Whenever culprits are advised in the discussion boards that they're really traders who should be on a business account, they tend to react with surprise, confusion or defiance. Some are probably genuinely learning it for the first time. Others knew full well beforehand. They all tend to use the same excuses.

In "badges of trade bingo" every time a seller uses a time-worn excuse, shout "bingo!" and down a drinks shot.

Each excuse implies "so it must be all right":

"I'm just a hobbyist seller" bingo!

"I'm not selling large quantities" bingo!

"It's not on a commercial scale" bingo!

"I only make a loss" - bingo!

"I sell rarely" bingo!

"I don't market professionally" - bingo!

"everyone's doing it" - bingo!

"I've been doing it for years" - bingo!

There's a recently started thread here on what can happen when HMRC catches up

after years: "Re: 23 years on eBay. 5 suspensions. Home at risk. Has anyone else

experienced these deliberate trap".

Re the above, in case someone hasn't heard about the "badges of trade", including perhaps some business sellers illegally trading on private seller accounts, the seven "badges of trade" are tests developed over time by British courts to decide if selling counts as trading (a business) rather than a one-off private sale; there's no single statutory list; no single badge is decisive:

- Profit motive: selling to make money
- Number of transactions: repeat sales
- Nature of item: items usually sold commercially
- Work on item: repairing and/or refurbishing before sale
- Manner of sale: businesslike marketing
- Source of goods: bought to re-sell
- Time held: short time between purchase and sale

Courts decide whether activity is trading using these badges. HMRC applies that test

for tax/VAT and may act on seller receipts reports supplied by platforms - platforms,

subject to £thresholds/dates etc, must by law report the statistics to HMRC. It's a

civil matter so the burden of proof is 'balance of probability' (not the higher

standard 'beyond reasonable doubt').