Getting a bit fed up with whinging private sellers

[jere-nott]

Why are private sellers whinging about payments? Most of them should be business sellers anyway.

Some of my buyers can take up to two weeks to pay, no problem for me.

In addition I have to pay a listing fee and a final valuation fee of around 17%. One would have to pay this at a local auction house if not more.

Some private sellers are deluded, list an item at a crazy high price which most of us would laugh at. Yeah you don't need luck with that price you would  need a miracle. For example I have seen valueless postage stamp(s) listed at a BIN price of £1500.00!

Describes it as rare stamp and a collectors must have! Just irritates me that these idiots think that buyers are naive.

Private Sellers if you don't like eBay new rules go elsewhere like ebid

Sorry, just my rant.

[goldenwolfman]

Can see what you’re saying Cassidy, BUT it would easy for me to achieve that volume in sales if I could be bothered to list them all. I won’t be listing here anymore and have l ready taken down 600 listings which I’d built up. It was very varied and not specific to one area. 
IF i decided to start selling again, I’ve got boxes of unwanted Diecast, about 800 (maybe more ??) postcards, stamps in abundance which were mine and a whole lot of my brothers I sadly just inherited (in his case possibly 4000 first day covers and I would dearly love to see the back of them, old magazines too good to throw, but no use to me, some pottery of my mums - the list goes on and on - so thousands of items, as everyone’s garage and  attic is bursting! That’s why the cars are on the drives.

Am I a business, hell no just a collector of years who really would like rid. 
I do see what your relating to - BUT volume bears no relevance and cannot be seen as a yardstick!

My daughter used to make jewellery and we have boxes of beads, wires and all sorts - it may look like a business if I sold those alone?!

[cassidy_r_private]

I think ebay are treading a very fine line with HMRC (as are ALL venues).

The old "we are just a platform" argument is running rather thin. They have to do something to "encourage" businesses to act as such because there is a lot of subjectivity should a member get involved in a row about private vs business and dig their heels in. How far do they take it? Turning up at your house?

The various types of cheats have as usual ruined things for the majority.

[goldenwolfman]

It’s far more difficult for HMRC than even they realise nowadays. It is a fine line between trading and selling off unwanted items. I see figures thrown around on here that are wildly inaccurate as what someone can or cannot earn. 
I can only speak personally, although obviously I see what you see and some are glaringly stand out from the crowd. I keep a record of what I sell, the item, it’s sale price and then should I have inherited, or purchased the item - if so it’s purchase price and if I have a receipt it’s noted. 
I’ve currently got 5-6 high value technical items. A Panasonic juke box that stores cd’s etc, a Panasonic CD player - that holds 100 cd’s and a couple of other things. The first two cost well over £300 each, and if I sell they won’t be worth more than £50 each - so a net loss of £250 each. So any revenue gained is not taxable - as would be the case of many sellers here. It’s only those who purchase to sell who can easily be defined as business. BUT with the advent of auction sites and Facebook  and all the other venues there are many options to sell now - more so than the local papers that we grew up with.

HMRC are undermanned and only go after those that they can see a potential good return from. 

As a ‘taxman’  once said to me, you could be a plumber and take cash and happily trade for 20 years and never get caught - I don’t see anything has changed, in fact if anything it’s got worse, I’ve even had builders quote me ‘in writing’ saying they could lose the VAT if I pay cash - LOL

[crg_music]

Ive said in another thread that an issue is the word "business".

They need to 2 separate private seller accounts, a free and a premium. Free would be very limited but free, premium would be effectively a business account but without the legal ramifacions of being a business then a business as is.

The confusion is like I say the word business. I think that if ebay are asking sellers to move to a business account they are actualy saying we want some fees off you. If you were limited to 10 sales a month or something then had to move to a premium account business sellers wouldnt care as unless you had about 200 free accounts you wouldnt be trading and businesses might as well just get a business account leaving the premium account for collectors who are selling a lot but legit not a business so should be paying to sell but also under no obligation to deal with change of mind returns etc.

I dont really see ebay going too hard unless trading standards were to get involved. After all ebay are just a service provider.

And yes you could do with a sticky thread for all of the 4th feb moans, it makes up 90% of all posts in the last 2 months.

[thetrooper62]

You do realise that private sellers are also buyers dont you?...If they have far less money now it will only impact business sellers as well.

[brownbookbear]

Delcampe is an alternative to eBay for stamp selling.  A relative has used it and been happy with it.

[susapric-68]

eBay created the monster. First gave them free listings then gave them free selling fees, encouraged the new business sellers to go private. I do enjoy reading the moaning from the business sellers on private accounts  and I'm making a fortune selling world smallest air violins

[ticklingstick-transport]

Where they  charge the buyer 10% plus £0.27 per item

[cassidy_r_private]

There is no compromise or halfway solution, nor should there be.

You're either a private seller who is selling off items originally obtained for personal use, or you are trading, and as a trader you have obligations to your customers and obligations to keep proper records and declare earnings etc.

[annemann-2009]

I'm a private seller. I have some quite large collections. So when I get bored or feel like I'm running out of space, I chop it down. Some are still in their boxes cos I used to collect action figures and liked them presented in their boxes. No always. Just sometimes.

I think it's ok to have a bit of a whinge, it's good to get it out of your system. 

I think there's good and bad from business and private sellers. Bad practices and silly prices. 

I think it is good practice for buyers to just use the sold filter to see the past few sales and act accordingly.

I also think some buyers expect too much sometimes. We all like a bargain but unless you use a minimum for best offer you get some ridiculous bids.

And strangely, when I get those silly offers, they're always from business sellers. The usual half price offers. So they can then flip for profit.

That would be fine dealer to dealer but you can easily see private sellers Vs business. So it feels like arrogance and expectations at times.

"Oh, they'll be grateful for the bid. Why don't they understand I'm a business?!"

I've had some snotty exchanges with business sellers when I've asked them why offers are so low. And especially if I follow up with a similar offer on their stuff and they never accept it. Arrogance and a huge double standard. 

People are weird. 

[goldenwolfman]

I don't even waste my breath, silly prices, just reject block and don't waste your life.

My advice to ALL sellers is keep a record of what you sold, price sold for and what that item cost - showing net profit. After expenses like postage, fees and packing which means you made probably a loss!

[crg_music]

Well do away with the free accounts then and just have everyone paying the same like it used to be. If there is no financial incentive to hide your business details but massive risk if you get caught not doing so most business sellers will. The incentive to blag it for free fees was just so huge, certainly hundreds of pounds a month that its no wonder so many hid as a private seller.

[jere-nott]

A vast majority of Sellers (and Buyers) are polite and courteous and behave in a professional manner.

There are, however, a few exceptions.

In your first paragraph you say that you are a private seller as I was too. However, because of my sales I was TOLD by eBay to upgrade to a business seller. I laughed out loud, I am a 74 year old Pensioner selling my stamp collection which I have been collecting for over 60 years. My kids and grandkids are not interested in them (more interested in money when I shuffle off this mortal coil LOL) Not to be morbid but I have also pre-paid my funeral costs so not to leave them with stress and expense.

I go off tract, when I was forced to upgrade to a business seller I am now getting crazy emails from eBay to inform me that because I have 3 or 4 buyers in Germany I must now register with LUCIID a German law regarding packaging/recycling. 

I checked it out but to register I must have a VAT number. My turnover p.a. is less than 25% of the VAT threshold. Too much hassle for someone of my age. So I am thinking - is it all worth it?

If I was 30 years younger yes, I would set up as a sole trader or even a Limited Company but alas no.

Moreover, because I am very meticulous I keep a book which I record all my monthly sales and costs, In 2024 I was up £900 less than 20 quid a week! Slave labour?! But selling on eBay keeps me busy and alert and out of an old folks home (God forbid)

Best wishes to everyone 

[annemann-2009]

I only sell in the UK. Don't have the time to faff about. I WFH and take care of my dad who is 85. And yup, most people are fine. Just a pattern I noticed that the silly offers were always from business sellers. 

[insidethe93]

cassidy_r_private wrote: ...There will be plenty using private accounts to avoid disclosing their addresses.

To the private sellers in question: Oh that's all right then 🙂

[alexis*27]

I have absolutely no idea what this thread is about or for.

Just some bloke whinging about whinging.

[insidethe93]

jere-nott wrote: ...Not to be morbid but I have also pre-paid my funeral costs so not to leave them with stress and expense.

Good wishes to you. Your words I've quoted above: it's thoughtful of you but please don't worry. Your family shouldn't incur expense as funeral and other related costs are paid by your estate; that goes also for all and any assets or real estate of yours. The funeral director sends the bill direct to the probate solicitor. Your family won't see the bill (unless they want) nor pay anything "up front" as it were (unless they want to e.g. many families like to pay for the flowers themselves). Likewise with assets or real estate, your family/heirs won't pay any running costs as your estate does - all bills, anything to do with you or your things or about you should go straightaway to the solicitor. Indeed, technically your heirs have no status until grant of probate and so legally can't act for you even if they had power of attorney - poa ends as soon as someone passes. (I've had this, most recently a few years ago with a relative's small holiday cottage). (I've worked for solicitors, though years ago. It sounds morbid or mercenary but the best thing heirs-to-be can do in a practical way for their loved one is to hire the probate solicitor almost as soon as they leave the registrar's office.)

No need for anyone to take out a pre-payment funeral plan. Sometimes the firm concerned moves (they may not tell you) so aren't local any more despite being chosen because they're local. Some retire or go out of business. If they're taken over, usually (but not always) they honour plans taken out with the previous firm but may not tell you. It's up to you to keep track of them, not they of you. Beware of changing Terms & Conditions which they might not tell you about e.g. repatriation; under Covid firms said no for health reasons possibly legal too at that time, and many never reinstated it; I wasn't stressed as I knew my relative's repatriation would be paid by the probate solicitor from her estate, which it was.

[insidethe93]

I wrote: ...Indeed, technically your heirs have no status until grant of probate and so legally can't act for you...

Very sorry, trying to be brief made me be inaccurate. You become an heir (after grant of probate and) according to the laws of intestacy if no will, or according to the (valid) will if there is one. Grant of probate authorises the right person to administer the estate. Often people use "grant of probate" like a 'watershed' marker - it's lazy usage and I apologise.

[bzmotman]

LUCID - you do not need to be registered for VAT. I've had a LUCID number since it started & am not VAT registered.

The Ebay promoted agent is Lizenzero who charge Euro35 for 1 year so with only 3/4 sales probably not worth it.

[cassidy_r_private]

For the avoidance of doubt, it really isn't!