We top online selling league

For more than half of people surveyed selling online is now their primary source of income

Independent research from CollectPlus has found that, of those surveyed, more people than ever are selling goods online through websites such as eBay, amazon, Gumtree, notonthehighstreet.com and their own personal pages to earn themselves a wage, last year making an average of £33,000.

Residents in the North West have been revealed by the research to be the most entrepreneurial with average annual profits from their online selling of £42,192 (one and a half times the average national wage). While, for 44 per cent, selling their wares online started as a hobby, for more than half, the money they make is now their primary source of income.

Almost three in every five people (59 per cent) that have set up an online business are reliant on the money to make ends meet, with 44 per cent using the profit from their new business to top up their existing income.

One in five (20 per cent) began selling online when they were unemployed, whilst 11 per cent did so when after being made redundant.

However, not everyone’s motives for setting up a business are financial. Forty-six per cent started selling online because they wanted their own business and the online marketplace gave them the best opportunity to do that.

Almost a third were driven to start trading online because they wanted a better work/life balance and selling online gave them more flexibility.