business seller account

[totalguy]

I sell 1 item maybe 100 of them in 1 year not much profit really but I cant get to top rated seller unless I upgrade to a business account. I'm happy with how the sales go I'm selling in sand blasters category I'm wondering what the fees are compared to a non business seller. 

i don't think its worth getting top rated seller I only sell 1 product but maybe it is? not really interested in other benefits just the fees 

[pg_kicks]

Not sure 100% as I dont have a private account but the fee's FVF are the same I think, but its not if you want to or not its if you wish to sell legally or not, theres hundreds of threads explaining it but you cant sell legally as a business on a private account, theres pro's and con's to being a business but its not a choice, you either are a business or not and highlighting yourself on here trading illegally will certainly not help yourself in eBays eyes as you have admitted yourself you are a business.

[yorkshire*flower · Accepted solution]

I sell 1 item maybe 100 of them in 1 year not much profit really

Please read this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/account/regulatory/uk-digital-sales-reporting?id=5454&st=3&pos=6&query=U...

im afraid as you sell over 100 items a year puts you on the list reporting to HMRC and regardless of how much profit you make you need to register as a business, as you are a business

[totalguy]

i do that anyway so makes no odds 👍

didn't know was private until I looked at top rated seller and it couldn't do it

[technthread]

Currently you won't be paying VAT on the eBay fees but you will do once you register as a business account. You will also pay listing fees that you don't do now whether it is per listing or by subscribing to a shop. 

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Are you quite sure about that?  Whether you are a business or a private seller should not make any difference as to whether Ebay charges VAT on the fees!

If you go into Tesco's as a private individual, they charge you VAT on what you buy.  In just the same way if you go in as a business.

The difference is when you become VAT registered, as you can then claim the VAT back on the fees that are charged.

[btr.style]

I believe it works like.... Say it was 10% fees to make it easier......

Private seller £100 sale = £10 eBay fees. VAT is included with the fees. 

Business seller £100 sale = £10 eBay fees + 20% VAT = £12 fees. 

Years ago when I was just selling old unwanted stuff I owned I don't remember VAT being added on like that as a private seller. Yet with the business, it's added on like that. 

[papso22]

There is VAT on all Ebay's fees, but private selling fees are quoted as VAT inclusive and business sellers fees are quoted net of VAT and so have VAT added on.

[technthread]

A private seller pays 30p as the fixed FVF fee VAT inclusive and a business pays 30p plus the 20% VAT so it's 36p.

It is more relevant on the variable fees and the shop fee but the fixed fee is the easiest one to point to for anyone to check me on it. 

[technthread]

Yes I explained that badly by not referring to it as VAT inclusive for private sellers.

I believe eBay make the FVF variable rate more generous to business sellers than they do private sellers to redress the balance when it is set at the full rate. Of course they reverse that by giving many private sellers 80% off the variable fees every fortnight.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

VAT is charged on the fees that private sellers pay.

It is just inclusive, rather than exclusive.

So yes, on the 30p charge, when private it is inclusive of VAT.

When business, they add on VAT to it.

But final value fees are just a percentage, which for a private seller is fixed at 12.8%.

But if you are a business seller, depending on the category you sell on, you can get it for as little as 5% + vat.

So it's not as straightforward as you think it is.

In general, as a business registered for VAT, the fees are quite a bit cheaper.

[totalguy]

i pay the vat cant get away from it although its irrelevant to the question 

[totalguy]

and i bet sand blasting doesnt include the 5% 

[technthread]

I thought the variable fee for business sellers were 8-11% ish depending on category. Which category is 5%?

For non VAT registered businesses in a traditional category it seems to me like we end up paying more than a private seller which is why so many of them stay on private accounts. I take your point though. 

[technthread]

ebayfeescalculator.com

Add the cost of listing fees or a basic shop fee and you can work out an estimate.

[rainbowtrax]

No, more often than not they don't. If you look at business seller fees here Fees for business sellers | eBay there's roughly twice as many categories that have a higher percentage for business sellers than private sellers than those that have a lower percentage. The percentages quoted are before VAT is added. Private seller fees exclusive of VAT work out at 10.67% so any category where the fee for a business seller is higher than 10.67% is dearer. Plus, in all categories, the fixed fee is 20% higher for business sellers even when the percentage fee is lower.

In addition, business sellers pay a listing fee for every listing every month whether it's a new listing or an already active listing renewing. In contrast, private sellers pay no listing fees on 1,000 new listings each month and pay no listing fees on an unlimited number of listing renewals each month for an unlimited length of time.

In monetary terms, it really is a no-brainer to trade illegally and save yourself huge sums each month as ebay never force sellers to switch to a business account unless they're on target to hit the VAT threshold.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

They are actually NFT's, but the point stands.  It's variable, depending on the category.

Here's the list.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/fees-business-sellers-activated-managed-pa...

[technthread]

No wonder I couldn't find it ha.

I was price matching earlier and like every day I see private sellers with thousands of live listings and thousands of sold items who seem to think their private account works best for them. Those 80% off and the current 100% off fees promotions are too generous to throw away.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Yes, but private sellers in general are not VAT registered.

If they are, then they are breaking the law anyway.

So for VAT registered seller, the fees are generally cheaper, apart from a few specific categories.(5/6 or so)

You can't really compare a charge for a private seller, that is inclusive of VAT, against a business seller, exclusive of VAT.  It's like comparing apples with oranges.

If your not registered for VAT, then it becomes a bit more painful.  But that is the way of it.  On the other hand, you have the advantage of not being VAT registered and the costs that involves.

I do however agree, that the free listings are what swing it for those doing it.  And they should very much be targeted and forced to be a business account.