Most people think of eBay as a place where you sell physical items. They often start by selling unwanted bits and pieces from the attic, moving on to other things in the garage and, if it takes a hold, venturing into the market of buying items to sell.

Not many people associate eBay as a place where you can sell a service.

Let's imagine I want to offer my services as a French language teacher. Where else do you know that you can advertise for 10 days, reach an audience of millions and only pay a few pounds or dollars in fees?

I can easily create an auction with my language services such as teaching, proofreading, editing etc. I list my qualifications and any appropriate memberships I have. I also include a photo of myself - making it personal.

What I am really doing with this auction is selling myself.

I would start the auction at a minimum hourly rate, and probably have a Buy it Now hourly rate too.

I know of a guy who lives in Germany and offered English language services on eBay.de. Within days he received work, and had to re-list many times as his Buy it Now rate was being taken up regularly. He gained commercial and private customers alike.

I also heard of a group of computer programmers who were made redundant after their jobs went "offshore". Having found it difficult to find new jobs, they decided to turn to eBay. Their ideal was to stay together as a team of software developers. So they created an auction to give the winning bidder the rights to negotiate exclusively for their services. The winning bid amount would go to a charity.

They started the bidding at $250, and the auction went well. They did indeed find an employer who wanted to take the whole team. And the group made several hundred dollars for their charity. A highly satisfactory outcome!

If you have a skill, expertise and qualification, why not enlist the power of eBay to sell yourself?