Selling items on behalf of a relative

[psbte]

Hi all,

A relative, who I trust 100%, has asked me to sell a couple of watches that she no longer wants as she doesn't have a seller account and I have a well-established personal one. I want to help but thinking it over I am concerned about one aspect of this.

I have a personal account and only usually sell a few items a week which total on average maybe £20-£50 a month. This means tax is not an issue for me. However, the watches are an expensive well-known make and could well sell for around £1000 pounds for the two. I know that the tax people are giving people who sell on items to others more scrutiny than before, so given that does anyone with experience know if this could result in a tax bill for me? The thing is that all the profits will go to my relative so I won't personally make any money out of this.

I also wonder if there is anything else I should consider or need to prepare for if I am going ahead with this? There must be someone out there who has done something similar and I would be grateful to hear about any other possible pitfalls that I should bear in mind.

Many thanks in advance for any help.

Steve

[4_bathrooms]

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@psbte wrote:

However, the watches are an expensive well-known make and could well sell for around £1000 pounds for the two.

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eBay's "authenticity guarantee" only covers watches that sell for £1,500 or more (individually). I'd be more worried about selling a couple of scam magnets than any non-existent tax obligations they would attract.

[psbte]

4_bathrooms - Not that helpful seeing that the authenticity guarantee doesn't apply here and you don't explain why the tax obligations would be non-existent. Both the watches have matching authenticity cards.

[4_bathrooms · Accepted solution]

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@psbte wrote:

4_bathrooms - Not that helpful seeing that the authenticity guarantee doesn't apply here and you don't explain why the tax obligations would be non-existent.

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You don't have any tax obligations when you sell personal possessions unless they attract capital gains tax (which watches never do as they're "mechanical items").

eBay reports the details of sellers to HMRC who sell 30 items and/or £1,700 worth of items in a calendar year (requesting a private seller's NINO in the process). This doesn't mean you have any new or additional tax obligations.

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@psbte wrote:

Both the watches have matching authenticity cards.

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Which won't be checked by eBay's authentication partner (check the link). eBay's Authentication Guarantee means the item is authenticated before it is forwarded to the buyer. If the buyer returns the item for any reason the authenticator checks the item on it's return journey to the seller ensuring the same item is being returned in the same condition it was sent in.

As the watches you will be selling will not pass through authentication a buyer could claim the watch they received wasn't as described and return their worthless old watches (or an empty package) instead of the two ~£500 watches you shipped to them. You would then have to go through the process of proving you were a victim of fraud in order not to lose the money and the watches. You might want to read eBay's Money Back Guarantee policy to see how buyers are all but guaranteed a refund if they claim an item they received is not as described.

[psbte]

Thank you for that very useful information. I will need to consider this further then.

[robbtyke132010]

To add to this - selling £500 watches on eBay is like throwing chum in the water for the scammer sharks to gorge on....

[plpmr]

adding to the advice already given -

There's a strong possibility that once you have sold them your funds will be put on hold for a period of time.

[signs_and_vintage]

TLDR try your local jewellers after getting advice on the trusted ones

[myriad*seller]

You would need to consider that if scammers buy the watches, and return an empty box, the money for their refunds will be taken from YOUR bank account

Are you confident your relative would or could refund you? 

[signs_and_vintage]

I was thinking that but wasn't going to say it because the other points are so strong! They do say no good deed goes unpunished and can just imagine a family rift over something like that.

[jckl1957]

To add to all of the good advice, and responding to your last paragraph:

Remember the possibility of a chargeback.  If a buyer finds a fault with one of the watches up to 120 days after purchase, (Worst case scenario: just say one of the watches is a fake and the buyer takes it to an authorised dealer for a service only to discover it is counterfeit) they can go to their payment provider and start a chargeback.

Ebay don't fight chargebacks and the outcome is decided by the payment institution.

You would have to go back to your relative and ask them for the money back - tricky for everybody.

I would send the relation and their watches to an auction house.

[lucy_farmer]

I'll second all that ; ebay isn't really for expensive personal things ; let alone things that *don't* belong to you...

Ebay is basically for business sellers of cheap blister-packed tat from China.

  And more 'hard-headed' buiness sellers  in this country, who will calculate in a certain amount of losses.

Interesting second hand stuff from private sellers is also around, but it's not for things you can't afford to lose.

Watches and jewelry etc are scam magnets, *especially* if they're worth about a grand.

As per jckl1957 above ^^^, please take them to an auction house!

[psbte]

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to leave such useful advice. You have confirmed the fears and concerns I had and I will have to tell my relative that eBay is not the place to sell these types of items.

[lucy_farmer]

I'd show your relative this thread, by the way.... just to prove you're not being uneccessarily obstuctive 'because you don't *really* want to help!'

(it took a lot of persuasion to convince my husband that *not* selling some of his stuff -at the beginning of my ebaying 'career'- wasn't just due to laziness and 'couldn't be bothered-ness' because it was a bit awkward!)

[myriad*seller]

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@jckl1957 wrote:

To add to all of the good advice, and responding to your last paragraph:

Remember the possibility of a chargeback.  If a buyer finds a fault with one of the watches up to 120 days after purchase, (Worst case scenario: just say one of the watches is a fake and the buyer takes it to an authorised dealer for a service only to discover it is counterfeit) they can go to their payment provider and start a chargeback.

Ebay don't fight chargebacks and the outcome is decided by the payment institution.

You would have to go back to your relative and ask them for the money back - tricky for everybody.

I would send the relation and their watches to an auction house.

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And you won't get the watches back but will be required to refund (eBay will just take the money from your bank)

[papso22]

"A relative, who I trust 100%"

The only person I trust 100% is me!

[insidethe93]

If you feel eBay's too complicated, maybe consider a bricks & mortar jewellery shop as many buy second-hand items to sell and/or offer various options for individuals looking to sell their unwanted jewellery. It's also a way to get items professionally valued; often for free.

A brief google came up with a lot of jewellers nationwide who reckon they can help you with secondhand watches and jewellery. I didn't recognise any of the names, though. A few years ago when I had 16 watches (3 generations' worth) to clear from a deceased relative's house I got the watches one jeweller cleaned them up and made a few repairs. Then I, taking a recommendation, sold to another jeweller. I only had to take ID to the latter firm, sign a form and, weirdly, have my photo taken (presumably their measure against potential fraud) - fairly hassle-free!

I believe house clearance firms might help with a recommendation. The house clearance firm I employed seemed to have a recommendation for every kind of tradesman and specialist you could think of!

[insidethe93]

P.S. given because you want to sell on someone else's behalf. May not be relevant here, but because I was selling the watches on behalf of someone else (a widowed in-law whose estate I was managing), I also had to provide the jeweller I sold to a certified copy of the Power of Attorney.