Quicksales

OZtion company logo.

Quicksales (formerly Oztion) is an online auction site based in Australia, and the second largest auction website in Australia.^[1] According to the site there are more than 750,000+ items available for auction or purchase and as of 15 September 2009 there are over 430,298 member accounts.

History

The OZtion website was founded in 2005 by Melbourne based Philip Druce and Kelvin Yip.^[2] By May that year there were 2000 members and over 9000 items for sale.^[3] The website rose to prominence in May 2008 after rival auction site eBay announced it would force all customers to use PayPal for payment processing. Although eBay later reversed their decision, in six weeks OZtion's sales jumped 50% and its member based jumped by 28,000 to 275,000.^[4] The number of new signups also rose, from an average 250 new members per day, to 650 per day.^[5]

In June 2008 the founders sold the website to the listed media company Jumbuck Entertainment for $2 million in cash and shares. In April 2010 Jumbuck sold the website to online classifieds company Carsales.com for $1.1 million.^[4] On 7 February 2010, the website changed its name to Quicksales.^[6]

Community

OZtion uses a "rating" system (similar to the feedback system used on other online sites) for rating transactions. Transactions can be rated by both the buyer and seller as 'Satisfied', 'Neutral' or 'Unsatisfied'. Each OZtion user is also given an overall rating score based on their transactions, as follows: two points are added for each 'Satisfied' rating; zero points for each 'Neutral' rating, and two points deducted for each 'Unsatisfied' rating.

Trading

Listing, including up to three pictures, is free but sellers are charged a commission when a sale is completed.^[7] vShops are a unique OZtion version of online auction shops. They allow sellers to have a searchable store, and include information about their business on a separate page. Owners of vShops are charged $5 per calendar month for the privilege.

At least one form of verification is required to become a seller.^[8] Forms of verification available are: address verification, credit card verification, photo ID verification (drivers licence or passport), telephone verification (only after one other form of verification has been completed) and Australia Post verification (which adds address and photo ID verification as well). As of 2007 only residents of Australia and New Zealand are permitted to sell on OZtion (sellers from other countries registered prior to September 2006 are still allowed to sell).^[9] A major difference between OZtion and more dominant auction sites is that OZtion allows non-electronic verification (for example, eBay's verification system involves credit card or phone, while its payment system, PayPal, involves bank details).

Prohibited items

A number of items are not permitted to be sold on OZtion.^[10] Some notable examples include:

• Adult items (unless added to the "Adult" category)
• Alcohol

An alcohol license is required to list wine and other alcohol on OZtion. The seller must display their license number on the listing and are responsible for knowing alcohol laws in all states and territories.

• Drugs

No controlled prescription drugs, regardless of herbal or chemical in origin, are permitted for sale.

• Fireworks
• Illegal items

Illegal items are unable to be sold on OZtion as they are, of course, prohibited.

• Lock Picking Devices

Lock picking or lock smithing devices (including key cutters) cannot be listed.

• Tickets Over Face Value

OZtion does not allow tickets to be re-sold beyond their face value (referred to as ticket scalping). To prevent tickets being sold over their face value they must be listed as "BuyNow Only" (instant purchase, no auction) items with a price below or equal to the face value.

• Used Clothing

Clothing that has been used may be listed, however, the garment must be cleaned before sending. Used underwear and swimwear (including children's) and cloth nappies must not be listed on OZtion.

• Used Cosmetics

Promotions

OZtion offers a promotional program by which members can earn credit for referring new members, which can then be used to pay fees.

References

1. ^ http://www.girl.com.au/oztion-animal-rescue-auctions.htm Girl.com.au OZtion Animal Rescue auctions article
2. ^ http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/03/prweb222340.htm 2005 Press Release (Philip Druce, Kelvin Yip)
3. ^ Sam Varghese (27 May 2005). "Aussie auction site in it for the long haul". The Age. www.theage.com.au. http://www.theage.com.au/news/Breaking/Aussie-auction-site-in-it-for-the-long-haul/2005/05/27/1117129888091.html. Retrieved 2010-09-12. 
4. ^ ^{a b} James Thomson (26 August 2010). "Carsales.com buys online auction site OZtion". SmartCompany. www.smartcompany.com.au. http://www.smartcompany.com.au/internet/20100826-carsales-com-buys-online-auction-site-oztion.html. Retrieved 2010-09-12. 
5. ^ Darren Osborne (9 May 2008). "eBay stands firm despite user discontent". The Age. www.theage.com.au. http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/ebay-stands-firm-despite-user-discontent/2008/05/08/1210131156170.html. Retrieved 2010-09-12. 
6. ^ http://www.oztion.com.au/Company/news.aspx
7. ^ http://www.oztion.com.au/public/fees/default.aspx OZtion fees page
8. ^ "OZtion Announces Enhanced Identity Verification to Make Online Shopping Safer for Australians - Computerworld". www.computerworld.com.au. 13 September 2006. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/138735/oztion_announces_enhanced_identity_verification_make_online_shopping_safer_australians/. Retrieved 2010-09-12. 
9. ^ http://www.oztion.com.au/content/0012005/help/myaccount/verifyuser.aspx OZtion account verification page
10. ^ OZtion Prohibited and Restricted Items, as per Oztion Website

External links

• OZtion website