By Tamsin Fidgeon

It's one of the greatest online developments of the 90s, and a service many of us will have tried – eBay.

eBay is an online auction website, founded in 1995 by a computer programmer in California. Here you can buy and sell practically anything – from collectibles, appliances and cars, to shoes, event tickets and even food. It seems that one man's rubbish is (sometimes literally!) another man's gold.

eBay has hit the headlines for unusual reasons over the years when extraordinary lots have been offered online. In 1999 a man offered one of his kidneys for auction, attempting to profit from the potentially lucrative (and, in the United Stated, illegal) market for transplantable human organs. At other times people and even entire towns have been listed, often as a joke or to gain free publicity.

In general, eBay remove unsuitable lots that violate its terms of service agreement as soon as they hear about it. Another problem is that counterfeit merchandise also appears on the site, which can be difficult for people new to the service to spot.

Trade for a cause

So what does this have to do with volunteering? Well, due to the increase in the number of people using this method to buy and sell products, many charities now look at it as a cost-effective way of raising funds. Without the expense of renting shop space and equipment, paying utility bills, and the restrictions of set opening hours and staff availability, charities are now buying and selling donated items on eBay. To help the money from the sales stretch even further, volunteers are asked to be in charge of this trading on behalf of the charity.

The most basic of opportunities include selling a charity's donated goods online on their behalf, or simply donating a portion of the money made from your sold items to the charity through eBay.

Other opportunities are more demanding, requesting a volunteer to approach companies for donations to sell online, with the profits going to the charity; tasks could include taking photographs of the items, uploading the images and appropriate description online.

Easy and convenient

If you have thought in the past that you would like to volunteer but find the timing inconvenient or travelling places is an issue, this is the perfect opportunity. The work can be done entirely from home, all you need is a computer and an internet connection. (Some charities will allow you to do this work from their office, if this is better for you.)

From small local charities to large, national organisations like Oxfam, RNID and the British Heart Foundation, volunteers are needed to help run these schemes, and many opportunities can be found on the do-it.org.uk database.

So, as well as helping out a worthy cause, you can do it at your own convenience, potentially without even leaving your home, and at the same time you will also be improving your online skills!

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