Gumtree.com, known as Gumtree, is a British-based

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...

classified advertisement Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements used ...

and community website based at Hotham House, Richmond, London. Classified ads are either free or paid for depending on the product category and the geographical market. As of November 2010, it was the UK's largest website for local community classifieds and was one of the top 30 websites in the UK, receiving 14.8 million monthly unique visitors according to a traffic audit in 2010.

History

Gumtree was founded in March 2000 by Michael Pennington and Simon Crookall as a local London classified ads and community site, designed to connect Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans who were either planning to move, or had just arrived in the city, and needed help getting started with accommodation, employment and meeting new people. The term 'gum tree', the local Australian phrase for

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...

trees in general, was chosen as a word that linked the three communities (even though the gum trees found in South Africa are introduced species, whereas gum trees occur natively in Australia and New Zealand). The founders also felt it reflected the roots and branches of a real community. In May 2005, Gumtree was acquired by

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

s classifieds group for an undisclosed sum; however, eBay disclosed that it paid a collective $81.6 million for three classified sites: Gumtree, LoQUo and opusforum (with Gumtree being the largest). At the time of the acquisition, Gumtree was available in multiple cities in United Kingdom, Poland, France, Canada, Australia (Gumtree Australia), Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Hong Kong. On 7 January 2016, Gumtree's re-branding, including updated logo was published on their website and respective apps. In July 2020 Ebay sold Gumtree UK to Adevinta in a deal worth over $9 billion. On 1 December 2021 Adevinta ASA announced that it had completed the sale of Gumtree UK and Motors.co.uk to a consortium consisting of O3 Industries (“O3”), a New York-based family investment fund, and Novum Capital, a private equity firm based out of Frankfurt. In March 2022 the Polish version, Gumtree.pl stopped accepting new listings and announced on its site that it will cease its operations in Poland on 7 April of the same year. On July 2022 Impresa Capital acquired Gumtree South Africa for an undisclosed sum. In August 2022, The Market Herald acquired Gumtree Australia and its ownership of Carsguide Autotrader Media Solutions from Adventia, for a sum of $AUD86.7million (US$60 million).

Market expansion

Expansion beyond the UK include: * September 2004: Gumtree launched a site in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland. * May 2005: Gumtree launched a site in Berlin, Germany.Julian Mattock
"Gumtree.com to expand into three new cities"
NewFox.com. * June 2005: Gumtree expanded into Italy, with sites in Rome and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, increasing its coverage across 31 cities. * August 2007: Gumtree expanded to the United States, targeting

expat An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

communities in New York,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and Chicago. Services targeted the two million British, Australian and Polish expatriates in the country.

Features

While the largest category of advertisements on Gumtree is "goods for sale," the site is also home to around 200,000 motors listings across the UK at any one time . Gumtree has an extensive social media presence on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. Gumtree uses social media to communicate news and information about the brand as well as launch competitions and promotions. Although predominantly a free listings website, Gumtree provides users with paid promotional options for increased advert visibility, such as going to the top of the listings. In more recent years , Gumtree has extended its service to business customers. The site began selling classified advertising packages to companies looking to post multiple job vacancies and properties. In 2013, Gumtree extended bulk classifieds listings accounts to car dealers. In 2010, Gumtree launched its Gumtree Media website to publicize its services to potential business clients. The site showcases paid classified listings options as well as display advertising on the Gumtree site. In 2018, Gumtree introduced a ratings system, for buyers and sellers, and also launched a Keep Gumtree Real campaign "which aims to improve the user experience by encouraging trust and responsibility".

In popular culture

In June 2013 an advert was posted on Gumtree offering a rent-free accommodation to a lodger who would be prepared to dress and act like a walrus. The advert was shared around various sites such as BuzzFeed and Mashable and caught the eye of Hollywood director

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...

, who used the ad as his inspiration for his 2014 film, ''

Tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share ...

'', a story of an evil scientist who plans to permanently sew a human into a walrus suit.

In crime

The convicted British online sex offender Matthew Falder approached most of his victims via Gumtree.

References

External links

Gumtree official website
{{eBay EBay Business services companies established in 2000 Employment websites Online marketplaces of the United Kingdom Online marketplaces of the United States Internet properties established in 2000 2005 mergers and acquisitions Classified advertising websites