Hiamie: xpd: Ive generally got around that by giving my email/phone, but clearly stated "purchase must be completed via TM" (and ensure it is completed by TM) but think it just depends if someone complains or one of the TM staff notice and are in a bad mood ;)

+1

This is exactly what have done in the past, and I haven't had any problems... yet!

I think that still breaks their terms. I don't think it is worth the risk of losing the account, for one single trader who wants to check something out first. If you have something like a property listed, people looking at your auctions will often get your phone number from that, which can be a pain too, as many will try to phone you and offer a cash price. I am sure trademe loses quite a bit of commission due to that loophole. The trademe website must be due for an update soon I would have thought, the sites looking very dated, and they maybe able to improve some of these deficiencies. It is still the best place to sell most things online in NZ.