[Ciaran88]

I've heard recently from some friends that they have little online businesses, mainly run via. eBay, where they buy and sell some kind of commodity and make modest profits that help with their students loans/bills/rent. I'm having trouble with all of those so I figured I'd look into such a thing myself.

I have contacts in tea production in south asia and can probably make a decent profit by buying wholesale from them at a special price and selling packaged portions in the UK, the main issue being getting the stuff through customs without paying ridic fees.

Anyone here have any eBay businesses and have any tips on how to get one started, pitfalls, and maybe if you import stuff, how to save $$$?

[lollypop*]

(Original post by Ciaran88)
I've heard recently from some friends that they have little online businesses, mainly run via. eBay, where they buy and sell some kind of commodity and make modest profits that help with their students loans/bills/rent. I'm having trouble with all of those so I figured I'd look into such a thing myself.

I have contacts in tea production in south asia and can probably make a decent profit by buying wholesale from them at a special price and selling packaged portions in the UK, the main issue being getting the stuff through customs without paying ridic fees.

Anyone here have any eBay businesses and have any tips on how to get one started, pitfalls, and maybe if you import stuff, how to save $$$?

I am also interested in this, would be great to hear from someone more experienced in this

[iLoveForums]

(Original post by Ciaran88)
I've heard recently from some friends that they have little online businesses, mainly run via. eBay, where they buy and sell some kind of commodity and make modest profits that help with their students loans/bills/rent. I'm having trouble with all of those so I figured I'd look into such a thing myself.

I have contacts in tea production in south asia and can probably make a decent profit by buying wholesale from them at a special price and selling packaged portions in the UK, the main issue being getting the stuff through customs without paying ridic fees.

Anyone here have any eBay businesses and have any tips on how to get one started, pitfalls, and maybe if you import stuff, how to save $$$?

Well I'll be honest with you I'm only 17 and managed to make about a £800 -£1000 in profit in about a year and two months. What I would suggest you do is first work out if your actually going to make money off tea by calculating how much you would buy it for then how much it would cost to list then postage and packaging fees (it's always good to over estimate).

The thing is you could argue its legal/illegal as it was under my parents name but with their permission so I guess it was alright. Also the thing about websites like eBay once your started its pretty much it it just goes on and on I mean I got to a point where I had a specific sound that my blackberry made (when an email came) that I knew the money went into my account

Well it was actually great tbh as in the end it paid for all my driving lessons + the cost of tests and now it it pays for my designer goods as even though I have stopped on eBay I have people who pay me a fee for me to supply them goods throughout a year ahhhh I wonder what they would think if they found out I was only 17 Lool

[Ciaran88]

(Original post by iLoveForums)
Well I'll be honest with you I'm only 17 and managed to make about a £800 -£1000 in profit in about a year and two months. What I would suggest you do is first work out if your actually going to make money off tea by calculating how much you would buy it for then how much it would cost to list then postage and packaging fees (it's always good to over estimate).

The thing is you could argue its legal/illegal as it was under my parents name but with their permission so I guess it was alright. Also the thing about websites like eBay once your started its pretty much it it just goes on and on I mean I got to a point where I had a specific sound that my blackberry made (when an email came) that I knew the money went into my account

Well it was actually great tbh as in the end it paid for all my driving lessons + the cost of tests and now it it pays for my designer goods as even though I have stopped on eBay I have people who pay me a fee for me to supply them goods throughout a year ahhhh I wonder what they would think if they found out I was only 17 Lool

Lmao, nice work. That's pretty impressive.

The issue for me ofc is getting the tea to the UK, particularly avoiding ridiculous customs fees.

That said, I can get tea about 6-10x cheaper than it is in the UK.

I'll probably focus on speciality teas; white tea, silver tip etc. as this stuff sells for a lot more and so I'd have to ship less of it to make a worthwhile profit.

I just want to offset some of the terrible rent I'll have to pay next year.

What was your product by the way?

[Jaegon Targaryen]

(Original post by iLoveForums)
Well I'll be honest with you I'm only 17 and managed to make about a £800 -£1000 in profit in about a year and two months. What I would suggest you do is first work out if your actually going to make money off tea by calculating how much you would buy it for then how much it would cost to list then postage and packaging fees (it's always good to over estimate).

The thing is you could argue its legal/illegal as it was under my parents name but with their permission so I guess it was alright. Also the thing about websites like eBay once your started its pretty much it it just goes on and on I mean I got to a point where I had a specific sound that my blackberry made (when an email came) that I knew the money went into my account

Well it was actually great tbh as in the end it paid for all my driving lessons + the cost of tests and now it it pays for my designer goods as even though I have stopped on eBay I have people who pay me a fee for me to supply them goods throughout a year ahhhh I wonder what they would think if they found out I was only 17 Lool

Wow , you made that much money at 17 ? Makes me feel so damn lazy xD . Id love to have the initiative to set up a buisness like this (im 16 btw) but Id have no idea what to sell , and dont have much money to start up

[ForensicShoe]

eBay is a great way to start making quick and easy money, I've done it in the past. Word of warning though, make sure your product descriptions are totally accurate (even if it's the smallest of blemishes, etc.) or you're guaranteed to get buggered by someone complaining that the product sold is not the product pictured/described.

[iLoveForums]

(Original post by Ciaran88)
Lmao, nice work. That's pretty impressive.

The issue for me ofc is getting the tea to the UK, particularly avoiding ridiculous customs fees.

That said, I can get tea about 6-10x cheaper than it is in the UK.

I'll probably focus on speciality teas; white tea, silver tip etc. as this stuff sells for a lot more and so I'd have to ship less of it to make a worthwhile profit.

I just want to offset some of the terrible rent I'll have to pay next year.

What was your product by the way?

Yeah I see what you mean, and I can't reveal the trick of the trade but I will say electronics

[iLoveForums]

(Original post by Jaegon Targaryen)
Wow , you made that much money at 17 ? Makes me feel so damn lazy xD . Id love to have the initiative to set up a buisness like this (im 16 btw) but Id have no idea what to sell , and dont have much money to start up

Ermm drop me a message if you can about around how much you would like to invest and I'll give you some tips, also even if you don't have much from the beggening if you flip your profit (as in you dont spend and you invest on more items) you can make money much faster

[MW58]

If we were interested in making a small online business like via eBay or whatever, how do we register, or do we need like a business or seller's license or VAT number or something?

[iLoveForums]

(Original post by MW58)
If we were interested in making a small online business like via eBay or whatever, how do we register, or do we need like a business or seller's license or VAT number or something?

I didn't have a vat number or anything but basically when you earn a certain amount you get to a point where eBay require you to upgrade your accounts to business class

[GR3YFOXXX]

You don't need to register for VAT untill your turnover is above £75,000.

[Afradeetee]

I have been working in online businesses, if anyone wants to share tips etc.. please PM me, looking to get some skype contacts

[BlueSmarties]

(Original post by Afradeetee)
I am looking to start an online business, if anyone wants to give me their tips on how to make money so I can intrude on your market & profits... please PM me, looking to get some skype contacts

Fixed it for you bud.

[Tycho]

I've sold everything from a treadmill to a few online gaming characters on eBay. If you're new to it all then I'd advise selling some things from your house that you don't need first - as this will give you a bit of experience of how to make your listings, deal with queries etc.

Remember to do your market research. Look at how other sellers are shifting the stuff you want to sell and this will give you a good idea of what you are likely to sell. The last thing you want is to have all the tea in China and not enough customers to sell it to.

Also need to do your sums. Remember that both eBay and Paypal will take fees, and you'll want to ensure you cover your P&P by charging the correct amount. So the best thing to do is to work out the above first, and then see if what you can buy will make a profit.

[Afradeetee]

(Original post by BlueSmarties)
Fixed it for you bud.

You should not make assumptions.

[noorul87]

(Original post by iLoveForums)
ahhhh I wonder what they would think if they found out I was only 17 Lool

Well done man, you did quite well there, I'm 16 nearly 17 and want to start selling on eBay, ok so I need eBay and Paypal accounts but I'm only 16 (gota be 18), So can I use my bank account but with my dads/brothers details?

[Afradeetee]

(Original post by noorul87)
Well done man, you did quite well there, I'm 16 nearly 17 and want to start selling on eBay, ok so I need eBay and Paypal accounts but I'm only 16 (gota be 18), So can I use my bank account but with my dads/brothers details?

Very smart, the best business people are the ones who operate legitimately. I know too many people your age who'd think nothing of faking their age to use paypal and ebay, but that is just not how business is done.

[Clip]

(Original post by GR3YFOXXX)
You don't need to register for VAT untill your turnover is above £75,000.

£77,000, but importantly also if it is projected to be (over £77k) on less than one year's trading.

Not that it is likely to be an issue in the context of this discussion.

[lollypop*]

what are the excess fee for ebay and paypal?

[GR3YFOXXX]

(Original post by Clip)
£77,000, but importantly also if it is projected to be (over £77k) on less than one year's trading.

Not that it is likely to be an issue in the context of this discussion.

Oh if you're going to be sarky, then theres actually two tests. The future test and the look back test. The future test specifies that If you believe you are going to exceed the 77k threshold in the next month alone you have to register immediately and charge VAT going forward even if you haven't exceeded the threshold.

The look back test specifies that if in the previous 12 months the taxable value of your supplies exceeds 77k then you have 30 days to notify HMRC and must charge VAT from the start of the following month.

just being Sarky myself