OZtion announces recent growth results after eBay forces Australians to use PayPal

Melbourne, 24 April 2008

OZtion, Australia’s second largest online auction site (www.oztion.com.au) has today announced recent growth results since eBay Australia announced all items must be paid for using PayPal.

OZtion’s online auction listings have grown by 22% in the last two weeks to approximately 580,000 simultaneous listings. In the same period, daily new member registrations have increased by 165% and daily new sellers registrations by 300%. OZtion’s registrations are now more than a quarter of a million.

Site traffic to www.oztion.com.au now ranks at approximately 10,000, up from 15,000 two weeks ago, which is on par with traffic generated from sites such as Sensis’s tradingpost.com.au and Fairfax Digital’s drive.com.au according to Alexa Internet, an Amazon.com company that ranks Web traffic. OZtion said traffic has been impacted and has increased to more than 2 million visitors per month.

Philip Druce, General Manager for OZtion commented “The fact that OZtion has seen significant growth across most metrics shows that Australians are looking for alternatives to eBay and will not be forced into only using PayPal. Our internal data shows that 79% of buyers prefer to pay by bank deposit.”

OZtion has taken a different approach with regard to fraud prevention. Instead of removing the freedom of choice available through the many payment methods offered, it has created a comprehensive range of identity checks for its members and has also partnered with Australia Post to provide the same level of identity check required to open a bank account.

Philip Druce commented “Many online fraudulent activities are only possible because sites make it easy to create a fake identity. When a crime occurs with a fake identity, sites that don't check identities just shrug their shoulders and hand the fake details to the victim. OZtion focuses on preventing fraud and has created a range of identity checks for both buyers and sellers, allowing Australians to shop online with confidence.”

Background Information
OZtion commenced in 2005 when co-founders Philip Druce and Kelvin Yip decided to go head to head with eBay and provide Australians with an alternative auction site.
All research and development for the site is carried out in Melbourne.
All items listed for sale on OZtion are offered by sellers that have been security verified by OZtion’s verification process.
OZtion has grown rapidly by offering Australians a safe trading environment, a simple to use site and beneficial cost savings due to its fee structure and localised sellers.

About OZtion
OZtion is an Australian online auction site, based on unique Australian designed and developed technology. Located in Melbourne, OZtion has grown enormously to become the 2nd largest Australian online auction site. Visit www.oztion.com.au for more information.

Media Contact:
Philip Druce,
Email: www.oztion.com.au/public/contactus.aspx