Email From Ebay Asking If Private Or Business Seller

scorpio13

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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hi guys, my Sister-in-law just sent me this email which she just received from Ebay & isn't quite sure what to do.[/FONT]
She is a private seller but does sell various things on Ebay........... personal items she doesn't want anymore, plus (to earn a little extra money) sells bits & pieces she picks up cheaply - to re-sell on Ebay (i.e trainers, clothing, sportwear etc).

She is not a business and is unemployed, but does sell things in order to make a profit (she has a young daughter & feels that selling on Ebay is the only way she manages to make ends meet).
I can usually give her advice on most things concerning Ebay, but this time i'm stumped.

Out of interest, has anyone else received this email?

Any advice on this will be greatly appreciated.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thanks in advance.[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We are contacting you to confirm your account type. Our records show that your account type is currently undefined, because you originally registered on eBay before 2006. Please confirm, before 30 April 2008, if you use your eBay account for personal purposes or for business trading. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]E-Commerce is governed by laws which lay down the obligations of sellers and rights of buyers. These laws apply to all internet trading including activity on eBay, but the details vary depending on whether the seller is operating as a private individual or as a business.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If you do not confirm your account type by 30 April 2008, please note that you will be unable to sell on eBay until you complete the confirmation.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Choose a private account if you:[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]sell items that belong to you and that you do not need anymore[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]buy things for your personal use[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Choose a business account if you do any of the following:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]sell items that you have bought to resell[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]make items yourself and sell them, intending to make a profit[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]are a trading assistant[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]buy items for your business[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How to confirm your account type[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]go to My eBay[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]sign in (if requested)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]click 'Personal Information' in the 'My Account' section of the left-hand menu[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]click 'Edit' on the line at the top of the 'User ID and Password Information' section that relates to 'Account type'[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]5.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]sign in (if requested)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]6.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]confirm your account type[/FONT]

Agent_Cooper

I had the same e-mail. Basically, Ebay are tightening up their rules. Your sister has to decide on whether she is buying items in order to sell them on or just selling off her own possessions-If she is buying stuff from Charity Shops etc in order to sell them on Ebay, then she will be classed as a Business Seller. If she is selling off her own stuff, then she is a private seller. Its a tricky one and a bit of a grey area to be honest.

pinkgem

if she buys stuff to sell she needs a business account under new rules

soolin

It is not a grey area at all. The moment you buy something with the specific intent to trade you are trading and need to be declaring this as such to the Inland Revenue.

For details on how to register please see the sticky thread entitled useful links and note post number 13.

Actually registering as a business on paypal does not tie in at all with the tax man, the two things are not connected. Until recently it has been entirely possible to be registered properly with the tax man and trading on ebay as a personal seller.

Agent_Cooper

My point about it being a grey area was that there is nothing stop the OP's sister in law in buying stuff for herself, then deciding that she doesn't want them anymore and selling them on Ebay. That would then make her a personal seller, surely?

soolin

Agent_Cooper wrote: »

My point about it being a grey area was that there is nothing stop the OP's sister in law in buying stuff for herself, then deciding that she doesn't want them anymore and selling them on Ebay. That would then make her a personal seller, surely?

The OP though said

but does sell things in order to make a profit

You either buy for yourself or you buy to sell. I think the tax man would probably allow us all the ocassional mistake, indeed I'm sure many of us have bought something, decided we didn't like it and ebayed it for any number of reasons. However I would think there is a limit to how many mistakes a person could claim..and of course to make any such statement knowing it was false would be fraud.

lisyloo

It's still not a grey area.

The moment you buy something with the specific intent to trade

The quote above is quite clear.

If you sister is stuff and then deciding she doesn't want it that's fine.
I have bought DVDs before, watched them and then re-sold then 2nd hand afterward. That was for personal use.

However if you think that she can buy hundred of items per day and then suddenly decide that she doesn't want them then I don't think that would wash with the Inland Revenue.

Agent_Cooper

Yes, you are right. But in the case of buying from Charity Shops etc, what I am saying is that if the Op's sister-in-law didn't want to become a 'business seller' she could quite easily say that she was buying stuff for her own use, but then deciding at a later point that they were not for her and resell them on Ebay. You might find that morally unacceptable, but I don't see what Ebay or The Inland Revenue could do about it.

Ebenezer_Scrooge_2

I had the same email today, i have been a member of ebay since 2003.
Why are they doing this? is it because the taxman wants a slice of the ebay pie?

If i register as a business seller, what diffrence will this make ie tax, extra fees?

Ebay for many like the person above, is an extra income to those like myself who already struggle to keep a roof over our heads, let me meet Gordon brown face to face so i can let him know what i think of him

I feel there should be a big destinction between joe blogs and high street seller.

scorpio13

I know exactly what you mean Agent Cooper.

Thanks for your input.

soolin

You mean apart from the Inland Revenue using their powers to add a hefty fine and penalty to any outstanding tax?

Sorry, but accidentally misunderstanding the rules is no defence as far as the tax man goes. If you buy to sell, even stuff from a charity shop, then you are trading and regardless of your status on Ebay you will need to declare your income to HMRC.

It is best not to be naive where the tax man is concerned, he has no grey areas, if you defraud him he will use every penalty at his disposal to make sure you know what you did was wrong.