PRIVATE SELLERS NOT WANTED ON EBAY

[plantsandsucculents]

The new regulations on ebay to arrive in February just prove that they are trying to convert Private Sellers to Business sellers.  Buyers will noe have to pay ebay for expensive postal and courier rates which I know that I can get cheaper through Royal Mail or Yodel.

So we will be priced out of the market and I think buyers will be going elsewhere probably to Amazon to get better deals.

Not sure how this can improve ebay for buyers or sellers frankly.  Very disappointing.

[nax2025]

Why don't you stop spending all of your time in thise forums entagnoising people?

[scooter_boot_sale]

 "They need to be registered as a business to meet the requirements of UK law."

Im sorry but please stop telling people this. You can be self declared/sole trader and not have to "register" as a business, you just register for Self Assessment.  eBay will still want you to be registered as a business - but you dont need to go through the hooplaw of being a Limited Company or Partnership

[buffster1963]

You admit to buying trains to sell, hundreds of pounds worth. Even ebay forced  you be a business, which is why you changed accounts. It does not matter if you make no profit, you cannot do that on a private account. I am sorry you had to give your hobby up but thats not the way it works and is unfair to the businesses you were undercutting. 

[nax2025]

Shill that again?

[a45heaven]

Beware - on a board i cant now find (there's so many erupting on this topic) - the way ebay are adding the additional fee will inflate the sellers turnover figure which is to be presented to HMRC.

Im not overly clever on these things, but it doesn't seem to be financial ethical or legal.

[hobbit66]

Then why does ebay allow me to sell here ?

Don't worry I'll be gone soon, never selling and most definitely not buying from this pathetic platform 😞

[lucy_farmer]

'Why don't you stop spending all of your time in thise forums entagnoising people?'

Paps is a very useful resource of advice and infomation about all things ebay.

[papso22]

It's not tax law, and businesses can also be sole proprietorships.

It's consumer law which requires certain information to be available before a business sells to a consumer, and that is only possible on an ebay business account.  There is also a law that prohibits a business from misrepresenting themselves as a private individual.

Anyone, whatever their legal entity, who buys, makes, or grows things to sell on eBay, needs to have an ebay business account to do that within UK law.

Is this misunderstanding why you think you are not a business?

[robbtyke132010]

He is a very naughty Hobbit!

[roger_roger_over_and_nowt]

Back in 2003 there were no instant payments,it was cash on collection,cash by post/postal order/cheque or paypal.When buyers paid by paypal it was at least 7 working days before a seller could transfer a balance to their bank which took a further 3 days to get there.Then of course there was the dreaded "e cheque" which would sometimes bounce.It would sometimes take 2 weeks from buyer making payment to payment actually clearing.

I was selling at least 200 items a month back then,most of them large boxes.I used to go to bank at least twice a week to deposit cheques bearing in mind there was no internet banking so working out what had cleared etc and who had paid for what was a bit of a nightmare.

Never had a cheque bounce (bar e cheques),never lost an item or have an item arrive late or damaged.After 4 years i had cleared 30 years worth of hoarding classic motorbike and car stuff so i wound things down to a trickle.I stopped selling completely when covid started and would never consider going back to it.Too much has changed,not a level field now.

Sellers were expected to send items as soon as payment by paypal had been made (not wait until it had cleared in their banks) or send as soon as any other type of payment had cleared.

There were no free listings,no money back guarantee,no chargebacks,1 free pic and anything else was charged for.Sellers soon learnt what to list and what not to list as making a non sale cost them a fee each time.

The site was so much better back then but those days will never return.

[scooter_boot_sale]

define "buy"

how far back does that go? 

1 year?

5 years?

10 years?

 If the item was never bought to be sold on eBay 10 years ago, does that still count as a business? No! Once the *bleep* in my garage is gone, its gone. Ill never be replacing it to sell again. So Im not in the business of re-selling, Im just unloading stuff I dont need anymore. 

[hobbit66]

Well I hope you business sellers are happy now....Soon ebay will be a business sellers paradise with no bargains to be found anywhere (unlike the good old days) and high prices !

[game_raid]

eCheques I remember them.

Were they based on that Paypal took the money from the account holders bank and once cleared Paypal paid the seller but often the buyer didn't have the money in the bank or used false, empty bank account?

I remember buyers expecting the item to be delivered before they had cleared but the Paypal warning was never so send anything until cleared.

I also remember going the bank with house brick sized bundles of cheques and having the same issue trying to tally up who paid what. In the end I took the risk and shipped anyway I only ever had one bounce out of 100s of sales and it was for £12.99.

Hard believe that was over 20 years ago now.

[papso22]

So you are simply selling unwanted lambretta spare parts that you bought years ago to use for something, didn't do it, and are now having a clear out?

Some of these spares have been in a 'parts bin' and may have some 'shop dust', but that's just words?

You have a user name that looks 'businessy' but that's also just words?

If yes, yes and yes,  you are a private seller.

[a45heaven]

Paypal warning was never to send anything until cleared.

That stance has changed since ebay got more involved in the money handling side in their wanting to keep hold of funds.

[papso22]

Ebay also tell you to send only when the buyer's payment has cleared. 

[scooter_boot_sale]

yes yes and yes.  boot sale didnt sound businesy when I thought of it, I had intended it to be opposite and to imply its the stuff you find at a car boot sale. 

[game_raid]

There should have been plenty of bargains over the last 3 months, private sellers had no fees to pay did any of your favourite sellers pass these savings on to you?

I know our usual buyers got some bargains as they could buy the same item for a lot less from a business under a private account.

[papso22]

---

@scooter_boot_sale wrote:

yes yes and yes.  boot sale didnt sound businesy when I thought of it, I had intended it to be opposite and to imply its the stuff you find at a car boot sale. 

---

Fair enough then.

[a45heaven]

Ebay also tell you to send only when the buyer's payment has cleared. 

touche !! - i never classed ebay having my funds was the same as my bank having it.

Once funds cleared into Paypal,  transfers to my bank were and still are instant on other platforms.