Exactly, that is a private seller. Less than 30 items a year or £1740 income and nobody is bothered at all.

It is really not up to eBay to decide the tax status of an individual. That is for the Revenue. But of course, if there have been huge loopholes such as this for many years, then it is their brand and platform that will suffer.

As I said, I dont think eBay is dead, but there will be some big changes. 

Maybe HMRC will fine eBay, I dont know. 

If someone has a big feedback, it says they sold a lot of items over the last year, they look like a business, the Revenue computer can quickly cast through their current listings and average the value of a sale. They can see how many unit sales the person has made on the feedback listing and from that public data and the NI number, send an initial estimated assessment of tax due. Of course, a cross check on the NI nuber will look to see if self assessments have been completed, that benefits have not been paid, and that additional NI pension contributions have been paid on any profits. It is then up to the seller to prove them wrong.