Martin Lewis' MSE says 'stock up' on coat hangers and milk bottle tops for £262

Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert has urged UK households to stock up on coat hangers and plastic milk bottle tops for their share of £262. The Money Saving Expert website explains how people are flogging all sorts of items on eBay for HUNDREDS.

Replying to BBC and ITV star Mr Lewis' team, one MSE reader enthused: "I’ve sold empty perfume and aftershave bottles for £5-£8 each on eBay. Somebody actually messaged asking if they could just buy the top of one of the bottles!" A second gushed: "I got £10 on eBay for a Guardian Guide mag with The Killers on the front. Rescued it from the work recycling bin."

MSE says football programmes can sell for £49.99, coat hangers for £4, and jam jars £1. Empty perfume bottles sell for £150, while shirt buttons, wine corks and pine cones can fetch £4.66, 20p and 50p respectively. Champagne corks sell for £1.60 while glass coffee jars sell for £1.60 and newspaper supplements, glass ramekins, can ring pulls and plastic milk bottle tops sell for £50, 80p, 3p and 2p respectively. Kitchen rolltubes can flog for 33p.

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Put together it works out at an astonishing £262. MSE said: "It sounds unbelievable, but there are lots of reasons why people are happy to buy your household waste. Many of the items are in demand among crafters, who will often be willing to pay if they can't collect enough raw material themselves. Some are useful for gardeners and cooks too – for example, toilet roll tubes can be used as seed starter pots.

"Jam jars are very popular, not just for storing homemade jams and chutneys, but because of a growing trend for using them at weddings, as table decorations or to hold favours for guests. Some items such as football programmes and newspaper supplements are sold to collectors – one man's junk is another man's treasure."