One in Six U.S. Web Users Has Sold Online

A new report from the Pew Internet and American Life project finds that about 25 million U.S. Internet users - roughly one in six - have used the Internet to sell something.

If you’ve sold something on Ebay, Craigslist, or your local paper’s online classifieds, you’re certainly not alone. According to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, roughly one in six U.S. Web users have used to the Internet to sell something.

The Pew study finds that the people most likely to sell online follow the classic “early adopter” profile of people who are enthusiastic about and comfortable with Internet technology. Sellers are more than twice as likely to have broadband Internet access than to use dial-up, and they use the Internet frequently: 23 percent of Internet users who go online daily have used the Internet to sell something, compared to just 9 percent who go online several times a week. Sellers are also older, and old hands: 23 percent of Internet users who sell online have been using the Internet six or more years, and are more likely to be member of “Generation X” (currently aged 29 to 40 years) rather than “Generation y” (ages 18 to 28).

Where are people selling things online? Classified advertisements are a big winner (with traffic up more than 80 percent from a year ago, and more than 22 percent of online adults saying they use online classified sites) but auctions are still the top dog, with nearly one in four Internet users saying they participated in an online action.

The study surveyed 2,251 adults via telephone between September 14 and October 13, 2005.