Is it illegal to...?

[parrotlover]

if you are claiming job seekers and you are looking for work BUT dont get any replies and you decide to start selling bits and bobs on ebay or gumtree and you make around £400 each month from doing it, is it against the law to still claim JSA? These are used items that are being sold, not new, and its not a business BUT makes good enough money to live a proper life off whilst not working

[LCB1]

... I know it seems unlikely that you had any idea that your clothes could be as valuable as you found out. Listing auctions from £2 an item, which turn out to sell for 10 to 20 times that, should be something you should enjoy.

You're right. It should make you happy, give some relief, add some quality of life. That's natural, and it's totally legal. You worked or inherited or were given the money to buy those old possessions of yours, and it's your right to sell them when you are in really bad financial times. (It would take a really callous person indeed not to admit that receiving JSA is a really, really hard financial time. But I think there are quite a lot of those people about.)

The only thing is, that, being surprised by the value of old hoarded clothes, you have to reassess the likely value of your remaining stock - you can go with the lower likely revenue in Ebay. But, then, you ought to add this to your cash savings, from your remaining hoarded stuff to sell. If you identify what you are definitely going to sell, get a value that way. Then identify what you may sell and value that. If it gets to selling off the 2nd lot, you'll have to, in retrospect, add that "savings" value to what you'd already worked out of your savings value from what you were going to definitely sell. If it comes to more than the JSA limit, I think it's still your duty in retrospect to inform the benefit office of savings over the JSA eligibility.
If you're JSA savings limit is likely to be roughly reached, you can just ask the office about it, again dividing your stuff up into what you definitely intend to sell and what you may sell. That way, they'll probably advise you the same thing - if you DO sell the 2nd lot - to inform them of those items as savings in retrospect. (So then, you'd have to keep some of the income, maybe a lot, because you may be asked to pay back parts of or full JSA payments. But, when you advise the benefits office in advance, they'll let you know about that.)

I think I'm amazed by people who do well in Ebay, and I think they must have some kind of magic going. If I can sell something (bought as a mistake) at the lowest acceptable price, and even after increased postage and Ebay & Paypal fees, I'm happy. Generally with me things have to be relisted and relisted, more fees, even to go at the lowest price, just bought by mistake - wrong size or colour wouldn't work or whatever. And these are new things, excellent condition, like buying in a shop. Like a duvet set I recently sold, quarter of the full price, not that I paid the full price, I shop in clearance sales. But still the listing said quarter of the full price, as it was, new, package unopened, and as usual, it goes, after relisting only at or around the lowest bid price. "Buy It Now" stuff just stays there. And I don't think I'm odd - from the stuff people are selling I put in my Ebay watch list - the "Buy It Now" stuff keeps coming back around as relisted. I often wonder how many companies do any good business in Ebay. And sometimes I concluded it's may only be people selling 2nd hand laptops, Ebook readers, tablets, because they're usually a good deal more expensive in Ebay than they ought to be.)

[EDDIE51]

Selling your possessions is fully legal and does not have to be declared .
The problem comes if you buy things to resell , that is then a business.