AMZ want me to open a business account?

[gungadin]

Hi everyone!
Ive been on AMZ for about 2 yrs now, trading as a Professional Seller, but not Ltd company or business.

Last week I noticed none of my listings were active, so I emailed AMZ to ask them what was happening. They sent me this email copied below.
Does this mean they want me to open a business account now?

I guess if I have to, I have to, but I'd rather still trade as I am, cos I dont want to have the hassle of getting business accounts done by an accountant every year etc. Somebody told me I must have sold more than £15,000 so far, and soon as a seller does that, AMZ automatically force you to open a business account?

Any comments would be appreciated, pls.

AMZ email to me:

"We have reviewed your account and determined that your selling activity on Amazon does not fit our criteria for the ‘Individual’ seller category.

As a result, you currently may not sell on Amazon’s European marketplaces. Funds will stay in your account until we have verified your account.

To continue with your account verification, please update your legal entity by following the instructions below.
-- Go to the “Account Info” page in the “Settings” section of Seller Central (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon....ion/index.html)
-- Click “Edit” in the “Business and Contact Information” section and select the relevant legal entity.
-- Confirm the business details and click “Submit”.

If you have any questions, you can contact us at any time
(https://sellercentral-europe.amazon....azon-form.html).

Sincerely,

The Amazon Payments Team"

[ironman]

Yes you have to become a business seller if you are selling that much volume and amount.

You'll need to add a business address and send them bank statements.

This recently happened to me.

[metatrade]

Originally Posted by ironman

Yes you have to become a business seller if you are selling that much volume and amount.

You'll need to add a business address and send them bank statements.

This recently happened to me.

So you must add a business address? You can't continue with the same address that you registered with as an individual seller?

[elmo]

It's always been like this. If the volume is picked up, you gotta switch to business.

Same address that is on the account is fine, that doesn't matter

[gungadin]

Just to add to this topic...I called AMZ too just to see what it is they want.

So they say that yes, I must have sold more than £15000 during the time Ive been with them, and I must now change from Individual Professional Seller to Business Seller.

Seems to me to be just a template somebody within AMZ has come up with...soon as we sell £15k or more, slap them with Business Accounts, thereby raking in even more money from sellers than they already are!

Anyways, I guess as the saying goes....if you wana play their game, you have to play within their rules, or get out!

Yes, I probably did sell that much, but to tell the truth, I lost out seriously on some items when other idiots started selling the same thing I was, and cutting and cutting their selling prices until, at one point, they were selling below cost price, just to kill me off and corner the market. So imbecelic!

I just wanted to know from other sellers if they too have had this problem with AMZ asking them to change to Business sellers. Looks like its an ongoing policy.
Thanks very much guys for ur help....off I go to open a Ltd company...:(

Originally Posted by metatrade

So you must add a business address? You can't continue with the same address that you registered with as an individual seller?

[metatrade]

I don't think you need to open a Ltd company just because they want you to change to a business account. You can still run a business without a company. They will probably ask you to supply a UTR.

Is this a stealth account?

[gungadin]

Yes, quite corect...they said I can carry on using the same address, but must supply them ID documents etc etc

Originally Posted by elmo

It's always been like this. If the volume is picked up, you gotta switch to business.

Same address that is on the account is fine, that doesn't matter

[gungadin]

No, its not a stealth account....its my first AMZ account so I thought I may as well use a legit address, ID etc

If they suspend me for some reason, then of course, it will have to be a stealth one!

Originally Posted by metatrade

I don't think you need to open a Ltd company just because they want you to change to a business account. You can still run a business without a company. They will probably ask you to supply a UTR.

Is this a stealth account?

[gungadin]

Update to this thread....

I had another email from AMZ saying yes, I can restart trading again as a sole trader (UK) but I must provide them with a tax number or letter from the HMRC revenue people showing Im a sole trader.

Obviously this means I will automatically come under the HMRC radar, and for private tax reasons, this means my other financial projects will likely draw HMRC attention, which I dont want.

So I think I will stop trading on AMZ altogther now. The tax hassles arent worth it any more.

Any thoughts on this are welcome.

Originally Posted by gungadin

No, its not a stealth account....its my first AMZ account so I thought I may as well use a legit address, ID etc

If they suspend me for some reason, then of course, it will have to be a stealth one!

[gungadin]

Further to this saga of moving from Individual Seller to Sole Trader...is it feasible to change the name on my AMZ account from mine, to my wife's name?

The AMZ account will then run under her name and all tax etc etc to be paid will be paid on her name.

Any ideas?

Originally Posted by gungadin

Update to this thread....

I had another email from AMZ saying yes, I can restart trading again as a sole trader (UK) but I must provide them with a tax number or letter from the HMRC revenue people showing Im a sole trader.

Obviously this means I will automatically come under the HMRC radar, and for private tax reasons, this means my other financial projects will likely draw HMRC attention, which I dont want.

So I think I will stop trading on AMZ altogther now. The tax hassles arent worth it any more.

Any thoughts on this are welcome.

[MM78]

Just going out on a hunch but I doubt you can just change the Name on an account.....Can she be added to the account? that might be a route to go?

Originally Posted by gungadin

Further to this saga of moving from Individual Seller to Sole Trader...is it feasible to change the name on my AMZ account from mine, to my wife's name?

The AMZ account will then run under her name and all tax etc etc to be paid will be paid on her name.

Any ideas?