Ebay is the most successful auction website around. In terms of both buying and selling, it is people's first port of call. It used to be good but no longer. I have just sold my last batch of items and will never use the site for selling again.

You must register to buy or sell on the site but this is pretty straightforward and free to do.

There is a set charge to list an item, depending on the starting price of the auction; and additional fee based on the price that the item sells for. You can list the item for a set number of days and even start the auction at a specific time on a specific day, but you must pay extra for this.

You now have to accept paypal as a seller. Paypal is a secure way of paying. The company is owned by ebay - so obviously they make it compulsory to use it!

You leave feedback on both sides of the transaction so that others know what to expect from the ebay member. However, you are now not allowed to leave any negative feedback for buyers. Even when someone doesn't pay for their item, you cannot write Non Paying Bidder in their feedback - what a joke!

Ebay wants shops that sell new items. They are making it more difficult for people who are just getting rid of their unwanted second hand items on an ad hoc basis.

It's great for buying but avoid it for selling. The website ebid is gaining strength and hopefully this will take over ebay, who have gotten too big for their boots and are now getting ideas of their own importance which quite frankly are delusional!