Start your own business with eBay

First steps to self-employment with eBay

• Before you set up your own business with eBay, your route should lead you to the local trade office. There you apply for a trade license.
• The trade office informs the tax office about the start of your activity. In the next few weeks you will then receive a questionnaire from the tax office on how to record your taxes. Of course, you can also take action yourself and report to the tax office. This will speed things up a little.
• In the tax registration questionnaire, you must provide your personal data, that of the company, your expected income and the target or actual taxation.
• To work with eBay, you need a sales tax identification number (USt-IdNr.) For monthly billing. You can apply for this number in the tax registration questionnaire.
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• as Small business owner or small businesses apply if you needed less than 25,000 euros of start-up capital to set up your sole proprietorship.


Make yourself a little self-employed - what you should be aware of

Many use the opportunity to become self-employed in addition to an employment relationship ...

• If your turnover in the previous year was less than 17,500 euros and in the current year it is not more than 50,000 euros, you can benefit from make use of the small business regulation according to §§ 19 UStG, which states that your income is free of sales tax are.
• The advantage of the small business regulation is that you are spared the cumbersome advance VAT return and the annual VAT return. For your income, this means that gross equals net.
• The downside is that you get the steer Cannot offset your purchases of goods against the sales of goods. In particular for self-employment with eBay in combination with the small business regulation, you should definitely consult a tax advisor.
• If you make use of this rule, you must point out on your invoices that, according to §§ 19 UStG, you are not reporting any sales tax.
• You can accept or reject the small business regulation in the tax registration questionnaire.

Start your own business as a small business owner with eBay

Now that the business has been registered and the tax aspects have been clarified, you can officially start your own business with eBay.

• If you are not yet registered with eBay, you have to register first. In this case, it is best to set up a commercial member account. If you already have a private account, you can change it to a commercial one.
• If you are exempt from sales tax (small business regulation), ask eBay to issue you with authorization to receive net invoices. This means that you pay the fees without sales tax.
• Commercial sellers can offer their goods in individual offers (auction or buy it now) or open a complete shop. You have the choice between the basic, top and premium shop. The basic fees for the shops are between 19.95 euros and 299.95 euros (as of 2013). Additional costs may apply depending on the category. The advantage of a shop is the lower offer fees compared to listing the items individually.
• Depending on the shop model, some paid seller tools are available for managing your sales, automatic e-mails and printing invoices, among other things. In addition, you will receive evaluations with regard to the number of hits on your shop, offer analyzes and sales reports.
• Think about what you would like to offer as a payment method in addition to the usual transfer. The PayPal payment system has proven itself through its buyer protection. You can easily open an entrepreneur account via the PayPal website. In your price calculation, consider that a (sales) commission is not only incurred for eBay, but also for PayPal. Linking the PayPal account with eBay is quite easy as PayPal is a subsidiary of the auction house.

There is a lot to consider when starting your own business as an online retailer. Sufficient information and good tax advice will make the start of your own business much easier.