The eBay fashion addicts

In the great game of fashion oneupmanship, there's a new name in town. When someone asks you where you got your fabulous new jacket, the smuggest riposte is no longer "Topshop". These days, the truly savvy shopper gets her best bargains on eBay.

The website www.ebay.com has been around since 1995 in the US and 1999 in the UK, and has an estimated 94.9 millions users worldwide. The UK's number one e-commerce site, about 95 per cent of eBay's community is made up of individuals, although brand name manufacturers and wholesalers partake, too.

For those who have never dabbled, think of it as a virtual supermarket selling everything from rare CDs to collectable comics to ... well, any old crap. And of course, fashion - its third largest category after motors and sports. Fashion industry insiders have long used eBay as a place to sell their ill-gotten freebies. Editors get a better return on their unwanted designer Christmas presents than they would taking them to a designer discount store, most of which charge 40 per cent commission.

Sell your Versace handbag on eBay and you reach billions of avid purchasers for a nominal fee. The online auction site charges sellers a small percentage of the final sale cost. You also have the added thrill of watching how high the price of your item will climb: although you can fix a price, eBay is really a virtual auction house, where buyers bid for goods. If Hitoshi in Tokyo and Mary-Lou in Alabama decide they can't live without your Murakami handbag then you could end up selling it for far more than you bargained for.

I'd had a cursory look on the site before, but it was only yesterday that I became truly part of the worldwide eBay clique. Armed with my boyfriend's mac (the computer, not the garment) and his digital camera, I decided to sell a pair of designer sunglasses. They'd always made me look silly, and I was sure they'd find a better home in cyberspace.

I've already had one bid - for the reserve (minimum) price of $60. I confidently expect more bids in the six remaining days before the item drops off, and can see myself getting addicted. You can sell literally anything and buy literally anything - from a yukky fake gold signet ring for $1 (why bother!) to a vintage Yves Saint Laurent cocktail dress for $1,000. Current bargains (and believe me, there are millions) include a vintage Hermes Birkin bag for £200, a current-season Marc canvas jacket for £99.99, a last-season Prada print dress for $475, a vintage Pucci dress for £50, a pair of Manolo Blahnik slingbacks for £62 and a Mulberry Roxy handbag for £117. A savvy shopper can save thousands on high street prices.

Although the bargains are myriad, it's worth exercising some caution. Some of the designer handbags will be more Canal Street than Bond Street: ensure your purchase comes with a certificate of authenticity, which all real designer handbags include. For many sellers, eBay is their primary source of income, meaning they really sell their stuff hard, typing in pages of superlatives, adding catwalk pics and photos of their wares from different angles. Only a small proportion of the clothes on offer are current season (although many claim to be) and beware of listings like "this skirt is identical to Stella McCartney's" when it's really from H&M.

In a bid to capitalise on its standing in the fashion community, eBay is also about to launch a "look book", putting together key trends, all available on line, for the current season. There will also be a sample wardrobe available to borrow for fashion shoots. All of which will raise the website's profile even further ... so if you've any old stuff to sell or fancy updating your wardrobe, now is the perfect time to join the eBay gang.