Buying Food on EBay : eBay Guides

Hi there!

My name is Rebecca and I am the owner of Rebecca's Cakes in North London. I have an EBay shop where I sell cakes (Regular, Vegan, Diabetic, Gluten Free, Cupcakes) for Mail Order.

Recently I have seen an increase in the number of cake and food sellers on EBay.

I wanted to write this short guide so that no one has the unfortunate experience of a woman who contacted me. This lady was a diabetic and she brough a diabetic cake from an EBay seller. After looking at the listing it was clear to me that the seller was not making these items but buying them wholesale to sell on. The lady had a very bad experience with the seller because the cake wasn't at all diabetic and send her blood sugar wild! Of course, this was easilly corrected (she just stopped eating it) but she had wasted her money and been let down.

Here is my solution: (and not it's not just buy from me....!), Contact the seller and ask some questions, whether it be a diabetic cake, or any other type of food:
* Check if it being made by them, or made by another company.
* Ask for a list of ingreidents.
* Check if the seller or company is insured to handle food
* Check if the seller or company is registered with their local health authority
* Check if the seller has a Food Hygiene Certificate

Of course, you might have the odd rude person telling you to get lost. But any seller who values your business would be willing to take the time to answer your questions and show you the relevant documents.

There are people selling 'homemade food' on EBay who I am sure do not have the insurance or systems in place to make sure the food they are selling is safe. It is wonderful that people who have been making food at home for years are now branching out and selling but make sure they are allowed to do so.

Happy Buying!

Rebecca