Death of eBay - Buyer Protection Fee

[tk421s-house-of-lego]

Private seller, running a small business selling Lego Figures, was doing okay building up a small business.

Pre October last year 

Selling a £1.29 figure, made £1.05 "profit"

Now

Selling a £1.29 figure, make £1.29 "profit"

Pre October last year

Buyer paid £2.98 for a £1.29 figure

Now 😞😞😞😞😞

From 15th April Buyer will pay £4.76 for a £1.29 figure and there's nothing I can do to reduce this...

60% increase to the buyer...

eBay has effectively told all private sellers to go forth and multiply...

[plpmr]

"running a small business" 

But you are selling on a private account.

Properly registered you would not have the bother of the BPF.

[tk421s-house-of-lego]

I am registered for Tax and pay the same. My business isn't and never will
be big enough to warrant becoming a business seller, I'm happy with that.

You're missing the point, buyers are paying a huge increase to buy off
eBay, while it may be free to Sell, buyers aren't buying due this huge
increase in cost to them.

[papso22]

You are missing the point that it is illegal under a number of laws to run a business on a private ebay account.  These include the law that makes it a criminal offence for a business to hold itself out as a private seller. 

It's absolutely nothing to do with tax laws.

[tk421s-house-of-lego]

Careful, they walk amongst us, funny that, having filed tax returns for that last two years, you'd think I'd be taken to court over this, you REALLY have nothing else better to do than jump on  thread that has nothing to do with you and, on which, you have nothing pertinent or useful to add...

[*vyolla*]

Trading on the incorrect account is not an option even if you are completing a tax return - a private seller is one who is selling off their own bits and pieces such as items from their wardrobe/loft etc, and a business seller buys or makes  items to re-sell.

The problem is, as it stands you have the buyer fee added to each listing.

If you trade as a business (and how much profit you make doesn't come into it, some businesses trade at a loss for the first year), you're unable to claim any expenses to offset against your self assessment.

See eBay's guidance page here, where they state

An eBay seller must register as a business if, for example, they sell items they have bought to resell, they make items in order to sell them, or if they buy items for their business.

What is the policy?

Business sellers can't represent themselves as private individuals

Taken from:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/selling-policies/selling-practices-policy/business-seller-polic...