Advice welcome on opening a business account.
Summary: cheekychippy210 is seeking advice on opening a business account to sell a paperback book. They have been a private seller for over 20 years and are now considering selling on platforms like eBay, while also contemplating the cost-effectiveness of using their own website or Amazon. Several participants provided insights: jonatjonatjonat advised against just eBay, suggesting Amazon and direct sales via a website. 4_bathrooms provided details on label printing and global advertising. santlache_sales and ragnar-rails-1 expressed skepticism about eBay's profitability for new business accounts. boundarycoins suggested more listings or variations like signed copies and mentioned the importance of separating business finances. Discussion also covered considerations like self-publishing challenges and the logistics of book printing and mailing.
Advice welcome on opening a business account.
Been a private seller on here for over 20 years.
Bereavement and I now have to sell up and move, downsize.
When done, I dare say the private account will be just to buy.
Advice please on this.
Past 20 years been writing a book, true crime, true life experience.
Once complete I need a platform to sell from, directed to from informative website.
basket could be applied to website but unsure on labels through that.
I will only be selling one item, a paperback book, so not really a shop.
glanced at the "Fees for business sellers" and it appears that they do offer no shop, sell as you go.
does anyone have this and....
1) does the sale produce the same printed label as that in simple delivery, or do I have to input manually?
2) will postage be set by me?
3) advertised globally?
any other tips.
thanks
fullers_uk
·1 month agoIf in the unlikely chance of making any money at all here have you considered doing the book as a digital download, gets around postage, non delivery, postman left it outside in the rain, cover ripped and all manner of excuses buyers use to get a refund.
boundarycoins
·1 month agoI was curious about whether OP is going to get them printed to then have the stock ready to ship on eBay, from an up front costs point of view.
Kindle do print on demand and that may be a lower risk way of doing it but it would mean selling on Amzn.
The postage side here is an issue on the average book sale as it is often small parcel. And then the packaging…
I was looking at the prices of book wrap mailers when I went to my local supplier today and it was around £0.80-£1.40 each depending on the size.
cheekychippy210
OP1 month agoI have looked into amazon and their print on demand but found many a horror story.
Odd, neighbour a keen reader bought into kindle for a few years and then went back to hard copies. Maybe a digital version only with them may be worth exploring?
my preference is paperback, around 7 x 5 inches, and talks with commercial printers on 1000 book run.
upfront cost and a cubic meter of books on pallet in hallway!
a gamble but nothing ventured.
packaging, NEC event and much learnt there as regards book wrap envelopes.
still doing the ground work.
thanks
boundarycoins
·1 month ago · EditedGood luck with it. I’m sure many of us would love to do this whether it’s a book or selling artwork etc.
I asked AI to give me a summary on KDP, there is a lot to consider from the number of pages / price and how that affects royalties down to whether it makes sense to purchase an ISBN, how third party disputes can go etc. Quite interesting if it wasn’t so late I had to cheat and get a brief summary on it.
c_of_e84
·1 month agoI have been running the family business for 26 years, it dates back to the 1960's a few years back I tried to register to sell on hammerzone, I have every business record going back decades but couldnt meet there criteria to sell internationally so told them where to stick it, during there sign up process they tricked me into signing up for prime and refused to give me a refund, wasnt a problem now when I see there vans I check there tyres and call bald ones in, its great fun.
ragnar-rails-1
·1 month agoEBAY BUSINESS IN ITS CURRENT STATE IS VERY HARD TO MAKE A PROFIT. IF YOU DO TOO WELL YOU ARE PENALISED
boundarycoins
·1 month agoI would go off the assumption that if you sell the book for £10 inc postage you will get an eBay payout of £5-£6 per book after fees and postage. That of course is only considering eBay costs so only you know how viable it would be overall.
A few random thoughts:
You might want to consider 2 listings or 1 listing with a variation - The price of the book and the price of the book signed by author.
Are you prepared to register for self-assessment with HMRC. It isn’t hard to deal with yourself but consider if you want to deal with the admin or employ an accountant.
It is a good idea to open a business bank account to separate business and personal transactions from the start so everything is easier to manage.
When you feel the eBay fees on the sales and have put all of the work into setting the account up you may think differently about having just 1 listing. Could the account be expanded over time for example - double up as a second hand book seller. Books are so easy to find at low prices and re-sell on eBay. Having lots of listings in the same genre of book as your own will naturally bring more traffic to your account.
cheekychippy210
OP1 month agothankyou
jokers_toybox
·1 month agoSome solid advice there.
jokers_toybox
·1 month agoI'd say just have a single listing running on a business profile should be absolutely fine
You can use simple delivery or your own whichever works out cheapest for you
Shop subscription seems unnecessary in your case
Yes you can set up eBay International Shipping (the new name for the GSP)
In regards to the doom and gloom on eBay, it's not as bad as some seem to make it, it's not perfect but you need to adapt and people don't like change, if you're coming in fresh to a business account the fees seem a bit of a jump and you'll need to learn about refreshing listings other just one running solidly will drop off the radar.
You'll get access to a whole bunch of tools on a business account that will help you maximise sales
cheekychippy210
OP1 month agomany thanks for reply.
jonatjonatjonat
·1 month agoThough note you won't be able to use Simple Delivery on a Business Account.
jokers_toybox
·1 month agoI thought you could ( I don't as I have OBA) but thought it was there unless I'm mixing it up with eBay postage
jonatjonatjonat
·1 month agoI think you may be. You can buy postage via eBay on any account. But that isn’t simple delivery which is only on private seller accounts whereby the label purchase is automatic at the point the order is placed by the customer.
cheekychippy210
OP1 month agoI guess I set postage, uk and oversea.
main concern is label, I dont want the aggro of hand filling, pre filled and just print.
jonatjonatjonat
·1 month agoYou can do this on a business account. Next to each order is a Get Postage Label button and you can purchase (note this is now done using ebay funds or linked bank account) a label there and then to print. Everything pre-filled.
cheekychippy210
OP1 month agomuch appreciated, thanks
santlache_sales
·1 month agoThe bottom line is if you operate as a business you'll make nothing on eBay.
I've been here 25 years and sales are not what they were 5 years ago, which itself was a mere fraction of what they were 20 years ago. This site is dying rapidly due to ebay's greed and mismanagement, go to Amazon where most people go for books or try it on your private account. You'll get absolutely no benefit registering as a business.
cheekychippy210
OP1 month agothankyou.
padanpcparts
·1 month agoOne item? Just sell it on your personal site. See how it goes.
c_of_e84
·1 month agoWeb ador is very good, easy to use, you pay a monthly fee and no % of what you sell.
4_bathrooms
·1 month agoA shop subscription is only economical if you have 90 listings or more. If you will only have a single listing a shop subscription will offer no benefit at all.
To answer your questions:
You can purchase the label via eBay or however you want to purchase it. The buyer's address is automatically entered on the label if you choose to purchase the postage/shipping via eBay.
Yes.
Yes if you offer international shipping and/or enrol in eBay's Global Shipping Programme or its upcoming replacement eBay International Shipping.
jonatjonatjonat
·1 month ago1) does the sale produce the same printed label as that in simple delivery, or do I have to input manually?
2) will postage be set by me?
Simple Delivery does not exist on Business Accounts. You can still purchase postage from ebay - but you define the postage costs. You don't have to purchase postage from ebay.
3) advertised globally?
You can choose to use ebay global shipping (or the new International Shipping) if you wish.
I would say if its a book - I certainly wouldn't limit yourself to just selling it on ebay. Amazon is a given I'd say - but if you are going to the effort of creating a website and directing users there - why not just sell directly on the website?
cheekychippy210
OP1 month agothanks,
simply cost of ecommerce site, around £30 per month which for one product is not cost effective. I'd rather pay ebay.
looked into amazon and read of many a horror story of self publishing