Ebay shop - anyone done this?

The traders you refer to with a shop and multiple similar items are trading and not registered as business sellers.

Im registered as a business seller on Ebay but no one is forced to. You can register as a private seller and just sell your own property. Most vintage business sellers began as collectors or hobbyists and began by selling items they already own to improve their collections. The line between being a hobby sellers and a trader can be a grey one.

In theory once you have sold a certain number of items or are selling in volume Ebay will require you to register as a business seller. In time Ebay will approach them to register for business. Some will simply open another ID and begin again to subvert the system. You can have as many IDs as you like on Ebay so long as they dont interact.

The good thing about being a business seller is that all your expenses - such as Ebay and Paypal fees/postage/packing materials etc - are tax deductable. Fees on Ebay can be quite steep.

biglouis that's very interesting about Etsy. Thank you. Regarding Ebay, I have been looking at a lot of items listed for sale and am amazed by how many people are obviously Business Sellers yet don't state that they are. There are people selling dozens, if not hundreds, of items of clothing in particular. One person is selling a particular type of T-shirt - he is literally selling them on a daily basis but states he is a private seller. If this isn't regulated then there doesn't seem much point in being honest about it and opening a shop as so many people are obviously buying and selling but not declaring it.

I decided to post again on this thread to warn anyone thinking of opening a shop on Etsy

Further upthread I did state that I would not recommend this evil company to anyone. I reiterate that.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66201042

I notice on the BBC site this morning an article whereby they are holding onto large sums from some sellers, such that they cannot buy in supplies or stock to continue trading. The new regulation was brought in more or less overnight without warning. One seller said she was disabled and her earnings from Etsy were her sole sorce of income. Another was owed over £5000. The fear is such that the informants asked to remain anonymous for fear of having their shops closed.

I closed my shop three years ago (although I am still on Ebay) and in those days you could still pay your shop fees by credit card. I wont go into details about the dispute because it was too complex. However it showed that they have different rules for different people and even "invent" rules to suit the moment. Because we were in dispute they tried holding onto some of my money. I did a chargeback on the fees I had paid and got it all back. You cant do that now as they deduct the fees as you go along. They threatened me with debt collectors so I told them bring it on/see you in court. Heard nothing more of it.

There needs to be far stricter regulation of these market places which use their powers to bully small sellers.

I sell books on Amazon and, although their charges have gone up recently, I find it very fair and easy to use. There is nothing to pay until you make a sale, so you can leave stuff on view, with descriptions etc., for years if you like until someone wants to buy it. There is an option where Amazon will do the packing up and sending for you, but I don't use it.

Thanks everyone. Much food for thought here and some good and not so good stories. This obviously needs far more research.

I had an eBay shop, still actually but don’t use it at the moment.
Disadvantages are dishonest customers saying things arrived broken, incomplete or even not arriving at all…eBay ALWAYS take the side of the buyer and will just take the money from your account and give a refund. You then have to try and claim from the courier who never believe you lol. You also have to offer a return service when you have a shop and that’s a pain because there are many customers who say they don’t have the packaging, can’t print a label etc. You have to guarantee your goods so 11 months down the line the customer (who you remember is always right) tells you the item is no longer working and wants a repair/return/refund 🤣 We were selling electronics at between £100 and £400 each and we made enough profit for 4 good wages but unfortunately Covid hit and we ended up closing because of supply issues.
There’s money to be made but it’s not easy. Remember you’ll have to wait in for your courier to collect every day or open an account with Royal Mail, you can’t take large amounts of parcels to the post office or drop off place.
I’m not trying to put you off but there are lots of negatives to consider. Goid luck 🥰

Cons not concern!

I did for a few years but I found I was increasingly the victim of concern. Oh my parcel hasn't arrived, can I have a refund (it had arrived), it is not as described, yes it was but Ebay always back the customer and refund. You get nothing. They set postage for certain items (especially books), which makes it impossible to sell at cost, almost always a loss. If you've found a niche you may have a chance - but don't expect massive profits x

I sell on EBay and Etsy. I found something that sold well, during lockdown I was making quite a bit of money because it was craft related. Not any more. I closed my EBay shop but still sell on EBay, you don’t have to pay shop fees then. It’s a lot harder than you think, both in terms of finding something to sell that will be popular and then sourcing it cheaply enough to make a profit. I used Alibaba but you have to buy in bulk and then there are shipping fees and import tax. It still works out that you make a profit but the initial outlay is quite a lot. Both Etsy and EBay pay you quickly. I opted for daily payments so that I could keep an eye on the profit better. Etsy take less in terms of seller fees but they only like you to sell either handmade items or anything that can be used to make them, such as paints, yarns etc. Selling online takes a lot of work and is a bit of a gamble,

Vinted is pretty down market so I use that for buying stock - not for selling. If you are into a particular area there are private groups on Facebook where you can trade person to person. Its much more informal. I belong to about 10 different special interest groups in the antiques/costumes/props area.

You will need a Paypal business account.

I have a "proper" shop on Ebay selling antique and vintage jewellery and accessories. I wont be any more specific than that.

There are dozens of books on Amazon which will give you the basics of how to set up, tax etc. I recommend buying one of those as I do not give personalised advice

Running a shop is very different to selling the odd few things from your personal goods that you no longer need and the rules can be very complex. Some buyers are scammers.

To make it worth your while financially you need to ship worldwide as you then have a much bigger audience. My shop is on the USA site so I trade in dollars. Ebay handles all the state taxes at source.

Buying in stock to resell can be challenging. I buy stuff on Ebay to sell on higher end sites and also stuff at auctions to split up and sell in my various shops. You will need a good knowledge of your proposed area. I have been involved in antiques since the 1960s and began trading in the 1980s.

I send everything tracked.

I dont recommend Etsy. I closed my shop there 2 years ago. They have diffent rules for different people and their customers service people are rude and patronising.

Vinted is easy to use if you’re having a clearout - it’s a simple process to list items, but it’s only for private sellers, not businesses. I used to sell on eBay, but they take a percentage whereas with Vinted the buyer pays the costs.
There’s lots of info on eBay regarding businesses selling new goods, but it could be time-consuming, and, as someone pointed out, you need to keep sufficient stock and you need to find out which items sell well.
I believe Etsy is good for home-made crafts.

I used to sell on e bay. You need to be aware of the charges. They charge for various things including listing items and they also take a percentage of the price each items sells for. I think they charge for other things as well, you will need to look into it carefully. You also get the buyers who want something for nothing. Try facebook marketplace which may be better for you. My daughter uses it a lot and prefers it to e bay.

I too have heard that eBay retain money for some time.

I agree with Katie, I would think that if you want to have a shop on eBay you need a lot of stock, which means having somewhere to store it in addition to storage for all the packing materials. The ones I have used on eBay are also standalone online shops from which you can buy direct. It’s difficult to compete with Amazon I think.

With ebay shops you don’t get the offers that you do as a normal ebayer. (eg 80% off sale fees)
The cost of running the shop can be quite expensive and if you don’t have sales for a month it can really hurt you financially.
Also when there is a dispute with a customer you will never win the case, they always side with the customer. This is why I stopped my shop. (I was selling antiques so we are talking decent amounts of money)
I would suggest he sells through a normal account and they he just keeps spreadsheets of his sales to print out for his accountant.

I have no personal experience, but have a good friend whose 17 year old son (his dad has the account) is positively raking in the money. His focus as far as I know, is football shirts and coins. Sorry I don't have more details, but if he is good at maths (for quickly figuring out profit margins etc) and a good feel for what's on trend, tell him to go for it!!

What will he be selling? If it’s clothes, you’re better off on Depop.

interesting Jodieb

Ilovecheese. I read recently that Esty keep hold of your money for sometime before passing on to sellers.

With some companies goods are shipped directly to the buyer you just take the profit

To have a “shop” the biggest problem is finding enough goods, cheap enough, to sell for a profit. Until you get supply contacts it’s slow going, everyone expects it delivered free quickly too, I buy on EBay regularly, how they make money on many items I don’t know.

There are actual businesses with lots of offerings Bluebelle, you click on something you like and are offered the choice of seeing everything they have for sale. Proper online shops as opposed to people who just sell one or two things at a time. My experience of buying from them has always been good.

I’ve always thought it must be a pain photographing everything, working out postage charges, wrapping it up and taking parcels to the PO or getting the postman to collect but that’s probably because I’m lazy!

I sell on eBay but don’t know about a shop what’s the
difference ?

I suppose it depends whether you would enjoy doing it, as long as it doesn't actually lose any money. I want to keep my skills in practice and my mind active so as long as I at least break even it would be o.k. for me. Would your grandson have fun doing it? Would it be a good connection between the two of you?
It's not just about hard cash.

I’m thinking on top of your existing tax bill Skydancer if you’re doing it for him initially. I would chat to an accountant about that.
I’m afraid I’ve never sold anything on eBay but have bought a number of things, some from individuals and some from shops. I always look for the seller’s rating, which I expect can only be gained over time, if more than one person is selling the same thing for the same price.