thinking of setting up an ebay business? help/advice wanted.

[plumAJP]

I'm thninking of selling some stuff on ebay if it takes off then I will be looking to sell more of the same thing.

what do I have to do, inform who? company name/vat/companies house etc.

I've sold personal stuff before but I have no business experience. it will only be ebay selling and nothing else, it will be one type of product for the moment.

I have a paypal account, would I need to set another one up for business use?

[maxmc2]

OK...,

What are you going to sell...

To start off with to see how it goes it can be seen as sale of personal items.. You have a three month period in which you would have to inform HMRC or register as a limited company before being fined.

If it becomes a regular thing then you will need to look at certain things before deciding which way to go..

1. Am i going to have a high turnover/profit? If so then Limited company would be advisable..
2. Is my turnover going exceed the VAT limit for this tax year (2009-2010) which is £70k if so then you will have to register for VAT, but you can register even if you didnt exceed the limit, but only if this is going to benefit you.

If your turnover is not substantial then you would be better off setting up as a sole trader..

Re: Paypal account, for the moment i would just use you personal one, but may be advisable to set up a business one aswell later on if it takes off.

Check out my link if you require any further information or our services we will be more than happy to advise.

Regards

Edited by maxmc2 on Thursday 30th April 13:26

[al1991]

Don't business Paypal accounts get cheaper fees? Or is that subject to you receiving a certain amount of business going through the site?

[maser_spyder]

al1991 said:

Don't business Paypal accounts get cheaper fees? Or is that subject to you receiving a certain amount of business going through the site?

You don't get cheaper fees for being registered as a business, but you do get cheaper fees the more you put through.

I think the lower tiers are around £3k - £5k a month where it drops from 3.4% to around 2.9%, then lower still. The discount will only apply if your account is a 'business' account. Having a paypal 'business' account doesn't mean you have to have a LTD or anything, just that it's set up to not freeze the account when it goes over a pre-determined limit for FSA regulations. Anybody can upgrade a normal paypal account to a business paypal account with no paperwork or details required to do so.

We put a fair bit through paypal and are on the lowest tier at around 1.2%, which works out cheaper than most other card providers.

If you're looking for stock, give me a holler by PM, I'm already helping others out from PH importing small quantities from China.