TradeMe
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| Type of business | Public |
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| Traded as | NZX: TME |
| Headquarters | Wellington (main office), Auckland, and Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Founder(s) | Sam Morgan |
| Key people |
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| Employees | 357 |
| Slogan(s) | Where Kiwis Buy and Sell |
| Website | www |
| Alexa rank | 1,699 |
| Launched | 1999 |
Trade Me is the largest Internet-auction website operating in New Zealand. Managed by Trade Me Ltd., the site was founded in 1999 by New Zealand entrepreneur Sam Morgan, who sold it to Fairfax in 2006 for NZ$700 million. Trade Me was publicly listed as a separate entity on 13 December 2011 under the ticker "TME". Trade Me Ltd also operates several sister websites including Find Someone, Travelbug, Safe Trader and Holiday Houses.
As of August 2015[update], Trade Me's website is the fifth most visited in New Zealand and is ranked 1,844th globally according to Alexa Internet. In 2006, the group of sites collectively generated over 60% of all web traffic originating in New Zealand. In a country with a population of 4.7 million, the Trade Me site has, as of August 2015[update], 3.7 million active members. As of June 2015[update], an average of 878,000 people visit the site each day.
Participating traders primarily use New Zealand's banking system to settle payments, although Trade Me now offers sellers the ability to accept credit card payments by 'Pay Now'. Australian sellers must have a New Zealand bank-account, while sellers from other countries are not allowed on the site without special approval, which reduces the potential for fraud. Many buyers pay cash on pickup with larger items — probably partially due to the relative concentration of the New Zealand population in a relatively small number of urban areas.
Trade Me shares many features with other online auction-websites, such as 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 sellers may choose to block unverified members from bidding.
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Wikipedia