Sale price for space bus?

[lukeiamyourfather]

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[heyheymama]

From the legalzoom article above:

While formed under state law, a nonprofit can apply for 501©(3) tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. An excess benefit transaction occurs when a 501©(3) organization sells property to a board member, employee or other private party for less than fair market value. So, if your non-profit sells the donated BMW for less than it is worth, it violates the IRS rule that prohibits such transfers of assets to board members and others. The IRS may assess a penalty on the board member and other managers involved in the transaction. The non-profit organization itself could face revocation of its tax-exempt status, although this is unlikely since the IRS can punish the individuals who participated in the transaction. If the non-profit’s tax-exempt status is revoked, its revenues become taxable in the same manner that any for profit business would be taxed.

@Diplomat (Treasurer) and @Photomancer (Finance Group):

• How is the DMS $25 sale not an excess benefit transaction?
• Who authorized the $25 sale price? Who transferred the title?

From the sale of the FSL Full Spectrum Laser Cutter For Sale or Trade :

Full Spectrum Laser Cutter For Sale or Trade

For others that come across this in the future the laser was sold on Craigslist for $4750 if I recall correctly. More than double the highest bid from within the community. If your committee is going to sell something do it publicly with as many eyes on it as possible. It was a mistake for me to try to sell it like this on Talk and I’m glad it ended up getting sold a different way.

Here’s @lukeiamyourfather telling @axeonos to make the Sinteret Lisa sale public:

Sinterit Lisa for sale or trade

Please post this in a more public setting like eBay or Craigslist.

EDIT: “Dead project costing us storage money” can cost us way more if not handled in an above board manner to satisfy the IRS. Cutting procedural corners is not a solution worth the risk.

[Robert_Davidson]

The issue with it was that it was costing us $100 a month in storage fees.

Let’s be clear here the Bus was not costing anything the lease forbids leaving trailers in the back parking lot. The storage cost was for 2 trailers you could not fit 2 trailers on one plot but you fit 1 bus and 1 trailer and 1 additional trailer in the other plot.

[Scott_Blevins]

You quite literally took the words right out of my mouth.

So, DMS sells this asset for $25 (actually hard to even type, much less comprehend).

Less than a week later and the very same (former DMS) asset is re-listed for sale for over a HUNDRED TIMES the DMS’ selling price.

$25

$25 freakin’ dollars.

Unbelievable.

[hon1nbo]

when there were other buyers willing to pay more, who were never notified the lowest accepted was dropping

[Diplomat]

The Space Bus was being stored off site at the storage site. Not in our forbidden back parking lot.

[nicksilva]

yes it was sold by the board… it was agreed to be sold back in January from what i am told was a board meeting, after going through the wiki i have not found.

I remember that. The purple nurple was also suppose to be sold. Did that happen?

[ADM_StanSimmons]

The purple nurple was also suppose to be sold. Did that happen?

My understanding is that the purple lightning is being traded for goods and services, and that trade is being worked out between @TLAR and the interested party… I don’t know his last name.

[tomthm]

The issue is that someone sold DMS property. The question is who authorized the sale, and what procedure was followed? I don’t subscribe to the “it’s done, let’s move on” approach in this case. It is done, but let’s not move on until we find out the details of the transaction. My questions include:

• How was the buyer chosen?
• How was the price determined?
• Does DMS have a process for such transaction?
• If we do, was the process followed?

Maybe this information is all available, and I’m not assuming that this was a shady deal, because I don’t know any of the details. But whatever occurred, it has aroused a lot of concern, including my own. I understand that details of whatever took place will be used by one of several factions at DMS, to further an agenda. In spite of that, this details need be addressed.

[thespacemaker]

Lol I was offered to buy that thing and turned it down…

I could have gotten it for whatever I offered.

Guys…

If you wanted the bus you should have bought it, I was told by a gazillion people that they were trying to sell it and that I should buy it.

Spend less time on talk and more time actually talking to members face to face. Perhaps you would know about the fact that it was both a board agenda item and talked about constantly. Finally someone took the bait. It’s better than throwing away money every month while people just sit around doing nothing with it.

Cheers,
Adnan

[lukeiamyourfather]

Spend less time on talk and more time actually talking to members face to face.

Ahhhh, yes, there it is. The Godwin’s law of DMS.

[mblatz]

If you wanted the bus you should have bought it

That’s not what this is about.

Spend less time on talk and more time actually talking to members face to face.

That advice would be a lot easier to follow if I lived at the 'Space and slept in the parking lot.

It’s better than throwing away money every month while people just sit around doing nothing with it.

Hey…leave my projects outta this!

[Lampy]

There are no issues as important as 1) was the bus offered in a way that was fairly accessable to a broad range of people and 2) was it purchased for a fair market price? I fear the answer is no to both.

All other aspects do not matter. “If you were at the space more…”, “We have been trying to get rid of it for X months”, “it was costing us $X dollars to store it.” The IRS will not give a crap about those. They will be interested in the details of the deal.

[EthanWestern]

From the information linked in posts and my understanding, if in person to members was the only way we were offering it up for sale, that isn’t legal.

This is not about people being jealous of a good deal, its about making sure we do not get shut down.

[jdemars]

For those interested, this actual minutes entry is:

Sell SpaceMobile (David Kessinger)

Problem : We are not using it, repair costs are too high, monthly cost to rent storage space.

Solution : Sell SpaceMobile.

[PearceDunlap]

Right but we are interested in who arranged the current bill of sale and signed for it.

That motion allowed for it to be sold (through the correct public channels)

[EthanWestern]

Which to state that a little more clearly we are Required to sell it for fair market value and through public channels.

[tomthm]

Lol I was offered to buy that thing and turned it down…

I could have gotten it for whatever I offered.

I don’t get your point. That you were offered it does not address the fact that many of us didn’t know about it.

If you wanted the bus you should have bought it

Perhaps you are missing the point.

I was told by a gazillion people that they were trying to sell it and that I should buy it.

It’s not so much about what you happen to know or have heard.

Spend less time on talk and more time actually talking to members face to face.

The two aren’t mutually exclusive. There are a lot of contributors to this thread that spend lot’s of time doing both.

[Robert_Davidson]

Lol I was offered to buy that thing and turned it down…

I could have gotten it for whatever I offered.

Who exactly offered the bus to you at whatever price you wanted?

It sounds like to me this person clearly broke the law by providing the bus to a member for whatever price he wanted.

[TLAR]

Who exactly offered the bus to you at whatever price you wanted?

It sounds like to me this person clearly broke the law by providing the bus to a member for whatever price he wanted.

I was in the workshop when Alan Wan was offering the Space Bus to Adnan, bus Alan was firm on a top dollar figure.
To be fair - I told Adnan the Space Bus was a rusty bucket of shite and not worth his effort.