Need advice...doing ebay jv with partner in australia...paypal not optimal solution

Ok, so I am in the very preliminary/testing stages of doing a jv with a person in australia selling items that 'he' sources in AUS and uses my ebay account to sell. I take a small cut of gross proceeds of each transaction.

My dillemma lies here: Obviously, since I am a U.S. citizen, our tax structuring is beyond stringent. All items are sold on my aged ebay U.S. account but on the AUS ebay site, and ONLY sold/shipped within australia. However, all payments from customers currently go directly to my u.s. paypal account, in which I tally up all ebay fees and paypal fees then send him his cut via bank wire once positive feedback is received. Far from optimal...

I do not want this as a short-term solution at all. So my question is...what would be some of the top forms of payment and the optimal solution in a jv that is conducted overseas? He is already open to giving me sales receipts for each item sold, and I keep thorough records of all ebay transaction detals/paypal fees in an xls spreadsheet. But the fact that paypal is involved in a potentially large scale endeavor does not sit well with me at all. Would it be in my best interest both from a logical and financial protection perspective to have the buyers pay 'him' directly instead of me, then he sends me my cut? (assuming I trust him to ship the items as well as pay me). And if so, what forms of payment that can be tied in with Paypal do you guys recommend? I've looked into escrow, and that honestly appears to be the top choice, but the fees are admittedly a little higher than desired. I just read countless stories of paypal chargebacks months later and do not want to deal with the sort of antics associated with the company over the years. Though I don't have much worries about using them for my regular small-scale ebay sales.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

no one? : /

advice in this sort of situation is somewhat difficult. I don't think anyone can really tell you what you need to do but some broad advice would be to do what you can to protect yourself. If you are really interested in a jv, and you can't find any products from people in your own country, then I'd suggest that you make sure all payments are given to you. Period, especially if you don't control the product. If he is paying you, that puts you in a compromising position.

Paypal isn't the worst payment gateway, and a lot of ebay users use it, so in the instance of you getting paid it is reasonable. Something else may be better (and less hated by this community), but paypal is probably fine.

If this is longterm, set an LLC for your end, and report money paid to your partner as an independent contractor. Make him deal with the taxes from his income. Claim yours and be straight forward. As far as getting paid and dealing with money, be as whitehat as you can be. There is no reason to be bh in that realm, if you aren't doing anything that is VERY BH.

simplest way start a company
get a company paypal account

and let him deal with his own taxes - as an independent contractor.

I agreed that Paypal is likely your best payment solution and will carry the same issues as almost any other provider.

The best way to pay your partner will likely be bank wire. My advice would be to have in writing how to handle the revenue/profit split. How do you handle chargebacks? Is he paid on revenue or profit. In cases of profit, what expense are deemed related and what are discretionary?

You will need to either issue him a K-1 or 1099 each tax year. There is a foreign equivalent of a w-9 you will need to get him to complete. Get this upfront.

well for business solutions i think money bookers are better than paypal and they are very friendly too ..