Small business but thinking of 2nd business to boost earnings

Farmer92

Hi all,

First post on here. Thought it would be the best place to come.

My son got really ill a few years back which made me think about life and I decided I needed a change. So i decided to go self employed and started a small gardening/maintenence business. It's great through the summer months but winter can be a grind. Was thinking about a possible second business selling on eBay etc.

Just wondering if I would need to register this 2nd business or is it sort of an extension to what I already do. Earnings aren't huge by any stretch. Was just thinking of saving some cash and starting off with a few 100 to go to a wholesale and buy bits and bobs to start selling to make the winter months a bit better and see where it goes from there.

Any information or help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Farmer92 :j

Savvy_Sue

If it's all still just you as a sole trader then no, you don't need to register it separately with HMRC. All they care about is your taxable income from all sources.

However, unless you have a particular 'niche' in mind which isn't well met elsewhere I'm not sure you'll make that much money off Ebay: my understanding is that it's cutthroat out there. If you can get this stuff from a wholesaler, so can anyone else. To sell it at enough profit to cover postage etc means a tiny margin if you've got any competition at all.

Take a look at the Ebay board if you've not yet found that.

Farmer92

Thanks for getting back and answering my questions :-)

Yeah i get what you mean. It is there for anyone to get their hands on. May have to have a longer think at what I can do. Ill also take a look at the eBay board.

Thanks again

Percy1983

As above if self employed its just more income, I trade under 4 names as self employedand have one self assessment to do.

As for ebay, think differently. If there is things you know about you can buy and sell for a profit. I often buy computer/photography equipment in bulk, test/clean and sell seperately for a profit. Of course for this to work you really need to know what you are looking at.

daddy_bro

Before you spend a penny on stock search for the same item on ebay. It will probably come as a shock what they are selling for. In many cases less than you can buy them for wholesale.
If still planning to go that way Google search for Wholesale forums.
It can be done but is hard work.

martindow

daddy_bro wrote: »

Before you spend a penny on stock search for the same item on ebay. It will probably come as a shock what they are selling for. In many cases less than you can buy them for wholesale.
If still planning to go that way Google search for Wholesale forums.
It can be done but is hard work.

Totally agree with this. Also make sure that you are clear on the fees charged by Ebay and Paypal and the postage costs so you get accurate figures to determine how much profit there is.

Software_man

Think about drop-selling, I recently bought a desk product off ebay and it arrived from Amazon. I didn't mind at all, same price but the guy selling it made something without ever touching the product. Look into being an affiliate seller for different companies but don't get involved with handling the product at all. Also, look for software products to re-sell, they don't actually cost anything for the supplier to re-create (Been writing software for 30 years) so they are more likely to offer you a much, much higher percentage for any sales you make and you still don't touch the product or postage, the purchaser simply downloads it from the supplier with your affiliate code.

martindow

Software_man wrote: »

Think about drop-selling, I recently bought a desk product off ebay and it arrived from Amazon. I didn't mind at all, same price but the guy selling it made something without ever touching the product. Look into being an affiliate seller for different companies but don't get involved with handling the product at all. Also, look for software products to re-sell, they don't actually cost anything for the supplier to re-create (Been writing software for 30 years) so they are more likely to offer you a much, much higher percentage for any sales you make and you still don't touch the product or postage, the purchaser simply downloads it from the supplier with your affiliate code.

Drop shipping can be a disaster on Ebay. You are entirely dependent on the drop shipper and slow deliveries will provoke people marking down stars and giving poor feedback. If they are really slow you will get item not received claims being opened. These will lead to the end of an Ebay account.

Be very cautious of going down this route. For downloads, as mentioned, there is no seller protection on Ebay.

daddy_bro

Buying off ebay and selling locally is an option too. My daughter bought a good quality leather saddle off ebay and after using it for over a year sold it locally for more than she paid for it.
As mentioned before, look into buying and selling stuff you're interested in and know about. bulk selling is a mugs game.