Would people see me as a 'business'?

redzhell

I have accumulated enough Ipoints to redeem some vouchers but noticed that there is a game that is relatively cheap in terms of points so I'm tempted to swap my points for say, 5 games and sell them on Ebay. That way, I will get more money compared to the worth of the vouchers I was originally going to get.

I currently have under 100 feedbacks and only sold about 15 items since registering in 2006 - do you think my account will get flagged up if I suddenly started selling 5 items of the same kind on B.I.N.? Would Ebay or meticulous buyers see this as a business?

Jacks_xxx

I wouldn't expect 5 BINs to flag anything. Selling in the BIN format doesn't make you a business seller.

I would not expect people generally to think you were a business seller based on 5 items.

Lots of people sell new stuff on BIN without being a business.

EBay help says

"Choose a business account if you:

Sell items that you have bought to resell.
Sell items that you have produced yourself to sell.
Sell a large amount of goods on a regular basis.
Sell new items that you have not acquired for your personal use.
Sell items as a trading assistant.
Buy items for your business."

but you could just as easily have been given duplicate games on your birthday if we're talking about single figures.

I bought a two piece top from Next recently knowing that I won't wear one of the pieces and would sell it on eBay - but that decision wouldn't make me a business seller.

Number three's a bit vague isn't it? What constitutes "a large amount of goods"? 100 items a week? 100 items a month? 100 items in six months?

Anyway, do you sums and factor in Paypal and EBay Fees and see if it stacks up.

redzhell

Thank you Jacks! I asked the question because of exactly what of Number 4 states(Sell new items that you have not acquired for your personal use) although I am not using cash to purchase the items to re-sell. I am just looking at increasing my reward!

firesidemaid

in theory yes, if you buy things specifically to re-sell then you need to pay tax on that profit. in reality, if that is all you are going to sell like that then hopefully you will be ok.

it's not just ebay that will flag you, but hmrc too.

but, if you have the time and need the money, ebay is a great way to buy things to re-sell and make money. you need to do your research as you have done in this case. if you decide to permanently go down this route then you need to register as a business and pay tax.