just a thought what do you think

ljwari

hi there i have just had an idea to start up an online/ebay shop selling secondhand childrens clothes as i have found that on ebay they are still over priced for secondhand items esp p&p (£4 for a childs top)
what do you think? do you think this would be a good idea?
i know i wont make millions at it but every little helps plus if things go well i have another idea..... sorry cant share as this is not an idea that has been done already and i dont want to give it away.

McKneff

You have nothing to lose, but if you are buying and selling dont forget you have to register with HMRC

ljwari

im just selling at the moment but will bare that in mind thank you all my stock will be donated

Laurencek

Just watch out with lower priced items eBay isn't cheap and also if your taking paypal that's another big cut allow 15-20 % of sale price in fees alone

ljwari

thanks for the heads up,
are there anyother sites that you can think of where i can trial this out before i do a full blown eshop?

Laurencek

Guntree? Carboots? E shopa are cheap to set up but takes some time and knowledge to get customers in.

eBay has customers all ready there but you pay a premium for it, depends on your mark up. Try a normal eBay selling account before you go for a full blown eBay shop.

We sell a few bits on eBay but havnt gone for a full blown eBay shop yet as I carnt see if it will be worth the extra £15+ a month but then again will give it a try one day and see if it does work

Spring_Time

You can sell cheap all the time you are getting "donated" stock, even if you only make 1p after ebay, postage and paypal fee's if you did not pay for the stock then anything is a bonus I guess. Once you have to start sourcing stock elsewhere (You should register to the tax man at this point) to sell then I think you will find you will be on par cost wise with the other sellers on ebay selling the same things. Costs HAVE to be covered unless you don't mind taking the hit and just want an expensive hobby. There are a LOT of sellers selling stuff at the bare minimum already. Just takes some looking!

Of course there is a lot of overpriced tat on ebay but in the clothes section there are also a LOT of bargains to be had that you will be competing with. I picked up a Lipsy dress for my eldest daughter for £1.78 delivered! Its in absolute gorgeous condition! This seller was not a business seller so I guess was just selling unused stuff and was happy with whatever they got. I am guessing if they had to buy the stock first I would not of got such a bargain and I would of just looked elsewhere

Wow ramble! sorry lol!

McKneff

ljwari wrote: »

im just selling at the moment but will bare that in mind thank you all my stock will be donated

Even if it is donated, you still have to register if you doing it to make a profit, sorry if I was unclear in my post.

Your words were ebay/online shop which equates to a profit making enterprise hence the registering wth the tax office.

Dont make the mistake that no one will 'shop' you, it happens all the time these days.

pitkin2020

I would suggest you spend some time looking through the completed listings, you will then see most childrens clothes rarely sell and those that do are for stupidily low prices. Think how long it will take you to prep the item, write the listing, take the photos & sort out P&P. I'm not trying to put you off but there is a lot of work involved for very little profit. Ebay is great if you sell in huge quantities and make a small profit on each item but you ideally need a lot of the same product so you have one advert.

ljwari

McKneff wrote: »

Even if it is donated, you still have to register if you doing it to make a profit, sorry if I was unclear in my post.

Your words were ebay/online shop which equates to a profit making enterprise hence the registering wth the tax office.

Dont make the mistake that no one will 'shop' you, it happens all the time these days.

Thanks for this info but all i am doing is selling stuff of my daughters and other family members its not exactly a business just doing what everyone else is doing and im sure there all not registered with the tax man that's what i ment by donations

pitkin2020

ljwari wrote: »

Thanks for this info but all i am doing is selling stuff of my daughters and other family members its not exactly a business just doing what everyone else is doing and im sure there all not registered with the tax man that's what i ment by donations

Your opening statement didn't make that clear, especially with talks of an ebay shop. If your merely selling used goods that are yours (you have purchased) then you wouldn't need to register. I wouldn't mention anything about family donations who says you didn't buy them!! If you start to buy or receive donations from others with the intention of selling then you would need to register. Also just because you end up registering doesn't mean you will automatically have to pay tax, there is a threshold you have to go over first so don't panic about that.