Help! Ebay wants me to upgrade to a business account.

soolin

tigger1480 wrote: »

I'm experiencing the very same problems. This year, for the first time, when I got to listing the tenth item (good quality clothing that my kids have outgrown) I was asked to register as a business. Having met everyone of ebays listed criteria to exempt me from needing a business account to remain a private seller, I applied to ebay for business exemption but have been refused. No explanation provided and I've just spent half an hour talking with someone from ebay who did not make that decision and does not know why that decision was reached but thinks it maybe because I was selling branded clothing, shock horror!

Registering as a business seller when you clearly are not operating a business would be madness in my eyes and a red rag to the taxman, not that I make a profit when you consider the original purchase price and the later ebay sale.

Obviously I must be Enemy of the Ebay State!

There is no way of knowing how ebay pick the people they push towards registering as a business. All but three though of the ones i am aware of (and there are loads) have been selling second hand clothing. I am not aware yet of anyone successfully appealing the ebay decision.

tigger1480

soolin wrote: »

There is no way of knowing how ebay pick the people they push towards registering as a business. All but three though of the ones i am aware of (and there are loads) have been selling second hand clothing. I am not aware yet of anyone successfully appealing the ebay decision.

Soolin...I would appeal if I there was an appeals process.

I'm waiting for someone from ebay who can explain to me how selling your second hand kids clothes at a loss can constitute a business. Even ebays own criteria exempts my activity as a business but that's not good enough for them.

Apparently the people at ebay who make the exemption decisions are only contactable internally within the ebay state by email. Wholly autonomous - wholly anonymous. :T

soolin

It is only my own theory of course and regulars will no doubt be laughing as I do love a conspiracy theory. However, on any programme over the past 6 or 7 years that mentions ebay as a money making business they always show people buying clothes and reselling, always. Therefore maybe ebay are lazy and just think that anyone selling second hand clothes must have watched these programmes and ar e buying to sell?

Otherwise I can't explain why it is virtually only clothes sellers that I am aware of being forced to upgrade.

However, changing to business is not the end of the world, all you really lose is the free 99p listings. Yes you have to have a returns policy, but in reality even private sellers are virtually forced to offer returns rather than risk a neg, so you don't really lose out there either. You also do not need to register with HMRC as you are only selling your own things, just make sure you keep evidence, ie pictures of full wardrobes etc, just in case anyone does report you to the tax man.

PeppaPig_3

I'm wondering if you can appeal ebays decision to upgrade if you have already been investigated and given the all clear from HMRC as I have? I sell my old clothes and my children's everytime they move up a size but never start at 99p. I have a declutter every couple of months and after reading this thread am worried they might ask me to upgrade to a business account.

mirko

jano.0795 wrote: »

Mirko u sound as if Im trying to get away with things, look on my listings and see if you see lots of new things, u will find the odd thing with tags thats all, I sell 2nd hand clothes what friends and family plus my own things thats all. Im not doing anything illegal I have spread sheets for tax man. I can sleep at nite time lol.x

I see a lot of people online saying they are buying to sell on ebay and not registering as a business!
I'm glad you can sleep at night! !! :cool:

soolin

PeppaPig wrote: »

I'm wondering if you can appeal ebays decision to upgrade if you have already been investigated and given the all clear from HMRC as I have? I sell my old clothes and my children's everytime they move up a size but never start at 99p. I have a declutter every couple of months and after reading this thread am worried they might ask me to upgrade to a business account.

I have never heard of anyone who has successfully got ebay to change their mind. However if you aren't using the 99p listings then you would lose nothing by being forced to upgrade.

RoseRed

I'm moving house in a few weeks and having a huge clear out so I hope I don't get clobbered with a business account. I'm more worried about the hassle as I am moving cross country which can complicate returns.

All my things are different and I am not listing many 99p items so I hope I'll be OK. I've been selling DVD's and Knickknacks on BIN as I was happy with the price they were selling for and it has allowed me to clear out stuff quickly. All furniture I have put on has been over 99p start as well. In our case everything is different and the only reason we are selling so much is we have decided to have a fresh start in our new home. Hopefully as I am making money for Ebay they will leave me alone. When I start on the clothes there will be some 99p starts but not over 100. Most of the little pieces will be coming to the boot sale with us.