For Sale: conkers, ferrets and an empty box - the wacky world of online classifieds

A quick glance at the advertisements at the back of a newspaper or an online classified site can reveal a range of unusual items for sale. From a pair of ferrets (lovely shiny coat), to fencing panels (apparently ideal for burning) to a "tiny love soft gym" (excellent condition), it appears that there's a market for almost anything these days.

It's amazing to see the range of items that are offered for sale in classified advertisements, and perhaps even more amazing to find that online shoppers are actually buying them. But we must remember that almost everything that exists in our world has value to somebody, somewhere.

Take a closer look at what you throw in your bin each day. To an impoverished third world family, those fridge items that have past their 'best before' date, an empty glass jar, or an old t-shirt would be highly prized. This is of course an extreme example and I'm not suggesting you should attempt to sell your perishables to the third world on eBay (compost them instead), but be assured that much of what you send to landfill on a daily basis could be used by somebody in some corner of the globe - and the internet has become the middle man that allows buyer and seller to connect.

This means that for almost any item you can think of, somewhere there will be a buyer for it. One of the most unusual items that I have ever bought online is conkers. Yes, conkers. Why, you may ask, would I want to pay money for the seed of a tree that is readily available for free throughout the UK and indeed many other countries of the world?

Well, at the time, I was working as an English teacher in Japan, and wanted to introduce the pupils to the great English playground sport of conker fighting. Having discovered that Japanese conkers where much smaller than our native Great British nuts, (thus making them unsuitable for conker combat), I jumped online to see if I could import some high quality horse chestnut seeds from the motherland.

To my initial surprise, I came across several conker dealers on various auction and online classifieds websites, placed my order and within two weeks, I was teaching my Japanese students the rules, tactics and etiquette of conker warfare.

So before you send your unwanted items to be burnt or buried for evermore, jump online, write a quick advert and see if you can find a better home and even make a little money for something that could be worth more than you think.

Elisha Burberry is a freelance writer who loves her job and the occasional glass of red wine.