montechristo
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:01:55 PM
I just won an auction for a high-dollar item that I have been wanting for some time, but now I am afraid to send my shipping information.
Here is the end-of-auction notice I got from the seller.
***************************************************
Congratulations on winning this auction. You total, with shipping will be X,XXX.XX.
This was a benefit auction for Jews For Jesus, and in grateful appreciation for your bid we will be posting your name on our donor list at xxxxxx.com.
Also, your full purchase price qualifies as a fully tax-deductible charitable donation.
Please send check of money order to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Again, many thanks from Jews For Jesus
***************************************************
Well, I did not know that this was a charity auction, and that my purchase was tax-deductible. I am concerned that because I am Catholic, my Parrish might be upset if they know that I made a large cash donation to another denomination. I have never heard of this group, and I do not want my name on their Web Site.
I really want the item, and I expressed my concerns to the seller, but the seller says they are required to post the names of the "donors" for the benefit of their organization.
What should I do?
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Shoshanah
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:05:08 PM
Pray!...that your person of the cloth does not see it...
********************
Gosh Shosh!
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/rifkah/
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Freddy57
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:05:16 PM
Don't worry, you aren't the donor. The person that posted the auction is. They are one that donated the proceeds from the item. You need to complete the transaction just like any other auction.
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paulswife
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:08:01 PM
verify that in the auction, there isn't any mention about the charity.
if there isn't any mention, email them and ask them to either 1. not put your name on the website as you want the item, and the tax deduction wouldn't be too bad for you; or 2. ask them to not hold you to it as you don't give to that charity and it wasn't mentioned in the auction and it should've.
this automatic charity business is really underhanded.
my .02 worth
[ edited by paulswife on Dec 1, 2000 03:09 PM ]
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Meya
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:10:06 PM
I know a little bit about this group, and they don't do anything that would compromise your Catholic beliefs. They are an outreach to Jewish people to explain Christianity and the belief that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. As a Catholic, your basic belief is the same as this.
However, I would think that any fund raising of this type should be explained in the auction.
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montechristo
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:10:40 PM
First, can someone help me understand?
If I buy something from a charity, is it a tax-deductable contribution?
I know that you can deduct the $500/plate charity dinners as a contribution.
Is this different?
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snowyegret
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:12:18 PM
montechristo: Jews for Jesus are Jews who have converted to Christianity.
I'm not sure, but I would agree with Freddy57 that the seller is donating your payment. This is an interesting one.
[ edited by snowyegret on Dec 1, 2000 03:15 PM ]
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Zazzie
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:13:43 PM
ask your parish priest---but I would doubt they would mind. Tell the organization that you do NOT give them permission to put your name on their site and to please not to---and if they say they must---then you will consider the auction null and void for violation of your privacy..
Jews for Jesus have been around for years----they are not a fly by night organization.
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Pocono
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:15:42 PM
Write back, and tell them "Thank You", that you purchased this item for your "Catholic Church", and that you will be placing a plaque with it that says: "Graciously supplied by the JEWS for JESUS".
Then let them know that you may be willing to negotiate such placement
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montechristo
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:16:47 PM
snowyegret:
Yes, I have heard that they are Christian, but have they converted to Roman Catholicism?
It is not in good taste in my Parish to contribute to other religions.
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Zazzie
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:16:53 PM
Jews for Jesus are a bit more than converted or assimulated Jews---they are Jews who want to retain their Jewish culture--but also wish to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.
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sissyclarke
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:18:58 PM
monte,
According to the tax law, you have to discount the cost of the food from the $500.00 plate.
I went to a charity dinner for McDonald's House and the dinner was $500.00 a plate. We were served McDonald's hamburgers and fries.
It was easy to figure my net charitable donation.
What did you eat?
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Zazzie
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:22:19 PM
No--they are not Catholics. Does your parish only allow you to buy from Catholics?? That is all you are doing---making a purchase of an item.
http://www.jewsforjesus.org/
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Meya
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:24:34 PM
I have shopped at a number of White Elephant sales held by churches that are not the same denomination as my own. It's never been a problem. This is really the same type of thing.
You could ask that your name not be listed however, I would think they would have to abide by that request.
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Shoshanah
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:24:40 PM
Yes, what Zazzie said. They are a group by themselves, with no conversion...just a splintering of Judaism and Christianity forming a new brand of Religious belief.
They hold on (quite strictly) to the Mosaic Laws, but they DO believe Jesus, a great Rabbi in his time, WAS the Messiah.
********************
Gosh Shosh!
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/rifkah/
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snowyegret
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:29:51 PM
montechristo: Not to my knowledge, that's why I say it's an interesting problem ( my FIL was Roman Catholic so I understand).
Pondering....
[ edited by snowyegret on Dec 1, 2000 03:30 PM ]
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buyhigh
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:35:56 PM
Isn't that how Christainity got it's start in the first place? Weren't all the early so called Christians just Jews who followed Jesus and considered him the Messiah? Looks like they are just going back 2000 yrs to the beginning. Also I do not think the IRS would allow the full purchase price as a charitable deduction.
buyhigh
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RainyBear
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:39:13 PM
montechristo - if I were you I'd do three things:
1) Write back and ask that you prefer to remain anonymous and do not wish to be listed on their web site.
2) Take the tax break.
3) Don't sweat it. Just because you donated to a Christian organization that isn't in your particular branch of Christianity isn't a big deal.
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macandjan
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:39:31 PM
[ edited by macandjan on Dec 3, 2000 04:16 PM ]
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eastwest
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:42:36 PM
I would think they would say somthing about this in there auction unless they are hinding the fact that you are on the list !!!!after the auction is close..I would forward this to ebay ...they may ask them to explain more in there auctions in the future!!! John 3:16 
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on December 1, 2000 03:46:56 PM
My rather foggy recollection is that the only portion that is a tax-deductible contribution is whatever you paid that is over and above the "value" of the item. But I'm probably wrong
But how, exactly, would your parish know about your "contribution" - unless members of your church regularly click on the Jews for Jesus site? - in which case I'd suggest this would be an example of the pot calling the kettle black....
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busybiddy
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posted on December 1, 2000 04:09:49 PM
I have never heard of any charitable organization that would refuse an ANONYMOUS donation.
If I won this auction, my main concern would be having my name published ANYWHERE, be it on a website or in a group newsletter. You should not be forced to do so. Why can't they respect your request and list the buyer as ANONYMOUS?
I would contact them and make it clear that I did not want my name published anywhere and that unless they could comply with that request, I would decline to purchase.
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eastwest
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posted on December 1, 2000 04:19:28 PM
BINGO and there is your answer!!!!
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abacaxi
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posted on December 1, 2000 04:33:10 PM
"Jews for Jesus" is an obnoxious supposedly Christian group that targets Jews for conversion efforts (although being Jewish was good enough for Jesus, they seem to think that modern Jews neeed to change religions) ... and that they would resort to a stealth auction as a fund raiser lets you know their level of ethics.
I agree with Macandjan "What sort of good work is based on a lie?"
If they did not CLEARLY identify the auction as a charity auction for that group, I'd be inclined to tell them to FOAD because they got my money by stealth.
"the seller says they are required to post the names of the "donors" for the benefit of their organization." Pure BS ... they want to post the names to prove they have supporters, and they want your name and address so they can SELL your name to other supposedly Christian organizations as a "donor of large sums". If you want your junk mail to increase 10-fold, go through with the auction.
Edited to add:
You could always put the seller's name onto a Catholic mailing list, perferably one that promotes tours to Medujorge and sells saint's relics.
[ edited by abacaxi on Dec 1, 2000 04:35 PM ]
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stusi
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posted on December 1, 2000 05:03:53 PM
abacaxi-i am not a member of Jews for Jesus but i strongly resent you calling any religious movement obnoxious!
so many of you guys seem to love to discuss religion or political issues on this board. this is an ebay outlook board! this would not even be appropriate for a roundtable auction board but it's not my board so knock yourselves out. this discussion should have been kept generic regarding a "charity" that did not reveal itself until after the auction.
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booksbooksbooks
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posted on December 1, 2000 05:09:29 PM
The only portion that is tax-deductible is the amount by which the price you paid exceeds the actual value. Any legitimate charitable organization would have told you that. Since you didn't know the money was going to J4J, I doubt that you paid a penny more than the actual value. So none of the purchase price is a donation.
I'm not sure the fact that it's a J4J fundraiser really affects your obligation to make the purchase. I have no idea what the political or religious beliefs of the people I buy from are, or how they spend their money. (and often, when I buy from thrift shops, I *know* that at least some of the benefiting organization's beliefs are repugnant to me, and still buy from them if the price is right.) I'm not sure that *knowing* this info would/should affect your willingness to go through with an auction, unless the group is truly repulsive.
On the other hand, posting your name would be a violation of eBay rules, which prohibit the public posting of personal information, and they have tried to mislead you regarding the tax implications. Since they won't sell you the item without posting your name, you can IMO justifiably refuse to pay and complain to SafeHarbor.
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Meya
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posted on December 1, 2000 05:09:33 PM
What stusi said. The issue here isn't which charity did this and whether or not you agree with them. The issue is not revealing this until after the auction. And name calling is just unecessary.
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tolz
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posted on December 1, 2000 05:23:14 PM
From what I read:
"This was a benefit auction for Jews For Jesus, and in grateful appreciation for your bid we will be posting your name on our donor list at xxxxxx.com.
A big Privacy issue here folks!
This organization is going to post your info on a Web Page, against your wishes? Big No-No here.
They should state that they plan to post your info on their Web Site within their TOS!
Report em to Safe Harbour if they refuse your wishes.
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twinsoft
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posted on December 1, 2000 05:40:20 PM
Religious points aside, to notify the winner after the auction that their name will be put on a public list as a supporter of Jews for Jesus is reprehensible. I would politely explain that I do not wish to be publicy associated with Jews for Jesus and tell the seller to relist the item. I would also leave neutral feedback because what the seller did was dishonest.
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pattaylor
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posted on December 1, 2000 06:04:03 PM
Everyone,
This topic has the potential to become disruptive. I ask that you all do your part to keep the discussion within the confines of basic etiquette.
Please confine your conversation to the situation itself, and avoid discussing the religious aspects.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Pat
[email protected]
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