TUT 6

This weeks web community i have researched was Trade me. The brief focus of this community is to enable individuals to share and trade with others within New Zealand, and outbid other potential buyers. The cite is provided in the way that you can log on to it and have your personal page and you are abel to save the things you want to buy to a 'watch list', this lets yo know when an item is going to sell and for how much and individuals are able to receive emails offering a buy now price on an item, you can accept or decline. People can contribute by asking questions to the seller and the seller should answer the questions about an item. Other ways people contribute are buy obviously selling and buying; the purpose of the whole cite. People contribute ideas and comments and feelings too. trade me is another medium in which people stay in touch and find out more about what is out there and how to get hold of it. This cite offers a wide spectrum of things to buy. Individuals seek to find a great deal, I do! people ask question on the quality of an item, "how long have yo had it; how well does it work, any scratches" general questions are often asked and the seller answers to the best of their ability. The potential ethical issues arise when a person it unhappy about a trade, and the buyer comments to the seller and says anything they like. At this stage, all the information is visible to anyone who uses Trade Me. In the sellers defense, he/she will say "it worked fine when i shipped it to you". Others are able to see the argument escalate, giving insight as to how trustworthy the seller is, and or how picky the buyer is. The lack of identity is occasionally an issue, but the buyer has the choice to buy from someone who has not had their address verified etc. The benifits of this community and trading cite are, in my opinion, you save time on shopping and looking all around the shop, you save travel costs, trade me is simplistic to use and be a part of. lastly it offers pricing of items that retailers cant possible match. Location is an issue that has been minimized through Trade me, as anyone can but anything from anywhere. I suppose this community lacks a true sense of acceptance, recognition, efficacy, and community as a whole.