@roger_roger_over_and_nowt @howmuchtobid @dch2112011
🙂 Thanks for a couple of chuckles! I don't feel I owe anyone an explanation, but I'll do so, in hopes that it helps people be more questioning when seeing what they believe to be evidence of businesses reg'd as private.
But first I have to say I hold no brief for @lellyann22 , never encountered them before and I only took a quick look at their listings. They may be a genuine private seller, or they may be running a business based on regular visits to charity shops and boot fairs or wherever, buying clothing to resell.
OK, I'm emptying a lot more than drawers! And perhaps my story will be a life lessson for younger readers. I've had many interests, but primarily electronics, computers and photography. I've hoarded for many decades, things that would be great for projects, if not now then when I retire, I used to think. Even before we moved here 30 years ago I'd had this mindset to such an extent that the removal company took 3 days. And this property is part of a farm, split up in the 1960s, with lots of outbuildings. Just drawers? As if!
Yes, I have bought some items new. E.g. this past weekend I sold a book that I bought new! In the mid-90's it cost me £35, and I've decided I'll never again be interested in low-level Windows system programming, so I sold it and recouped £1. It had been listed for 18 months, I was tempted to throw it in the blue bin, but I'm glad I didn't, I hope the buyer will get value from it.
Of course I'm aware that the definition of running a business doesn't depend on whether one makes a profit. So maybe some would say that book sale means I should register as a business. I'll listen to such views, though with some scepticism.
This evening I've sold a heatsink and fan for a very old PC. That's been relisting since 2017! Some of my items, as I dig through the piles, and test them if I can, sell quite quickly if I price them attractively. In the summer I listed a multimeter from the 1970s, started it at £70, have relisted it lower as the months past, and now got £30 for it. Several of my recent sales were within days or weeks of first listing. But without auto-relist (or, often, ending and relisting, to try to improve visibility) I'd be stuffed.
Why do I do it? "Surely he must be working for far below min wage", you're thinking. And you'd be right; I don't see it as a job. My generation was brought up not to be wasteful. And it's very satisfying when someone buys something they can't find anywhere else, either for a repair, a retro build, or to add to their museum. Or as a prop for film or theatre. It's an uphill struggle though. I ask my wife what she'd like for her birthday and she says "A skip".
Businesses should be registered, so consumers have their rights. Though in practice personally I allow change of mind returns and work with buyers to keep them happy. I imagine a lot of business sellers get heated about rooting out wrongly trading sellers not so much because of consumer rights, but because of the disparity in the fees. And I can empathise with that, but they should vent their anger at ebay, not by going around finding private sellers to bully without even a polite discussion to establish the facts first.
It's by no means the first time I've had this kind of discussion in the forums. Very occasionally I get an apology. More usually they slink off to find someone else to hassle, then yet another forum thread gets derailed.
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