I intend to sell it on eBay, so I asked that veritable fount of knowledge on glassware and curios, Lynne Clark aka Josordoni on eBay.

We came up with a working theory. It's likely contemporary with the young princesses featured on the jelly mould. We think that dates it during the second half of the 1930s. It's unlikely that such a frivolous item would have been produced in the austerity of war. Lynne came up with an occasion when such a thing might have been used: King George VI's coronation on 12th May 1937.

It's not hard to imagine street parties in 1937 replete with such jellies. Educated guesses, for sure, but still speculation. Does anyone have any better ideas? Calling all Royal Memorabilia and Kitchenalia specialists!

The pictures in this post will give you an idea. I'll do better ones when I list it on eBay. By the way, I'm not listing it on eBay til September. The August bank holiday weekend is the nadir of eBay's year trafficwise. I want eyeballs!

Click on the image above to embiggen

Take a look for yourself. This is what Anders Behring Breivik bought on eBay, apparently.

The Telegraph is reporting that Norwegian terrorist and confessed murderer Anders Breivik bought some of his equipment and supplies on eBay.

They say he used the now suspended eBay ID andrewbrei. At least one seller will now be regretting that he called Breivik as "a nice fellow to deal with."

A quick look at this buying record does suggest that Anders Breivik was planning his attacks, months and months in advance.

What was he buying? See for yourself on the left. Some sulpher, plastic tubing, protective clothing, something that looks like a telescopic sight.

 The Telegraph says: "MI5 is thought to monitor eBay and other internet sites for individuals buying chemicals which can be used for terrorism."

I have no doubt. The Police certainly look at eBay for stolen goods. HMRC definitely keep an eye on the site. I would be very surprised if the security services don't do the same. eBay is very open.

My advice to anyone who wants to use eBay for any nefarious purpose? Think a bit. If you want to go under the radar, go to small offline retailers and use cash. And don't use your real name.

For a full screengrab of what Anders Breivik bought, with seller's IDs, that's here.

Anders Breivik's eBay feedback page uncropped, that's here.

Here’s an idea. Why not just flog that little something on eBay? Transform that present into cash and everyone’s happy. Your kind friend or relative need ever be any the wiser.

I’m serious. If you have something that other people want, the chances are that you can get something close to a retail price for it if it’s in tip-top condition and you make a good job of listing it. In January, everyone needs a few extra quid, so it’s worth a go.

How do you make it work?

Brand new and boxed: Make sure that your gift is in pristine nick. Unopened, in box, with the packaging. That way, you can sell it as new and eBay buyers love the new stuff. If you’ve meddled and opened it up, you’re stuffed.

Create a sexy listing: Sell the swag with great pictures and a brilliant descriptions. Give your buyers all the information they need to snaffle it. Don’t be shy: if it’s good stuff, tell everyone on eBay how good it is. There are no prizes for shyness.

Get the postage right: How much is it going to send the item to a buyer? Get tooled up with facts and then make sure you’re not overcharging. For bigger items, consider a courier. They’ll collect and you can end even send big and heavy thing for as little as a fiver. Use the the Parcel Checker to ocmpare prices.

Do it auction: Take a risk and start your swag off for 99p in an eBay auction. Everyone loves auctions because people get carried away. Awaken the competitive spirit and start it off low. Don’t worry. Bidding only gets going in the closing minutes in an eBay auction, so hold your nerve til the last minute. Chances are you’ll cash in.

photo credit: R Stanek

The Online Business Forum (OBF) is based on professional network LinkedIN.com. The choice to base it off-eBay is deliberate. It’s a neutral site where all ecommerce can be the topic. We’re already talking Amazon, social media, SEO, accounting, best practice as well as eBay trading. I’m determined that we don’t get bogged in the usual grind of negative feedback and an individual dodgy buyer. Moaning gets tedious. Anti-eBay whingers rehearsing their same old riffs aren’t welcome.*

My aim as editor is a really simple one: let’s create a useful online space where clever and ambitious eBay and ecommerce pioneers can discuss the new trends and share ideas. I’m unequivocal. Let’s make sure our horizons are broad. Eyes wide open and all good ideas (big and small) are welcome. I don’t want a microscopic concentration on boring problems but rather aspirational perspectives on what is the most exciting frontier of retail: ecommerce.

How do you profit from Amazon? Why not set up an independent ecommerce shop? What can Google offer you? Why shouldn’t you double turnover in 2011? What are your great eBay tips? That sounds to me like the sort of stuff serious businesspeople want to talk about.

Does that sound like you? Everyone who wants to turn a shilling by selling online will find the OBF useful. Come and join us. It’s all going on.

*That’s all important, of course, but you can chat and rant about that all over the web. I want the OBF to have a much more optimistic and ambitious focus. If you have an old eBay grudge you want to bloviate about endlessly, go elsewhere. We’re interested in ideas.

As these figures show, there is little doubt that the coalition’s policy to increase VAT is going to hurt small business trading online. More than that, I suspect that the impact will be greater than this survey shows. VAT registered businesses (who were the ones surveyed) can claim VAT back but many small businesses (who might not be turning £70k), who aren’t VAT registered don’t have that opportunity. In my anecdotal experience, most smaller online sellers will be absorbing the whole 2.5% increase. And don’t forget too that they’ll be paying it to when they buy goods and services as well. A double whammy.

The result is going to be a hit on profits for small businesses that are already lean and operating on small margins. eBay sellers know that online buyers are price conscious bargain hunters so they will be reluctant to raise prices. They are also, often, already offering Free P&P to entice buyers in. These small firms, which are the lifeblood of eBay and vital to our recovering economy, will also be hurt if consumer demand also falters over the course of the year.

What can eBay sellers do?

Talk to your accountant: Make sure that your business is as tax efficient as possible and taking advantage of all the various schemes available. It might be time to reconsider registering for VAT or using one of the flat rate schemes.

Monitor the impact closely: The government has indicated that this change will be permanent, so there is no reason to rush into anything this week. Keep an eye on sales and conversion and see what the effects are. It might be hard to discern, but eye the numbers like a hawk. Experiment a bit too. You may be able to edge prices up a little, so test the waters. Audit your listings: it’s a good opportunity to make sure that they are as good as possible.

Examine your competitors: You know who you’re competing with, so keep an eye on them too and see what they’re doing.  If you’re nimble you may well be able to outwit them and find a competitive advantage.

Change tack, if needs be: Just because you’ve decided to decided to absorb the VAT increase now, doesn’t mean that you can’t change your mind later. Keep your options open and prepare to make changes if your business is suffering.

For more chat and eBay expertise, join the Online Business Forum on LinkedIN.

• The first pay cheque I ever got from eBay was from the head of eBay Europe’s joint account with his wife. eBay itself didn’t even have it’s own bank account. In the first month that eBay operated in the UK (July/August 1999), pretty much all the advertising was paid for on the Customer Support manager’s own credit card. She was worried her husband would have a go if he found out.
• The first eBay UK office was a plush rented office suite affair in Marble Arch Tower. The second was above a furniture shop in Fulham. The day we moved in there, we didn’t have internet access or desks. We knocked off early.
• In my first few weeks of working for eBay in 1999 I went to a collectors’ fair where an earnest dealer told me that “buying and selling over the internet will never catch on in a million years.” At the time, I thought he may well be right.
• We really did think QXL was a threat in the early days. It seems laughable now but they had ads on the tube and everything. By Christmas 1999, 5 months after trading in Sterling was launched on eBay (and it was free to list then), we had 20,000 listings and we were well pleased with that.
• I met Pierre Omidyar several times. But the first was a slightly farcical moment because I didn’t know who he was. He was perched on my desk and we jabbered away about stamps and coins for a few minutes before I asked “So, do you work in San Jose?” He was polite and said he did. I was later mortified when I learnt he was the billionaire founder of eBay.
• It’s true. When Buy it Now was under discussion in 2001 the name “instant gratification” was considered.
• I loved spending so many happy hours on the eBay discussion boards writing as my alter ego, Henry Nutford. I love that plenty of people still think Henry is a real person. And in a funny way he is.
• Writing the first edition of my eBay book in 6 weeks whilst working full time too. I know it’s hardly Tolstoy, but I don’t think I’ve matched that work rate since.
• That Christmas Treasure Hunt… all the elves and all manner of laughs. You really had to be there to understand it. Crazy. Exhausting. Amazing. A failure.
• I discussed negative feedback with TV magician and eBay seller Paul Daniels whilst having a pee at a neighbouring urinal at an eBay University in Bristol. It didn’t really seem right. Not a lot. But he started it.
• Coming second in the eBay International talent contest in San Jose with a rousing rendition of Monster Mash with eBay UK MD Douglas McCallum, and others, singing backing vocals. $7 prize money was presented by Bill Cobb.
• During an interview on Irish national radio and being asked the question: “So eBay is an internet auction site Dan, and some of our listeners will want to know this. What exactly is the internet?”
• I did the sixty second interview in the Metro once. Heavens, I was dull.
• Many, many hours supping Young’s ale in White Cross in Richmond. How I miss thee.
• I believe I am the only person on the planet who has seen both Weird Al Yankovic and Chumbawamba play their eBay songs live.

Has it become easier or harder to make money on eBay now it has become so popular?
eBay has killed auctions. Businesses that want to get started on eBay need to concentrate on fixed price (Buy it Now) sales from day one. eBay is also increasingly favouring big businesses and even high street names: originally the home of small businesses online, eBay is making it harder for SMEs to find an ecommerce toehold as it pursues profits. The way that eBay is charging business sellers favours those with higher turnovers and the new way items are displayed in search results benefits sellers with a longer track record. It can take months for new eBay sellers to compete effectively these days on what was once a level-playing field.

Budding eBay sellers should also know that eBay is losing its share of ecommerce. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Yes, eBay continues to deliver sales and customers but also think about Amazon which is growing more quickly.

What are the golden rules for people looking to set up an online business?
Measure everything. Understand what’s working and what’s not. Examine your sales and web traffic so you appreciate where to direct your efforts. What’s selling best with the best margins? Too many newbies waste time on unprofitable lines.

Be organised. Keep records, track stock efficiently, despatch quickly. Chaos is time consuming and time is money. So try and be ruthlessly ordered in everything you do.

Be professional. Your business might be online and operating from home But don’t let the fact you’re in working from the spare room in your pyjamas dent your professionalism. Your customers deserve the best regardless.

What are the most common mistakes they make?
Lot’s of fledgling sellers forget costs, margins and profits and concentrate on turnover. It’s easy to look at your sales total and be satisfied but once costs are taken into account (and that includes tax) the profits can be small or even non-existant. Also, factor your own time into your costs. It’s the most valuable commodity you have.

Any trends/other comments that might be relevant?
Plan long term from the start. eBay is just one opportunity but selling online is best done using multiple channels. Opening a webshop of your own, using Amazon and other outlets, as well as Google to advertise, are all well trodden paths to ecommerce success. Even in the recession, online retailing continues to grow so there is a huge opportunity for anyone who wants to have a go.

One of the most attractive aspects of starting a home ecommerce business is that you don’t need massive funds to get started. At a time where banks are reluctant to lend, you only need a few hundred pounds to get started.

When Meg joined eBay, she confessed she had no online experience. Her past experience at the likes of P&G, Bain, Stride Rite and Disney focussed on marketing and branding. Pierre Omidyar and Jeff Skoll, the founders of eBay, were unperturbed about this believing that the tech could be taught. Her personality and values were much more important. She was 'very eBay': humble, clever, uninterested by the trappings of business power. She was also passionate about the transformational nature of the net and the potential for disruption.

And that's why Meg deserves to be among the Ada Lovelace Day pantheon. Not because she had power, is a billionaire, a former-CEO, a leader or politician. But because she understood, innately, that technology could be a means to an end and a way of promoting opportunity. In the numerous times over the years that I saw Meg in action at close quarters, she was constantly excited and evangelical about what eBay could do for people. Whether it was harnessing online trading to breathe new life into an old business or a channel for entrepreneurship, Meg's mantra was that technology could change lives and even change the world. And I think that her optimism and enthusiasm permeated eBay's culture and encouraged a lot of people to 'have a go' when otherwise they might not have been brave enough.

As a figurehead for eBay, her workaday approach was striking. In low key shirt and 'khaki pants' she was surprisingly informal and whilst she certainly wasn't consensual, she was unabashedly consultative. She was always impressive at eBay Live! (eBay's annual conference for members). Whilst I suspect that by nature she is slightly more cold, reserved, aristocratic than her performance betrayed but she had an instinctive understanding that eBay's community wouldn't be impressed by a queen. They responded to her because she seemed like them and they respected her approachability

I often think that one of the great failings of technology folk is a mistrust of the mass market and a general distaste for things that get big and popular. There is a knee-jerk reaction that when the grockles outnumber the geeks that a service or site is somehow sullied.

Meg the marketer understood the mass market and could plug eBay into it. eBay was a catalyst that spurred countless millions to become more proficient and advanced computer users. By selling the economic benefits she gave people a reason to embrace technology. I've personally met hundreds of people who profess that eBay was a real incentive to take on the net. I'll never forget 83 year old Joan who went out and bought a computer, learnt how to use it from scratch and went on to make thousands of pounds selling collectables. By her own admission, it gave her a new lease of life.

It is also interesting to me that Meg being a woman was almost entirely irrelevant to her role as eBay CEO. It seemed to be only of note to the press, who made a big deal of it. More certainly, than Meg ever made of it, I'd venture. And that's one of the more bewildering aspects of Meg's political campaign. She's being feminised, softened... and I can't see that it's necessary. But then politics, isn't business or technology.

What can we learn about how Meg will govern California (if she wins) from her tenure at eBay? Here are some pointers and predictions:

The Campaign Slogan?
Meg's a marketer. So why not reuse some of eBay's successful marketing campaigns in the race for Governor? Get those Whitdorphins! Vote Victoriously! Whitman for California: The Power of all of Us!

CalifornIPO
Why listen to pundits and those pesky voters when the market can decide? Meg will go public and float California on the Nasdaq as soon as she can after election. She'll get 6.6% of the state. It's only fair. That's what she got at eBay. Keeping California's stock high will mean quarterly targets and reporting to Wall Street. Making sure every quarter is a success will mean that long-term investment and infrastructure plans and schemes certainly won't be forgotten. If things don't work out, expect speculation that California will be bought by Microsoft or possibly even merge with YAHOO!.

A 'Growth through Acquisition' strategy
Meg's eBay loved writing cheques and buying companies: PayPal, Skype, Alando.de, Rent.com, Shopping.com, StumbleUpon. Can she make this work as Governor? Acquiring Nevada is clearly a 'no brainer'. And when Oregon is bought up in a cash and stock deal as an 'obvious strategic and cultural fit', California Inc. will enjoy the Power of Three. The acquisition of New Hampshire will be judged a mistake when analysts claim California overpaid for a state that cannot be integrated with the core platform and doesn't enjoy 'obvious synergies' with other properties in the portfolio. New Hampshire will then be sold to Google at a loss.

Guns, alcohol, tobacco: banned.
The sale of all guns, tobacco and alcohol (unless sold in collectable bottles) will be banned. PR risk.

All State Employees will be Paid with PayPal
PayPal is the fast, safe and easy way to pay. So all state officials and staff will be paid via PayPal minus fees of 2.9% and $0.30.

Bring on the MBAs
Meg loves MBAs and MBAs love Meg. She isn't sentimental about loyal staff with distinguished service. Why get someone with genuine expertise and experience to do a job, when you can hire a Stanford or Harvard MBA in khaki pants and a buttoned-down blue shirt from the GAP to review and strategise about the very same job for three times the salary? Welcome to SacraMBAnto.

Taxes. Up. Thirty days notice.
Like fee changes on eBay, tax rises are good for you and they're good for California. When Taxes are raised, it means a more vibrant state for everyone. New tax announcements will be made on town noticeboards in the dead of night. Interminable, impenetrable prose will be favoured. Meg also promises more nickel and diming.

Introducing the PowerCitizen Scheme
Californian citizens who pay the highest taxes will be invited to join the PowerCitizens scheme. PowerCitizens are entitled to wear a badge showing their PowerCitizen status and- erm- that's it. Diamond PowerCitizens paying more than $2 million a year will have the opportunity to negotiate lower taxes. In a spirit of openness and transparency, the state government will pretend it doesn't happen.

Death Penalty?
We believe people are basically good 'til cancelled.

Contact Governor Whitman
All communication with Governor Whitman will be conducted via email and outsourced to a dedicated team in Salt Lake City, Utah. For your convenience, automated replies with absolutely no reference to your original query will be used.

eBay should be able to prosper and flourish in the bad times. But I'm not certain it will. The new interventionist streak exposed by the executives in 2008 (DSRs, compulsory Free P&P in some categories, Best Match) means that sellers have less flexibility to make eBay work for them. Nanny doesn't necessarily know best and I generally have more confidence in the collective wisdom of eBay sellers over that of staff at eBay central.

A new year is a time to take stock and plan for the future. We now know that the US economy has been in recession for a year and the British economy is heading that way too. Retail has been hit hard and eBay is, by any stretch of the imagination, a retailer. So I'd guess there will be people at eBay HQ thinking about how they should react to the economic environment. After all, simply sticking to the course laid in, shouting full steam ahead and sending an order to the steward to rearrange the deckchairs immediately regardless of the iceberg on the horizon, simply isn't an option. Is it?

So, imagining that this is some sort of 2009 brainstorm*, here are some of the ideas I'd rattle out.

Concentrate on generating demand.
eBay's sellers need buyers. eBay needs to concentrate on generating demand so that means marketing. Two thoughts. Is the huge sum spent on Google adwords, working hard enough? Might it be better spent elsewhere? Email marketing. Does eBay do enough? I've noticed that Amazon (as well as other online retailers) is much, much more 'in your inbox' than eBay. There must be opportunity to do more there. Email marketing is attractive because it's inexpensive.

Reward loyal buyers
Some efforts have been made to encourage buyer loyalty and reward valuable returning buyers to eBay. But there must be more that can be done. Look at the supermarkets. I'm constantly offered discounts and incentives by them if I've been away for a while (via email and in the post). Is a coherent buyer loyalty scheme feasible and profitable?

Incentivise sellers to send traffic and buyers to eBay
The 'walled garden' approach that prohibits links from eBay to sellers' sites and Shops is the flipside of a culture that means sellers have no incentive to send buyers to eBay. If eBay liberalised the rules for linking out, more people will link in (probably). Another example.eBay charges sellers to send Shop marketing emails over a basic minimum. This is crazy. If a seller brings a buyer back to eBay they should be rewarded, not penalised.

Buyer marketing: eBay is the smart place to buy.
Cheap. Reliable. Safe. Convenient. It's a jungle out there. Make sure everyone knows that eBay is the only sensible choice when it comes to buying online.

eBay Fees + PayPal Fees = a lot of fees.
When a seller tots it all up, eBay and PayPal fees are a huge line item on the balance sheet that's comparable to what the taxman takes from biz sellers. There is surely latitude for some cuts. In any case: there is no room for increases. Can't make cuts? Make a promise: no increases in 2009. Give sellers decreases or certainty that there will be no increases.

Time is Money
If there is no possibility of fee reductions, invest in serious time savings for sellers. Improve the management tools. Turbo Lister is a disgrace. Selling Manager Pro should be free. Decent services for Macs: it's time. Just make it easy to manage a huge inventory on eBay. Or even a medium sized one. Even managing 100 items should be much easier. And free. Taxation through fees isn't the only way of stimulating supply.

Collective Bargaining
The MD of eBay in the UK can pick up the phone and talk to whomever they like, right? And estimated £4bn in eBay sales in 2008 makes that easy. What can eBay do on behalf of the mass of sellers and buyers to help them through the downturn in 2009? Genuinely beneficial deals could be done with Royal Mail, a major bank (for biz loans?), insurance companies, Jiffy, Tesco for cheaper petrol or anyone you can imagine. How about the tax man? Fancy an HMRC contact who gets eBay? They could actually ask. eBay could stop being coy and start flexing a bit of muscle. Stateside the Postmaster-General is a regular attendee at eBay Live!. Over here? Lord Mandelson is sure to have some bright ideas. :O)

Bail Out Hotline
If an eBay business is about to go down the tubes, what can eBay do to help? Maybe not a lot. But a phoneline eBay sellers could call in the event of terrible problems (with handy advice etc) would be nothing more than common courtesy to loyal sellers.

*What would you suggest? This is a brainstorm. No stupid ideas. Quickfire. Be creative Call for more information. Challenge assumptions. Ask a question. Essays not required. Lots of hats to choose from: not just a black one. Suggest something new.