Yes I admit it - I am totally completely and utterly addicted to Ebay. I wish to goodness that I had never gone to the site in the first place but its too late for regrets now!

Let me tell you how it all began. I read an op on Dooyoo about Ebay one day when I was bored. I had been to the site once before a long time ago but hadn't really taken a good look round. The op I read made Ebay sound really good so I thought I would take another look.

This time I had a really good look round and, as I had read an excellent op about Ebay, I actually had an idea of how the site worked. I couldn't believe the amount of items for sale and the variety of stuff that was on offer. I knew about the music, books and film sections but I had no idea that they had categories for things such as key-rings, lunchboxes, Breweriana (?), spare car parts and a category simply called "weird stuff"!

Being a bit of a proverbial bargain hunter I couldn't resist. Before I knew where I was I had signed up and was bidding away. My first success was a CD - I thought I would start off easy! The transaction was extremely simple with a smooth trouble free exchange of money and CD. The seller was very gentle with me as I was an Ebay "virgin"! After a few more buys I decided to try and have a go at the selling myself. I went round my house and raided drawers, wardrobes and bookshelves for items that I didn't want, never used or had been dragged around with me over the years. It was amazing the mountain of stuff that I accumulated and the good thing was that no matter the object, Ebay had a category for it! It seemed crazy that this stuff was clogging up my house when there were people out there who would pay good money for it!

Since then I have been hooked. I constantly scour my house for items that I no longer need but didn't want to throw out. We all have things that we paid a lot of money for and we don't jus
t want to give them away all the time to charity shops (sounds mean I know!). I have sold everything from books and CDs to clothes and make up in my time and I keep finding more. I must admit though that for everything that I sell I probably buy two things in return.

For example, I am a huge Terry Pratchett fan but I was missing quite a few of his novels in paperback. Since starting with Ebay I am now only missing 2 and I have picked up quite a few other related items on the way. My CD collection has also grown rapidly with quite a few bargains to be found but perhaps that's because I like obscure groups! Oh I should mention that obscurity is definitely not a problem. No matter how strange your hobby, there will be someone out there with something for sale that will interest you (is this a good point to mention the roaring trade in used underwear? Cleaned to Ebay standards obviously!).

I visit Ebay at least once a day and check through my favourite searches for any new items that have been added. This is the best way to keep an eye out for anything that you might be interested in in your areas as Ebay is so large. I also use the "auction watch" system where you can mark items that you want to bid on but not at that particular moment in time. This allows you to bid on items closer to their end point (hopefully getting a better bargain) and to remind yourself of items that you want to bid on. I have to keep track of all items that I'm in the process of buying and selling on my own computer. I would strongly recommend this as it can become confusing trying to remember who you have paid and what goods you have received.

You really can get hooked on this so easily though as you forget when you press that "bid" button that this is real money you are dealing with. I tend to have a bid limit and I stick to it. I know that it will only be a matter of time before someone else sells the same article and I ma
y get it cheaper next time. One chequebook used to last me at least a year but I finished off my last one in about 4 months. My bank must wonder what on earth all these cheques for small amounts are for coming in and out of my account. However, I do know that I can't be the only one out there doing this!

If you are an eternal bargain hunter and like nothing better than checking out the charity shops and car boot sales, then Ebay is for you. You may never become rich or find that elusive rare album for your Nana Miskouri collection but something else may catch your eye and there you will be - pressing that bid button as if your life depended on it!