Upgrading from a Personal account to Business account - do you keep your old feedback rating?

[headfodder]

Cos of the new Private selling changes, especailly the not very Simple Delivery, I'm considering upgrading my existing private account to a Business account. I understand the fees and T+C etc, but can't find a clear answer on what happens to my existing feedback rating.

If I upgrade my Private account to  a business one, does my existing feedback apply to/stay with the Business Account or do I go back to zero?

[ruby*ryan]

Feedback all stays.

[*vyolla*]

Nothing will change at all, except you'll need to add a returns policy to your listings.

[papso22]

Only upgrade if you are really a business seller.

[marco@ebay]

Hi headfodder, thanks for your post.

Just to add to the good advice given already, please note that if you upgrade to business, something important to take into consideration is that you will most likely not be able to downgrade back to private if you change your mind.

Hope this helps,

Marco

[moldosgifts]

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marco@ebay wrote:

Hi headfodder, thanks for your post.

Just to add to the good advice given already, please note that if you upgrade to business, something important to take into consideration is that you will most likely not be able to downgrade back to private if you change your mind.

Hope this helps,

Marco

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Just to add to this you can open a separate private account, you can and should keep your business and private transactions separate,

Marco who is usually very good didn't mention this.

[headfodder]

Am I a business?  I sell enough to put it in my tax return but nowhere near enough including other income to pay tax and its not my living. So I'm not a formal buinses but an active collector. I sell-on excess pieces from job lots, and where I get a better example of something I already have, I sell on the 'old' one, like many collectors here. 

My issue is the mess as I see it that eBay have now made of private accounts especially with so called "Simple Delivery" which is a nightmare IMO. The  community postings show lots of issues arising.

I have always used a personal account with my courieirs and it means if there is ever an issue, there is no third party involvemnet to postentially complicate things.

A Business account runs much as eBay used to 'back in the day'. You set the postage as you the seller need and the eBay fees are the sellers responsibilty, simple and for me that seems transparent.

[papso22]

Sales that you put on your tax return are trading (business) sales and need to be done on an ebay business account. 

[ile136yz]

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@headfodder wrote:

Cos of the new Private selling changes, especailly the not very Simple Delivery, I'm considering upgrading my existing private account to a Business account. I understand the fees and T+C etc, but can't find a clear answer on what happens to my existing feedback rating.

If I upgrade my Private account to  a business one, does my existing feedback apply to/stay with the Business Account or do I go back to zero?

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I went from eBay Private to Business Account a few year ago.

Feedback remained the same.

I had a Basic Shop which I kept, but the charge for a Business Basic Shop is higher.

[headfodder]

"Sales that you put on your tax return are trading (business) sales and need to be done on an ebay business account. "

Although it's not the original question I'm not sure I agree with that? Can you direct me to an ebay rule that says that?

There's no Revenue and Customs rule I know of to that effect? Nor any eBay rule I know of: what I do are hobby related sales. Ebay and HMRC if they want to check will see that I spend far more on new pieces I collect than what I sell.

If there's a piece in a job lot I want, I have to buy the lot and like most other collectors buying on ebay, I sell on the other items in the lot I don't want. That's not a business. Total annual sales above the relevent thresholds are reported to HMRC regardless of the account type so it make no odds that way (and I declare mine anyway as some years I sell more than the £1000 threshold)? I have to do a tax return for other completely unrelated non PAYE income in any case.

The only eBay rule i can see on your point is if you are a formal trading company (VAT registered, Ltd etc) or  a formal Partnership ( and few other things), then you should almost certainly be using a business account.

Ebay rule actually alow you to have multiple personal and buinse accounts so ghow doe that work? (Please don't answer this point: it's a rhetorical question!)

[*vyolla*]

An eBay seller must register as a business if, for example, they sell items they have bought to resell, they make items in order to sell them, or if they buy items for their business.

What is the policy?

Business sellers can't represent themselves as private individuals

Taken from:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/selling-policies/selling-practices-policy/business-seller-polic...

[headfodder]

Thanks for the comments so far. My inclination is to leave my personal account alone and start a seperate Business account. eBay rules certainly allow for this.

From what I can see a basic (no Shop) Business Account fits my low volume sales but is much more user friendly and functional for most of my sales. Especially so where the seller's choice of courier is essential for shipping specific items.

Yes, I have to pay some fees but I think that is better for now than the present uncertainty around Simple Delivery, which IMO and judging by the huge number of adverse comments and negative reactions in these Forums, is still an unhappy mess.

A lot of people are also it seems bemused by the Buyer Protection now added onto purchases from Private accounts. As one who buys too, it certainIy distorts pricing by moving the fees to the buyer from the seller: and seems to be another really unpopular change on all sides too!

[ruby*ryan]

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@headfodder wrote:

Yes, I have to pay some fees but I think that is better for now than the present uncertainty around Simple Delivery, which IMO and judging by the huge number of adverse comments and negative reactions in these Forums, is still an unhappy mess.

I see that most of your completed listings had Evri as the courier, an you stated you wouldn't send via RM. With SD you can deselect RM and just have Evri.  My first SD sale was Evri and had I been buying direct from Evri it would have had the 'remote location' charge added, plus I would have to have paid extra to have it covered for the full £40. With SD, all the buyer had been charged was the standard Evri fee, so they saved a couple of quid!

[the_book_seekers]

You give simple delivery as one of the reasons for opening a business account. There have been hints that ebay is considering introducing SD to business accounts. It may never happen (hopefully) but it may be as well to give it a little while to see how things develop.