Pros and cons of Business account, and pros and cons of basic eBay shop?

[siybon]

Picking up on what I asked about last week, Im current on a private account. Im selling my collection off, but am aware Im maybe close to monthly guidliness that might trigger something from ebay telling me to switch to business (I read in another post how someone had ebay write to them because they were clost to £1800 sales in a month).

Firstly, Ive been considering swithcing to a business as I may change my approach and go more full time reselling. But I wonder what the benefits of doing it now might be if Im not at the threshold?

Also Ive never looked in having a shop. Partly because I find ebay complicated enough as it is! But also I never shop in a shop, I always just go to listings. But is the £20 a month worth it?

[the_book_seekers]

ebay doesn't mention this but switching to a business account is a one way trip. Once the switch is done ebay will not allow the account to revert to private if things don't work out.

As for shops ebay encourages business sellers to build their brand using their shop. The bigger the shop the more features you get - obviously the cost goes up. Whether a shop is financially worthwhile depends on how many listings you have. The basic shop is £32.40 (including vat) which gives you listings of 250 BINs and 200 auctions. Listings without a shop costs 36p (inc vat) per listing - your current 201 listings would cost £72.36 without a basic shop. If you exceed your monthly limits with a basic shop these listings would be discounted - 12p for a BIN and 18p for an auction.

[siybon]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Yes I noticed that about the inability to swap back. Cheeky.

When you talk about "Listings without a shop costs 36p, your current 201 listings would cost £72.36 without a basic shop", what are you referring to?  If you mean final value fee then I understand.

If you mean listing fees. As a private seller I get 1000 free listings, and then it becomes 35p listing fee over that. Attached a screenshot frem Customer Service.

So this is what Im wonderinfg. What will a shop do for me if its not about cheaper listings? Does it improve seo or some such? What are the features I could get by having one?

And how comes a private seller having a shop can have 1000 listings? Surely thats just asking for ebay to tell you to become a business?

[the_book_seekers]

Business sellers have listing fees. Some think that we get free listings but we pay for the shop subscribtion to get an allocation of lower cost listings. Then there are the final value fees etc on top. Business sellers also pay vat in addition to the selling fees - for private sellers vat is included in FVFs. 

If you become a business seller with over a certain number of listings then a shop is necessary to lower the cost of listing.  Its a case of doing the maths. As I said as a business seller your 201 listings would cost you over £70 a month without a shop against £32.40 with.  If you go to the help & contact pages at the top of the seller hub screen, type in shop you'll get a number of articles about them.

The 1000 free listings is a bone of contention. There are business sellers who built up thousands of listings on private accounts using the 1000 listings or who have opened multiple accounts to achieve the same amount.  ebay has rarely asked these sellers to upgrade their accounts until recently. With the onset of new regulations ebay has started to ask/tell sellers they now regard as businesses to upgrade.

Compared with private selling there aren't too many advantages for a business seller. 

[siybon]

Thanks again. Just to try and clarify again, when you make the comparisons between my 201 listings, thats in the imaginary scenario of being a business account right? And you mean the non-refundable-listing fees?

Because right now of course my 201 listings dont cost me anything until I sell.

Yeah Im not sure I see the advantages of converting to business early when I dont need to. I'd now only do it when I'm sure my activiy will go up.

And also Im not entirely sure I see an advantage in having a shop. Certainly I rarely myself browse within someones shop and much prefer to view their listings in standard listings format with the side bar filters.  But perhaps thats just me and there are advanages. Oerhaps I should open one and see myself if I appreciate the features, and close it if I dont.

[papso22]

You only need a business account, legally, when you buy or make things with the intention of selling.  Ebay seems to have other ideas though.

As for a shop  it's more about economies of scale than buyer use.  There is a certain number of listings where it's cheaper to list with a shop than without.  That's why you need to do the maths based on your predicted, or actual, number of listings, and look at the published shop fees.

[siybon]

Yeah thats true. I hear about certain numbers of listings or volume being the determining factor as well. But hey ho.

I get you. Yeah I dont totally have a burning desire to open a shop, just intrigued more than anything if the seller experience justifies opening one. Seems its more an economic choice then. 

[pg_kicks]

Having a business account and having a shop are 2 different things, really imho a private account shouldnt be able to have a shop as a shop to every single person on the street would sound like a business. Having a business account is either a yes or no, if you are a business (buying to sell, making to sell, even if not for profit) you need a business account, having a shop is 100% economical decision, if you have more than 200(ish) listings it works out better financially, once you get over that amount you may take advantage of some of the other things like newsletters and coupons (not sure if private accounts can do these).

Having looked at your listings and selling history and compared to some of the other accounts that have had the please upgrade email, Im shocked you havent received it, this is not me saying you are a business and not just selling items you dont want but to an algorhym you will tick a lot of the boxes.

[siybon]

Yes. My thinking was that a shop would sort of be a first step in 'business-ifying' my account.  Im aware im likely close to the threshold. And also have plans to actively buy supplies for the sector I sell in (albeit what Im selling is mainly my personal collection and the extra bits that come about from collecting) and so that would definitely require converting.

I've also discussed on here how I may venture into a new sector and actively buy reseling stock and properly go proressional. And I was asking if it was beneficial to change my established personal account into business because of the feedback and years I have and how thats maybe a head start. 

Its all something Im likely to have to make a decision about soon Im sure.

[pg_kicks]

It wasnt meant as a dig at you or me trying to say you are a business btw. Shops are worth it if you are a business and it will save you money, as a small(ish) seller that would be the only reason to get one, the other 'advantages' arent really that huge.

If I were in your shoes or a business on a private account I'd be holding on to see if I got the email with the rewards, sorry incentives to move over as they are huge. If you do move to a business you can also have another account as a personal account, you'd start from 0 but as much as eBay claim feedback is important, it really isnt, price is the most important thing.

[siybon]

Ha, no problems. I always like to stress what my situation is. And I understand there are many bones of contention re the differences between private and business and the loopholes some use. It can be a delicate subject hehe.

But yes, Im deliberatng a few moves. Working out which if any would require converting to business, if its worth converting early, if a shop changes anything. That sort of stuff. 

Appreciate your feedback 🙂

[howmuchtobid]

You should already be registered on a business account.

Your approach seems to be if I make more sales I may become a business, it doesn't work like that.

[baz000000]

eBay will just land one day with a just demand that you convert your account to a business account or things will be restricted, giving 30 days notice. No discussion, it a do as you are told. I transferred stock I bought privately to my business to comply. That was the seamless part, only cost me £1,200 in VAT paid on stock as a private individual that couldn't be reclaimed by the business. Thank you eBay. Who doesn't like paying VAT twice?

eBay take unilateral decisions which render their service and partnership aspirations so much bunkum. I had a 2am raid on a listing that they pulled because it offended their social guidlines; deemed an environmental faux pas product even though there is no government legislation calling for its banning or even phase out. That left me holding £18k of now suplus stock.

If eBay come calling and it doesn't make sense to follow their dictates then do what I'm doing. Our sales are down 90%, in a year partly thanks to eBay killing some sales items but also as I pull out of eBay, we now list less than half the number of items that I did a year ago and as we run out of stock more items are not relisted.

eBay is not there for your benefit. Over the last few years they just sit isolated and dream up new marketing wheezes where seller A can outbid seller B with additional sponsore or click fees to gain a sale. It isn't an enduring business model, its a cash cow phase to squeeze every last drop of milk from sellers while they can. 

So you'll see all reasons offered up like protection from money laundering and regulatory comliance but it is all a means for eBay to squeeze your account for more fees irrespective of any costs incurred by you, both administratively (additional tax compliance admin etc) and fees.

[siybon]

To be fair, I dont really have an approach more than "I'll convert to a business either when I ready to, or when enay tell me to, which ever comes first".

I dont have huge knowledge about becoming an ebay business, hence why I'm down here a couple times a week trying to get some knowledge from the community.

If I trigger a demand from ebay then so be it. I've been in dialogue with ebay support about it, so I'm definitely not avoiding it. I'm trying to get ahead of it if anything. 

[siybon]

Sorry to hear about your issues. Youre not the first person Ive heard that seems to have come a cropper. 

For me, I'm just using ebay as another platform to try to sell my cards on. And for now it serves a purpose. It has collectors using it. 

But I am actively thinking if its worth pursuing a more focused and dedicated business account in an evergreen sector. End of the day, the platform generates sales. Its not the perfect platform, but it does get traffic. If theres a profitable thing to potentially sell in the furture, then its profit.

Though I do totally understand the point of view of how it's for worse for some people. I dont really have the "it used to be so much better" angle because its only the last couple of year or so Ive been in the 100-200 listing range, and only the last momth or so where Ive thought about the idea of working on it more. 

[papso22]

It's really very simple.

If you  buy or make things with the intention of selling, then that legally requires a business account,

If you are selling your old personal possessions,  that's what private accounts are for.

There are no thresholds, is it worth it financially,  or any other considerations.   It's only about what you are selling.  

There are no excuses for trading illegally on a private account. 

[andrecon-9]

I'm currently in the process of getting a few ebike suppliers,I will only have maybe a dozen or 15 different models for sale,is it really practical to operate a business account for that?

[papso22]

It doesn't matter if it's 'practical' or not.  By law you need a business account, and potentially to comply with other regulations too.

[nat11911]

I suppose HMRC will provide the answer to that when they come a-knockin for the back-payments you owe them. 

[moldosgifts]

I'm currently in the process of getting a few ebike suppliers,I will only have maybe a dozen or 15 different models for sale,is it really practical to operate a business account for that?

Practical ! It's essential for you legallity as a seller