THREE men made more than £31,000 selling non-existent goods on the Ebay auction website.

Trading under the Ebay username, “supergigolo”, Anthony Blades sent buyers bogus proofs of postage for computers and camcorders he claimed he’d sent them. The packages, contained worthless items and never arrived, because false addresses and tracking numbers were put on them.

Blades’s postal worker brother, Michael, and his friend, Graham Giles received money on his behalf and posted items for him.

The three defendants, all from Clacton, admitted conspiracy to defraud between August 2006 and February 2008.

At Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday, Anthony Blades, 35, was jailed for 18 months, Michael Blades, 32, was sent down for 14 months and Giles, 31, was given eight months.

Karen Robinson, prosecuting, described it as “a sophisticated and well-organised fraud”, in which she said Anthony Blades played “the greater part”.

A total of 27 items, worth £31,089, were involved, with Royal Mail paying £12,000 on nine compensation claims. A further 17 claims were outstanding.

Postal bosses became suspicious in June 2007, because of the high number of claims for parcels posted from Clacton which never reached their destinations.

In January 2008, the contents of a package brought in by Giles and insured for £2,500 was opened and found to be worthless. The address did not match that on the documentation. Police were called and at Anthony Blades’s home, in Connaught Gardens East, they found special delivery labels, packing materials and, on his computer, pictures of electrical equipment he’d used for eBay auctions.

When he was interviewed by police, Michael Blades, of Harpers Way, said his brother had asked him to receive payments because he did not want his partner to know about his Ebay trading.

Giles, of Ferndale Close, uploaded three auctions on Ebay, received money 14 times and posted packages.

Gareth Hughes, speaking for Anthony Blades, said: “He did not use the money for a luxurious lifestyle, but for day-to-day expenses and to pay off debt.”

Passing sentence, Recorder Humphrey Malins said “This was a nasty, well-planned and long-standing scam which caused a great amount of anguish to great numbers of people.”