So Ebay is the online marketplace, a glorified technological car-boot sale with all the fortunate filters, and bargains like 99p socks you didn't actually need- they just were 99p, and so you had to buy them.

I discovered ebay a few months ago. Three, to be precise. I never used it, as my Dad had an account, and he insisted he should deal with ebay. Only getting him to agree to buy anything would take a week, by which time the item had ended and I'd have to repeat the cycle in finding it.

With my own pay cheque and ebay account though, it's been disastrous.I have spent, within the three months, £136, nearly all of which were presents for friends. Well, if there's a sealed version of something for a fiver worth thirty, I'm gonna buy it, aren't I?

Sigh. The problem seems to be my own competitive nature. After being beaten several times, I've become the master of 'sniping'- waiting until the last minute (at times like this, I do love my smart phone) before bidding, so anyone not doing similar has no chance of winning. If someone is doing the same, I engage in a mini-war, in which I pay over what I intended to, because I refuse to lose.

You can see where the issues lie, lets be honest.

If they're not, I usually get a nice bargain, which the postman resents as the poor guy has to carry so much stuff its unbelievable. No one wins. Bar me, and the people at Christmas. But currently, just me.

It amuses me at least, and really, that's all that matters.