Online auction sites such as Trade-Me are experiencing attrition of their customers moving to social media pages in order to buy, sell & trade goods.
Facebook pages and groups privacy settings which can require permission to join have given traders an outlet to buy, sell & trade through its zero fee approach. Generally Facebook groups such as these are regionally/ locally based pages giving trader’s convenience as well as quick trades and purchases with the possibility for users to barter, with no remuneration to Facebook once a sale is decided.
A positive side to the giant Trade-Me is the feedback feature which allows buyers & sellers to rate a purchase therefore providing information on trader performance. As Trade Me is an exclusively dedicated internet trading environment the website boasts a strong reputation which is one of the pitfalls of Facebook trading.
Although Facebook is aware of local/regional trading pages throughout the social network there has not yet been mention about any updates to shut down or effort in introducing a payment system such as Trade-Me account holders.
