Users of eBay have reached a charity milestone.

Just by ordering a parcel delivery users of eBay have helped to raise $200 million (£128.8 million) for charity, the company has announced.

eBay's Giving Works programme hit the milestone in July thanks to large and small contributors from across the eBay community.

The figure was up 12 per cent year-on-year and more than half of the total has been raised in the last year.

Earlier in the year, business tycoon Warren Buffett became the most expensive charity auction item ever, when a lunch with the Sage of Omaha was bought for $2.63 (£1.69 million).

"We're fortunate to have generous buyers and sellers using eBay," said Robert Chatwani, director of eBay’s Global Citizenship effort.

He explained that rather than asking users to give more, eBay decided to create simple ways to donate money through their eBay activity.

"It's very powerful to combine shopping and giving into a single transaction," Mr Chatwani added.

eBay users can donate money to help the victims of the Pakistan floods when paying for an item using PayPal.

Posted by Sarah Gower
 

Article Added: 18/08/2010 16:40:56