Australia’s iconic Trading Post^® has weighed-in to the local online auction market with the launch of auctions on its new website tradingpost.com.au.

Sensis CEO, Mr Bruce Akhurst said: “Trading Post^®, the Aussie icon Australians have loved buying and selling with for more than 40 years, is putting choice back into online auctions and making it free to list your items.”

“With one in two Australians having bought or sold something on the internet, it’s clear we love buying and selling online. And while auctions have only just started on tradingpost.com.au, our aim is to build up the number of items available and become Australia’s favourite place to buy and sell.”

The Trading Post’s announcement comes at a time when Australian sellers are up in arms following eBay’s decision to force sellers to use its own payment service PayPal and as a result, pay additional fees.

“Trading Post^®‘s new website and auctions means we now offer a strong local alternative to eBay – one that lets you choose payment options and provides terrific value for money,” Mr Akhurst said.

A Newspoll survey conducted last week confirmed 93 per cent of people who have sold online and 95 per cent of people who have bought online said it was important to have a choice of payment options when trading online.

Referring to the hostility in the Australian market towards eBay, Mr Akhurst said the timing of the launch of auctions on tradingpost.com.au was perfect for customers.

“Australian businesses that make their living trading online are screaming out for a way to trade online in which they have more control over how they do business.

“Trading Post^® has been listening closely and is now providing auctions with a broad range of payment options for sellers to choose from. We’ve also made it easier to register, buy, sell, navigate, search and compare products online,” he said.

President of Australia’s Professional eBay Sellers Alliance, Phil Leahy, said he was pleased Trading Post^® is providing a new platform that includes auctions and offers Australian sellers a viable alternative.

“Our members are in the business of trading online and anything Trading Post^® can do to help competition by providing a more flexible environment and more affordable alternative, we support,” he said.

Mr Akhurst said to successfully compete in the online auction market, Trading Post^® needed to offer something different.

“As well as providing sellers with a choice of payment options, one of Trading Post^®‘s main points of difference is it is free to list your items for sale. This means you pay a fee if you sell your item.”

Mr Akhurst said Trading Post^® was also focussed on providing personalised customer support by phone and email and a security program to verify the identity of online traders.

“Buying and selling online should be easy, fast and efficient and so should getting answers to any questions you may have along the way. That’s why Trading Post^® has a dedicated Australian-based customer support team to help buyers and sellers with queries seven days a week,” he said.

“Through our research, we know security is important for many people trading online. Trading Post^® supports this by requiring people to have an Australian address to register on our site.  Furthermore, our Verified Trader program provides buyers and sellers the opportunity to verify themselves through a free 100-point identity check with Australia Post. That way we can provide people with more confidence they are buying or selling with someone based in Australia,” said Mr Akhurst.

Usage of www.tradingpost.com.au has increased by 140% over the last three financial years. In March 2008, the site reached 2 million unique visitors for the first time. The Trading Post^® newspaper, which comes out every Thursday, is read by 725,000 people each week.