Office clearance

[kd]

Hi all,

I wanted to understand what account should be used in the scenario when selling items part of an office clearance. I am not employed by the business. Would this differ between used vs new items? 

[*vyolla*]

A private seller is one who is just selling off their own personal items such as clothes from their wardrobe, bits from their loft/garage etc.

A Business seller is someone who buys or makes items to sell on.  They need to be registered as a business to meet the requirements of UK law.

[john1297576]

The answer to your question must be that all items are “pre owned”, but if appropriate could be described “as new”.

[red_magpie]

It isn't clear whether you have bought part of the clearance contents with a view to selling them on, or are selling them by arrangement with the business, although not employed by them.

In either case this is a business activity and correctly speaking you should be registered as a business seller.

If you're selling items on behalf of a third party, remember that selling on eBay is risky. A lot can go wrong, ranging from non-paying buyers to fraudulent money back guarantee claims or chargebacks, sometimes weeks or months after the sale. When selling for other people you can easily find yourself in the position where you have passed on payments to the owner, but then find yourself liable for refunding their buyers.

[kd]

None of the items have been purchased. Some were given for free to me otherwise they wouldve ended up in landfill. For the rest (high value) there is an arrangement in terms of a share of the net sale proceeds.

[red_magpie]

Anything that's been given to you free is your personal property.

Selling for other people on a share of the net sale proceeds basis sounds to me like a business activity.

Remember that if you register to sell as a business seller you must state your trading address and accept returns for any reason. You, as the seller, will also be responsible for complying with your buyers' statutory consumer protection rights.

What sort of high value items would you be selling, and will you be selling them as new or used? Are the potential liabilities involved worth accepting for just a cut of the sale price? I warned you, selling for other people can be risky.

[*vyolla*]

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@kd wrote:

None of the items have been purchased. Some were given for free to me otherwise they wouldve ended up in landfill. For the rest (high value) there is an arrangement in terms of a share of the net sale proceeds.

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Be aware that eBay report sales to HMRC, and they will require you to prove that the items you're listing are your own personal possessions if they truly are.