Business account versus Private seller account

[wortheverypennyspent]

Hiya all. I have been selling on eBay for 16 years now with the same user id and account (one of the longest), I still have 100% feedback score and I am proud of that tbh, but it has not been easy. I just wanted to ask you people if you have noticed the lack of views and bids for your listings? I have noticed terribly that views and bids have chronically dropped in the past 6-12 months. I only sell excellent condition clothing, most are like new. This is my job not a side line and I know somebody as a private seller who makes more money than me and sells more than me and ebay in their fees that they charge me also make more money than me for the majority of the time. I have done a lot of research comparing Business to Private and it appears that a Private seller does in fact make more money. I would so appreciate some feedback on this whether negative or positive to me. Thank you

[wortheverypennyspent]

Yes you get me, Thank you for replying honey x

[elitegiftsltd]

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@satellitedior wrote:

Hi,

Lack of views & watched items have fallen off a cliff. Items which only a year or so back would have walked off the page as soon as listed, or within weeks had a mass of watchers has now vanished, I have fabulous items listed for 6 months with only a handful of views & no watchers, it is soul destroying.

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Last year was a very different situation than now. Very different disposable income, very different upcoming bills. My disposable income has dropped by around £400 a month since early August last year. Are your buyers impacted at all by the various changes? 

If I compare now to 2018 I get something close. 

[wortheverypennyspent · Accepted solution]

Hiya yes I get what you mean, I used to have loads of watchers on my items
and now I am lucky if I get 2-3 on the odd items. Since they changed it (I
believe about 18 months ago) and started taking final value fees from the
postage it has had a very negative impact on my sales, That and no longer
being allowed to leave negs, as the buyer plays on that, it has been dire,
I am very lucky if I earn more than ebay each month. I had to up my postage
to £3.80 which has had a negative effect as people do not want to pay it. I
cannot afford to offer free postage as my items sell for so little now. All
my items are like new but you are not allowed to put that but as far as
buyers are concerned it is used at the end of the day. I had one buyer who
said she did not realise I was a Business seller when I sold her a dress
she did not like, I just refunded her to keep the peace tbh as having 100%
feedback is crucial on ebay in my book. So yes I would say so!

[elitegiftsltd]

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@wortheverypennyspent wrote:
Hiya yes I get what you mean, I used to have loads of watchers on my items
and now I am lucky if I get 2-3 on the odd items. Since they changed it (I
believe about 18 months ago) and started taking final value fees from the
postage it has had a very negative impact on my sales, That and no longer
being allowed to leave negs, as the buyer plays on that, it has been dire,
I am very lucky if I earn more than ebay each month. I had to up my postage
to £3.80 which has had a negative effect as people do not want to pay it. I
cannot afford to offer free postage as my items sell for so little now. All
my items are like new but you are not allowed to put that but as far as
buyers are concerned it is used at the end of the day. I had one buyer who
said she did not realise I was a Business seller when I sold her a dress
she did not like, I just refunded her to keep the peace tbh as having 100%
feedback is crucial on ebay in my book. So yes I would say so!

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Fees on postage was about 9 years ago. Did not make any difference to buyers, what fees a seller paid is usually irrelevant to them.

If you want to make more than eBay the alter your pricing, costs or both. 

Not leaving negs on buyers? 14 years ago. Back then you could not leave a justified neg for a seller without a neg for you as a buyer. And woe betide an item was missing in the post.... 

Free postage does not cost you any more or any less. Just put that 3.80 into the price. 

Like new is allowed in some categories, others you can use the classification of used but explain how good the item is. 

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

Times are hard and not a lot of money about.

If your not selling personal stuff then you need to be a business seller by law.

Any turn over above £1000 and the tax man wants to know you.

[wortheverypennyspent]

Thank you all for your input, case closed

[trevcald]

i was a business seller but reverted to private seller best thing i ever did no rent to pay on a shop and sell about the same as i did before without the overheads yes you dont get the marketing tools etc or boost sales through newsletters and lose your branding to some extent but as i'm now retired i just wanted less fixed bills . happy to pay more commission on sales and promoting but only do so when an item sells not upfront like when i had a shop...dont think my bottom line has improved much after fees think its pretty much the same tend to sell more to get the same profit margin as when i had the shop. but my sales are seasonal so when its quiet i'm not paying rent for nothing....

if your brand is important and sales arnt seasonal stick with the shop if it is seasonal and brand doesnt matter consider switching  ..you'll still get measured on service metrics and in someways theyre more rigid for private sellers... swings and roundabouts i suppose ..

[sam_in_barbate]

Hi,

Do I understand correctly that this account was a business account, & that you managed to get it reverted back to a private account, if so when did you do it, or did you open a new private account?

For if you had an existing business account reverted back to private then it is the first case I have ever heard of, countless of us have tried to have business accounts reverted back, & it has always been impossible, eBay state they do not reverts accounts back to private.

[pixiesen2012]

@trevcald 

you are 'trading' on a 'private' account which is against the rules,

you don't have to subscribe to a shop, but you are supposed to have a business account when you are trading

Business seller policy | eBay

Business sellers are required to follow all government regulations, including registering as a business on eBay, and providing contact information and a return policy.

[wortheverypennyspent]

no I have not reverted back

[wortheverypennyspent]

Hiya yes I am aware, I am a Business seller by trade and it is my job, I was just asking

[wortheverypennyspent]

no I have not reverted

[wortheverypennyspent]

I am not trading on a private just curious

[papso22]

The replies you are replying to, were not to you.

[elitegiftsltd]

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@trevcald wrote:

i was a business seller but reverted to private seller best thing i ever did no rent to pay on a shop and sell about the same as i did before without the overheads yes you dont get the marketing tools etc or boost sales through newsletters and lose your branding to some extent but as i'm now retired i just wanted less fixed bills . happy to pay more commission on sales and promoting but only do so when an item sells not upfront like when i had a shop...dont think my bottom line has improved much after fees think its pretty much the same tend to sell more to get the same profit margin as when i had the shop. but my sales are seasonal so when its quiet i'm not paying rent for nothing....

if your brand is important and sales arnt seasonal stick with the shop if it is seasonal and brand doesnt matter consider switching  ..you'll still get measured on service metrics and in someways theyre more rigid for private sellers... swings and roundabouts i suppose ..

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How you coping with your 12 months any reason return policy?

[potters_uk]

The other thing is, that if you report a private seller for operating a business and the HMRC roll up to find that the person is keeping books and paying taxes then they are not going to be interested in ebays rules nor persuing anomolies in consumer rights etc. Its not their job to persue that, and so the offender carries on.  It seems that Ebay look the other way as they still get their money so the only real option is trading standards who are not the force they once were. 

[trevcald]

i'm retired  this is a hobby not a business.  

[papso22]

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@trevcald wrote:

i'm retired  this is a hobby not a business.  

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There is no such thing as a hobby seller when it comes to consumer law.  You may have retired from some other job, but this account is being used to sell things you have bought to sell, and so you need to have a business account in order to trade legally. 

This from your listings clinches it:

THATS IT ....WE'VE BEEN PRODUCING AND SELLING ACCESSORIES & NUMBER PLATES FOR KIDS SIT ON PUSH ALONG AND RIDE IN TOYS SINCE 2005 and yes they have BEEN ENHANCED OVER THE YEARS we have many loyal customers who been with us from their first  baby plates right the way through....ANY PROBLEMS AT ALL MESSAGE US FIRST BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING DAFT...AND WE'LL SORT IT..

[plpmr]

Your listings clearly show you are a business seller trading as a private seller in violation of eBay rules and the law.

There's just two versions of a seller - private or business - there's no hobby seller.

[pg_kicks]

Issue is, we know hes a business, he knows he is a business, eBay probably know he is a business, but he still gets the perks of being a private seller, yes the 12 months returns but who even knows that rule. The bigger fools are probably me and the other business sellers who dont get anywhere near the offers he gets and have to opening advertise that we accept returns and have our details on the page.

Its time eBay started acting on the 'private' business sellers like they did with the incorrect VAT info, even though they told us that it was all ok.