market counterfeit and credit merchandise, which can be difficult for novice buyers to distinguish without careful study of the auction description. Profit and Transactions Gmarket generates revenue from sellers, who pay a fee based on the selling price of each item and a fee based on the starting price, and from advertising. In 2005 it was announced that Gmarket would increase fees it charges to Gmarket Store sellers, which caused considerable enough controversy. The president of Gmarket then emailed all Gmarket users with news that other fees would be decreased. Gmarket does not handle the goods, nor does it transact the buyer-seller payments, except through its subsidiary shopping mall credit. Instead, much like newspaper want-ads, sellers rely on the buyers' good faith to make payment, and buyers rely on the sellers' good faith to actually deliver the goods intact. To encourage fidelity, Gmarket maintains, rates, and publicly displays the post-transaction feedback from all users, whether they buy or sell. The buyer is encouraged to examine the sellers' feedback profile before bidding to rate their trustworthiness. Sellers with high ratings generally have more bids and garner higher bids. However, it is possible for sellers to make their feedback private and just leave the numbered rating (number of positive, negative, and neutral feedback with a positive feedback percentage), which means that bidders and sellers cannot see the comments other users have left. Gmarket also has a significant affiliate program, and affiliates can place live Gmarket Shopping product images and links on their web sites. Notes References External links Gmarket (in Korean) Global Gmarket (in English) Shinsegae Group Retail companies established in 2000 Internet properties established in 2000 2000 establishments in South Korea Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Online auction websites of South Korea Online marketplaces of South Korea 2006 initial public offerings 2009 mergers and acquisitions E-commerce websites