Posting an item to Europe. Am I forgetting something?

[UmBongo]

This is the first time I have sold an item to someone living outside of the UK for over a decade.

I have sold a vintage toy car on eBay to someone in Turkey with a value of £3.00. The postage has been paid for by the buyer. I completed a CN22 form and stuck it to the parcel. Took it to the Post Office and I was told I made a mistake. The CN22 form had to have a bar code. The chap kindly gave me a new one with a bar code. So I started filling in my details on the new form, holding up the people behind me even more than I wanted.

I got to writing out my postcode when the chap noticed something else. There needed to be an IOSS number for the purposes of legally avoiding VAT. He couldn't help me any more, so I took my parcel thanked the guy and left.

I've done some cursory reading up on the subject and it seems that IOSS is optional. It only seems to make sense to sign up to it if you're a business, which I'm not. I wonder if the Post Office employee got the impression that I was running an eBay business when in fact I only sell the odd item here and there. The toy car I'm trying to sell was probably bought in the early 1970s for my sisters. It even pre-dates VAT!

Is there something I'm missing? Do I have to sign up to IOSS for something I may sell to someone abroad on the rare occasion?

[Andersen]

A mate sent me a small parcel UK-to-mainland EU earlier this year, the paperwork was a nightmare for him (so bad I've asked him to take my next parcels when he drives over next month - just so we don't need to fill any more paperwork)

He is a business but sent the parcel as non-commercial. Hope you get it sorted, keep us updated.

[UmBongo]

I managed to get a Royal Mail counter person to accept my parcel. 

Hopefully it's been delivered now.