Earlier this month, eBay released two separate statements saying that mobile sales rose over a very short period.  Now, the company’s opened up a third time on the subject, and it turns out mobile sales for the complete holiday shopping season (defined by eBay as November 25th through December 25th) grew by an impressive 166 percent.

That 166 percent was measured on a worldwide basis year-over-year, and helped eBay record $230 million in gross merchandise volume.  The company may be able to report a pretty profitable fourth quarter as a result.

One interesting note: Americans didn’t contribute too much to the trend.  Even with iPhones and Android devices galore, eBay’s U.S. mobile sales only increased by 134 percent compared to the same period in 2009, leaving the U.S. looking relatively desktop- and laptop-centric.

Anyway, the "Cars and trucks" category on eBay generated the largest amount of U.S. mobile sales, followed by "Clothing and accessories."

Then the "Auto parts" category secured third place, "Sporting goods" came in fourth, and "Cell phones & accessories" took fifth.

Steve Yankovich, the vice president of mobile at eBay, responded, "With more than 30 million downloads of eBay’s mobile apps worldwide, eBay is clearly a barometer for mobile shopping trends.  We see people buying everything from designer apparel to cars and trucks on their phones regularly, and purchases being made through eBay mobile every second."