individual Or Business Seller

[123GreatBuy]

There seems to be a lot of sellers on here that have got their status set as individual when it is quite obvious they are a business seller.
I know when i 1st joined it put me as an individual rather than a business seller, I have since corrected this and set it as a business seller.
Has anyone else noticed this?

[moonwitch]

The only time I think that I would feel I had to register as a business seller is when writing to the tax office. It is a legal requirement that I register with them but it isn't compulsory on eBid to register as a business seller.

[123GreatBuy]

Oh right i didnt think it was compulsory , Been used to ebay rules too long i think lol,
I see you are down as a business seller anyway.
Is it a good idea to transfer feedback from ebay?

[moonwitch]

Oh right i didnt think it was compulsory , Been used to ebay rules too long i think lol

I registered here as a business for a while then was out of work so switched. I think I remembered to switch back to being a business seller.

I sell mostly items I have at home that I no longer need...and occasionally flirt with dropshipping ...so I think I best stay as a business seller here in case a customer has a problem with any of their purchases from me.

[123GreatBuy]

i think that is wise

I registered here as a business for a while then was out of work so switched. I think I remembered to switch back to being a business seller.

I sell mostly items I have at home that I no longer need...and occasionally flirt with dropshipping ...so I think I best stay as a business seller here in case a customer has a problem with any of their purchases from me.

[Maelbrigda]

Im definitely an individual seller. I don't sell enough to be a business

[burgyeb]

Not sure about UK Business Law, but in USA a seller can choose to sell as a Sole Proprietor (Individual) or as a Corporation (Business). Both require tax reporting at the end of the year. The decision is made by the seller, based on how they choose to do business. Some people do not like to deal with all the paper work and complexities of a business model. But not sure how all of this applies to UK business regulations.

[PetBazaar]

There seems to be a lot of sellers on here that have got their status set as individual when it is quite obvious they are a business seller.
I know when i 1st joined it put me as an individual rather than a business seller, I have since corrected this and set it as a business seller.
Has anyone else noticed this?

Yep, and I'd generally avoid buying from them myself. Whether justified or not, my opinion is that if an apparently obviously business seller is registered as an individual then I see them as being more likely to try and wriggle out of their DSR obligations.

While I freely admit that I'm probably tarring many good sellers with the same brush, the seed of doubt has been planted, so unless I have reason to believe that they're decent, I avoid.

Not sure about UK Business Law, but in USA a seller can choose to sell as a Sole Proprietor (Individual) or as a Corporation (Business). Both require tax reporting at the end of the year. The decision is made by the seller, based on how they choose to do business. Some people do not like to deal with all the paper work and complexities of a business model. But not sure how all of this applies to UK business regulations.

It's more or less the same here: Sole Proprietor or Limited Company - with some other options. One of the issues (in the UK anyway) is that many folk seem to regard the amount that they sell as an indicator as to whether they are a business or not. The concept that you are a business if you buy or make something in order to sell it seems to be regarded as something that can be ignored.

Hence my reasoning above. If they ignore this basic rule, what other rules will they ignore.

[astral276]

I think that I would feel I had to register as a business seller is when writing to the tax office.

They are the only one's that take a real interest.

Setting your account type on eBid merely flags up to buyers that they have more legal rights (in the UK anyway) than when dealing with a private seller.

The fact that a seller has their account set as Individual rather than Business (when they can be clearly deemed to be trading as a business - registered or not) in no way reduces their responsibilities under law/regulations. In fact, if an action was ever taken against them it would likely weaken their case that they had misrepresented themselves.

I can't recall if eBid defaults to an Individual account. If it does...then maybe it shouldn't. The selection should be a concious one.

[123GreatBuy]

Not sure about UK Business Law, but in USA a seller can choose to sell as a Sole Proprietor (Individual) or as a Corporation (Business). Both require tax reporting at the end of the year. The decision is made by the seller, based on how they choose to do business. Some people do not like to deal with all the paper work and complexities of a business model. But not sure how all of this applies to UK business regulations.

That is a good answer, Only just joined on here but my understanding with being on ebay is if you are a sole trader (sole proprietor) ie registered with the inland revenue as self employed you are classed as a business, I imagine the rules would be the same here?