Under 18 ebay business account help

Steer100

Hi, I am 17 and want to buy to resell on ebay.
To sign up to a business account, you have to agree that you are 18 or over so I was wondering if anyone could help...
Would it be in line with their terms and conditions to set it up in my dad's name but make and receive payments from my own bank account?

I have tried my best to find the answers on ebay but had no luck and even tried talking to a live help chat which it responded once (seemed like an auto response) then didn't respond for the next 10 minutes atall which is when I decided to give up.

Thank you in advance for your help!

theonlywayisup

Hi, I'm afraid it is 18. AFAIK there is no leeway. Perhaps you could try and buy and sell on other platforms such as Gumtree or the like. But Ebay is very strict about accounts and I really would not risk having one in someone elses name.

enya_ntfc

I used to use my Dads account but I used everything that was his, paypal, bank account etc. Plus I only bought. (I still know all his passwords haha)

I have my own account now as I wanted to sell in my own name and build my own rep, but only did this once I was 18.

I think everything would need to be in his name tbh.

McKneff

You obviously realise that you have to be 18 i. At the moment you are acting like a jack the lad trying to wheel and deal the system and that, my friend is not good. It isnt saying much for your integrity. Lying and asking for our help in trying to get round the system is immature. Not a good sign for an honest seller

Be responsible now, and wait till youre 18, these things have a way of coming back and biting you in the bum (or your dads)

Just sell elswhere or stock pile things to sell when you are 18

Steer100

McKneff wrote: »

You obviously realise that you have to be 18 i. At the moment you are acting like a jack the lad trying to wheel and deal the system and that, my friend is not good. It isnt saying much for your integrity. Lying and asking for our help in trying to get round the system is immature. Not a good sign for an honest seller

The whole point of me asking this question is to make sure that I do the right thing in line with rules and regulations. Not once did I die and if you knew me, you would realise how honest I actually am!

Steer100

enya_ntfc wrote: »

I used to use my Dads account but I used everything that was his, paypal, bank account etc. Plus I only bought. (I still know all his passwords haha)

I have my own account now as I wanted to sell in my own name and build my own rep, but only did this once I was 18.

I think everything would need to be in his name tbh.

Thankyou, I think I will have to ask him if he minds basically doing it all for me, but I will have to give him the money when payments are made. :beer:

McKneff

But its still dishonest.

You are doing the work and getting in the money and using your dad as a front.
People think they are going to be buying from your dad, a responsible adult but they are going to be buying from a 17 year old minor and unaware of the fact. That is why the age of responsibility is 18.

Steer100

McKneff wrote: »

But its still dishonest.

You are doing the work and getting in the money and using your dad as a front.
People think they are going to be buying from your dad, a responsible adult but they are going to be buying from a 17 year old minor and unaware of the fact. That is why the age of responsibility is 18.

I could of done that, yes, how irresponsible that would of been, but instead I came here to find out if it was against the rules, somehow I feel like I've done the right thing...

Plus, it's kind of ironic that I am so much more computer literate than my dad and if I were a buyer, I know who I'de rather buy off to guarantee that it doesn't accidently get shipped on economy delivery to Hong Kong.

enya_ntfc

Have you or your Dad bought/sold anything on ebay before as a private seller?

popadom

Hi,
It may not be honest, but i had an account at 16. In my defence, i had recently had to move out of the family home and into rented accomadtion. I needed it to sell my stuff to make money. I dont care tbh if it was wrong, it didnt kill anyone as it got me out of trouble. Make up your own mind. I can see the issue, if you mess up an order and someone needs to pursue you, it maybe hard for them to do so. So it could be morally unfair. I personally made sure they all were wrapped and shipped on time. In the few years ive been using it ive had one neg (cant see further than 12months but 99% sure i didnt have more) and that was down to a seller trying to get back at me.

It depends on how mature you are. If you think youll go out and forget to post, or wont wrap well, dont, wait until you can give your full time. Im not sure if you use your fathers account, hes still liable, as its seen as his account. Someone will correct me if im wrong.

Hammyman

Steer100 wrote: »

The whole point of me asking this question is to make sure that I do the right thing in line with rules and regulations. Not once did I die and if you knew me, you would realise how honest I actually am!

You miss one thing. HMRC, aka THE TAX MAN. They would see it as being your dad who was the business and would want to know why he hasn't declared his self employment and income from Ebay trading. That means fines and a whole world of grief. Without accounts they will make up what they think he owes based on similar businesses and there would be no way to appeal.