Sold a working ecu kit on ebay

[finn28]

Sold an ecu kit on ebay containing key and barrel, ECU, body control unit, comfort control unit and instrument cluster. It came out of a running car so it should be working ok.

Few days later the buyer messages with this photo claiming it's faulty.

Anybody able to help me understand this fault code they sent me. Trying not to get stroked in case this is an unrelated fault.

 

[Ian A]

Ebay's all about what you can prove. If you can't prove it was fully operational prior to shipping, you may have to refund.

Have you got record of any serial numbers or unique identifiers for what you shipped out? If not, the buyer could ship you back their own faulty equipment.

Ebay's incredibly buyer friendly vs sellers, so as a seller, it's essential to have as much evidence / record / backup as possible.

 

[finn28]

I know too well what ebay are like, been selling on there a ton recently and it seems like 1 in 5 buyers will try and chance their hand at screwing you over.

With this stuff I have made a few hidden markings in different places on the stuff in the event that they do try and send junk back to me. Selling stuff as a hobby and it just works out being a ton of hassle.

 

[finn28]

A bit of googling later and it looks like the error is related to an airbag SRS module, which isn't any of the parts I sent him.

 

[finn28]

The whole interaction with this guy just felt like it he was being a bit dishonest from the start. Initally he messages me saying that he fitted the ecu kit and it's coming up as faulty, with a photo that only showed half the screen, where all you could see was an error saying "control module faulty".

You can see he's using a decent enough code reader and it looks like he's in a garage, so he's likely a mechanic or atleast clued in a bit. I thought he was intentionally being vague and just trying to panic me with a faulty module photo. I grilled him with a few questions and I got the photo above and told "oh the second error has disappeared now." Tells me "it showing this error, but there's nothing else".

Haven't heard from him since after pointing out that the car it was taken from had a rotten shell which is why I was breaking it and that it was running fine. I also pointed out that his fault was an SRS Module which wasn't something I sold him. Still I'm stuck in purgatory waiting to see if he'll open a case at some point.

 

[Coog]

Chancing for a partial refund. Likely won't raise a case if they haven't done so by now, but if they come back to you tell them you've the parts security marked, serial numbers noted and have detailed photos of everything and will be cross referencing it back to what's received if they return it. eBay have seller protection and in my experience, provided you've covered your arse, will back you up. Don't offer a partial refund. Return for refund only. 99% chance he'll go away.

 

[NickR]

Between the ridiculous fees and the chancers, I rarely use ebay for selling these days. Hope it works out for you.

 

[Coog]

Between the ridiculous fees and the chancers, I rarely use ebay for selling these days. Hope it works out for you.

Plus HMRC getting a wee report if you sell more than a few quids worth of stuff each year.

 

[Ian A]

Plus HMRC getting a wee report if you sell more than a few quids worth of stuff each year.

Any idea on the threshold?

Asking for a perfectly law abiding friend...

 

[gingfto]

Any idea on the threshold?

Asking for a perfectly law abiding friend...

IIRC what I read was anything over £1000 a year they’ve a duty to report but will only really trigger investigation over higher thresholds for qty and price towards £5/10k
May be off on that though!

 

[Coog]

Any idea on the threshold?

Asking for a perfectly law abiding friend...

Information regarding UK digital sales reporting to HMRC

From 1 January 2024, new UK digital sales reporting legislation requires eBay, and other UK digital marketplaces, to report a user’s sales over clearly defined thresholds to HMRC. For more information about UK digital sales reporting and what information will be shared with HMRC, visit our...

community.ebay.co.uk

Good news for me as a completely above board, business seller tbh.

 

[finn28]

I've been selling mostly 3d printed stuff and the odd car part. I passed £1000 a couple of weeks ago, it instantly triggers a payment hold and requires you to provide your details for them to verify.

Haven't heard much apart from that, though I have read selling personal items (eg old CDs, clothes) doesn't incur any tax liability.

I think it's a weird grey area at the moment and I won't really know until the tax year ends, but I don't mind as it's a bit of extra money at the end of the day.

 

[Coog]

It’s pretty simple. If you’re buying stuff to sell on again then it’s taxable once you pass your personal trade allowance of a grand a year.

If you’re selling on your old possessions then it’s not.

 

[Dervhead]

Any idea on the threshold?

Asking for a perfectly law abiding friend...

£1700 or 30 transactions...

 

[ChrisR]

Does this mean if you’ve an old eBay account your good to sell away until 2025?

I may have a load of bike parts I need to shift!



Required UK digital sales reporting should only affect newly registered accounts in 2024 and all accounts in 2025 who pass either of the below calendar year sales thresholds on eBay:

• Total sales on eBay is equal to or more than €2,000 (approximately £1,740) after deducting fees and commissions or taxes
• 30 or more sales transactions are completed on eBay (cancelled transactions are not included in the calculation)