Like a digital rite of passage, most people can remember their first eBay experience. The sweaty palms as the auction countdown moved towards zero, and the sense of euphoria when this time, finally, you weren’t bid-sniped on that bargain at the last second.

Or, of course, the frankly addictive ping of an alert when people started outbidding each other on that unloved heirloom of yours that was gathering dust in the attic. Even the interactions between buyers and sellers seem like a different time, as total strangers thanked each other, discussed the best means of collection and even formed valuable relationships.

The Telegraph London