Hi all ive been trawling these forums for a few weeks now to know I'm probably not well liked from the off.
So a little about me, I'm henry I'm 19 and I've wanted to become an eBayer for as long as i can remember, after just over 6 weeks the dream feels like an insurmountable mountain. Now I'm currently registered as a private seller as it seemed from all the advice i was given to be the best way to start off. I feel very much like im just starting off still and I've put every spare penny I've had into eBay. The these new fees that they are dumping on private sellers customers just seems really bad for people like myself. I am currently mainly selling croc charms they seemed a reasonable way to start off with minimal outgoings, something i could manage as i only had £200 to start with, I have sold a few of my own personal items and any sales i have made have gone back into buying more items. As it stands i charge £1.29 per charm as packs of charms didn't seem to sell. i then have to charge postage also i was charging £1.55 but in run up to Christmas i had to send a load of orders out via evri at £2.94 as royal mail wasn't updating the tracking to show they had been delivered so i decided to increase postage to £1.75 and put the 20p away for any further issues i may have. i currently make about 60p per order which is generally after I've paid for bubble envelopes and the charm. i also package each charm in a plastic self sealing wrapper as i feel this is better for a customer who is giving them as presents.
I am VERY customer driven, i want my customers to be happy with the products they receive and that is reflected in every aspect of how i have gone about doing things, including pricing. I feel i do a good job in this aspect of things and try and go above and beyond when required. I am sure i will be taken advantage of because of this anyway ive spent last few days worrying about what to do in February when these changes come in. I feel its Very unfair on ebay to lump these additional fees onto customers especially when they are buying items at 1.29 each. I realise this could force people into buying More items but I'm really concerned it will just stop them buying anything if I'm honest. My conclusion is i am going to have to register as a business on eBay which is really something i cannot work out if is even viable for me so i am here to ask the community a few questions.
As I have not made £1000 in sales I am not registered for tax, can I even become registered on eBay as a business?
As I've not made £1000 in sales I'm certainly not VAT registered, will eBay force me to give them 20% Vat on my sales?
Is there a future for private sellers selling low price items on eBay?
Lastly as I'm a private seller is there any changes to Business sellers that I've not been informed about? Is it the same 30p + % that I've been reading about?
I know its a wall of text but i appreciate anyone who managed to get to the end of it.
Thankyou
Henry
