I’m always changing my mind on what I collect and always sell in large quantities to fund my next collection whether it be a line of action figures, books, video games etc. I reckon I sell 500 items a year and probably make £5000- 8000 a year. However this is not profit and mainly just the cost of what the item cost me in the first place. Some items make a profit, some make a loss and mostly I just break even. They are all my own personal possessions. I might not own them for long but change my mind a lot. I only sell one of each item and not multiples of the same item. It’s more of a hobby really. Just received a letter from HMRC saying that I need to declare for the year up to 2023? I haven’t got a clue where I stand the people I spoke to at HMRC don’t really know either. Spoke to 2 people this morning. One said to declare and they will send me a form. I spoke to another an hour later who said I could withdraw my intention to declare and that I need to send an email explaining the circumstances of my sales. Got a horrible feeling I’m screwed!
Given that you have sold in excess of 12k items, and your recent sales are pretty much all Brand New, I would seriously consider talking to an accountant, particularly if HMRC are on the case
I understand how it looks from that point of view but 12k items is over the course of 23 years! As for selling brand new items, I’m a collector of in box action figures in which I chop and change very often. Again, I understand how it probably looks but it is genuinely a hobby rather than a business. Certainly no profit involved.
Well it's your choice, but you may have a problem getting HMRC to agree.
I believe that most accountants will offer a free consultation, it might be worth getting some professional advice, which you are unlikely to get on here
12000 over 23 years beats me hands down over 25 years. I've always been a business seller (or at least since that became a thing on eBay) as I had an offline shop. This "I'm just a silly Billy Diddy man who is unlucky enough to sell loads of whatever collectables take my fancy" shtick won't wash.
Are you selling on any other platforms ,because they all have to report peoples sales to HMRC ,and as you are selling new things it has probably marked up that you are selling to make a profit . Did ebay ask you to provide your national insurance number .because if so that was a tell tale sign that they thought you had made a taxable amount .If you feel it is nothing to do with ebay or another platform ,then someone else might have reported you to HMRC .
