Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
"Is there no stopping the eBay bonanza? Have they really discovered the secret of how to make money for old rope?"
The Money Programme's Rajan Datar investigates the hugely successful online global auction-house, eBay. In less than a decade the company has grown from a tiny operation in founder Pierre Omidyar's home, to a multinational behemoth that lists over 25 million items for sale, with global sales of over 18 billion pounds per annum.
Rajan meets eBay addicts, like the Harrisons - a couple who sell movie props on eBay to fund renovations in their home. They have high hopes for their latest piece of movie memorabilia - the diary from Bridget Jones's Diary. He meets Jennie and her daughter Sophie, who once sold Cherie Booth a Winne the Pooh alarm clock on eBay. Finally, he speaks to George, who sold some miniature soldiers on eBay seven years ago, and has since become a full time seller. George can make as much as 100% profit per sale, and has used the proceeds from eBay to buy a château in France.
EBay isn't good news for everyone though - with antique shops and charity shops at particular risk from the site. Doug is an antiques dealer who feels that eBay is having a detrimental effect on his business, and that it will be a death knell for antique and collectible shops everywhere. Oxfam, on the other hand, has decided to embrace eBay - using the site to sell some of the items that are donated to its charity shops. But won't the donations eventually dwindle as people opt to sell their unwanted things on eBay, rather than giving them to charity?
Part of the appeal of eBay is the sense that you can sell anything on it, Rajan puts that to the test by listing some literal old rope. Will he make money from it?
Clip taken from The Money Programme, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 25 February, 2005.
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"Is there no stopping the eBay bonanza? Have they really discovered the secret of how to make money for old rope?"
The Money Programme's Rajan Datar investigates the hugely successful online global auction-house, eBay. In less than a decade the company has grown from a tiny operation in founder Pierre Omidyar's home, to a multinational behemoth that lists over 25 million items for sale, with global sales of over 18 billion pounds per annum.
Rajan meets eBay addicts, like the Harrisons - a couple who sell movie props on eBay to fund renovations in their home. They have high hopes for their latest piece of movie memorabilia - the diary from Bridget Jones's Diary. He meets Jennie and her daughter Sophie, who once sold Cherie Booth a Winne the Pooh alarm clock on eBay. Finally, he speaks to George, who sold some miniature soldiers on eBay seven years ago, and has since become a full time seller. George can make as much as 100% profit per sale, and has used the proceeds from eBay to buy a château in France.
EBay isn't good news for everyone though - with antique shops and charity shops at particular risk from the site. Doug is an antiques dealer who feels that eBay is having a detrimental effect on his business, and that it will be a death knell for antique and collectible shops everywhere. Oxfam, on the other hand, has decided to embrace eBay - using the site to sell some of the items that are donated to its charity shops. But won't the donations eventually dwindle as people opt to sell their unwanted things on eBay, rather than giving them to charity?
Part of the appeal of eBay is the sense that you can sell anything on it, Rajan puts that to the test by listing some literal old rope. Will he make money from it?
Clip taken from The Money Programme, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 25 February, 2005.
You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults.
Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?sub_confirmation=1
You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - bbc.co.uk/archive
