I’ve got pretty good feedback

Today I handed over my latest batch of parcels – mismatched shapes and sizes, patched together with brown paper and sellotape. Hand written addresses of strangers around the globe. 

The post office-man handed me my receipt and said ‘Latest eBay sales huh?’ I asked how he knew. ‘Oh you can usually tell,’ he casually remarked.

He could tell what? That I was a cheapskate flogging my old Topshop dresses for a few quid That I was stony broke? That I was not a professional parcel-wrapper?

I decided not to take offence. But for this guy to be so astute, he must have witnessed a whole lot of EBay sellers posting their items. People just like me, turning up with piles of packages. People who were once oblivious to the complex world of customs forms, shipping costs, the 

differences between a parcel and a package, and the veritable merits of proof of postage.

If Ebay has taught me anything, it is that anything can sell. Whereas our incomplete box sets, tatty furniture and old clothes would once have been boxed up in the attic, given away to charity shops or sold for a couple of quid at a boot sale, now we know better. We sell on eBay.

This virtual auction house is a phenomenon. Every day, 10m people in Britain surf more than 3m live listings, hoping to fall in love with treasures that others have outgrown.

3 million live listings. I need to up my game.

So I should get back to it. It’s time to wave goodbye to the Wii fit. What an utter waste of money that was.

I must say, as I photograph my possessions and load them onto the internet superhighway, I am reminded of the Weird Al Ebay song. For anyone who doesn’t know it, you can watch it on Youtube here

I'll buy your nick-nack, Just check my feedback, 'A++' they all say. They love me on eBay.