How many of you earn your living off ebay?

powertron

I work full time but also sell the odd items on ebay, eventually I want to quit my job and sell full time on ebay.

How many of you work full time on ebay and what kind of money do you make, if you don't mind me asking? Do any of you register with the tax office?

Brooke_Daver

powertron wrote: »

I work full time but also sell the odd items on ebay, eventually I want to quit my job and sell full time on ebay.

I think you've missed the boat, ebay is not as big as it was a few years ago.

powertron

Brooke_Daver wrote: »

I think you've missed the boat, ebay is not as big as it was a few years ago.

The items I plan on selling sell very well for what I want to sell them at and I have sneakily grabbed supplier info from my work place and got a few estimates.

Ebay will always make big bucks for people who have the right products at the right prices.

It's just I'm not too clued up on all the tax payments that are required etc.

FloFlo

You need to register as self employed asap.

Brooke_Daver

powertron wrote: »

The items I plan on selling sell very well for what I want to sell them at and I have sneakily grabbed supplier info from my work place and got a few estimates.

Ebay will always make big bucks for people who have the right products at the right prices.

Given that ebay can boot you off at any point for no given reason who could depend on ebay for a living?

shelovestobuystuff

I earn a decent amount via ebay(also known as feepay I believe,they earn a more than decent amount off me).
Go for it!!!
You must register as self employed for income tax and N.I. purposes as soon as you start to buy items to sell on.
Look into whether you have to register for VAT also initially or whether it would be worth your while registering voluntarily.If you want to import you need a VAT number,some U.K. companies will only deal with properly VAT registered companies also,it gives your business some added credence.

shelovestobuystuff

Self employment is great.
The best benefit I find is being able in the main to choose my own hours.I am able to take long weekends away with my family which I never did as an employee.On the other hand there is no clocking off,if you are inundated with orders you have to keep going until the work is done even if that means staying up all night.
Its more than worth it though.

ormus

anything is possible on ebay. depends on your product and selling prices.
my mate sold 9ks worth the other week on ebay. and yes its it can fragile as ebay can kick you off at any time.
but where/how else can you reach 15 million buyers for pennies?

ps: a limited company maybe a better bet than a sole trader.
also register for vat is very useful. and a legal requirement after 65k t/o per annum.

goldspanners

powertron wrote: »

Ebay will always make big bucks for people who have the right products at the right prices.

and the right listings!!!

StaffsSW

I've the best and worst of both worlds - full time careers with a huge multi-national, and a very healthy second income from ebay and "related" ventures.

Job provides company car, pension etc, eBay provides headaches and pocket money for luxuries as well as fall back option if ever the multi-national employers start swinging the cost-cutting axe!

And with regards tax, it's completely transparent to authorities, and is a figure that makes people go :eek:

motorguy

powertron wrote: »

Ebay will always make big bucks for people who have the right products at the right prices.

Personally, my impression of earning a living on ebay are

(a) the margins tend to be waifer thin
(b) you tend to be able to ride the wave for a little while - until some other sod starts selling the same item at a penny cheaper than you.
(c) there is no customer loyalty, it tends to be price driven.
(d) its all logged so Mr Taxman will know about everything you do if he so desires.
(e) as others have pointed out, ebay can kick you off for one of a thousand reasons
(f) having a good day / week / month doesnt mean diddly, the next month could be bad and you might never even know why.
(g) its seasonal. You could sell anything on ebay between now and christmas, but that wont be an indicator of what happens the rest of the year.
(h) there is a big difference between earning as a sideline and earning enough to make a living. For example if you sell 20 items a month and make £200 in total, can ebay sustain you selling 200 items a month to make £2000?