I used eBay when I lived in the States and found the reserve a great asset as a seller. At least you could get bids under way without having to start so high that no one bids. I wonder why the Oz staff think people in Australia are different. I would certainly prefer to have it now that I live here.

Trademe in NZ is a true auction and extends the finish time by 2 minutes when there is a bid in the last 2 minutes. At one time it had 60% of internet traffic in NZ before it sold to and Australian company (Fairfax?) for $700M. Maybe that's why eBay has no traction in New Zealand.

I would bet that eBayOZ loose a lot of potential seller/customers because as nubies they list their prized posessions at such a high starting price that they never get any bids, then finally give up eBay as a waste of time.