eBay

lily-bub · ‎01-04-2025

Hi all,

I've had my account for over 16 years and have had no issues selling on eBay - until now.

After a few years break from selling, I've decided to start again - which is where the problems start.

I've had a message from eBay asking me to input my VAT information, or they will suspend my account in 30 days. As I live in Guernsey, we are VAT exempt, therefore have no VAT number.

I contacted eBay to tell them this, and all they said was "Please contact your local tax authority" - which doesn't help.

I then noticed my addresses on my account were set to United Kingdom, so I've now changed them all to Guernsey, hoping this will solve the issue of needing to require a VAT number.

Upon doing that, when searching/trying to purchase items, everything is from the USA - it seems to think Guernsey is in America. When I try to purchase a UK based listing, I can't as it's not recognising me as in the region.

Has anyone had experience with this/ is a business seller in Guernsey?

I'm tearing my hair out and customer services aren't helping at all!

Thanks!

4_bathrooms · ‎01-04-2025

@lily-bub wrote:

I've had a message from eBay asking me to input my VAT information, or they will suspend my account in 30 days. As I live in Guernsey, we are VAT exempt, therefore have no VAT number.

The issue is the item location you have specified in two of your listings; they state "Guernsey, United Kingdom". You need to change the item location so the country states "Guernsey".

Non-UK registered sellers with UK stock are obliged to register for UK VAT under HMRC's Fulfilment House Due Diligence Scheme; eBay are held responsible for ensuring they do. You need to correct the item location stated in your listings and explain you made an error to eBay.

Give me ambiguity or give me something else.

donnydave1 · ‎01-04-2025

I don't know whether this answers your question, but a quick search reveals Guernsey "TINS" or Tax Identification Numbers. There is a document which talks about them, saying that a "TIN is used as means of identification (e.g. income tax, wage tax, withholding taxes, VAT, etc.)". Without knowing any more about this, look it up and see if this is what you're looking for.