What are the differences between being a professional ebay seller and just a normal one?

[CuttedUpPear]

I'm thinking of trying to sell off some of the large amount of china that clutters my house. I want to do it as an international shipper so that I can pitch sales to the US where they will love my mismatched teasets

What are the main differences?

Simply put - selling your own possessions you are a private seller, buying items to sell on is a business, liable to pay tax, offer clear return policy, etc.

And what are the profit/fee differences like?

business you have to offer returns for unwanted goods so a refund if they change their mind not just faulty/ not as described because everyone has to accept returns of those

you can have a private shop if selling lots

a business is charged for listing no free weekends or 100 free at 99p starts
however in general listing fees are cheaper max 30p per item

business sellers would generally get more from an auction as safer buying from business seller also if BIN you have more rights with a business, you can have a business type account without actually being a business ie you are selling your own stuff not buying for resale or making homemade goods for a profit; manufacturing etc
you need to keep accounts and obviously receipts for expenses no tax is liable if profits under £9000 or whatever tax allowance is precisely

to benefit from fee reductions you must offer all of the following; 1 UK free postal service a next day delivery service ( does not have to be free) a same day or 1 working day dispatch time and a 14 day return period policy

a business does not have to offer above but only items which do offer all the above qualify towards fee discounts

If you want to sell to US then you could just pay the extra for exposure on other ebay sites and sell privately (is it about 30p? I can't remember). I reckon you would have to be selling a reasonable amount to make it worth having an ebay shop instead of selling as a private seller because you pay a monthly fee for having a shop. If it is your own china then it's legit to sell it privately.

Packing would have to be really really good.

Sorry I haven't sold as a business so can't help that much as to the exact pros and cons but quite a few business sellers seem disgruntled with ebay.

If it's china you're selling, I'd look into Etsy. They have a large vintage section. Fees are lower than eBay, the listings stay live for a lot longer and that sort of thing really appeals to the Etsy crowd.

The standard of photography is a lot higher, though - you would need to stage your shoots beautifully, with atmospheric lighting and arty angles.