TradeMe bans iPhone auctions

TradeMe has banned auctions of Apple's iPhone smartphone.

The iPhone went on sale in the US in June but will not arrive in New Zealand until early next year.

However, some entrepreneurial Kiwis have bought iPhones overseas and brought them back to New Zealand to sell through auction websites like TradeMe.

TradeMe trust and safety manager Dean Winter said the site banned iPhone auctions because of the high fraud risk associated with items auctioned before their official New Zealand release.

He said this is a mix of malicious fraud as well as "drop selling", where someone sells a good before they've managed to import it into the country. Sometimes these goods get delayed or do not arrive.

"It's safer for our buyers," he said.

The site also banned PlayStation 3 auctions earlier this year for the same reason.

- © Fairfax NZ News