Gumtree Australia

Overview

Gumtree Australia (gumtree.com.au) is Australia’s leading general online classifieds marketplace, letting people buy, sell and find “almost anything” locally across more than 150 categories — from second-hand furniture and electronics to cars, property rentals, jobs and pets. The Gumtree brand began in London in 2000; the Australian site launched in 2007 as a digital-only rival to Fairfax Media’s print-based Trading Post. After passing through eBay, Adevinta and now the Perth-listed The Market Herald (which renamed itself Gumtree Australia Markets Limited), it remains one of the most-visited consumer marketplaces in the country.

What they’re known for

Gumtree is famous as the go-to free classifieds platform for everyday Australians selling used goods locally — the digital successor to newspaper classifieds and the Trading Post. Its distinctive angle is breadth: a single horizontal marketplace spanning household items, vehicles, real estate, employment and pets, with the vast majority of listings free to post. It is especially strong in motoring, where its general-audience scale let it out-list specialist car sites. It is also widely recognised (for better and worse) as a marketplace where cash, in-person, local transactions dominate — which has made buyer/seller scam-awareness a recurring public topic.

History

• 2000 — Gumtree founded in London by Michael Pennington and Simon Crookall as a classifieds/community site for Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans arriving in the city (the name comes from the Australian eucalyptus “gum tree”).
• 2005 — eBay’s classifieds division acquires Gumtree (part of an ~US$81.6M purchase of three classifieds sites).
• 2007 — Gumtree.com.au launches in Australia, competing with Fairfax’s print Trading Post.
• 2017 — Gumtree Cars established as a dedicated motoring division.
• 2020 — eBay agrees to sell its Classifieds Group (12 brands including Gumtree) to Norway’s Adevinta in a ~US$9.2B deal; eBay takes a ~44% stake in Adevinta.
• 2021 — Adevinta deal completes; Gumtree Australia bundled with CarsGuide and Autotrader.
• 2022 — Adevinta sells Gumtree Australia (with CarsGuide and Autotrader) to Perth-listed The Market Herald for A$86.7M (~US$60M).
• 2025 — The Market Herald rebrands to Gumtree Australia Markets Limited, changing its ASX ticker to GUM (effective February 2025).

Business model

Gumtree runs a freemium classifieds model. It is primarily a third-party (3P) marketplace — it hosts listings and connects buyers and sellers but does not take a cut of the actual sale, which typically happens offline (often cash, in person). Most private listings in core categories are free to post. Revenue comes from three streams: (1) listing fees in select categories such as cars and other vehicles, real estate, jobs and services; (2) premium ad upgrades (tiers like Plus/Featured/Premium, plus à-la-carte boosts such as “Bump Up,” “Highlight” and “Top Ad”) that increase a listing’s visibility; and (3) display advertising sold to businesses by volume of views. Under Gumtree Australia Markets, the platform sits alongside the automotive brands CarsGuide (editorial) and Autotrader (automotive marketplace).

Why it succeeded

• First-mover digital replacement for print classifieds. Launching in 2007, Gumtree offered a free, always-on digital alternative to Fairfax’s paid print Trading Post, which it ultimately displaced (Wikipedia).
• Free-to-list flywheel. Letting the majority of sellers list for nothing built enormous inventory and liquidity, which attracted buyers and, in turn, more sellers (FourWeekMBA).
• Scale advantage in motoring. Its broad general-classifieds audience gave it far more monthly visitors than specialist car sites, and by 2016 its car listings reportedly exceeded Autotrader’s by more than six times (Businesses.com.au).
• Strong brand and backing. Ownership by eBay and later Adevinta gave it resources and marketing muscle (e.g. the “Buy. Sell. Win.” campaign) during its growth years (GoAutoNews).

Note: while still a category leader, Gumtree now faces intense competition from Facebook Marketplace and eBay, and group revenue has declined in recent years (see below) — a headwind for the classifieds category rather than a collapse.

Notable facts

• Sold to The Market Herald in 2022 for A$86.7M (~US$60M), bundled with CarsGuide and Autotrader (Online Marketplaces).
• Part of eBay’s ~US$9.2B classifieds divestment to Adevinta in 2020 (Inside Retail).
• Parent Gumtree Australia Markets (ASX:GUM) reported FY2025 revenue of AU$74.46M, down ~7.5% year-on-year (StockAnalysis).
• Operates across 150+ categories including vehicles, property, jobs, household goods and pets (Wikipedia).
• Scam awareness is a recurring public theme; Australia’s eSafety “Be Connected” program publishes a dedicated Gumtree scams guide (Be Connected).

Links

Title	URL	Type	Note
Gumtree: Australia’s Marketplace — Buy, Sell & Trade	https://www.gumtree.com.au/	official-site	Official Australian homepage
Gumtree.com.au — Wikipedia	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumtree.com.au	article	History, ownership, business model of the AU site
Gumtree — Wikipedia	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumtree	article	Global brand origins (2000, London) and eBay 2005 deal
Adevinta Sells Gumtree Australia In $60m Deal	https://www.onlinemarketplaces.com/articles/adevinta-sells-gumtree-australia-in-60m-deal/	news	2022 sale to The Market Herald
eBay sells Gumtree as part of US$9bn classifieds deal	https://insideretail.com.au/news/ebay-sells-gumtree-as-part-of-us9bn-classifieds-deal-202007	news	2020 eBay-to-Adevinta divestment
eBay sells Gumtree — GoAutoNews Premium	https://premium.goauto.com.au/ebay-sells-gumtree/	news	Australian angle on the Adevinta deal
How does Gumtree make money? — FourWeekMBA	https://fourweekmba.com/how-does-gumtree-make-money/	article	Freemium model and revenue streams
How Gumtree Became a Motoring Mammoth in Australia	https://www.businesses.com.au/motoring/414654-how-gumtree-became-a-motoring-mammoth-in-australia	article	Scale advantage in car listings
Gumtree Australia Markets (ASX:GUM) Revenue	https://stockanalysis.com/quote/asx/GUM/revenue/	report	FY2024/FY2025 group revenue figures
Gumtree Australia Markets (ASX:GUM) Stock Overview	https://stockanalysis.com/quote/asx/GUM/	report	Current market cap, TTM revenue, segments
Gumtree scams: how to avoid them — Be Connected (eSafety)	https://beconnected.esafety.gov.au/topic-library/articles-and-tips/gumtree-scams-how-to-avoid-them	article	Official Australian safety guidance
Gumtree Statistics (2026) — Expanded Ramblings	https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/gumtree-statistics-and-facts/	report	Traffic/listings stats (note: primarily UK figures)