I've been a member of eBay for 5 years, but due to my woeful internet connection and concerns about accidentally emptying my bank account, until recently I had only used 'buy it now'. A couple of months back I made my first auction purchase - for 99p - and now I can't seem to stop.

A quid here, three quid there - it starts to add up. The only saving grace is the running total displayed on the 'My eBay' page; once it started creeping towards £100, I made myself stop. Then, I discovered eBay SELLING.

Old jewellery, regrettable shoes purchases, books which had lain unread for years... no tat is safe from my eBay madness. I did however have to reassure my terrified husband that his treasured Xbox will not suddenly disappear.

He did concede though - while I'm selling our tat, at least it means that I'm not buying any more...