Visitors to gumtree.com in 2008
Gumtree is a network of free online classifieds and community websites and is one of the top 20 websites in the UK.[1][2] Local sites exist for Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, the UK and the USA. The main categories are flat share/house share and for rent, goods for sale, community, friends and dating, jobs and business services.
History
Gumtree.com was started in London in March 2000[3] by Michael Pennington and Simon Crookall as a community site designed to connect people who were either planning to move, or had just arrived in the city, and needed help getting started with accommodation, employment and social opportunities.[4] It was initially targeted at Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans but has since expanded to cover the broader communities in the cities where it operates.citation needed
Gumtree.com is now the UK's largest classifieds site overall according to Alexa[5]. All listings are free, except for some job categories in the UK London.[6]
In 2004, Gumtree came second in the Sage Business Awards.[7]
Gumtree was acquired by eBay in May 2005 for an undisclosed fee.[8][9]
In April 2007 Gumtree was extended with Hong Kong adverts, in May 2007 with Singapore, in August 2007 with the USA [10]. June 2007 saw Gumtree's databases standardized to MySQL Enterprise "to Manage Explosive Growth."[11]
As of 2008, about 70 per cent[12] of the 2.8 million visitors[13] to the web site were in the UK when accessing it, however their nationality split is unknown.
In June 2008, Gumtree's Managing Director Doug Monro, left to join UK property startup Zoopla.[14]
See also
References
External links
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