UK wealth boosted by online auction sites - claim

Internet Business News, August 15, 2005

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The wealth of the average UK household can be boosted by around GBP3,000 due to auctioning items online via websites such as eBay, according to the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), an economic consultancy.

Over 50,000 people in the UK are believed to participate in buying and selling online and the CEBR anticipates over GBP4bn of trading this year on eBay alone, the equivalent of 1.3% of total retail sales in the UK. The CEBR claimed that auction sites such as eBay are helping to keep inflation down, while increasing customer choice and expanding competition.

Online auction sites are also said to be improving the value of goods in people's homes, offering a cost-free advertising platform and enabling sellers to obtain the maximum price for sales. In addition, the CEBR reported that consumer confidence is heightened as the public realises they have items at home to sell, and said that certain specialist traders could enter national and global markets through the use of such sites.

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