description
Trade Me Ltd has become New
Zealand's largest company of its type, and its flagship
became the most popular website in the country in 2005.
The group of sites collectively generate just over 50%
of all web-page traffic originating from New
Zealand-based servers.
During peak hours, Trade Me has approximately 50,000
people online, and 700,000 auctions running. Trade Me
currently has 1,140,340 active members. These statistics
make Trade Me seem very popular, since New Zealand has a
total population of around 4,100,000 people.
Participating traders can use New Zealand's banking
system to settle payments. Most traders quickly settle
by bank transfer or by bank deposit, and Australian
sellers must have a New Zealand bank account. Trade Me
operations do not require PayPal, as Australian buyers
can pay with cheques, which many New Zealand banks will
negotiate free of charge.
Trade Me shares many features with other online auction
websites, such as the American auction giant eBay. Some
of these features include "Buy Now", "Auto bidding" and
the Safe Trader escrow service. Members in New Zealand
can become "Address Verified" by confirming their
street-address, and the site may block unverified
members from bidding. Significantly, despite its global
reach, eBay has failed to make a sizeable penetration in
the geographically isolated New Zealand market.
The Trade Me site also has a general messageboard, where
members can participate in discussions on a variety of
topics. People also ask questions and seek advice on the
messageboard. Controversial postings or flame wars have
occasionally resulted in auction interference by members
with opposing views. |
