GameTZ.com
Encyclopedia
GameTZ.com is an online trading community
established in late 1996 which allows people to trade video games, books, music, movies, and other items through negotiating
with other traders from countries worldwide. Once a trade is completed, a record is created on the site for future reference.
GameTZ.com has forums
and a trading/matching system that contains a large number of tools necessary for tracking and recording online trading transactions. GameTZ.com's offer system provides users with the ability to send and receive offers, check out trade details, shipping methods, and so on. GameTZ.com also operates a simple IRC chatroom which allows users to create trades and discuss various topics.
Multi-platform gaming magazine GamePro
and Forbes
magazine have 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 and online reviews, as well as in a short TV news segment syndicated
to stations across the United States.
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 which 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 allowed traders to view 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.com 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.com 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.com's trading and community features.
GameTZ.com has more than 200,000 trades completed as of December 2009, and has over 4800 registered traders. In the Holiday 2007 issue of EGM, the site was rated #2 of the top five sites for trading games online, only losing out to Goozex
due to its less-flashy, message board-like interface.
Online trading community
An online trading community provides participants with a structured method for trading, bartering, or selling goods and services. These communities often have forums and chatrooms designed to facilitate communication between the members...
established in late 1996 which allows people to trade video games, books, music, movies, and other items through negotiating
Negotiation
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties, intended to reach an understanding, resolve point of difference, or gain advantage in outcome of dialogue, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, to craft outcomes to satisfy...
with other traders from countries worldwide. Once a trade is completed, a record is created on the site for future reference.
GameTZ.com has forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
and a trading/matching system that contains a large number of tools necessary for tracking and recording online trading transactions. GameTZ.com's offer system provides users with the ability to send and receive offers, check out trade details, shipping methods, and so on. GameTZ.com also operates a simple IRC chatroom which allows users to create trades and discuss various topics.
Multi-platform gaming magazine GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
and Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine have 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 and online reviews, as well as in a short TV news segment syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
to stations across the United States.
History
The Used Game Trading Zone (UGTZ) was founded by Stephen Osborne in the mid-1990s. Exactly when UGTZ came into existence is uncertain, but it has been traced back as far as December 23, 1996 (via a USENETUsenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
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 which 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
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
ugtz.com was registered in the summer of 1998, followed by the implementation of an independent database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
in the spring of 1999 . This database allowed traders to view 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
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts...
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.com 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.com 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.com's trading and community features.
GameTZ.com has more than 200,000 trades completed as of December 2009, and has over 4800 registered traders. In the Holiday 2007 issue of EGM, the site was rated #2 of the top five sites for trading games online, only losing out to Goozex
Goozex
Goozex is an online trading community established in July 2006 which allows people to trade video games and movies in the United States, Canada and Bermuda. The name Goozex comes from a shortened version of "Goods Exchanged." Goozex uses an internal point system as currency and works as a middleman...
due to its less-flashy, message board-like interface.
See also
- BargainingBargainingBargaining or haggling is a type of negotiation in which the buyer and seller of a good or service dispute the price which will be paid and the exact nature of the transaction that will take place, and eventually come to an agreement. Bargaining is an alternative pricing strategy to fixed prices...
- BarterBarterBarter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a...
- Electronic commerceElectronic commerceElectronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
- Online trading communityOnline trading communityAn online trading community provides participants with a structured method for trading, bartering, or selling goods and services. These communities often have forums and chatrooms designed to facilitate communication between the members...
- TradeTradeTrade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
External links
- Game Trading Zone
- Review on Judy's Book (Google cached version)
- Review of Game Trading Sites at Adult Gaming Enthusiasts