Quick query regarding selling items I've acquired by accident

[anne.craig]

Hi, just thought I'd pick the brains on here to find out where I would stand.  A company sent me a large box of new goods by accident.  I informed them and after they tried to get them collected, they were unsuccessful in finding a carrier who would take them and told me they no longer want them back.  If I were to list them on eBay would that constitute trading?  I normally only sell items I've bought or unwanted gifts and I don't want to end up in any difficulties with eBay or HMRC!  Any input appreciated, thanks!

[thepillenwerfer]

They sound like the definition of an "Unwanted Gift" to me.  You certainly didn't acquire them with the intension of selling them.

As for HMRC you can make up to £1,000 over and above your Personal Allowance by 'Trading.'  Personal goods and chattels are obviously exempt — and that's what I'd now call your acquisitions — unless any are expensive enough to get clobbered with CGT, ie over £6,000.

[4_bathrooms]

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@anne.craig wrote:

Hi, just thought I'd pick the brains on here to find out where I would stand.  A company sent me a large box of new goods by accident.  I informed them and after they tried to get them collected, they were unsuccessful in finding a carrier who would take them and told me they no longer want them back.  

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That makes them your personal property; i.e. they were gifted to you.

The only issue where eBay is concerned is potential VeRO takedown requests. Due to the way eBay's item conditions work your options are effectively "Brand New", "New, Other" or "Used" depending upon the category. If these items are branded the brand owner(s) might object to them being listed as "Brand New" if listed on a private account; especially if they are valuable. 

[banditfrenzy]

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@anne.craig wrote:

Hi, just thought I'd pick the brains on here to find out where I would stand.  A company sent me a large box of new goods by accident.  I informed them and after they tried to get them collected, they were unsuccessful in finding a carrier who would take them and told me they no longer want them back.  If I were to list them on eBay would that constitute trading?  I normally only sell items I've bought or unwanted gifts and I don't want to end up in any difficulties with eBay or HMRC!  Any input appreciated, thanks!

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I think that any reasonable person would glance at your ebay account & quickly come to the conclusion that you are a trader masquerading as a private seller on ebay. Reasonable people aren't the ones you have to convince that you are just selling off a few personal belongings you no longer require, it will be someone from HMRC if they select you for an audit & you can ask anyone who has gone through that process that that someone from HMRC is far from a reasonable person . . . !

Here's just one mistake you are making, HMRC are going to tax you on 100% of the revenue you get from that unsolicited box of goods.

[technthread]

Come on. This is where this argument gets out of hand for me and is just scaring people for no reason. The OP has 600 or so sales in over 20 years on eBay. 

Someone can sell thousands of collectibles to get rid of spares and fund their hobby and that’s cool but someone else wants to sell a few dozen unwanted nail varnishes and they are masquerading as a business on a private account?

[banditfrenzy]

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@technthread wrote:

Come on. This is where this argument gets out of hand for me and is just scaring people for no reason. The OP has 600 or so sales in over 20 years on eBay. 

Someone can sell thousands of collectibles to get rid of spares and fund their hobby and that’s cool but someone else wants to sell a few dozen unwanted nail varnishes and they are masquerading as a business on a private account?

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Trading is trading and regardless of who else you can convince that you are not a trader the only people who really matter is HMRC.

This whole forum is currently an echo chamber for the traders masquerading as private sellers on ebay desperately scratching around for someone/anyone to help reinforce their conviction that they're not really a trader & if they were then it doesn't really matter 'cos it's only little old me & it's only pin money . . .

OP might have legitimate legal title to a box of unsolicited goods & is now free to do with them however they please, but trading is trading & anyone struggling to comprehend the definition of trading is just digging a hole which they might one day fall into. It is up to them how big & deep that hole is.

[anne.craig]

Thanks, sadly I did not get sent a big box of items worth £6K each!  I suspect there might have been a bit more effort to recover them in that case!

[anne.craig]

Thanks!  I hadn't thought of VeRO but I've had issues with that before - at least it's not a hanging offence, just a removal of the listing.  Goods are branded (not valuables though).  Something additional to think about.  

[vinylscot]

Business sellers can also have private accounts. Whether or not this seller should be operating on a business account with her current listings is not the issue here.

If these items were acquired through part of the OP's private, non-business dealings, then she is free to sell them as private possessions.

[anne.craig]

Hm, I know I am not in breach with my account at the moment as nothing was bought to sell, and almost everything was bought many years ago, a good percentage with proof of purchase at higher prices than listed.  I am confident with my account as it stands and can fight my corner if need be.  I am concerned about listing the new items for the very reason that I am not certain where I would stand with it.  I am not even sure what is in the box at the moment - just a rough overview from when I checked contents and saw it wasn't my order, but it definitely has multiples of new items, which worries me.  Of course if it's anything like my other listings, I'll be lucky to sell a couple of items in a year!  But I don't want to get into an argument with HMRC so maybe just dumping it in the bin would be better.  Seems a waste.  It appears to be a restock box for a business.  

[papso22]

Not knowing what's in the box makes it difficult to tie up the sender's permission for you to keep the items, with the sale of those items.  Which in turn might make it awkward if HMRC ask questions. 

[barry.110]

If you don't want to list the items rather than just dumping them maybe you could donate them to a charity.

[vinylscot]

If almost everything was bought many years ago, why is so much of it described as "new"?

[*vyolla*]

Is it more nail varnish?

You still have 55 brand new nail varnishes listed.

If so, I think I suggested a while back now that it would be worth having a second selling account and splitting your items between a private and business account. I can't see anyone from HMRC accepting that somebody has been selling off a nail varnish collection. 

[1902elder]

You did not aquire these items to sell as a business. You can obviously prove that they were "gifted" to you, and you are completely at liberty to sell them. As for HMRC being involved, your volume of sales would not even  interest them, so if it were me, I would go ahead and list them. As you rightly say, in common with thousands of others, you will be lucky now to get any sales. Ebay has ruined the platform.

[anne.craig]

If something is unopened or unworn both me and eBay descriptions would consider it to be new.  I am not allowed to sell any of my used nail polishes on eBay (or indeed on Vinted), which is a shame. 

[1902elder]

Why would HMRC be remotely interested? Surely there are bigger fish to fry? OPs sales are negligible.

[anne.craig]

No, it appears to be Nail Salon type stuff like nail care/treatments.  That's why I'm wary of selling it here, it might throw suspicion (as in previous posts lol) on my legitimate destashing of my nail polish collection, which I know for a fact were bought to wear, not sell.  When you have a collection of 5K plus items in a small flat, and are still buying for yourself, some unwanted items and unwitting overly similar items need to go to make more space!  Plus my tastes change as the years roll by!

[judydoodles]

Just a suggestion -  I have sold off used nail polishes at car boot sales.  They draw a lot of interest if priced low enough and once folk see a gaggle of buyers they come over and peruse your other stuff.  Any (unused) beauty items that I don't sell here end up as a good loss-leader at a boot sale or table sale if a local school or church run them.  I don't have any qualms about selling on used polish since it's less of a hygiene risk than products applied to skin.  It's up to the buyers to decide whether or not it's ok for them.

[And in case anyone wonders, just because I'm a private seller doesn't mean I don't understand the concept of loss-leaders ;o) ]

[papso22]

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@1902elder wrote:

Why would HMRC be remotely interested? Surely there are bigger fish to fry? OPs sales are negligible.

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I very specifically said 'if'.