GameTZ.com
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GameTZ.com is an online trading community (somewhat like a bazaar or street market) which allows people to trade video and other games, books, music, movies, etc., through negotiating with other traders from countries worldwide. Once a trade is completed, a record is created on the site for future reference. The Game Trading Zone (GameTZ) has many long-time traders, allowing for a generally safe and effective way of obtaining new & used items.
GameTZ's forums and trading/matching system is easy to learn, and contains all the tools necessary for a smooth trading transaction. GameTZ's offer system provides users with the ability to send and receive offers, check out trade details, shipping methods, and so on. The GameTZ also operates a simple chatroom which allows users to create trades and discuss various topics while online.
Multi-platform gaming magazine GamePro has cited trading sites, specifically GameTZ.com, to be excellent alternatives to selling games back to retail outlets at significantly reduced value. GameTZ.com has also been featured in other magazine articles, as well as in a short TV news segment syndicated to stations across the United States.
[edit] History
The Used Game Trading Zone (UGTZ) was an idea put to work by the website's founder, Stephen Osborne. Exactly when UGTZ came into existence is uncertain, but it has been traced back as far as December 23, 1996 (via a USENET posting by Osborne) . Osborne manually maintained a growing list of items that traders had available for trade. Traders would then scan through the very large lists to find items they wanted, then make offers via email to the owner(s) of the items.
As UGTZ continued to grow, this list became perpetually more difficult for Osborne to maintain by hand. In October of 1997, Bill Marrs created a system that automated much of the work Osborne had been doing by hand. For a short time thereafter, parts of UGTZ were maintained on both Osborne's and Marrs' sites. Eventually, the decision was made to move the whole operation to Marrs' site.
The domain name ugtz.com was registered in the summer of 1998, followed by the implementation of an independent database in the spring of 1999. This database also helped traders by showing them a list of potential trades, saving them a great deal of time in finding trades. In an effort to generate some income, 1999 also introduced advertisements, subscriptions, and an affiliate marketing program to the site.
In March 2000, the site was renamed Game Trading Zone and the domain name gametz.com was registered. Marrs cloned the GameTZ trading engine and established three other sites: MusicTZ.com, MovieTZ.com, and BookTZ.com. However, at the beginning of 2002, the music, movie, and book domains were dropped and all four "Trading Zones" were folded back into the main GameTZ site.
In February 2003, the site changed to a subscriber-only format where passive use of the site by non-subscribers was still possible, but a subscription was necessary to initiate trades and be actively involved in the community. In August 2005, the site reverted back to voluntary subscriptions and non-subscribers were again allowed full access to GameTZ's trading and community features.
With over 120,000 total trades completed through September 2005 and busy forums with thousands of discussions among the site's community members, GameTZ is continually growing and evolving to better suit the needs of its members.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ The original post by Osborne can be found on Google Groups.
- ↑ The FAQ on GameTZ.com contains some of the information found here. You can read it here.
