Just now, Val-E said:

I fear you missed the boat, captain. It´s not Wall E!

The scousers must have got it then

1 minute ago, Mhd747 said:

The scousers must have got it then

Well, they certainly got the wheels.

6 hours ago, feed said:

 ebay UK, £1 max final value fees, check your invites/offers.  

These offers are typically for private and not business accounts. Most of us should really be using a business account. HMRC are cracking down on private accounts where several similar items are on sale suggesting business activity. eBay can also ban you if you are private and should be business. Since I moved to business, my sales are much much better :-)

3 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

These offers are typically for private and not business accounts. Most of us should really be using a business account. HMRC are cracking down on private accounts where several similar items are on sale suggesting business activity. eBay can also ban you if you are private and should be business. Since I moved to business, my sales are much much better :-)

Yup, in their dream world ebay would have everyone pay a monthly membership fee, ads fees, sales commissions on item and shipping cost and sales fees to paypal for both. They would also like to make a small charge for every time we log in to our account or consult our sales. In return they will cross promote other sellers and Lepin fakes. Where do I sign?

Thing is, Ebay have been dishing out 100 free listings a day to users (in UK at least) for the past several months or more. Now, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that some of the people receiving this offer do just have 10-15 collectible Lego sets just lying around which have become worth more money than they imagined and now want to sell. So is Ebay really going to offer said person free listings and then ban them from selling on their platform or report them to HMRC when they actually do start just listing all their old collectibles? Who decides whether this person has just amassed this collection over time and now just wants to sell or if they've bought them cheaply from someone local last week and are now asking for double on Ebay just to make money in a business like manner? Surely by offering people 100 listings a day they know people are going to try their hand at a little trading here and there? In my opinion you'd have to be unlucky to get picked up for selling several expensive items a month, as opposed to someone who is selling perhaps 30-100 of similar product. I agree that if you're selling a lot it's probably wise to consider a business account but if you're only moving small numbers maybe the scaremongering is a bit much? Maybe?

1 minute ago, BarryZola said:

Thing is, Ebay have been dishing out 100 free listings a day to users (in UK at least) for the past several months or more. Now, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that some of the people receiving this offer do just have 10-15 collectible Lego sets just lying around which have become worth more money than they imagined and now want to sell. So is Ebay really going to offer said person free listings and then ban them from selling on their platform or report them to HMRC when they actually do start just listing all their old collectibles? Who decides whether this person has just amassed this collection over time and now just wants to sell or if they've bought them cheaply from someone local last week and are now asking for double on Ebay just to make money in a business like manner? Surely by offering people 100 listings a day they know people are going to try their hand at a little trading here and there? In my opinion you'd have to be unlucky to get picked up for selling several expensive items a month, as opposed to someone who is selling perhaps 30-100 of similar product. I agree that if you're selling a lot it's probably wise to consider a business account but if you're only moving small numbers maybe the scaremongering is a bit much? Maybe?

Yes all off that being true, but what harm would It do to upgrade to a business account  ? Cant see any downsides but maybe its just me

Dunno, with Brexit looming the government is going to want all the money they can get their hands on. As UK sellers do better due to weak currency, it´s logical HMRC will take an interest.

Seems about right, hey cmon lets be optimistic 7 years

wrong section

4 minutes ago, king156 said:

Yes all off that being true, but what harm would It do to upgrade to a business account  ? Cant see any downsides but maybe its just me

OK, you go ahead and pay 8% Ebay fee on that £250 sale with your business account and I'll just pay £1 Ebay fee on the same sale with my private account when the offer is on. Won't do you any harm will it? That's just to mention one thing.

Just now, BarryZola said:

OK, you go ahead and pay 8% Ebay fee on that £250 sale with your business account and I'll just pay £1 Ebay fee on the same sale with my private account when the offer is on. Won't do you any harm will it? That's just to mention one thing.

Ohhh now that I did not know, so normal accounts get promotional offers and business users don't get any of that ? Wow that's rubbish yeah I see your point now.

It's rare to get free listings with a business account however, FVF is typically 8% rather than 10% which more than offsets the listing fee. You can then get Power Seller and Top Rated Seller status which some potential buyers prefer. Since most of my listing are for 25+ off the same set, it's obvious that I'm not a private seller. Just try to be helpful ;-)

HMRC have been lurking since 2001 which is when I was prosecuted! I've been strictly by the book since then and it's great knowing that I won't get a red-edged envelope from HMRC or a knock on the door. Guys, don't bury your heads in the sand as we all know who'll be lifting it out!

Cue OFaH theme.

 

2 minutes ago, BarryZola said:

OK, you go ahead and pay 8% Ebay fee on that £250 sale with your business account and I'll just pay £1 Ebay fee on the same sale with my private account when the offer is on. Won't do you any harm will it? That's just to mention one thing.

Not a problem as I'll probaby get 5% more from the sale. If someone puts 2 & 2 together, are you able to explain to the authorities? If you want to do this, wait until you've nothing listed on your business account and then list on private when you get the FVF offer. I'm thinking that when I list my SSDs in a year or two.

It's very tempting to stay a private seller  and fly under the radar and not pay any tax, however like everything all good things end one day.

The truth is most big business never get caught as it is too much hassle to prove they are tax evading than tax avoidance, they have the big lawyers to back them up. 

It's alot easier for HMRC to go after "smaller" companies / people on ebay as if you have a job and are reselling pretty easy to prove in court. 

It's very hard for most people to keep quiet and not tell people how much money they make selling lego, so it's usually some jealous friends or competitors that report them to HMRC.

Even with the George Osbornes £1000 limit on renting out a room / selling on Internet is nothing as it is not £1000 profit but turnover. 

Keep it sensible guys, don't go listing / selling 100 items a day, if you are might be worth opening a limited company and paying 20% tax, you can also offset alot of stuff against it like car costs / petrol / postage material etc.

HMRC's radar goes down to Hell, no escape and VERY costly if caught.

22 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

HMRC's radar goes down to Hell, no escape and VERY costly if caught.

and yet

1 hour ago, TabbyBoy said:

If you want to do this, wait until you've nothing listed on your business account and then list on private when you get the FVF offer. I'm thinking that when I list my SSDs in a year or two.

...

@guiriman... There is scope to sell "personal" items but, not all at once! There's nothing wrong with selling a couple of sets as part of a personal collection if you're sensible. Everything in moderation and don't take the weewee.

 

57 minutes ago, Mhd747 said:

It's very tempting to stay a private seller  and fly under the radar and not pay any tax.

 

 

Of course it is, because your not giving your profits to the authorities. Just remember that one day they can demand that money back along with 100% penalties as interest.

Not trying to scare you or anything, but if people are serious about buying goods to make a profit on, have a free chat with an accountant and they will explain things to you.

At the moment there is quite a lot of grants / funding available to people wanting to start a business so maybe worth giving it some thought soon. It could be the start of something, you never know till you try.

It's easy to stop if you can't make a go of it !

 

 

 

7 minutes ago, botchy123 said:

 

Of course it is, because your not giving your profits to the authorities. Just remember that one day they can demand that money back along with 100% penalties as interest.

Not trying to scare you or anything, but if people are serious about buying goods to make a profit on, have a free chat with an accountant and they will explain things to you.

At the moment there is quite a lot of grants / funding available to people wanting to start a business so maybe worth giving it some thought soon. It could be the start of something, you never know till you try.

It's easy to stop if you can't make a go of it !

 

 

 

I agree, my post probably wasn't as clear as I wanted it. Not worth the hassle to save a few pennies one day when it will cost you hundreds of pounds later.

As a business seller I'm pretty sure bulk of my seasonal sales (Sep-Dec) are for presents.

Showing as a top rated business seller with 100% feedback, premium service and no fuss return service - IMO this has to be more attractive to potential buyers than a private seller (many with no returns policy), especially when sell UCS sets for £££.

Doing between £15-£20k a year sales, I have had 3 returns in past 3 years. If you set yourself up as professional as possible good profits can be made.

I guess all the good stuff at Tesco has gone then as the thread has completely derailed.

2 minutes ago, Mhd747 said:

I agree, my post probably wasn't as clear as I wanted it. Not worth the hassle to save a few pennies one day when it will cost you hundreds of pounds later.

I understand that, but once you get to a certain point it's good to consider going legit IMO.

HMRC brought in a new law this year  where  the authorities will also be able to: “hold an online marketplace jointly and severally liable for the unpaid VAT of an overseas seller trading goods in the UK via that online marketplace,” 

This is aimed at the big Chinese sellers which is a good thing, but in time they will want the slice of the pie from everyone. If they dont get it, then the marketplaces could be liable to pay it.

Guys, aren't there all kinds of topics out there, where you can discuss this?

This is still the Deals topic, right?

don't know if anyone is aware, in my local tru yesterday if you spent over £100 and even used the £20 online code you got given a £15 gift card to use between 18th nov 1st Dec, you can get multiple cards on multi transactions, but can only use 1 card per purchase once they become valid. You can use as many £20 codes as you like if separate transactions.

Maybe a new thread should be started on this topic, will be interesting. What do you think Mods?