On the day of the 20th anniversary of the first secure online transaction and the birth of ecommerce, Retail Week studies the big numbers from eBay’s history.

EBay breaks down its big numbers to mark the 20th anniversary of ecommerce

£2.89

The cost of the first item sold on eBay’s UK site, a three track CD from German rock outfit The Scorpions.

14

The number of gifts bought on eBay each second last Christmas.

£103,000

The amount paid for Margaret Thatcher’s handbag.

£81,100.01

One eBay user paid this amount for Princess Beatrice’s pretzel-shaped royal wedding hat with proceeds going to Unicef and Children in Crisis.

7

Every seven seconds a pair of shoes is sold via a mobile device.

19m

Over one third of Britain’s adult population visit eBay every month.

25m

The number of businesses and consumers selling products on eBay.

£61,000

How much the skeleton of a woolly mammoth sold for in 2004.

$4.9m

A Gulfstream II Jet was the most expensive item ever sold on eBay and fetched this sum in 2001.

Video: Online retail celebrates 20th anniversary of first sale