Despite the enormous impact of multi-retailers and the Internet on traditional niche retailers, I still believe that the high street offers great potential for the shrewd entrepreneur with a keen eye for niche products.

Before we purchase anything for our business we now check on eBay. Doing this has not only saved us thousands of pounds but also made us far more conscious of how much we spend. Prior to eBay we wasted hours searching through catalogues checking for prices only to choose a supplier, contact them and then find out they were either out of stock or there had been a price increase

eBay needs neither introduction or explanation. At the time of writing it is the world’s largest online market place and a virtual Mecca for hobby enthusiasts.