Selling On Ebay - Fees, Tax, Tips and Tricks

With more than 18 million users, eBay is the countrys largest online marketplace.

Buyers get to browse a vast range of goods and snap up bargains. Sellers use the site to do anything from disposing of unwanted goods for a few pounds, to showcasing all the products of their thriving businesses. But eBay is not without problems. Problems include being sold stolen goods, or goods arriving not as described, while sellers complain about eBays protection schemes not working in their favor. And customers on both sides frequently comment on eBays poor customer service.

And thanks to the explosive growth of eBay and its rival sites, other problems are emerging, such as users uncertainties with tax.

Below, we offer 4 important tips to keep you from losing money on eBay

Tip One: eBay's buyer protection scheme

The Money Back Guarantee scheme is by far the most complained-about issue. The policy promises to refund buys the cost of an item if it does not arrive or is not as described. If such a refund is made the seller has the money deducted from their account and they are not necessarily refunded their fees.

Ebay says the guarantee ensures buyers can shop confidently, with knowledge that they will receive the item they purchased or their money back. The spokesman continued: Sellers benefit from initiatives such as our Power Seller program, which gives sellers who have built up a strong track-record of positive sales on eBay seven days to solve customer complaints before negative feedback can be left.

Tip Two: Customer Service Failings

People often complain of their difficulties in contacting eBay and getting it to resolve problems. Emails go unanswered and calls are handled by unhelpful support.

A quick look at eBays own user forum highlights the frustrations customers face, with one user stating: eBays customer service department is an absolute joke they are rude, abrupt, evasive ... Another simply condemns eBays service as crappy. If youre fed up with eBay try selling on Etsy, , overstock and others.

Tip Three: Steer Clear of Sold Stolen or Fraudulent Goods

While this is not a hazard exclusive to eBay buyers, people often report falling victim to scams on eBay. EBay said that fraud was an industry-wide problem. We invest in the latest technology and devote thousands of staff to ensuring criminals learn the hard way that platforms like eBay are vigilant and proactive in fighting fraud. As a result of improved protection technologies, weve been able to reduce fraud on eBay to an all-time low, cutting it by 50pc in recent years, a spokesman said. Unfortunately, the problem still persists and the best way to ensure you dont have issues with your products is by making your listings very detailed and clear. Include excellent pictures and whatever proof you have access to that proves your products are the real deal.

Tip Four: Uncertainty About Tax on Earnings

Thousands of online sellers who use websites such as eBay, Etsy, Amazon and others are the focus of new attempts by the IRS to crack down on tax evasion.

The taxman has sent 14,000 letters to traders suspected of running a business and failing to declare this on their tax returns. Some of those targeted make as little as $100 profit online. However small, any earnings above an individuals tax-free personal allowance for the 2015-16 tax year are taxable if the money made is considered a business profit, and should be declared in a self-assessment tax form. If you sell second-hand items on eBay, for instance, you could be classed as a business if they can prove you are doing anything in the nature of trade. here is to always declare your profit and pay taxes as a legitimate business.

INVENTORY SYNC

SYNC INVENTORY

Add your inventory once and let us take it from there. Inventory is adjusted automatically and synchronized across all your listings. Set rules to control your available inventory on each channel. View inventory history, set product condition, view BIN location, setup multiple warehouses, manage kits and bundles, and even sync FTP and Amazon FBA inventory feeds automatically.

MULTI WAREHOUSE INVENTORY

For clients operating out of multiple warehouses, we aggregate all inventory into a single tracking platform allowing simple, real-time inventory tracking across all the of the company's warehouses, real or virtual, sellable and non-sellable.

QTY MANAGEMENT

Don't waste time constantly keeping tabs on stock accuracy. The platform maintains product quantity with a single centralized platform. Push to all your marketplaces and websites, when a transaction occurs on one marketplace the entire system is updated.

INVENTORY RULES

Refine your multi-channel strategy with customized inventory rules for each channel. Reflect scarcity, show heavy stock, or always keep a reserve. You can also keep true inventory in sync, while forcing a low inventory to sync to eBay not to exceed your eBay limits while making sure your true inventory is not affected.

SHARED INVENTORY

Multiple companies operating off a shared inventory can utilize the tool to maintain the characteristics and branding of each individual company while operating off a single management software.

DEEP INTEGRATION

Take advantage of even the smallest features youve come to expect from your channels. From eBay listing settings to Amazon search keywords, we cover them all.