eBay Simple Delivery - Item Lost in Transit (Hypothetical)

[justsometechguy]

Prior to eBay Simple Delivery, I almost always used Royal Mail, buying labels via their Click'n'Drop website. On the rare occasions when items went missing, claiming for the loss was very easy and stress-free via Royal Mail.

I'm just a bit concerned about what happens with eBay Simple Delivery if an item I've sold goes missing in transit. Who do I claim from? What's the claim process? I'm just concerned that eBay might be a nightmare to deal with in this context.

I've currently got an item listed that's worth a few hundred pounds.  Is it really fully protected (insured) against loss or damage? Does anyone here have any experience of claiming for loss/damage where ESD was used?

The ESD price seems very low, compared to the Royal Mail Special Delivery prices I used to pay to get full compensation coverage on expensive items. That low price makes me think there's some kind of catch.

[**peaseblossom** · Accepted solution]

I can only go by what ebay say and that is Simple Delivery covers items up to £750.   If a buyer opens a "not received" or "not as described - arrived damaged" case ebay will issue the refund and you keep the payment. 

[justsometechguy]

Thanks, I appreciate the response. I guess I'll risk ESD and see what happens.

[*vyolla*]

Just a heads up because you may be heading for grief with HMRC as you appear to be unaware that you should be trading on an eBay business account. 

A private seller is one who is just selling off their own personal items such 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. eBay will be providing HMRC with details of your sales as you've gone over the reportable threshold (30 items or £1740 worth of sales in a year) anyway so it's vital to keep correct accounts for your tax return). You can obviously offset more expenses as a business seller, but can't offset any at all as a private one.  

To correctly register as a business seller simply go to your Personal Information in your account and to the right of Account Type, which will be showing as 'Individual'  you'll see an Edit option.

https://accountsettings.ebay.co.uk/profile

This doesn't affect your feedback profile or any current listings, it merely upgrades your account so that you're compliant with current consumer and eBay policy.

If you're also selling your own items, just open another eBay account (you can have more than one).

[justsometechguy]

Thank you for the heads up.

My understanding is that eBay's classification of private vs business seller is irrelevant to HMRC, provided one adheres to HMRC's new rules and reports income correctly in one's annual Self Assessment (which I always do).

I may have misunderstood the new HMRC rules however, so I shall do a spot of research online to confirm if my understanding is correct.

[justsometechguy]

Yep, after do a spot of checking online from reputable sources, it appears that I'm correctly fulfilling my obligations regarding HMRC. Notably:
1) I file an annual Self Assessment with HMRC and I always pay careful attention to giving accurate figures and adhere to relevant rules.

2) As far as I can tell, eBay's classification of private vs business seller is irrelevant to HMRC.
3) I'm not aware of any UK laws which state that my current eBay activities require me to register as a business seller with eBay.

Please correct me if I'm mistaken on any of this.

[tobiasd4]

If you buy items to resell, then you must register as business seller. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/selling-policies/business-seller-policy?id=4710

[justsometechguy]

Thank you for clarifying. I do not buy items to resell. I sell only personal and unwanted items and gifts.

I've actually just performed a full "legal test" to determine if I am acting "In The Course of Business". Overall, I feel it's still reasonable to classify myself as a private seller. 

I'm aware that due the volume of items I sell on eBay, and my level of income from eBay, this might potentially suggest to a consumer (incorrectly) that I am operating as a business.

To mitigate this risk, on all listings I will now include a line such as "Selling personal and unwanted items. Not a business seller.”

I'm also going to rename my eBay account to further make it clear that I'm an individual private seller, not a business.

Thank you to everyone in this discussion for your thoughtful comments and guidance.