Front Page > Articles > Zillion: Your alternative to TradeMe auctions
With the success of TradeMe in New Zealand, many new auction sites have been created to try and push in on this market. One in particular that seems to be doing well is Zillion.co.nz
Zillion allows you to view your searched items based on the usual selections but also whether the item has a buy now price, has been bid on or how many bids its had. I also liked that its easy to make the distinction between new and second hand goods when browsing categories.
After you've made your purchase or sold your item, communication between you and the other party is easy, thanks to Zillion's on-site private messaging system. No more ‘lost in the junk mail abyss' problems with this site.
There's also no excuse for long delivery delays. When you purchase an item, you don't have to wait for the seller to get in touch because you're presented with the sellers shipping and payment options to select from a drop down menu. Once you've selected your payment choice, the seller is then presented with your delivery address, meaning they can get the item out to you as soon as they receive your payment.
Overall Zillion is a great site, and the only thing that it lacks in is size. TradeMe has an inferior site with less functionality, but wins on numbers. As TradeMe has been running for much longer that any of its competitors, many more people have heard of it. Even though TradeMe charges higher fees, it has a larger community than Zillion due to the popularity of the site.
Written by Mary Nicole Hicks
Tags: Auctions, New Zealand, Nz, Trademe
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Beth Freeman Says:
13 November, 2006 at 4:40 pm
I found that Zillion and TradeMe fees are almost identical (maybe only a few cents different). Recently, I've been exploring other TradeMe alternatives that are substantially lower in terms of fees. I found Lixtor.co.nz. It would be great if you can write up a review of that site (pros and cons) compared to TradeMe.
Wesley K. Says:
29 May, 2007 at 11:48 am
Heres my opinion on all three
Trademe
The major flaw in terms of design is the simple fact that it just isnt practical because it never got an upgrade or a 'facelift' per say.
Yet ill agree everyone (incl. a foreigner like me) has heard of, or used it.
Zillion
Personally my first impression was an ebay for NZ which i think is great, though its simple numbers thats keeping them behind, and an agressive marketing strategy is needed to draw kiwis away from Trademe (as its actually owned by a couple in Australia so i hear..) and into zillion, theve got the advantage in Tech, layout now just tie up the loose ends offering secure payment, minimal but reputable/reliable eshops, etc. thats my reason for loosing interest.
Lixtor, im sorry to say is less impressive than zillion, in fact id say it was a zillion rip-off except i dont know which one was hosted first? I will say its unimpressive, looks like a copy with no originallity and should just be shut down.
Otherwise they need to realise a rethink on Identity; they need to be unique, the same principal that makes zillion the next behind trademe, Lixtor should invest in itself and even start marketing in the real world, and in 2 years who knows where or what they could/can be?
Cheers & good luck Lixtor
Dennis Jones Says:
13 July, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Lixtor was originally a JinniKettle.com which started around 2005 and they changed to Lixtor. Zillion only came to market in 2006.
Regardless of who started first, copying from each other sites is almost inevitable on the Internet. TradeMe copied eBay, Lixtor copied TradeMe, Zillion copied TradeMe and who knows if Lixtor and Zillion copied each other??
As far as I know, Lixtor started the Auto-Relist before Zillion but now Zillion put a (TM) at the end of their AutoRelist text, which makes it even more confusing..