Can I do this? (ebay)

teambathmat

In the past I have just sold my unwanted items on ebay, but the other week I was in a Charity shop and bought a pair of Armani Jeans for £1 and some Clarks shoes for £3 (new in box).

The items were not my size, but they were such a bargain I thought i would sell them on ebay, which I did-Jeans-£15 and shoes £22. ....so i made £33 for myself (minus p&p of course.

Now am I allowed to do this?......all the 'profit' I have in my paypal account is used to buy clothes etc off ebay for me, or make-up whatever.

Everytime I go into a charity shop now I look out for things that I know will sell on ebay for more than I bought if for. (i'm a bit of a magpie)

So my question is when does this 'hobby' of mine turn into some kind of fiddle on not decalring earnings etc? I would hate to be breaking any rules.

Thanks

mrcol1000

If you buy things to sell for a profit you have to register on Ebay as a business and inform Inland Reveune and pay tax on any profit.
But as long as your not importing stuff into a warehouse and selling it in bulk and don't advertise the fact your a business then your get away with it.
I may be guessing but there are lot of people on Ebay who buy stuff in various places purely to sell for a profit on Ebay.
By the way most of the big chairty orgnisations take the best stuff from their shops and sell on Ebay.

montyrebel

yeah keep doing it, nearly everyone on here does I am guessing

frivolous_fay

teambathmat wrote: »

In the past I have just sold my unwanted items on ebay, but the other week I was in a Charity shop and bought a pair of Armani Jeans for £1

Make sure they're not fake before you go selling them...

teambathmat

frivolous_fay wrote: »

Make sure they're not fake before you go selling them...

Yeah they were real. I'm pretty good at telling fakes from real ones ( researched beforehand)

goanmad

montyrebel wrote: »

yeah keep doing it, nearly everyone on here does I am guessing

I don't.

Be very careful. If you're buying items with the intention of selling on to make a profit you should declare yourself a business. It only takes one p***ed off buyer to report you to the Inland Revenue.

cyberbob

Register as a business if you wish to keep doing it. People will notice and eventually you will get reported

cyril82

Some people will be along soon to tell you that you must declare everything to ebay and the tax man or bad things will happen to you.

but really if it's just a few quid here and there i wouldn't bother, it's hardly worth registering self employed for and the government will only give any tax they take from you to the greedy incompetent banks to bail them out anyway so who cares?

Saffronsmum

Yep ,you have to register as a business and keep a record of what you spend/what you sell items for as well as proof of postage costs.

I would say its worth it though and its great fun looking for a bargain.

piratefairy

Yes, I agree, if that's your intention then you are acting as a business seller so should register as one and declare your earnings.

Premier_2

Keep going!

80% of £33 is better than 100% of £0

... and you're supporting the Charity shop too! :T