Vat on new clothing for private sellers

[markalanp]

I am selling off items I bought prior to covid where I paid vat on them as a non vat registered small trader. the business closed, with covid and I am selling the  remaining stock on ebay as a private seller at less than I bouught it for, to mainland UK buyers only.

Ebay have now started adding VAT to the purchase price the buyer pays. Together with the 20% vat and buyers protection fee plus postage they may as well go to a discount store. Notice many of my sales have stopped on lower cost items with these extra charges, so it will not be worth the effort of putting them on ebay and then taking to parcel shop if I have to drop the price further to make them sell.

This seems to have come about when I hit the threshold for reporting to HMRC which I do anyway for my othe business. But all my trading will nowhere it the Vat registration threshold. 

Any thoughts?

[tobiasd4]

Ebay are not adding VAT to your items. 

They are charging VAT on buyer premium fee.

As a business they must do this.

Most won't notice if paying fee, only if cost is broken down.

[markalanp]

thanks for the info, I think it was seeing a packing slip for someone who had bought a number of items and the buyer protection equated to about 20% of the total and with the new delivery system showing the vat seperate in the postage which they had calculated I got it mixed up. Realise that Ebay has to make money to keep going. Need to weigh up making the lots as cost effective as possible by grouping multiple bundles within the minimum postal weight.

Regards Mark P