Ebay forces upgrade to Business due to new HMRC regulations

[sportex-uk]

Hi All.

I've received an email from ebay forcing me to switch to business account due to the volume of my recent sales. Customer service explained that I exceeded £1800 in one month, so they act in line with new HMRC regulations. The email is a bit threatening: "We need you to make these changes to your account within the next 21 days. If you don’t, your selling privileges may be blocked. This includes listings ended and loss of selling history."

However, As I'm not ready to go business and I consider my increased activity as temporary, Customer Service advised that if reduce my sales volume, I can stay private. Has any of you passed through this process?

Also, what happensto your existing promo listings if you switch to business? Are they allowed to continue on promo terms and with 'no returns accepted' until they sell or end?

[isaa-shaza]

I’m at this stage. I had an email before saying 30 days and then the other day it said 21 days time they’ll block me. What did you do?

[shopping-ferret]

So you have responded by ending/hiding all your listings?  I am wondering, how many other Ebay accounts do you have?

[therenewalworkshopltd]

And trying to avoid paying VAT!

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Business-Seller-Board/VAT-Registration-Sole-Trader-UK-and-EU-Taxes/m...

[isaa-shaza]

I dont have another I am taking a break now 

[isaa-shaza]

I can stop selling when I want and take a break from eBay.

[isaa-shaza]

It’s not illegal to stop selling and take a break is it?😂

[shopping-ferret]

Of course not... but seems a bit of a coincidence you decide to take a break only after Ebay informed you that you must convert to a business account and perhaps think you can avoid the risk of HMRC asking questions and charging you back taxes?  I feel had Ebay not made their ultimatum, you would have carried on trading.  You are doing exactly the same as so many other private sellers on Ebay!  They come on here complaining but many have removed or hidden all their listings as a means of thinking they can save themselves - and all this to avoid registering as a business!  I suspect a good number are claiming benefits, too.

[isaa-shaza]

I don’t claim benefits and I have my own businesses thanks for your concern

[shopping-ferret]

Well you've got to admit my comments are reasonably rational. If you have your own businesses, then I don't get why you're averse to converting your Ebay account to a business? You said you were taking a break which was your response to the threat from Ebay to block you? Is a bit suss! Plus you appeared to be wanting support? Advice? A way round tge problem?

However, I'm not trying to argue with you, but a lot of business sellers here are really disgruntled by all the fake private sellers who smarmily were getting free selling on Ebay, and easily able to offer lower prices, whilst others are paying 20% + shop fees + full legal compliance, to trade honestly. Then as soon as Ebay is imposing rules and restrictions, they all skulk off (thinking they can avoid the repercussions of pretending to be private).

And then all the pretend private sellers posting on the business sellers' board.... speaks volumes!!

[the_book_seekers]

It is unlikely that taking a break from selling will stop ebay from restricting your account. Once a deadline is issued ebay rarely backs down. 

[sportex-uk]

Your account will be killed if not changed to business.

Depending on what you're trading and how advanced you are with your business, the true diference between P and B accounts may be changing in terms that there are finally real benefits and advantages of selling as B. Business sellers used to be milk cows, getting almost nothing in exchange for higher fees they were paying (when compared to private), hence the popularity of people trading on private accounts, so no one likes to be ripped off. But looks like this is changing slowly: almost continuous ebay discount offers against business sellers make their prices more competitive vs obstacles for private sellers (messy BPF, etc.). In other words: slightly more incentives for B vs numerous obstacles for P.

[spence0175]

I wonder why the business sellers board is not limited to business sellers only

[papso22]

That's a very good question that I have also wondered about.  It would be very easy to do that, they already restrict access to some boards.

[theelench]

Perhaps it's because ebay uses both SC and BSB to get reactions from both private and business sellers to its policies and changes?  As so many discussions on SC are derailed or diverted into a continuous discussion  about businesses selling on private accounts the only place where private sellers can give their views and ebay can hear them without interruption is here?

Perhaps it would be a good idea to restrict private sellers to "Read Only" on the BSB and business sellers in the same way on SC for those who want to learn?  With the only business sellers allowed to post on SC being Mentors giving advice ?

[ett1954]

Often 'genuine' private sellers come to this board seeking help on issues from business sellers who generally have more experience.  That is the way it should be on the boards and the argument for keeping things as they are.

Why create further division between 'genuine' private sellers and business sellers when we can help each other?  Illegally registered traders cause as much harm to 'genuine' private sellers and they do to business sellers.

[spence0175]

Yes I understand that genuine private sellers come here for advice but as so often I see it becomes an uneasy heated discussion between the private and business sector.

Lets face it many are fed up with the whole situation. Business sellers want to stand their ground, non genuine private sellers sometimes  kick off and the real genuine ones are left out in the cold and their views are totally looked over…

[shopping-ferret]

The ones who argue and slate Ebay for upsetting their nice little applecart or threaten to go elsewhere, are always those fake private sellers.   Often if you look at their seller account, they have hidden all their sales or removed them!  This suggests they are panicking, think they can avoid detection, or else have multiple seller accounts!  You can easily distinguish who the genuine P sellers seeking advice are (or those debating whether to take the plunge and convert to B accounts), but the majority are the dodgers but when challenged come out with various excuses or justifications!!  Since the new rules, most who come here try and gain insight as to how they can continue to dodge by drawing information from other possibly fake P sellers who have ignored the threats/notifications from Ebay to convert or be closed down.  

I believe I was the one who repeatedly raised the question why so many P sellers are on this board, digging.  Most are not here for genuine advice from B sellers, but merely to try and get one step ahead of the system!

A few months ago I was talking to a CS agent and I complained about how the system was tipped in favour of P sellers, who are actually traders.  She assured me that Ebay had things in the pipeline that would change things and make it a fairer playing field.  That is shaping up at long last... and the ingenuine ones all go running to the hills or come across as rather arrogant!!

[returns_andexdisplay]

HMRC has started sending letters out to some of those who they think may owe tax. There was a seller on a Facebook group showing his letter and almost thinking it was a badge of honor. Was a private seller doing it as a side hustle. Had no clue how much he had earnt, closed his ebay and bank account so has no access to the information. 

The ones who only do it as a hobby or to earn some extra money will be in for a shock when they start getting letters, back dated tax bills, fines and interest payments. 

Hopefully when HMRC have finished with some of them they will pass the information on to Trading Standards who will go after them as well. 

I do think with a lot of the changes ebay have made recently it will put a lot of the genuine private sellers off from using the site as both a buyer and seller. But ebay have created this problem over the years with a two tier system then giving more and more free or heavily discounted offers for final value fees.   

[vintique*violet]

The ones who argue and slate Ebay for upsetting their nice little applecart or threaten to go elsewhere, are always those fake private sellers.   Often if you look at their seller account, they have hidden all their sales or removed them!  This suggests they are panicking, think they can avoid detection, or else have multiple seller accounts! 

Where is your evidence for the above... there are genuine private sellers  who have stopped selling and buying for many different reasons, as there are business sellers who have done the same ( as the posts show)... Please do not make suggestions that it is "all" just because they have stopped listing... assuming people are panicking or avoiding detection... that is futile as all data is collected and shared and has been for many years, it is not just the new implementations.  You do not know peoples individual circumstances and this private/business account " divide"  has really got out of hand! Everyone is responsible for themselves, not anyone else's affairs. There is no need to be unpleasant towards another - we are supposed to help each other , it isn't a competition.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

it isn't a competition.

Ah, but it very much is a competition.  That's exactly what selling is!

As regards those "private" sellers, there really isn't any excuses for them at all.

They are literally breaking the law.  So why on earth should they get any help?

I and many others have no issues with the real private sellers.  But frankly, it is so easy to recognise these traders it's silly.  That makes it very obvious when you can see them squirming, trying to get around the system.

There is no divide between business and private sellers.

What there is, is a lot of bad feeling about those pretending to be private, when they are in fact not.

Yes, everyone is responsible for themselves.  But if what they are doing is taking advantage of others, that's why we have rules and regulations.  The problem being, that very little seems to be done about it.