selling on ebay whilst on benefits?

thinkginge

my friend would like to sell her little ones old clothes n things on ebay, so she would be a personal seller, not a business.

but she is on income support, so is this legal etc, she doesn't want to get into trouble. but i would think its the same as doing a carboot sale. allowed etc.

she wants to set up a paypal account, then transfer her money to her bank account to spend for xmas, but shes worried about the benefit people. i dont really know anything about this, so i said id ask you guys if you could offer any advice.

thanks guys

x

soolin

I am not 100% sure about how it impacts benefits, but I can confirm that selling your own personal items is not treated as running a business. It would therefore seem logical that if your frined is not making any business profits then it does not need to be declared to the benefit office either.

thinkginge

thanks for that, i think that was what she was worried about, having to declare it to benefits. thanks for clearing that up for me.

saveaholic68

Hi, as long as it is her own stuff and she's not buying to re-sell I think she will be fine. There was a guy on the front page of the paper about 6 months ago who had been buying stuff to re-sell -basically running a business- while on disability allowance and was driving a flash car and buying huge TV's and stuff. He ended up in prison, but I remember the quote from the benefit ppl, sayin that they don't mind if you're just having a clearout, but you can't take it to the extreme they way he did.

jan03

She is allowed to make £20 a week before declaring to the benefits people.
I know because I have asked myself.

ormus

personal effects are ok.
yes, the rule used to be 15 quid per week. i remember my cousin telling me. it must have changed since then?

thinkginge

is this £20a week for personal stuff as well, god i dont think i'll tell her the prison story will put the frightners on her!lol

ie £20 is this like profit ie after fees, postage etc. thanks for your help guys, just dont want her to get into any trouble

jan03

It's £15 a week for anyone with no kids or £20 for a single parent.

__lsx__

I think selling your own personal items wouldn't count as earnings, whereas buying things and selling them on at a profit would be deemed to be earnings.

Postage is generally seen to be an overhead on getting the item to the buyer, so I guess your friend would only get into trouble if he/she were to sell things totalling at £20 more pw than she bought them (ignoring the postage). From what my sister has told me, you can earn any amount while on benefits, but over £20 you lose £1 of your benefits for each £1 you make.

I'm not sure whether the benefits people would go on the average earnings over a month considered weekly or sting you for the amount greater than £20 you earn each week, considered weekly, although I bet it's the latter.. Probably best to call them up to see.

Your friend would be wise to talk to the benefits agency anyway. My ex-gf used to be an Avon-lady while on benefits, taking in invoices/account info to the benefits office doing it all properly. Someone who saw her to be doing Avon reported her to the benefits agency, but because they already knew about her situation, it came to nothing. If your friend were to be seen going to the post office regularly with big parcels, it might be advisable to let the dss know why that might happen before he/she starts.

As has already been said, different limits will apply depending on your friends status.

Cute_'n'_Quirky

jan03 wrote: »

It's £15 a week for anyone with no kids or £20 for a single parent.

Provided the sale on Ebay is for personal goods ie not goods bought in to sell, the Seller can have £100 per week in sales and it would not affect any benefits.

thinkginge

Cute_n_Quirky wrote: »

Provided the sale on Ebay is for personal goods ie not goods bought in to sell, the Seller can have £100 per week in sales and it would not affect any benefits.

hiya cute n quirky, are you sure about the £100 for personal sales? thanks for all your help