Private sellers who are clearly business sellers creeping back in
Summary: Participants discussed concerns about private sellers on eBay who appear to be operating as businesses without paying necessary fees. wiltshire-stamps-and-coins highlighted the issue, noting unfair competition. Others shared insights on how to spot these sellers, such as observing large quantities of new items and regular high sales. slash-halen mentioned contacting eBay but found the response unhelpive due to a lack of transparency about their thresholds for private seller status. This sparked a debate about legal implications and the enforcement of regulations, with ett1954 cautioning against misrepresenting business status. Many expressed frustration with eBay's handling of the situation, noting that it affects genuine business sellers.
Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the number of Private sellers who are clearly trading as a business increasing? Two years ago there was a big push to move private sellers over to business sellers which was a good thing as it pushed out a number of sellers who were consistently under pricing. But I have noticed a number of seller who are listed as private but clearly businesses. For example a shop with 1,200 lines listed and regular high sales. They don't pay final value fees which for business sellers accounts for a a major chunk of business sellers profit. This is especially relevant as now you have to pretty much promote every item to get a chnace of selleing. EBay please sort this out and have a purge as this is not a level playing field.
trevcald
·5 days ago · Editedyes totally agree spotting them is easy sold 8k items listed as private shop with 200 items in selling for 20 quid a pop made to order how is it the AI spider cant spot them or is it eBay just doesn't care provide the commission is rolling in. I've given up todays spot the last one for me as a business seller and registered as such walking away after 14yrs of selling on ebay and selling online from other platforms since 1998 the one that used to just sell books . Im giving up . I can compete with other businesses but not joe public who hasn't my overheads and eBay fees to contend with. They just dont police their own rules . Theres no easy mechanism to report the cheats either its a ball ache first its chat bot then get someone ring you back then its send screen grabs then just t add a further insult you have to send the whole lot again via the email address you use for your ebay account. no guys this is your job sorting this out i'm the seller not the enforcer. yes i have done the above many times in the early days but since 2020 the platform is awash with businesses blatantly selling as private individuals. can we all just go back to being private sellers forget this business your not enforcing it and i want some of the freebies and ranking boosts they get without paying through the nose for it .
technthread
·3 weeks ago · EditedI think eBay get the optics wrong on some things. I noticed when going to a listing to look for the sell similar box they have re-worded it to show ‘sell one for free’ on our accounts as well. I have been gone a while but I’m sure that’s a re-design, it used to say ‘sell one like this’. Fair enough they have the disclaimer about business accounts underneath but why rub it in its as though they are on a wind up.
messier44000
·3 weeks ago · EditedOnly today there is another thread from a ltd company (private) seller complaining about fees. No end to it. Maybe many of these private business sellers are simply following incorrect advice from eBay custard support, thinking opening a shop means they are correctly listing as a business.
papso22
·3 weeks agoThere was a other blatant one celebrating their first 1000 sales!
cbennissupplies
·3 weeks agoHMRC has not caught up with them yet though even when they do it is still far far more cheaper to sell private than as a buisness
buisness accounts are there to be bled dry in fees
c_of_e84
·3 weeks agoThis has been going on for years, I started selling on ebay over 20 years ago and after a few months trading standards were round threatening to put my door in if I didn’t switch to a business account which I did, but as reported on the BBC Newcastle trading standards has 3 so called officers (They don’t hold warrant cards they are not officers) to check 2000 vape shops, its also almost impossible to contact trading standards directly as you have go through the citizens advice bureau who then offer you advice and may or may not report it.
writesoon
·3 weeks ago · EditedI have just come across the seller in my category who has made 17,000 sales, has over 8500 thousand active listings, and in his own words on his ‘about us’ page states
“BUYING AND SELLING collectibles of varying themes, as a rule of thumb if I can post it I’ll probably try to sell it!”
So… “buying and selling” and yet registered as a private seller paying no fees at all with the shop growing each month as his free listings rollover.
I have today reported him, and I think this will be an acid test as to whether eBay are prepared to take action against sellers who in their very own words admit they are buying and selling but selling on a private account
I will report back later, and to be fair to eBay, will make it clear they have taken action against this seller if they have done so
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoYou think this is the acid test?
writesoon
·3 weeks ago · EditedWell, inasmuch as the admission he is buying and selling comes from his own mouth. I appreciate there are probably even more obvious instances though.
fribblecollectables
·3 weeks agoIf it works, please tell us exactly what you did.
Then out of mild interest, I might have a go at the person with £80,000 of brand new car parts. Or the one with over 200 food items that they bake to order. Or the one with over 300 bulk items that they sell by the pallet.
wiltshire-stamps-and-coins
OP3 weeks agoPlease let me know how that goes as I have a long list of "Private sellers" who are clearly business sellers.
palison_123
·Jul 16, 2026 at 1:03 PMThey never left in my category.there are hundreds of them making a Huge amount more money on an item then I am and paying no fees!
slash-halen
·Jul 16, 2026 at 8:56 AM · EditedI spoke with eBay this morning about this after reporting a private seller with 5500 listings (after they stole my artwork). Apparently if they do not reach a certain threshold (they would not tell me what it is) and they offer returns, they can basically continue selling under a private account. They only force business account upgrades when this 'threshold' has been reached!
So there you go! We can all create a personal account and sell on there, avoid fees and get 300 free listings a month that accumulate.
What is confusing is that ebay published all our private telephone numbers (that we use for 2FA) earlier in the year due to their understanding of Trading laws. They insisted this was mandatory, even though by law it isn't, if the selling platform provides instant messaging, showing your registered address and email is sufficient (like Etsy do for example). Yet they completely ignore this for a private seller operating a business with 5500 new items!
I am considering closing my shop, keep my best selling 20 listings alive on my business account and then move the rest to a personal account. Maybe time for us to stop complaining and just play the system.
ett1954
·Jul 16, 2026 at 10:01 AM@slash-halen "I am considering closing my shop, keep my best selling 20 listings alive on my business account and then move the rest to a personal account. Maybe time for us to stop complaining and just play the system." - whilst I sympathise with your predicament I wouldn't advise going down that route.
Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 it is a criminal offence to mislead consumers about your identity or business status. This can carry a sentence of unlimited fines, asset seizures, and up to 2 years imprisonment.
It is possible the current situation may begin to change. On July 6th eBay in Germany were taken to task by the regulators of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). This is in regard to illegal products being sold on the platform, specifically the non-user friendly process for having them removed and the lack of clarity to sellers regarding the reason eBay removes items.
"Apparently if they do not reach a certain threshold (they would not tell me what it is) and they offer returns, they can basically continue selling under a private account." - It can be argued that this approach is facilitating, and even encourages, an illegal activity. In addition we all know of the numerous private sellers offering foodstuffs for sale on eBay (I am not talking about confectionary items) where no action is taken against the sellers. This is not only against eBay rules but illegal under UK food legislation.
The business / private selling regulations in many European countries is much more strictly controlled by national and local government bodies than here in the UK, particularly in Germany. The regulators have given eBay in Germany a limited time to respond to, and address, the issues of concern and it will be interesting to see what this leads to as I am sure that addressing the issues for Germany will have to also take into account all EU countries and possible non-EU countries in Europe.
Of course if the outcome doesn't impact the UK then it will possibly still require someone to put a rocket up the a**e of the regulatory bodies in the UK to get something done about the issue.
rainbowtrax
·Jul 16, 2026 at 2:22 PMThe certain threshold is whatever figure the VAT registration threshold is currently at. Below that, ebay aren't interested. They only bother at that level because the law was changed to hold them jointly liable for VAT evasion.
jonatjonatjonat
·Jul 16, 2026 at 2:53 PMI bet you there's an awful lot of private sellers on ebay who mysteriously are selling around £7,000 per month.
the_book_seekers
·Jul 17, 2026 at 7:16 PMCustomer service staff have frequently confused thresholds in different countries and have no idea of the UK system for defining a business. ebay's management also have little idea and haven't trained their staff correctly or educated their AI systems properly to catch these sellers.
annemann-2009
·Jul 15, 2026 at 5:29 PMI've sold a lot as a private seller. And I am genuinely one. I mean, I could prove it with emails of purchases etc.
How do you identify a fake private seller out of interest? Genuine question 👍
papso22
·Jul 15, 2026 at 5:44 PMGenerally speaking a lot of brand new items with multiples of each one is a bit of a giveaway, but there are other traders out there who make a living out of selling used goods.
The hard ones are people getting rid of personal collections, they can look like traders but won't be.
annemann-2009
·Jul 15, 2026 at 5:55 PMCheers. Yeah, that would be me. Big time and long time collector. Only got so much space so choices have to be made. I'm more often than not, selling at a loss on figs I've still got boxed (some I open and pose and take pics, others are boxed until I'm in the mood).
I'm never buying to resell cos that would be a rubbish business model. 😊
Plus, I'm 53. So my collecting range is vast.
wheretheloveb
·Jul 16, 2026 at 7:25 PM · Edited''How do you identify a fake private seller out of interest? Genuine question ? ''
In my field it's very easy to identify fake private sellers.....
I buy my stock from bricks and mortar auction houses.
Every single week I'm standing literally shoulder to shoulder with bidders in the room who are buying to sell on ebay. I see exactly what they buy and then see it on their ebay page (using a private seller account).
So because they are not paying fees on ebay they can afford to outbid me in the room !
tommystrezures
·1 month agoIt never has been a level playing field, and I doubt it will ever be one. The only time eBay seem to get interested is if private seller is on VAT thresholds, and then eBay have a legal obligation to do something.