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| Business Selling Explained |
If you're looking for an opportunity to broaden your selling capabilities and customer reach, use the information below to help you get started and develop your business selling activities on eBay.
- Promote your business name and VAT registration
- Enable buyers to pay you securely with PayPal
- Create and manage your listings
- Selecting a selling and listing format
- Selecting a Seller Tool
- Understanding Seller fees
- Policies and troubleshooting
- Legal Guidance for Business Sellers
- Opening an eBay Shop
- Managing your buyers
- Opening a Skype account
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8. Legal Guidance for Business Sellers
Sellers who run a business selling items on eBay. ie have a number of legal obligations, ranging from general trading laws such as the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, to specific trading laws that may apply depending on the type of goods traded. For those selling goods to consumers, the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs Website is a useful starting point for further information. In addition, you should note that specific laws apply to online sales, such as the distance selling regulations. This page is a brief introduction to the most important laws applicable to online trading, together with links to other websites that offer further information.
Please note that this page is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice. If you are unclear about the way that any of these laws may apply to you, please seek advice from a lawyer, trading standards officer or similar professional.
Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act
The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 is one of the most important laws to be aware of when selling goods on eBay.ie as a business seller. You are responsible for ensuring that any goods you sell on eBay:
- correspond with the description you have given in the item listing;
- are of merchantable quality; and
- are fit for their purpose.
Goods are of merchantable quality, if they are as fit for the purpose(s) which goods of that kind are commonly bought and as durable as it is reasonable to expect having regard to any description applied to them, the price (if relevant) and all other relevant circumstances. Indications of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety. It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible for the goods.
This is a complicated law and for more information on your responsibilities we recommend that you look at the ODCA’s summary of the Sale of Goods and supply of Services Act.
Other trading and consumer protection laws
Trade descriptions and fair trading laws will also apply to you when selling on eBay.ie as a business. For example, the Consumer Information Act 1978 makes it an offence to:
- apply a false or misleading description to any items; or
- supply or offer to supply any items to which a false or misleading description is applied.
For further information, please visit the OCDA’s guide of Consumer Information Act. In addition if you are a business selling to consumers you should be aware of consumer's legal rights, and further information can be obtained at the ODCA’s website.
Distance Selling Regulations
The European Communities (Protection of Consumers in respect of Contracts made by means of Distance Communication) Regulations, 2001 apply to sales to consumers made by sellers acting in the course of a business which have been concluded at a distance. In other words, where there is no face-to-face contact between the seller and the consumer. This would usually cover sales made over the internet, for example, via eBay.ie.
Business sellers need to comply with a certain number of obligations such as:
- providing clear information about themselves and their items (this information could be contained in your listing or in your About Me page); and
- providing consumers with a period of seven working days in which the consumer can cancel the contract (often referred to as the "cooling off" period).
- To get a general idea of the laws governing distance sales, we recommend that you review the summary of the Regulations which are available at the Irish Government’s Oasis website or the European Consumer Centre’s website. Please note that, although the guidance states that the Regulations do not apply to sales at internet auctions, this refers to traditional auctions carried out via the internet and not sales made via eBay's auction-style selling format.
E-Commerce Regulations
In addition to the Distance Selling Regulations, which apply to businesses selling to consumers, there are further rules in the European Communities (Directive 2000/31/EC) Regulations 2003 (“Electronic Commerce Regulations”) which apply regardless of whether the buyer is a consumer or another trader. In addition to providing the required information under the Distance Selling Regulations (where applicable) the seller must also provide other information such as
- the name, geographic address and email address of the seller's business;
- details of any relevant trade registers on which the seller is registered;
- details of any authorisation scheme relevant to the seller's online business;
- and the seller's VAT number, if the online activities are subject to VAT.
Tax
For information about taxes relating to your eBay sales, please see eBay's general Tax Policy and information on VAT and your eBay sales.
For information about VAT on your eBay fees and how to register as a VAT-exempt business, please see our VAT overview.
TAX POLICY
As a seller on eBay, you agree to comply with all applicable domestic and international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding your use of our service and your listing, solicitation of offers to purchase, and sale of items.
You are also responsible for paying all fees associated with using our service and our website and all applicable taxes.
Please review the eBay User Agreement for more details regarding your responsibilities as a seller on eBay.
VAT and your eBay sales
Laws and regulations dealing with VAT on sales transactions are complicated. These laws and regulations address, for example, whether a seller’s business should be registered for VAT, whether a seller is required to charge VAT on sold items, and, if so, how much VAT should be charged on those items.
For this reason, a seller should consult an independent tax advisor and/or local tax authority to determine what laws and rules apply, including whether a business should be registered and whether and how much VAT is required to be charged on an item.
For further information about VAT, please see eBay's general information on VAT and your eBay sales and our VAT overview.
Further advice for Irish Sellers
Irish sellers may find it useful to consult the Irish Revenue Commissioners website.
As an online marketplace, eBay leaves the decision to the seller as to whether and how VAT should be charged on an item. eBay however does require the seller to adhere to all applicable VAT laws and regulations in listing an item on eBay.
Also, in the item description, the seller should set out clearly the amount or percentage of VAT that will be charged.
If there is no mention of VAT in the item description, the seller should not add VAT to the final item price. In such a case, if VAT is legally due, the seller bears the responsibility of paying that VAT to the appropriate authorities according to any applicable laws and regulations. Again, if there is any question as to the seller's VAT responsibilities, the seller should consult an independent tax advisor and/or local tax authority.
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