The Berkbridge Foundation - Questions Regarding Legitimacy 8 8

[porcupine48]

Booger Hole's area code is 681 six ate one get it?Get it?Kismet.

[Krismusic]

18 hours ago, Sweet Lou 14 said:

Giving this thread a bump.  I decided to do a little searching online and I found a few things that may be of interest.  I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable in the law will be able to help interpret this.

First, I looked up Berkbridge on the IRS web site:
https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/displayAll.do?dispatchMethod=displayAllInfo&Id=5810275&ein=472554006&names=berkbridge

If you expand the "Form 990-N (e-Postcard)" section, IRS lists the following basic information:

Berkbridge Foundation
401 Ryland Street, Suite 200A
Reno, NV 89502
EIN: 47-2554006
Principal Officer:  Robert Jalali
Gross receipts not greater than $50,000
No web site

I'm pretty sure that their gross receipts are well above $50,000, so that stands out.

Perhaps more interesting is the "Auto-Revocation List" section, which reads:

Organizations whose federal tax exempt status was automatically revoked for not filing a Form 990-series return or notice for three consecutive years. Important note: Just because an organization appears on this list, it does not mean the organization is currently revoked, as they may have been reinstated.
Exemption Type: 501(c)(3)
Exemption Reinstatement Date: 05-15-2017
Revocation Date: 05-15-2017
Revocation Posting Date: 08-16-2017

I showed this to a friend who's a lawyer, and he said:  "Yes, sketchy. IRS revoked their status May 2017 for failure to file anything for at least 3 yrs, but they then did and were reinstated retroactively."

Next, I looked up Berkbridge on the Nevada Secretary of State site:
https://esos.nv.gov/EntitySearch/OnlineEntitySearch

Here's some of what you'll find there:

ENTITY INFORMATION
Entity Name:  BERKBRIDGE FOUNDATION
Entity Number:  E0626592014-5
Entity Type:  Domestic Nonprofit Corporation (82)
Entity Status:  Active
Formation Date:  12/15/2014
NV Business ID:  NV20141764182
Termination Date:  Perpetual
Annual Report Due Date:  12/31/2019
Solicits Charitable Contribution:  No

Name of Individual or Legal Entity:  REGISTERED AGENTS INC.
Status:  Active
CRA Agent Entity Type:
Registered Agent Type:  Commercial Registered Agent
NV Business ID:  NV20181586336
Office or Position:
Jurisdiction:  WYOMING
Street Address:  401 RYLAND ST STE 200-A, Reno, NV, 89502, USA
Email Address:  INFO@REGISTEREDAGENTSINC.COM
Mailing Address:
Individual with Authority to Act:  BILL HARVE
Contact Phone Number:
Fictitious Website or Domain Name:

OFFICER INFORMATION

Title	Name	Address	Last Updated	Status
President	ROBERT JALALI	401 RYLAND STREET, SUITE 200-A, RENO, NV, 89502, USA	12/30/2017	Active
Secretary	MICHAEL DAWSON	401 RYLAND STREET, SUITE 200-A, RENO, NV, 89502, USA	12/30/2017	Active
Treasurer	NATHAN GEORGE	401 RYLAND STREET, SUITE 200-A, RENO, NV, 89502, USA	12/30/2017	Active
Director	ROBERT JALALI	401 RYLAND STREET, SUITE 200-A, RENO, NV, 89502, USA	12/30/2017	Active

FILING HISTORY DETAILS

File Date	Effective Date	Filing Number	Document Type	Amendment Type	Source	View
08/07/2019	08/07/2019	20190087301	Annual List		External
12/30/2017	12/30/2017	20170552582-97	Annual List		External
12/28/2016	12/28/2016	20160563468-11	Annual List		External
11/16/2015	11/16/2015	20150500389-13	Annual List		External
11/16/2015	11/16/2015	20150500385-79	Initial List		External
12/15/2014	12/15/2014	20140809224-52	Articles of Incorporation		Internal

What jumps out at me here is that there was no end-of-year filing in 2018, but they went in and updated their records on August 7, 2019.  I can't tell for sure, but my suspicion is that they may have changed the value of "Solicits Charitable Contribution" to "No" at this time.  This thread kicked off in September 2019, and I'm not remembering whether they were already under scrutiny dating back to August 7.

Curious to hear if anyone else is able to glean more clues from all this, or has any ideas for further research.

[F-N-G]

I had noticed Berkbridge somehow were getting insider info prior to SDCC and Disney23, whereas certain key books were purchased prior to these events in very high grade on EBay, Likely from this seller, as soon as the event had occurred, the key books of importance were then listed with inflated prices which is what got my attention to begin with and I haven’t stopped watching their listings ever since.
It’s a good thing CGC books have serial numbers otherwise what I just said would have little to no significance (there’s a digital sales trail on eBay) and also insider info unfortunately does not apply specifically to buying and reselling of comic books as if they were a stock.

Wouldnt we all like to have insider info when it comes to buying and selling comic books ? 

Id always suspected that this not for profit status on eBay was a bit preposterous- and now it seems laughable. 
 

something also about an eBay seller selling out of SanDiego yet registered in Nevada and in Reno? Why not Las Vegas? Aren’t their specific (and dubious, questionable) tax advantages to registering a business in NEVADA? Or is it limited to only the gambling cities?

 

 

[shadroch]

Every city but Boulder is a gambling city in Nevada. Nevada law allows corporations protections other states don't. Nothing dubious about it.

[Badger]

 I see that Berkbridge is still up on eBay. Are they a legit charity? They have a tagline that purchases in their ebay store are tax free. That gives them an advantage over other sellers. I think I will form a charity fighting collectibles addiction in fat, white,Super Helpful  IT workers.

[James J Johnson]

1 hour ago, Badger said:

 I see that Berkbridge is still up on eBay. Are they a legit charity? They have a tagline that purchases in their ebay store are tax free. That gives them an advantage over other sellers. I think I will form a charity fighting collectibles addiction in fat, white,Super Helpful  IT workers.

They have a lot of advantages. Some of which are what you mentioned, allowing buyers to skate over their respective state's sales tax collection by ebay because as a charitable organization, they pay no tax.

Also, as a charitable organization, they pay no ebay fees and possibly no paypal fees as well (not 100% sure about paypal). But ebay mentions in their guidelines that ebay sellers operating under the guise of a charity do not pay ebay their 8 to 10%.

Another, is the psychological benefit. Bidders are buying knowing/thinking that their money is going to help single mothers with day care or whatever else Berkbridge does. I say whatever else because no information exists online that I or anyone else here has been able to find about exactly who benefits and how. There are no charity pages, no links, no testimonials, nothing that I've been able to find, and as far as I know, anyone else on the forums has been able to locate. 

Their charitable works, which is highly unusual for a charity to have no info available about their charitable efforts for interested readers who might possibly contribute, if they could actually see tangible evidence of where the money they collect for the sale of comics to aid unmarried mothers is going. Odd, no?

Add to all this blue tint scans that heighten reds and yellows, downplay tone on blue areas, and give the books an artificial boost in eye appeal that sometime result in their 8.0s selling for almost double that of the same book graded 8.5 the very same night!

Yes. Lots of advantages here aside from passing on their tax free status to the buyer to create an unfair environment for other sellers who can't do the same.

[Jaylam]

5 hours ago, James J Johnson said:

They have a lot of advantages. Some of which are what you mentioned, allowing buyers to skate over their respective state's sales tax collection by ebay because as a charitable organization, they pay no tax.

Also, as a charitable organization, they pay no ebay fees and possibly no paypal fees as well (not 100% sure about paypal). But ebay mentions in their guidelines that ebay sellers operating under the guise of a charity do not pay ebay their 8 to 10%.

Another, is the psychological benefit. Bidders are buying knowing/thinking that their money is going to help single mothers with day care or whatever else Berkbridge does. I say whatever else because no information exists online that I or anyone else here has been able to find about exactly who benefits and how. There are no charity pages, no links, no testimonials, nothing that I've been able to find, and as far as I know, anyone else on the forums has been able to locate. 

Their charitable works, which is highly unusual for a charity to have no info available about their charitable efforts for interested readers who might possibly contribute, if they could actually see tangible evidence of where the money they collect for the sale of comics to aid unmarried mothers is going. Odd, no?

Add to all this blue tint scans that heighten reds and yellows, downplay tone on blue areas, and give the books an artificial boost in eye appeal that sometime result in their 8.0s selling for almost double that of the same book graded 8.5 the very same night!

Yes. Lots of advantages here aside from passing on their tax free status to the buyer to create an unfair environment for other sellers who can't do the same.

I for one will not knowingly give them a dime as there is obviously no transparency concerning their so called charity. How they are able to maintain their status with the IRS, ebay, PayPal etc. is beyond me based on the investigation and information presented here. Even when presented with the opportunity to disclose more information about their work and legitimize themselves by the answering of questions being presented here, they responded not with anything that would promote or further their cause, but with threats. A total fail on their part, and most certainly not a way to instill any form of confidence that the original poster of this thread was seeking.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Jaylam

[James J Johnson]

17 hours ago, Jaylam said:

 they responded not with anything that would promote or further their cause, but with threats. A total fail on their part,

How else could they respond? There's nothing I can find online about their charitable works for single mothers. And I've looked. I tried. Maybe others have been more successful in their fact findings? I sure hit dead ends in all my searches and inquiries into the charity as the only reviews I can find online concerning their charity are right here, same as you discovered. Threats. No facts. No testimonials. No articles about their charitable works. Just the threats, not the charity, which I hope is less empty than the threats, because as of yet, although we've asked, and we've looked, both the threats and the charity's testimonials appear to be of co-equal emptiness on the surface. You'd think that a charity would jump at the opportunity to share their mission, explain its importance, and who exactly is benefitting. Threats are a most unexpected response. Disappointing.  

[batman_fan]

Are they back at it?

Batman 14

[lizards2]

40 minutes ago, batman_fan said:

Are they back at it?

Batman 14

I don't think they really ever quit.

[James J Johnson]

1 hour ago, batman_fan said:

Are they back at it?

Batman 14

"ALL OUR BOOKS AVAILABLE TAX-FREE ON OUR SITE"

Soliciting and encouraging sales off-ebay, on ebay. My prediction is that won't last for too long. That's like setting up a produce stand in a grocery store's parking lot.

[thehumantorch]

22 hours ago, James J Johnson said:

"ALL OUR BOOKS AVAILABLE TAX-FREE ON OUR SITE"

Soliciting and encouraging sales off-ebay, on ebay. My prediction is that won't last for too long. That's like setting up a produce stand in a grocery store's parking lot.

The Batman 14 8.5 is indeed, also, on their site.  How does Birdcrapbridge get away with promoting their site on ebay?  Is it because they're a 'charitable' foundation?

[James J Johnson]

14 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

The Batman 14 8.5 is indeed, also, on their site.  How does Birdcrapbridge get away with promoting their site on ebay?  Is it because they're a 'charitable' foundation?

No. It's because Ebay doesn't police seller's listings. They have 0.0 interest. The only time a rep will take a look is when it's brought to their attention, as in this case, not just some seller/buyer faux pas, but an actual smack in the chops; biting the hand that feeds you; waving the bird in the face of your landlord, type of infraction that any sane individual would think that ebay, as an entity whose business depends on driving buyers to their site, and not self-promotion solicited on their site to drive revenue away from their site, would have some interest in!  The rep will "oooh and ahhhhh, huh, look at that!" and thank the member for pointing out to them a blatant guideline infraction; the rep will intimate that imminent action is being taken, and that will be the end of it. Forgotten about before 3 seconds have gone by since hanging up!

 

[James J Johnson]

6 hours ago, kav said:

They actually have 0.00 interest-I've run the numbers.  I reported a fund raiser listing to ebay I called em 5 times.  Every time it was oh no we dont allow fundraisers-thank you for bringing this to our attention!  The listing was never removed.  It was a $500,000 fundraiser to build a higher consciousness temple.

Did they ever build the temple to higher consciousness? Too bad if they didn't. eBay's trust and safety team could have been among the first group indoctrinated, they'd probably have the most to gain by jump starting their psyches!   

[Sweet Lou 14]

14 hours ago, kav said:

Guy was a real dummy-claimed he had 'stopped aging' using 'sanskrit'.  I said you dont read sanskrit.  Yes I do!  So I wrote some stuff in sanskrit and asked ok what does this say?  He had no clue.  Then he switched to "I feel sanskrit"    he also said he had 'reversed aging by 20 years'.  I said bluh you do not look 12.  He was 32.

Even most Indians don't read Sanskrit so it you can, that's impressive.

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 1/12/2020 at 10:30 PM, lizards2 said:

I don't think they really ever quit.

"Too legit to quit."

[Domo Arigato]

 

   

 

 

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Domo Arigato

[JollyComics]

On 10/9/2019 at 3:50 PM, icefires said:

They send all proceeds to the Berkbridge Foundation. Then they use almost all of the proceeds for "administrative expenses." A small fraction of the proceeds goes to single mother(s). No fees or taxes. Actually pretty brilliant.

And FYI, billionaires pay less tax than the average middle income worker. 

Not fair. But legal. The people in charge take care of themselves first. They have a great amount of influence on laws/tax laws. Politicians get "contributions" and are (legally) as morally bankrupt as the day is long.

Welcome to reality. 

 

 

One word is Corruption.

[BlowUpTheMoon]

Is advertising your website in a listing photo against eBay rules?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DAREDEVIL-81-CGC-9-4-WHITE-PAGES-RARE-HIGH-GRADE-1st-BLACK-WIDOW-X-OVER/283788196081?hash=item42131838f1:g:oRkAAOSwM0BeQvuE

 

[James J Johnson]

4 hours ago, BlowUpTheMoon said:

Is advertising your website in a listing photo against eBay rules?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DAREDEVIL-81-CGC-9-4-WHITE-PAGES-RARE-HIGH-GRADE-1st-BLACK-WIDOW-X-OVER/283788196081?hash=item42131838f1:g:oRkAAOSwM0BeQvuE

 

As far as I understand ebay bylaws, this would be a violation of ebay guidelines. That is specifically, the promotion of an off-ebay website as a preferred avenue for sales.

What the seller is doing is using language and images that directs ebay members viewing his items to his webpage, and offering an advantage that his ebay competitors don't have, "why buy on ebay? We can spare you paying sales tax if you bypass ebay and instead buy from our website instead; a huge savings", I paraphrase, but that is the way I'm interpreting the language.

This violates two principle. One, re-directing ebay buyers to your site by, 2) offering savings that other similar ebay sellers who must rely on ebay alone cannot match. Now that's commerce. That's fine in the business world. A seller who can offer advantage to a buyer that another seller can't, getting the lion's share of business. But in this case, Berk is violating eBay's guidelines to do it (Promoting his own website in his ebay listings by offering sales tax free sales off of ebay)

Not only is he doing the equivalent of setting up a fruit stand in the parking lot of his local supermarket, he's also offering the supermarket's customers their fruit sales tax free, "Why buy it in the store? It'll cost you less right here, from me instead". Now he can set up that fruit stand anywhere he pleases (as long as he's not on someone else's property). And that's what Berk is doing here. Driving ebay consumers to his site using his landlord to do it.

Edited February 20, 2020 by James J Johnson