Online auction site QXL is closing its UK marketplace, but offered no explanation. In an email sent to users on Tuesday, the site said trading on QXL.co.uk would cease from 12 noon on May 30, 2008. All accounts will be closed, and the company stated that QXL vouchers "have no monetary value so will not be refunded."

Former journalist Tim Jackson launched QXL in 1997, and the company rode the dot-com boom, acquiring major German site Ricardo and changing its name to QXL Ricardo. It lost its position to eBay in the UK early on, and after settling a long-running legal dispute with its Polish management, QXL Ricardo sold itself to MIH Internet B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Naspers Limited, a multinational media company based in South Africa. The company changed its name to Tradus after the March 7, 2008 acquisition, and accordingly, Tradus shares are no longer traded on the London Stock Exchange.

Tradus now operates in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Romania, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK. In March 2008, Tradus Limited acquired Moonfish Media, which operates online auction and classified businesses in Estonia and Lithuania.

The last day to list an item on the UK marketplace is May 9, the last day to bid or buy is May, 19, and the last day to access remaining site tools such as My Account is May 30, 2008.

QXL.co.uk warned visitors to use safety guidelines and common sense when trading on the site through the rest of the month.

http://www.qxl.co.uk/contents/uk/Services/closure.htm