Can I sell stuff while on unemployment - NYS Department of Labor rules?

Generally speaking, selling your personal belongings that you already owned before filing for unemployment shouldn't count as earnings you need to report. NYS Department of Labor considers this liquidating assets, not generating income. However, if you're buying items specifically to resell for profit, that would be considered self-employment income and must be reported on your weekly claim certification.

yeah i sold my bike and some other random stuff last year while on UI and never had any issues, just dont start a whole business lol

Be careful though - if you sell a lot of items regularly, NYS Department of Labor might consider it self-employment even if it's your own stuff. The key is whether it looks like a business activity. One-time sales of personal property are usually fine, but if you're posting stuff for sale every week it could be problematic. Also keep records of what you sell and for how much, just in case.

I was in a similar situation last year and couldn't get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor to ask about this. Spent hours on hold just to get disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual person at the unemployment office. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Honestly saved me so much stress being able to get real answers about what I could and couldn't do while collecting benefits.

The unemployment system is so confusing about this stuff! Like why can't they just give clear guidelines about what counts as income? I'm scared to do anything that might affect my benefits but I also need money for groceries. This whole process makes me so anxious.

Just to clarify the main rule: if you owned the items before becoming unemployed and you're selling them at or below what you originally paid, it's not considered income. It only becomes reportable income if you're making a profit through regular sales activity or if it constitutes self-employment. Keep it simple and occasional and you should be fine.

I'm in a similar boat and was worried about this too. From what I've researched, the NYS Department of Labor website actually has a section on "other income" that mentions selling personal property usually doesn't count as wages if it's stuff you already owned. The tricky part is they want you to report ANY income over $405 per week, but selling your own belongings typically falls under "liquidating assets" not "earning income." I'd suggest keeping receipts showing what you originally paid for items if you have them, just to prove you're not making a profit. Also maybe don't sell everything at once - spread it out over a few weeks to avoid any red flags.