[skibumwa]

I cannot use www.trademe.co.nz from the U.S. to search for a new apartment flatmate setup rental in NZ because I don't live in NZ or Australia. They told me over email once I get a LAND PHONE LINE in NZ then I can get a FREE account with them. Huh?! :mad:

Has anyone else outside of NZ or Australia had this issue with www.trademe.co.nz. Is this how they treat people trying to use trademe.co.nz to find a new home from 8000 miles away.

They say to re-register when "you have a home and land line in NZ so we can call you on the landline to make sure you live in NZ". How do I find a home let alone a land line in NZ if I cannot browse the flatmates or rentals listing in the first place to find a home to live in from the 1st place???? Catch 22 eh?

Are Kiwis and Aussies that separated from the rest of the world that they make it hard for foreigners moving there by denying them access to view simple FOR RENT or FLATMATES WANTED ads on some stupid Website? Sorry I am venting here because the last thing I need is to be stymied in my flat search in Wellington by some stupid Website that everyone uses to post their FLAT MATE WANTED ads.

I am getting bad vibe here from NZ (the first one)... can anyone help me get onto this Website to help me search for a place to live.... geesh!!

:mad: :mad:

John

[ellenmelon]

wow, i dont think your attitude helps the situation to be honest. they arent doing it to spite you like you are assuming. if its such a stupid website, why are you so desperate to join it?

if you have a friend or employer here, send them an email asking to use their phone number.

ive never had a phone call from trademe to check my phone number by the way..that must be a new thing they've brought in.

[Lupin]

wow, i dont think your attitude helps the situation to be honest. they arent doing it to spite you like you are assuming.

Agreed :exit

[kanatakiwi]

I'd just like to add that the requirement for local residence is to protect all the members of Trade Me so they don't fall victim to some of the scams out there in the world. I'm quite happy with that requirement, and have found Trade Me to be an excellent site. This is the second time you have gone on a rant on this forum about something which didn't seem to be worth the rant, IMO.

If you posted a request for help getting emails or phone numbers of some trade me properties I am sure there would be some kind soul who would go the extra mile to assist you, but your flame out is more likely to turn people off.

[IanW99]

If you are looking for rentals then there are many other websites that can be of use.

For example: realestate (http://www.realestate.co.nz), open2view (http://www.open2view.com/)

I am also sure that I have seen other websites listed for flatmates as well.

I'm not sure that it is the best idea to organise long term accomodation from abroad anyway, you really need to see the property, people etc (the location and quality etc are so variable)

Ian

[james the mechanic]

Hi John,
You don’t need a Trademe account to browse items for sale or a least you don’t from the UK.
However I had problems trying to set up an account so that I could advertise my house for rent in NZ. I have a NZ residential address a NZ phone number and a co.nz email address but the account would not allow me to add credit for some reason. (You must do this before you can buy or sell).
I called Trademe and said I was having trouble adding credit and the woman immediately said that’s because your not currently in NZ, you will have to wait until you are back in NZ or Aus.
I have no idea how she new I was not in NZ; I was calling from an NZ phone so not caller ID. The following day I got an email from Trademe, saying that they had canceled my account as, ‘it is Trademe’s policy to only allow NZ/Aus buyers and sellers.’ Clearly Trademe members are not allowed to travel overseas, I do think this policy is very small-minded and I couldn’t be bothered to mail them back.
I can sympathize with you John, Trademe regitration is not very straight forward and to find out that it was a waste of time the next day is very frustrating.
Good Luck my friend.
James

[caseyjones]

I've got to say, skibumwa, you've pushed my sympathies in the direction of trademe. As kanatakiwi says, asking for help to find a solution usually works so much better. Good luck in finding a solution :)

[marcia]

have to agree with the majority on here, becasue of your 'rant' i decided initally not to reply, but what we did to register on trademe was use a friends phone number (with their permission)

However ihave to agree that you are trading on shaky ground if you sign up for a property without going to see it first, the pictures and description are not always true to life, and this time of year a lot of the rental properties available (or so i have heard) are the cold and damp ones which no one will touch with a barge pole - so be careful!

People in general respond to other people who do not come across as agressive, your post did you no favours in making friends on the board!:o

[skibumwa]

Hi everyone, when moving across the world and looking for a new home in NZ, of course I will upset if cannot even use a simple Website like TRADEME just because I don't live there yet. I am glad that I am not the only one who thinks trademe.co.nz is a narrow minded Website.. thanks for this James!

If trademe cancelled you even when you have a local address & etc in NZ then that is utterly pathetic? What you are not allowed to travel? Pathetic..

Some notes:

TRADEME.co.nz: Actually I can browse but cannot see their contact information at all nor can't I contact the people looking for flatmates... so it renders this Website useless for immigrants looking like me for a place to live! :clap Good job to trademe.co.nz and their "policies".

NZFLATMATES.co.nz: wants a $20 fee for a month to contact people looking for flatmates. I also checked NZherald.co.nz and they don't have much in terms of ads to browse. Such much for surfing the Web on trademe.co.nz to find a home before I get there. I guess those folks don't realize how hard it is to relocate oneself across the planet without being stymied like this in a critical area of "finding a new home" or new flatmate setup! :mad:

Tracing of members: They probably traced your IP address to an address outside of NZ and OZ when you emailed them. Pathetic indeed... Yeah for NZ residents who are members of trademe to be NOT allowed to travel and use their accounts is appalling.

Support at trademe.co.nz: Costs $1.99 NZD/minute!?! Pathetic.. is all I can say..

So yes I guess I will pay NZFLATMATES $20 NZD as I don't have any choice I cannot afford to live in a hotel for a month while hoping to find someone...who knows of someone who has a room for rent that I like...

Hey everyone I have a right to me mad. I was willing to pay the $10 NZD deposit as I also wanted to bid on a new scooter as well. The Internet is a global medium not just a NZ and OZ thing; maybe the folks at trademe.co.nz forgot about that little part...

Geesh, I guess I will have my new employer let me use their office line/address as proof I work/live in NZ...

--John
PS. Where do you live now James? Are you in NZ now?


Hi John,
You don’t need a Trademe account to browse items for sale or a least you don’t from the UK.
However I had problems trying to set up an account so that I could advertise my house for rent in NZ. I have a NZ residential address a NZ phone number and a co.nz email address but the account would not allow me to add credit for some reason. (You must do this before you can buy or sell).
I called Trademe and said I was having trouble adding credit and the woman immediately said that’s because your not currently in NZ, you will have to wait until you are back in NZ or Aus.
I have no idea how she new I was not in NZ; I was calling from an NZ phone so not caller ID. The following day I got an email from Trademe, saying that they had canceled my account as, ‘it is Trademe’s policy to only allow NZ/Aus buyers and sellers.’ Clearly Trademe members are not allowed to travel overseas, I do think this policy is very small-minded and I couldn’t be bothered to mail them back.
I can sympathize with you John, Trademe regitration is not very straight forward and to find out that it was a waste of time the next day is very frustrating.
Good Luck my friend.
James

[skibumwa]

I already asked them for help- and very nice too. They slammed the door in my face...sort of like a rude American company would do.

Did you read about James the Mechanic's incident with them? I wonder how you feel about that? As in a NZ resident with a real address there getting his account turned OFF because he traveled overseas? Do you favor the company still now.... hummmm :uhoh

They send me a "we are happy you moving to NZ, but you cannot use our Website until you get a home address and land line in NZ". That to me a sick joke.. as I by then I don't need their Website to help me find a home.

In America, they'd be deemed as a yuppie SNOB type company with a major attitude problem. It's the reality of it.

Trademe.co.nz could easily allow foreigners use their Website by validating their ID with their bank info against their Visa card records. This is not rocket science, it's the year 2007 and many websites do just that :-)



I've got to say, skibumwa, you've pushed my sympathies in the direction of trademe. As kanatakiwi says, asking for help to find a solution usually works so much better. Good luck in finding a solution :)

[martinp]

I called Trademe and said I was having trouble adding credit and the woman immediately said that’s because your not currently in NZ, you will have to wait until you are back in NZ or Aus. Our daughter who is coming to NZ shortly, is buying, and having shipped to our home, plenty of things from Trademe. She used our address/telephone etc to register with Trademe from the UK. She has also successfully signed up with the Trademe "Personals" friends finder.

Given what has been posted here, I don't know how she is able to do that.

[skibumwa]

We'd all agree that moving across the world is a stressing thing indeed.

The irony with this entire post of mine here (the original one) is that they flagged me for NOT being local to NZ when I tried to deposit $10 NZD into my account from a US-based Visa card. I was actually shut off from trying to give them money so I could buy a scooter from an auction with my Visa card? This seems strange to me.

Anyway, I had saved many places listed on Trademe that I wanted to call upon to set up a date/time to look at. Someone here (MARCIA - I believe?) suggested that I not just plan on using trademe to secure home sight unseen. Well I was never planning on doing that of course - don't want to move in to a leaking roof cold miserable house that looks nice in a photo on a summer day. My plan was to set up 5-7 flats to view the first 2-3 days I got there. I am sure at least one of them would have worked out. Now those places I liked so much are invisible to me because I cannot see the renters telephone numbers anymore because I am no longer a member of trademe.co.nz.

Trademe tells me to re-apply for membership after I get settled in NZ. Ummmmm sounds OK to me, but I need a place to live sooner not later. The primary purpose for me to sign up for trademe was to find a new home in Welly. There goes that idea I guess....

It seems to be a no-win situation for me with regard to Trademe.

I want to reiterate from another post of mine here, that I did ask for trademe's help very nicely, but they slammed the door in my face. I wrote them back again, then they replied with this 2 hours ago:

-------------------------------------------------------
Dear
John,

Thanks for contacting us and I am really sorry that we are
unable to open your membership at this point.

While I can appreciate your
honest intentions to use Trade Me, as part of our continued efforts to
make Trade Me a safe place for Kiwis to buy and sell, members based
outside of New Zealand and Australia will no longer be allowed to use the
site.

Over 60% of all purchases by non-New Zealanders do not complete
and result in a refund for the seller. This is unreasonably high and
results in sellers having a bad experience on the site.

We are sorry
for any inconvenience that this may have caused but we hope this explains
the reasons behind this policy. As noted previously, please contact
us when you arrive in the country and we can look into re-opening your
account for you.

If you have any further questions or if I can be of
any further help please do not hesitate to contact
me.

Regards,

Amy
Trade Me Support
-----------------------------------
My first comment is that I am not selling anything, I am looking for a flat to rent.

My second comment is that are Aussies part of this 60% failure to pay for an item problem? She did say, "non-New Zealanders" and this does include Aussies right? hummmm

Basically I am hard working nice guy now who's probable only hope for finding a good home (rental) is NZFLATMATES. I have some contacts in Welly now, but none of them know of any possible places for me. So I apologize if I came across strong on the first post, but I am really in a situation where I am reliant upon the Internet for finding a roof over my head when I get to Welly.

I might ask NZIS for assistance with a flat search. Has anyone ever done that? If yes, what was the result? Another concern of mine is that I will have my cat 7 months after I move down. I need a place that's cat friendly too.. :uhoh which narrow down my options significantly.

Sorry again for the rant from last night I am just worried I am going end up at Welly Airport with 5 bags and have no where to live for a month...except in a cramped noisy hostel or an over-priced hotel in the CBD...

:no :uhoh
John

PS. Once I arrive and somehow find a home, anyone from this forum is welcome to couchsurf/crash for a few days at my place provided my flatmate(s) are ok with it. I believe in helping people regardless of where they are coming from...

[anna_c]

I think it would be good if they had a way round it, however it is there for a reason.

But if you're planning to use a website from overseas, you often come up against problems. I can't use ebay without a credit card, for example (I have a way round that now, but initially I couldn't at all) and worst are the US websites that let you put your country as NZ but then ask for a zip code that doesn't fit NZ postal code formats.

So it seems a bit silly to let this give you a bad vibe about NZ - it's simply what people outside the US have been putting up with for years.

[anna_c]

For a free flat finder, trying going to www.vuw.ac.nz, then clicking through to the accomodation service flat finder. It's aimed at, but not only open to, students. Not so good for flats to rent, but pretty good for flatmates wanted.

And I think most people end up in somewhere temporary when they arrive; no offence, but I wouldn't accept a flatmate I hadn't yet met. Nomads Capital hostel is nice, clean and central, in my experience.

[skibumwa]

Hi Anna,

I cannot use a Ebay without a credit card either my friend.

I live in the USA as a US Citizen using a US-based Visa Card too. :confused: Ebay is an equal opportunity 'pain in the butt' to everyone! Welcome to the club! :laugh :yes

Seriously, it's not really a bad vibe from trademe, it's more like an 'unbalanced' welcome to NZ -- if that makes any sense.

John
PS. I have a ranking of 200 (total auctions as a seller or buyer) with a score of 99.7% reliability on Ebay over the past 4 years, and still I find things about them that annoy me. Thankfully I rarely use Ebay anymore.
:-)


But if you're planning to use a website from overseas, you often come up against problems. I can't use ebay without a credit card, for example (I have a way round that now, but initially I couldn't at all) and worst are the US websites that let you put your country as NZ but then ask for a zip code that doesn't fit NZ postal code formats.

So it seems a bit silly to let this give you a bad vibe about NZ - it's simply what people outside the US have been putting up with for years.

[skibumwa]

Hi Anna,

I cannot use a Ebay without a credit card either my friend.

I live in the USA as a US Citizen using a US-based Visa Card too. :confused: Ebay is an equal opportunity 'pain in the butt' to everyone! Welcome to the club! :laugh :yes

Seriously, it's not really a bad vibe from trademe, it's more like an 'unbalanced' welcome to NZ -- if that makes any sense.

As for the forms that allow you to put NZ in the country field of form, but not your correct NZ postal ZIP code, well that's a product of poor Web design not company Website policy. There are plenty of well designed Web forms, however there are also plenty of poorly designed/not hardly tested forms like that which are always breaking...

John
PS. I have a ranking of 200 (total auctions as a seller or buyer) with a score of 99.7% reliability on Ebay over the past 4 years, and still I find things about them that annoy me. Thankfully I rarely use Ebay anymore.
:-)


But if you're planning to use a website from overseas, you often come up against problems. I can't use ebay without a credit card, for example (I have a way round that now, but initially I couldn't at all) and worst are the US websites that let you put your country as NZ but then ask for a zip code that doesn't fit NZ postal code formats.

So it seems a bit silly to let this give you a bad vibe about NZ - it's simply what people outside the US have been putting up with for years.

[IanW99]

I don't know if this applies to flatmates (can someone else who has experience comment) but for rentals they tend to go very quickly (especially the good ones). By the time that you see them on Trademe they are generally gone - the best advice we were told is to get the Dominion post first thing in the morning and phone straight away.

I only mention it because even if it is possible to do it from abroad it might actually be pointless.

Of course flatmates might be different?

BTW, once you are in Wellington, I would expect that you will get lot's of help finding a place (in my experience Kiwis don't always offer help, but if you ask they are very helpful).

Ian

[ellenmelon]

it wont take you a month to find a house. i got mine in three days. reiterating what others have said; you wont get a house/flat sight unseen..landlords as well as potential flatmates if you were house sharing, will want to meet you. at the moment, its a renters market (there are loads of flats around), but you have to be in the city as even if you make an appointment to see flats, you'll always get a phone call from a couple of appointmets saying that the flat has gone.
when we tried to make appointments with various people (including letting agents) they didnt want to commit to anything until we were in the city. ive not heard of a flat being held for anyone :)

ianw99-with flatmates it really depends on the people in the flat. sometimes they want to see loads of people and decide. sometimes they'll take the first person they really get along with.

[Sam B]

I wanted to buy a load of furniture off trade me before I arrived, I had a NZ address, and I made up a telephone number, but unfortunately they found me out by tracing where my computer use was coming from!! Grrrr. They cut me straight off, so then I registered using my partner's email, and they found me out straight away and cut us off again!! Luckily, by this time I had managed to contact the seller direct via the questions to seller bit, and we sorted it out by email and I bought the stuff straight from her. Naughty!

Once we had arrived here, Trade me verified me by phoning me at home. I love Trade me, it's ace.

[skibumwa]

What if I use Skype for my home phone (dirt cheap- hehe) and my cel phone only. Trade me said that I have to have a "home line" in NZ for them to call me on. Are they going to force me to get a home line or will calling me at work in the Welly CBD suffice?

Conspiracy theory time: Or is this some sort of scheme for Telecom to get another customer via Trademe forcing me to get a landline from Telecom so I just be verified for a Trademe account. hummmmm....:no :uhoh :roll

By the way, are there other local phone carriers other than Telecom in NZ? In Wellington?
-John





Once we had arrived here, Trade me verified me by phoning me at home. I love Trade me, it's ace.

[Jo Jo]

How odd - I had no problems at all registering with trademe from the UK. I've even bought something off there. I used my NZ address, and my UK mobile and hotmail address. I did add $10 to my account to verify it - I did that using my UK visa card.

Edited to say - I haven't added an NZ landline.

[barryp]

An office number is fine.

There is local phone competition, though the unbundling of Telecom isn't quite complete. It's also quite possible not to have a landline at all - the place we rented earlier this year had had its Telecom phone cable severed (the pole had rotted away) but nobody even noticed, as prior tenants lived on and by their mobiles like we did.

[eternalkiwi]

Wellington does have the option of TelstraClear and more recently Ihug (Vodaphone) as alternatives to Telecom.

Shawn

[james the mechanic]

Hi John.
why shouldn’t you rant? Your ‘rant’ was on subject for this forum and served as a warning to others, i.e. don’t waste your time trying to register with Trademe!
You’re right it is self-defeating policy, however now that they have given their reasons, I can see what they are trying to achieve. they basically can’t be bothered to tell you this until after they have wasted your time and money by calling them.
I think the fact that they cancelled my membership is totally out of order, as on the phone they never said this would be the case, they simply said I would have to wait until I was back in NZ or Aus to load credit and use the site.
I think the people who claim they successfully use the site must have old memberships that predate this bureaucracy or else Trademe can’t see their IP address. Rather than eluding to the fact that we’re both full of crap they could suggest a possible workaround.
I am currently living in the UK waiting for ITA, I own a house in Napier NZ, have a NZ phone number, a co.nz email address and a NZ bank account/ visa card, It really does seem I am not meant to travel in their opinion! & no Luppin I don’t think their doing it to spite me!
Trademe obviously track us by IP address, I don’t know a way to fool them but I bet one of the members does.
Is it just the box at the bottom of the listing with contact details in that you can’t see?
If so, I can see that , if I can PM you any details I am more than willing, if it helps you although this it a less than satisfactory workaround I know.
Don’t let these guys on the forum get to you, it’s certainly not you who’s a jerk, I for one have a real problem with the way that some members interact with other members at times. They would do well to remember that people are posting about their personal opinions and experiences and thus emotions can run high. Thus would be well advised that the forum is not a competition to shoot each other down in flames.
You keep ranting mate.
James

P.S Congratulations on the visa :raebanana and good luck with the flat hunting.

__________________

[SarahEDH]

John,

If you haven't heard of these yet, try www.holidayhouses.co.nz or www.bookabach.co.nz. Many (myself included) have arranged short- to mid-term housing through these sites even while overseas. You'll almost certainly find something acceptable in the WGTN area at a decent price.

My observation about your post:

TradeMe has the right to set reasonable rules for how, when and where their services are accessed, when trying to protect the core NZ customer base and ensure a good buying experience. They did not come to the marketplace intending to serve customers outside NZ, and you are not entitled to demand that they do so for you.

if you react with this much anger to being thwarted in something you want from NZ companies whose policies don't meet your needs, I question whether you will be able to adapt and settle. There is no orientation here, as in the U.S., toward trying to meet every consumer's needs in every situation. It's more like, "here's what I've got to sell, hope it suits you". If it doesn't, you go on down the street and try another shop.

Sarah

[KerryS]

No comments on the venting or anything else that has occurred on this thread...

But if you want to be able to hide your IP address so that you can access TradeMe (if you still do), then it is a simple process of using an anonymous proxy server. This way, you are only traced as far back as the server, rather than to your computer.
Numerous free anonymous proxy servers exist on the Internet, open for anyone to use. (But they can be unreliable and unpredictable.)
Anonymous proxy services that charge fees in return for better quality of service exist and in my opinion are much better because of this.

You can google and find out loads of info on this - together with details of providers of this service.

[swissmissdesigner]

"Don’t let these guys on the forum get to you, it’s certainly not you who’s a jerk, I for one have a real problem with the way that some members interact with other members at times. They would do well to remember that people are posting about their personal opinions and experiences and thus emotions can run high. Thus would be well advised that the forum is not a competition to shoot each other down in flames.
You keep ranting mate.
James "

I agree with you John!

[xanctus]

I already asked them for help- and very nice too. They slammed the door in my face...sort of like a rude American company would do.

Did you read about James the Mechanic's incident with them? I wonder how you feel about that? As in a NZ resident with a real address there getting his account turned OFF because he traveled overseas? Do you favor the company still now.... hummmm :uhoh

They send me a "we are happy you moving to NZ, but you cannot use our Website until you get a home address and land line in NZ". That to me a sick joke.. as I by then I don't need their Website to help me find a home.

In America, they'd be deemed as a yuppie SNOB type company with a major attitude problem. It's the reality of it.

Trademe.co.nz could easily allow foreigners use their Website by validating their ID with their bank info against their Visa card records. This is not rocket science, it's the year 2007 and many websites do just that :-)

hey John,
welcome to the reality bites of NZ. I used to live in Milwaukee, WI and all these things are just another thing for you to get used to it. It can be annoying as it can be, but that's how things in NZ.
Another example, I remember in US, when I start looking for apartment or house, the person who showing it sometimes has a list of other units or place for alternative. NOPE in NZ, you keep looking...we don't have time to do the work to find the property you want. Yeah, that's exactly what prop. agent told us.

I usually browse trademe before I came here, and as soon as I got here I set up the account and went through with no problems.

[Ana&Steve]

I really am uncomfortable with aspects of this thread. The initial post did turn me off, and I didn't feel the desire to be helpful even though I could tell the poster needed help.
It's kind of the way everyone in a long slow queue at the bank feels put out, but then one person starts ranting and vocalizing their frustration in an irrational manner. Even though everyone else feels much the same way, no one can sympathize with the person having the outburst, maybe because of the lack of control, maybe because everyone is essentially a stranger.
I am very happy with the advice that is shared on this forum, but sometimes tempers flare. I don't feel that anyone was flaming the OP, they just didn't want to be "yelled at" for advice. Manners will always take you farther than shouting, IMO.
My two cents.
Ana
/hoping the flak jacket won't be necessary...

[Lupin]

I am currently living in the UK waiting for ITA, I own a house in Napier NZ, have a NZ phone number, a co.nz email address and a NZ bank account/ visa card, It really does seem I am not meant to travel in their opinion! & no Luppin I don’t think their doing it to spite me!


Sorry, I'm confused, is that directed at me? My sole contribution to this thread was to agree with ellenmelon at the start that the OP's attitude wasn't the best way to get advice. :confused:

I found the OP confrontational and aggressive as the result of fairly minimal provocation. He could have just asked for advice rather than calling trade.me a "bunch of jerks", a "stupid website" and saying he's now "getting a bad vibe from NZ".

Don’t let these guys on the forum get to you, it’s certainly not you who’s a jerk, I for one have a real problem with the way that some members interact with other members at times. They would do well to remember that people are posting about their personal opinions and experiences and thus emotions can run high. Thus would be well advised that the forum is not a competition to shoot each other down in flames.

What are you talking about?!? :confused: This is actually a very polite, civil forum where people go out of their way to help total strangers. Expecting that requests for help are couched in civil terms hardly seems unreasonable.

[Super_BQ]

The last time I tried posting on TradeMe, they also removed my listing because they do not allow WANTED ads. At least not in the case of a particular car I wanted.

Important to know that the way TradeMe ends an auction is nothing like eBay. In eBay once the time is up, it's UP and you can't put a higher bid. In TradeMe you have to be patient and wait until everyone else has stopped bidding. During the end, for each new bid there's a 2 minute wait that allows another person to put a higher bid. Once the 2 minutes is up, then the auction is over.

Also beware of the type of TradeMe auction listed, quite often you're the only bidder and with a low price, you soon realise it didn't meet the seller's reserve price (the seller emails back with an offer). In eBay at least you do know if it met the reserve or not (or a no reserve auction).

[skibumwa]

Relax.... ok? :roll

a) The fact of the matter is that trademe has strange policies that limit their paying customers potential audiences. As in registered NZ residents can only sell to registered NZ residents. It's pretty weak indeed, but it will hurt them in the end. As I emailed to trademe's supprt, I said they might want compare their policy against how Ebay enforces self-policing and how it's members control each other's member ratings. It's works great, but I guess Trademe does not see that.

b) Look what happened to "James the Mechanic". He's a property OWNER with a legal address & tele #in NZ and he got booted from Trademe for posting a for sale item while traveling. While traveling??? Huh?!? What!? They rudely shut him off with zero warning. This is not just an outsiders issue trying to get in to use a classifieds section. Trademe obviousy has vague hard to follow policies that in the end will only hurt there business. It's only a matter of time before some people/techhies get together to build a more robust 'user-friendly' website with a self-policing mechanism.

c) This is one the most friendly and helpful forums I have seen EVER. We all want to see eachother get into NZ correct? Well yes so when someone rants as I did 2 days ago in the spirit to warn people of how they might/possibly get treated by a company like Trademe. Being a newbie to NZ and not even physically there yet, I got sacked by their rules. "James the Mechanic", an existing valid member of Trademe, got blindsided when he did nothing wrong. I am hoping that people don't still feel the way he was treated is fair....


Anyway....I am VERY sorry to have ranted here to begin with (I really am!), but James was right in that people need to know how poorly Trademe possibly can treat people/customers. As the saying goes here in the States, treat a customer to really GOOD service, they will tell one or two persons, but if the business treats a person with very BAD service and/or disrespect, then that customer will tell 10 people about it. I am sure the same thing applies in NZ as well...

From a pure business standpoint, what goes around comes around with regards to poor customer service in business. NZ is a small place and sooner more than later TradeMe will have to change their policies of rude behaviour towards potential new and existing (valid) customers or else they'll end up with a stangnant business going nowhere fast with a bad reputation...
I am just going off my business experience here that's all..

Can't we all just get along? :laugh :cheers

[martinp]

Also beware of the type of TradeMe auction listed, quite often you're the only bidder and with a low price, you soon realise it didn't meet the seller's reserve price (the seller emails back with an offer). In eBay at least you do know if it met the reserve or not (or a no reserve auction).If you look at the "Place a Bid" area it tells you if the reserve has been met.

Some sellers have a no reserve auction by making the reserve the start price but they usually say that in the listing.

[Lupin]

Important to know that the way TradeMe ends an auction is nothing like eBay. In eBay once the time is up, it's UP and you can't put a higher bid. In TradeMe you have to be patient and wait until everyone else has stopped bidding. During the end, for each new bid there's a 2 minute wait that allows another person to put a higher bid. Once the 2 minutes is up, then the auction is over.

I didn't know that! Nice to know you're not disadvantaged on dial-up (unless it's really, really s-l-o-w!!!)

Can't we all just get along? :laugh :cheers

Hear hear!

[Ana&Steve]

Can't we all just get along?

That's all I'm askin' for....:)
Ana