Opening a Ebay store

[giparrish_0]

I am considering opening a store and have a few questions.  I have very limited experience with selling on Ebay but I think we are sitting on a gold mine. We have a salvage yard with over 2000 cars and most of those are pre-1999 year models, with many back as far as the 1960s.  My thoughts are selling easy-to-ship items on Ebay such as emblems, door handles, sun visors, etc. Anything that will "if it fits it ships".

 Questions so far are:

1. To have a long-term business store this blog I found (I will include a link to the blog at the end) says I have to have a registered business. Does this mean like with our state licensing? We have a business license for our state and have since 1968. Does this also mean my Ebay store would need to be the same as my registered business? Such as we are Appleton Auto Sales and Service but I was thinking of an Ebay store name along the lines of Appleton Auto Salvage.

2. Blog also suggests not opening a store for 3-6 months to give me time to build a reputation, reviews, and client base. Your thoughts? Would I just sell individually under the business name and later move it to a store business? If so, how hard it is to change?

3.  By selling on Ebay, how do we turn it in on taxes? Do we keep up with it or does Ebay send anything out? Or is it listed on my account somewhere? Is there a starting amount to have to pay taxes on sold items?

My question list wasnt as long as I expected but I know there will be more to follow. If anyone out there has any tips or advice, I am all ears (well, all eyes) 

Thank you. Have a great day.

Gina

reference 

https://crazylister.com/blog/how-to-start-an-ebay-store-guide/  

[mega-ma-roo]

1.  You do not need to have a registered business to sell on eBay. Many sellers operate as a sole proprietorship and do not even have a business account on eBay. Having said that, you need to research the requirements in your state as far as business licensing goes. For more input, I would ask on the Selling discussion board:   Selling - The eBay Community

2. As a new seller, you will have limits on the number and cost of items you can list each month. This limit will be increased by eBay as your number of successful sales grows. It does not make sense to pay for a store until you are able to list enough items to justify the cost. See this article:   Selling limits | eBay

When you do subscribe to a store, your listings will automatically be included in the store.

3.  There are reports on eBay that provide information on your total gross receipts, refunds, eBay fees, and shipping labels purchased through eBay. I have to say I am a bit confused. You say you have had a business license since 1968. I assume you've been paying taxes all that time? It's no different on eBay. You report your income and expenses and if there is a profit you pay taxes on the profit.

[glorybells]

To add a bit to @mega-ma-roo’s excellent answer; eBay normally considers you a new seller until all of the following are met:

1) at least 90 days since your first sale 

2) at least 25 successful sales 

3) at least $250 in sales 

During that time you will have much lower selling limits, and your proceeds from sales will be held until tracking shows delivery to the buyer.  (And after that time, eBay holds funds on ALL sellers for sales of $1000 and up)

If you subscribe to a store before your limits are increased, you’ll be paying for benefits you can’t use yet.

ebay collects sales tax from the buyers and remits it to the appropriate state (it’s based on the location the buyer is having it sent to).

At the end of the year, eBay will send you a 1099 for you to file your income taxes.