Sales Completly Died **September 2024**

[theglo-68]

We have over 100 listings however sales are dead for over three months now.

Wondering if this is about time to take our business away to other platforms as we really cannot afford high Promoted Listings fees but still no sales.

NO SALES NO BUSINESS

[555njp]

Yes I know it affects all online sales platforms but eBay cannot be compared to Vinted. Vinted, do not allow business sellers at all (yet) and actively stop people trying to trade on private accounts.

Most of the back-filling accounts when eBay lost sellers in the past, came from people doing the same thing - I.e. selling items bought from Black Friday deals, wholesale goods, charity shops, boot fairs etc. in order to make a few quid.

It was technically illegal, but no one seemed to care back then.
In fact 15 or so years ago, some universities were encouraging students to do the same thing in order to help fund their fees, it even made the news!

These accounts formed the majority of Private accounts on eBay (people buying to sell) and to be honest, probably still do.

With the new HMRC rules plus eBay finally clamping down, that simply will cannot continue.
So no one will be coming here to fill the void.

There are many, many threads with people stating once asked for NINO/UTR they will leave as they don't trust eBay with info.

I agree passing over a UTR should be fine for honest sellers. But, I suspect you've answered your own question - honest sellers!

Providing a UTR is only an option if you open a new business account, otherwise it's a NINO.

So any unscrupulous business seller (correctly registered for eBay but having no intention of paying tax) perhaps being forced to migrate to a business account by eBay will now have a problem as the NINO will link all their other earnings, benefits, etc. for HMRC to review.

Nowhere for anyone looking to make a few quid on the side to hide anymore, so one way or another they are all going to disappear (in my opinion anyway)?

[kempseykate]

---

@therenewalworkshopltd wrote:

It has always been cheaper to buy away from Ebay/Amazon and so on.  Simply because there are no fees for your own website.  Just payment fees etc.

So why on earth are you surprised at this?

The reasons that people use the marketplaces are not necessarily because it's cheaper.

It's a lot to do with security, convenience and choice!  Not necessarily in that order.

---

Not always.

I posted earlier about an item I regularly buy. The supplier sells it on here, on Amazon and on their own website.  It used to be marginally cheaper on here, but I just checked and it is now the same price on here and on their website, and £2 more on Amazon (which has always been the most expensive place to buy it).

I usually buy it on here if I have a voucher, or when there was a Nectar points offer (I think those are a thing of the past now).

[exponential_developments]

Yep, back to car boot sales and fairs etc....cash sales, like it used to be, no nosey parkers tracking every step, but unfortunately my stuff won't sell that way........ 🙄

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Actually Vinted do allow business sellers, you just have to be a French company.

However, it was just the first site I though of.  The point being, all sites must report this information to HMRC and not just Ebay.

So if people did this in the past, to make a few extra quid illegally, then whether ignored or not, it is/was still illegal and they shouldn't be doing it now.

And at the end of the day, the likes of Ebay has absolutely no choice about reporting these figures to HMRC.

So why are you blaming Ebay for exactly this?

If a seller is not honest, then I'm hardly going to worry about them not being able to sell illegally.  So really don't understand your point at all.

Your still not getting it though are you.

It always was reportable to HMRC when you make additional earnings.  The only thing that has changed, is that you can no longer get away with doing it,without telling them!  

Let them disappear, if they aren't willing to declare their earnings, then they simply shouldn't be here in the first place.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

No, of course not always and completely.

But in the main, it's a fair statement to make.

[pg_kicks]

I really dont get the hate for MP, instead of it being in your PayPal balance its now in your bank account and you have control over it and its earning you interest not PayPal, yes it takes upto 24 hours but unless its payment required immediately its no advantage being in PayPal?

In my category eBay is by far the cheapest, also its the first place anyone with half an interest in high end sneakers look as the delivery is quicker than stockX/Goat.

[exponential_developments]

What on earth are "sneakers"...........................     😬

[howmuchtobid]

Websites have operating costs and things such as advertising costs, shock horror.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Really, I didn't know that!

[pg_kicks]

Footwear, just a £4b market which eBay are one of if nto the leading reseller sites of, but I guess you knew exactly what sneakers were.

[howmuchtobid]

You seemed extremely naive to it in your earlier post.

Are you ever wrong?

[exponential_developments]

Just hate American usage of words, espacially when we are in the UK, and sneakers as a word isn't used throughout the US...........A lack of respect for other countries culture.

[pg_kicks]

The fashion started in America, leads the trends in many ways so its a term thats found its way over here, granted many older generation call them trainers or runners but the community know them as sneakers too, its a big world now where we are all connected so if you are in the community you will be looking at sites from around the world so sneakers is used, the biggest apps/websites all use it, absolutely no lack of respect at all.

That wasnt the biggest thing in the initial reply though, I'd love to know why people think having money in PayPal is better than having ti in your own account within 24 hours, nobody seems to be able to give me a valid reason, 24 hours is nothing btw as most will have the listing end on an eve and it'll be paid to your back within 12 then.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Utterly and completely naive.  Havn't got a clue about selling online, I only started doing it today.

Are you ever wrong?

I could ask the same question of you, as you have not been wrong yet on the forum, to my knowledge.

[cobwebcottage]

I can forgive pg using the word sneakers but small minded British people who use the name Karen as a derogatory term need to be strung up on Traitors Gate!

[exponential_developments]

I suppose the Paypal thing was that the money was segregated from ones bank account so it didn't get swallowed up in paying the lecy bill etc. That's probably because most people struggle budgeting.

[555njp]

I think a lot of smaller sellers liked the PayPal balance from their sales being accessible immediately to spend on purchases without having to justify the spend.

Once the money went into a bank account, it either got swallowed up within the household budget, or psychologically at least, required more justification to then use it on a purchase.

Plus of course it was invisible to the likes of HMRC.

[555njp]

Sorry, I missed your earlier response to PGK and pretty much said same.
(Started replying, left tab for an hour then sent!).

[exponential_developments]

Great minds think alike, and simple ones form a Band....😁

[the-nutwood-collection]

It isn't a hate for MP, and you're right that the money is now in your bank account.

The problem is that you can't see it in your bank account, you can't see a little pot of money growing and growing, it just get swallowed up by general expenses.

We emptied our garage and put the finds on eBay.  Stuff we hadn't seen for years but turned out to be eagerly sought after.  Then my father downsized - more money in the pot.  Whoever would have thought that a car radio from the 1960s could fetch so much money!!

To me, that pot of money was 'free money'.  It was just old stuff, useless to me - so the money was a windfall.  So I spent it on collectables and other things that caught my eye.  I wouldn't have done that if the money had gone into my bank account.