Nearly 70,000 people in the UK are making a living from the eBay website, the company claimed yesterday. There has been a huge increase in those making at least 25% of their income from buying and selling anything from cars to handbags at the click of a mouse. While 25% is the minimum needed to qualify as an 'eBay entrepreneur', many rely on the website for their entire income. Chief executive Meg Whitman yesterday described eBay as 'a significant enabler of economic opportunity'. Items worth more than £2bnhave been sold on the UK website in one year alone.

Nearly one in three adults in Britain have registered on eBay and typically use it for almost two hours every month. With 68,000, Britain has the largest number of 'eBay entrepreneurs' in Europe. In The Netherlands, for example, just over 1,500 users regard eBay as a major source of income. In the U.S., however, 724,000 are totally devoted to the website. The 'eBay entrepreneurs' are typically small business owners who use the website to boost sales or those who have regular jobs but make extra money using it during the evenings and weekends.

NamNews - Thursday 9th February 2006

 

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