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Selling stuff online

Aurora

I’ve been playing with the idea of selling some hand made stuff online. But I don’t know how to start.

 I’ve been reading about it but can’t really understand what I have to do. 

I work full time and I pay tax and insurance. 

So I’ll have to pay more tax but there’s also this £1000 trading allowance. 

It’s confusing. 

I understand that I would have to register as self employed and notify revenue about my income but I don’t know if I’m supposed to do it before I start or after I earn £1000 or when? 

I want to just put 1 or 2 thing online and see if anyone would buy it. 

If not I’ll abandon the idea. 

If someone buys it then I might sell more. 

But I don’t know if I have to inform tax office that I put one item on sale? And if it won’t sell? Notify them that it was a mistake?

Does someone know how to proceed?

Parents

  • Thanks. 

    I like making things in my free time but I don’t have space to keep them so I thought I could sell them - but I was super afraid to start. 

    I don’t know what would sell well but if I don’t need to worry about tax I can try and sell few things and see how it goes.

    And write everything down (expenses and profits) 

  • in reply to Aurora

    I buy stuff on ebay to play with and when I'm fed up with it, I eventually sell it on.

    It's not a business - it's just me getting rid of my junk - if I happen to make a profit, then good for me - but as purchase and sale might be in different years, there's no way to calculate a tax liability - and if I fix or improve the item, I can't itemise what I've put into it but I'm sure I could prove I technically made a loss if I ever have to..

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  • in reply to Aurora

    I buy stuff on ebay to play with and when I'm fed up with it, I eventually sell it on.

    It's not a business - it's just me getting rid of my junk - if I happen to make a profit, then good for me - but as purchase and sale might be in different years, there's no way to calculate a tax liability - and if I fix or improve the item, I can't itemise what I've put into it but I'm sure I could prove I technically made a loss if I ever have to..

Children
  • in reply to Plastic

    Hello,there is no tax situation to deal in relation to selling on unwanted items on ebay-people selling  items they own and no longer have any need /use for are at liberty to make a little profit /or loss from sales on sites such as eBay,No need to itemise anything in this situation, nothing to prove as there is no wrong doing.The difference occurs if you intend to run a small business-making items for profit .Many people start off making things such as jewellery,bags,cards as a hobby and when they first venture into  the selling process online they can not possibly now if it will lead to enough sales that would reach the £1000 limit.My friend's small business started as a hobby,she loves making fashion accessories  in her spare time-it is now proving to be an extra source of income and has reached a point that it can be considered as a small business-she has built up a portfolio of work and if a customer wishes to purchase an item she makes it to order-she does not have a huge stock of items so she doesn't need to worry about storage space.The items she makes are small and compact-easy to package and ship/post.My friend is aware of how long it takes to make an item so she is able to give accurate estimates of the time it will take for each customer to receive their order-she has built up a loyal customer base as she always produces good quality work and ships/posts items within the timescales she has given-positive customer feedback has helped her small business grow as it seems to make her online profile more visible-she has not set up her own website but will consider this if she decides to expand her business.I think she is happy to continue they way things are,she makes extra money each year (around £3000)and has fun whilst doing this.