ONE ebay trader, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke to Business Echo.

The 30-year-old, who began trading on eBay earlier this year, works full-time at a manufacturing company, and spends most of his evenings monitoring his sales on the site.

Dealing mainly in clothes, he and his girlfriend scour the region's warehouses and discount retail outlets looking for bargains to sell on.

Even though the e-business is only a hobby at present, he hopes to turn it into a full-time occupation.

He has registered as a sole trader and come the end of the tax year will be completing self-assessment tax forms.

But he said the vast potential of the site made it worth the effort.

He said: "If I put a pair of trainers on eBay, I might get 600 hits in a week. Considering I have no overheads, that kind of exposure is priceless.

"If you had a shop, even on a busy high street, you would never get that number of people checking out your items. That is the beauty of the site."

From his Darlington home, he sells goods all over the world.

If he receives payment for an order straight away, he can send the item by registered post the next day.

The furthest he has shipped items was to New Zealand.

"We deal in clothes," he said. "We rely on the fact that the UK is seen as a leader in fashion, so clothes that might be a bit out of date here are still sought after abroad."

And so far, it has proved a lucrative formula. For a couple of hours work a day, he is clearing about £700 a month.

He said: "I would like eventually to set up my own business full-time, so this is a great way of cutting my teeth."