refunds owed backTracked separately from the sale until the old part is confirmed returned.
  • Bulk lot salesSelling a group of parts together to another dealer or shop.
  • Salvage vehicle resaleSelling a stripped vehicle's remaining shell or scrap value.

Money out

  • Inventory purchasesSalvage vehicles, teardown lots, and wholesale part purchases.
  • Freight and shippingStandard parcel and LTL freight for heavy parts like engines and transmissions.
  • Core charge refundsMoney returned once the old core part is received back.
  • Warranty returnsReplacement parts or refunds issued under a warranty claim.
  • Marketplace feeseBay Motors final value fees and payment processing.
  • Storage and yard spaceSpace to hold salvage inventory and teardown parts.

What we watch for you

  • Freight cost as a share of sale price

    How much shipping eats into a heavy part sale, so pricing keeps up with real freight cost.

  • Warranty claim rate

    How often sold parts come back under warranty, so a rising rate on a particular part type gets caught.

  • Margin per teardown vehicle

    What a salvage vehicle actually returned once every part sold from it, so you know which sourcing is worth repeating.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things car parts sellers ask Gus.

Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.

I sold an engine with a $300 core charge. Is that all counted as sale income right now?

Not yet. I keep the core charge as a refundable deposit until the old engine is confirmed returned, so the real sale price stays honest either way.

Freight on a transmission I shipped cost almost as much as the part sold for. Is that actually worth selling?

I keep freight tracked against that sale specifically, so you have the real number for that conversation with your bookkeeper.

A customer filed a warranty claim on a part I sold three months ago. How does that get booked?

I match it back to the original sale, so it reads as what it is instead of looking like a random cost with no explanation.

The tax side

The tax side of a car parts ecommerce business.

Most of what goes wrong here is timing core charges and warranty claims, and splitting teardown cost across many parts.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Inventory and cost of goods soldWhat was actually paid for a salvage vehicle or wholesale parts, split reasonably across what sold during the year, is what counts against sales. Unsold parts inventory at year end changes what the return shows as profit.
  • Core charges as a liability, not incomeA core charge is generally treated as a refundable deposit rather than straight income until the old part is confirmed returned, which keeps the timing of engine and transmission sales honest.
  • Form 1099-K from marketplaceseBay Motors and similar marketplaces issue a 1099-K once you cross $20,000 and 200 transactions. All income is taxable whether or not the form arrives.
  • The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.

Deductions car parts ecommerce sellers miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Salvage vehicle and teardown purchases
  • Freight and LTL shipping
  • Marketplace fees
  • Yard and storage space rent
  • Teardown labor and tools
  • Warranty replacement parts
  • Fitment and listing software
  • Business insurance
  • Forklift or hoist maintenance
  • Cleaning and packaging supplies
  • Scrap and disposal fees
  • Mileage for parts pickups

General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.

All year, not just April

A car parts ecommerce year, kept every month.

Salvage vehicles come in whenever a good one turns up. Your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, unsold parts inventory is counted, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether freight cost on heavy parts is holding up against pricing.

  4. October

    Before winter repair season

    Cold weather breakdowns often bring a wave of demand for parts. Before it hits, Gus looks at what to have in stock and what warranty claims to expect.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.

Book a call
  • Monthly bookkeeping

    Every transaction sorted into categories set up for car parts ecommerce sellers. You never categorize a thing.

  • An accountant checks every transaction

    Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.

  • Your business tax return, filed

    Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.

  • The monthly number

    What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.

  • Your own bookkeeper

    A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.

  • On your books all year

    Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.

  • Cancel any time

    No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.

Straight answers

Questions car parts sellers ask first.

How does a core charge get handled on the books?

It is kept as a refundable deposit until the old part comes back, not counted straight as income, so the real sale price stays honest.

Freight on heavy parts is expensive. Can Gus tell me if it's actually worth selling engines and transmissions?

He keeps freight tracked against each heavy part sale, so the real numbers are there. Whether it is worth continuing is a conversation worth having with your bookkeeper.

A warranty claim came in on a part I sold months ago. Does that mess up this month's books?

No. Gus matches it back to the original sale, so it reads as a warranty claim tied to that sale, not a random cost in the current month.

I buy whole salvage vehicles with no per-part cost. How does that get tracked?

Gus splits the vehicle's total cost across the parts it yields using a reasonable method, so each part still carries a real cost when it sells.

Do I owe sales tax on used car parts?

Usually, yes, in most states, though a marketplace like eBay Motors may collect it on its own sales. The accountant checks what applies to direct sales.

My books are behind because I never tracked core charges separately. Is that fixable?

Yes. Send the bank statements and sales records you have. Gus sorts through core charges and warranty claims, and most sellers know where they stand within a week.

Is a real accountant checking my books?

Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.

What does it cost, and can I cancel?

It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.

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Book a call

Pick a time. That's the whole signup.

Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.

  • $197 a month to start
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever