Yopa Review – Are They Really Worth �999?

1 out of 5 rating2 out of 5 rating1 out of 5 rating2 out of 5 rating3 out of 5 rating 11 people have rated Yopa - The Online Estate Agents | Leave your Comment / Review

Sorry to interrupt the regular schedule, but just a head’s up…

Okay, now back to the original blog post/review…

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It’s becoming increasingly difficult impossible to get through a day without having a Yopa advert shoved in our faces, whether it be on TV, the radio, or on the side of a double-decker bus. They’ve even managed to throw enough money at Sir Mo Farah and lure him into their marketing campaigns.

Like a freaking plague of cockroaches, Yopa are EVERYWHERE.

We. Get. It. You’re an Online Estate Agent that sells property for a one-off fixed-fee, saving home-sellers thousands of pounds in agency fees in comparison to our local high-street agents.

But the question still remains, should you use Yopa’s £999 service while there are now so many other [cheaper] options? Perhaps my lousy Yopa review will tip you over the edge, one way or the other…

First and foremost, if you’re not exactly sure how the whole ‘online letting agent’ thing works, then I recommend jumping over to my online estate agent guide before continuing down this path. I think it’s important to understand the concept before shelling out on the product.

If you haven’t dispersed, I’m going to assume you get the concept, and now you want to understand Yopa’s proposition before pulling the trigger.

Wise!

Table of contents

Overview of Yopa’s fixed-fee house-selling packages

Before getting into the nitty-gritty, let’s take a look at the menu – the packages Yopa are currently offering to help you sell your home:

Estate AgentRatingDurationIncludes / NotesPrice
Rating
4.5
TrustPilot Reviews
Duration
12 months
Includes / Notes

Core package
  • Key features
  • Rightmove listing
  • Zoopla listing
  • Photograghs
  • Floorplan
  • Negotiation
  • For sale sign
  • In-person valuation
  • 16 weeks Sole Agency contract

*Selling fee of £1,499 in a few specific London postcodes.

Price*£999 Inc VAT Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation
Rating
4.5
TrustPilot Reviews
Duration
12 Months
Includes / Notes

Premium package
  • Key features
  • Rightmove listing
  • Zoopla listing
  • Rightmove Premium listing
  • Zoopla Premium listing
  • Photograghs
  • Floorplan
  • Negotiation
  • For sale sign
  • In-person valuation
  • Hosted viewings
  • 16 weeks Sole Agency contract
  • £349 off Scout mortgage broker fees

*Selling fee of £2,097 in a few specific London postcodes.

Price*£1399 Inc VAT Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation
Rating
4.5
TrustPilot Reviews
Duration
12 Months
Includes / Notes

Ultimate package
  • Key features
  • Rightmove listing
  • Zoopla listing
  • Rightmove Premium listing
  • Zoopla Premium listing
  • Photograghs
  • Floorplan
  • Negotiation
  • For sale sign
  • In-person valuation
  • Hosted viewings
  • 16 weeks Sole Agency contract
  • 360° virtual tour
  • Rightmove Featured listing
  • Zoopla Featured listing
  • £549 off Scout mortgage broker fees

*Ultimate is not available in London.

Price*£1999 Inc VAT Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation

A quick overview of Yopa’s service

  • They will provide you with a free in-person local property valuation to determine the value of your home!
  • If you agree to use their service, you will get assigned with a local agent to oversee and manage the sale of your property
  • Yopa will market your property on the biggest UK property portals (e.g. Rightmove & Zoopla) to generate enquiries
  • Those who successfully sold with Yopa accepted an offer for 97.9% on average of their initial asking price
  • At the time of writing this review, Yopa have an impressive TrustScore of 4.8/5 on TrustPilot and over 7000 reviews. Not too shabby at all.

You may have heard enough, and you’re ready to load up Yopa’s shopping cart!

Happy shopping. You can get started by booking a free property valuation.

But maybe you’re not completely sold. So let’s keep going…

How do Yopa compare to other online agents?

I’d be a blubbering buffoon amiss if I didn’t point out the fact that Yopa are not the only online estate agent offering the same kinda’ thing. I’m not necessarily saying the quality of service will be the same as all their competitors, but I am saying the feature-list will be very similar.

One of Yopa’s biggest rivals are a little known company that goes by the name Purplebricks. Yup, you’ve also probably heard of them due to their equally gigantic marketing budget!

In most cases, when home sellers are considering Yopa, they often compare it to Purplebricks, and vice versa. Despite the array of online agents available (all listed on my online estate agent comparison table), these two seem to be the primary focus for comparison among sellers. It’s the whole Nike Vs Adidas, Sony Vs Samsung, Windows Vs Mac, Blonde Vs Brunette, Mercedes Vs BMW debate.

In order to play fair, let’s take a gander at Purplebricks current menu…

Estate AgentRatingDurationIncludes / NotesPrice
Rating
3.7
TrustPilot Reviews
Duration
6 months
Includes / Notes

Free package
  • Key features
  • Zoopla listing
  • Negotiation
  • For sale sign
  • In-person valuation
  • No sale, no fee
  • 13 weeks Sole Agency contract
  • App - manage viewings, offers & communication with buyers

*YES, Purplebricks now offer a 100% free house-selling service, no strings attached.

Price

Free

*Free

Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation

Nope, your crusty little eyes are not deceiving you.

Since December 2023, following their merger with online agent Strike, Purplebricks made the strategic decision to bin their fees, and giveaway their core house-selling services for FREE. I’ve written a full overview of Purplebricks free house selling service in case you want to know how and why it’s all possible!

Now you might be wondering why on earth you would opt for Yopa if Purplebricks is giving away their service. That’s fair.

Well, there are a few points to consider:

  • A Rightmove listing is NOT included with Purplebricks free service – it’s an “add-on” feature which costs £299.
  • Photography and floorplans is NOT included with Purplebricks free service – it’s an “add-on” feature which costs £699.
  • Hosted viewings is NOT included with Purplebricks free service – it’s an “add-on” feature which costs £899.

So once you start piling on the additional extras, the reality is, they could end up costing near enough the same. However, objectively speaking, the beauty of Purplebricks core service is that it’s a scaled back version of what Yopa offers, with the flexibility to select only the specific services required. For instance, you might already have suitable photography for marketing purposes, or you might not even care for the Rightmove listing. It’s entirely possible to use their service without spending a bean on agency fees. However, if you want all the bells and whistles (e.g. photography, hosted viewings etc), using Yopa might potentially result in a more cost-effective option.

To make life easier, I’ve added filters to my online estate agent comparison table, so if you can see how much each agent will charge for only the services you require.

If you were to ask me to pick the better option between the two, I honestly can’t decisively say. I know, that’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot. But the truth is, from my perspective, they appear quite similar, so I’d personally favour the most cost-effective solution (if it’s a choice between the two).

What about the other MUCH cheaper online agents?

As mentioned, Yopa and Purplebricks aren’t the sole online estate agents available. In fact, there’s an abundance of them to choose from, which is kind of a pain. None are quite as popular as the two front-runners mentioned, but a couple of worthy challengers’ are loitering nonetheless. Each of these agents varies in terms of pricing and quality, providing options to suit different preferences and needs.

It’s important to understand why there is such a vast difference in price between some of the agents!

Remember, Yopa and Purplebricks are Hybrid agents!

When comparing online estate agents, you may quickly notice that online agents are categorised into two types: “Online-only” and “Hybrid”

Hybrid agents are typically significantly more expensive than an online-only agents, but that’s because they provide a bigger bang for your buck, so the price difference isn’t entirely based on brand power. Thank Goodness.

Yopa costs £999, while you’ll find the online-only agents starting from £99. Now that’s pretty jarring and it does raise questions, and rightly so.

Why the premium? What am I paying extra for? Is it worth it? Should I just go with a cheaper online agent?

Why is Yopa more expensive than most other online-only agents?

Yes, let’s tackle the crux of the issue. And I’ll try not to ramble (even though history dictates I’ll fail, miserably!).

Yopa, like other hybrid agents, are based on a model that offers features you would expect from an online agent and a traditional high-street agent.

Most online agents operate purely online, meaning their service is managed through their website and typically phone-support; they won’t have a physical office/branch which you can bust into and cause a riot for providing a shambolic service, nor will they have localised agents zipping around in their flashy MINI Coopers. Of course, that’s why online estate agents are so much cheaper than the traditional high-street agent cowboys- the overheads are minuscule in comparison.

Yopa have ripped chunks off the online agency model and chunks off the high-street model… and squashed it all together to make a mutant, à la “Hybrid” Essentially, you’re left with the best of both worlds, which is:

  • Local agent
    Yopa will provide you with a dedicated local agent! Yes, “local”, and this is what the extra £300 is really about, and that’s the feature which has been snatched from the high-street model. You can catch a glimpse of their mugs over on the Yopa agent page, so you can see exactly who you would be dealing with. Such beautiful people.

    The agents are professional and dedicated Yopa estate agents, they’re not moonlighting or working around their full-time job. So to clarify, they will NOT have a high-street shop presence, but will provide local physical presence and support because they’ll be located near you (you’ll probably only meet them once though, and that’s during the property valuation).

    If you’re interested in getting a free valuation from Yopa (there’s no obligation to continue thereon), your prospective ‘local agent’ will visit your property to get the ball rolling. If you then wish to use Yopa’s service, your new-best-friend-agent will guide/support you through the sale until completion. That will include the initiation of marketing your property; professional photos, floorplan, a ‘For Sale’ sign and then throwing your property advert onto the likes of Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation to start generating enquiries.

    If you also want your agent to take the viewings, they can, but at an extra cost of £300 (i.e. it’s not included in the basic £999 package), and that’s when you’ll have the opportunity to meet your new mate again.

    You with me? Good!

  • Online agent
    I’ve already mentioned that Yopa, like every other online agent, does not have a high-street shop front or local branch. Essentially, that’s what classifies them as an online agent, or at least partially.

    You can arrange everything online via their website, including payment, and access to a 24/7 dashboard, which will allow you to view/process all your enquiries 24/7.

Is Yopa worth paying extra for, or should I go for the cheaper online-only agent?

Yes.

Well, maybe.

It depends.

This is how I look at it: if you want the assistance of a local agent to support you through the entire process of selling your home and relieve you from some of the work-load (after all, your time is precious), then yes, in my opinion the “hybrid” model is worth stumping up the extra cash for, even if you have to do so begrudgingly. However, if you’re confident you can do without the local assistance, then a cheaper online-only agent is probably the better option. However, I do want to make a few crucial points before you pull-the-trigger and make your decision:

  • Don’t be THAT Dad
    Using an online agent, including a “hybrid” one, is already going to save you a shitload of cash comparative to a high-street agency. You’re already winning here.

    So I wouldn’t try to whittle down the costs of selling a home to the point of creating a false-economy. What I mean by that is, don’t focus on JUST saving money by taking on a project which you’re ill-prepared for. A good analogy is when an unqualified Dad tries to hopelessly save costs when repairing the leaky dishwasher when the extent of his qualifications is streaming a few ‘how-to’ videos on YouTube. In most cases, the end result will be a bodge-job, and eventually lead to more expenses to fix-the-fix.

    My point? As much as we all religiously love to believe that an estate agent’s job can be just as equally fulfilled by a chimp (if not better), they mostly do have the knowledge and experience which will allow for an optimal selling experience.

    If you actually would benefit from the added local support, don’t talk yourself into being the bodge-job Dad. The law of averages dictates you’ll cause havoc and it will end in tears.

  • All Online Agents will provide support
    I don’t want to provide a false illusion, so let me clarify something (before someone jumps on my hairy back and causes a scene).

    No matter which online agent you decide to choose, if at all any that is, they will ALL provide support (as far as I’m aware).

    Yopa’s local agent will provide a physical and local presence, and that will understandably be comforting for many (unless they’re a sleaseball idiot). However, the online agents that don’t offer a local dedicated agent will also provide support and guidance, but most likely by a dedicated account manager in a support centre somewhere. Regardless of which online agent you opt for, you will never be left to fend for yourself.

    In any case, definitely read the T&C’s of whichever agent you’re interested in working with, and find out exactly what level of support you will receive! Most crucially, don’t be afraid to ask questions, preferably by email so you can prove what was promised to you.

Does Yopa have hidden fees?

In short, no. As with almost all online agents, Yopa’s business model – and the basis of their appeal – is that they charge a one-off fixed fee.

However, I gotta’ say, some of their optional extra services, specifically their mortgage brokering and conveyancing, don’t seem like great offerings, and they almost feel like a hidden tax (if opted for).

Upselling these additional services is a huge money-maker for online agents, which is why they’re notorious for applying a hard-sales approach when it comes to shifting them.

From my experience (and based on a lot of feedback I’ve read), online agents in general don’t offer the best mortgage brokering and conveyancing services, in terms of quality and value. For example, Yopa’s Premium and Ultimate packages come with a discounted mortgage brokerage fee feature – calling that a “feature” is ballsy, because most mortgage brokers these days don’t even charge a brokerage fee, because they earn their commission directly from the lender. The fact Yopa’s recommended broker charges a brokerage fee in the first place tells me that ain’t a great deal.

As for conveyancing services, I’ve heard too many nightmare stories from people that have used services recommended by online agents (this isn’t specific to Yopa) for it to be a coincidence. It just seems like the services aren’t very good, and I’m guessing that’s because online agents send their preferred conveyancer large volumes of work and take a significant commission for each referral, and that ultimately results in lower quality service.

Personally, I wouldn’t use mortgage brokerage or conveyancing services offered by any online agent – I would source my own suppliers.

My recommendations:

  • Mortgage broker – I’ve been recommending and personally using the online mortgage broker Habito recently. They’re completely free (as they should be!) and they search the whole market for deals, which includes more than 20,000 mortgages from 90 lenders. You can read my full Habito review if you’re interested.
  • Conveyancing – I’ve always believed that using a local and recommended Conveyancing service from a trusted friend or family member is the way to go. Alternatively, use a comparison service like ReallyMoving.com – they can quickly provide 4 quotes from expert SRA or CLC regulated conveyancing solicitors and Licensed Conveyancers (average saving is £365).
  • Moving services – if you require a moving service, you can also get multiple quotes from ReallyMoving.com;s comparison tool.

Yopa’s customer reviews

We live in a world where it’s never been easier to complain about piss-poor service. Rightly or annoyingly so, we all have a louder voice in this digital age.

The sad reality is, we humans are more compelled to leave negative feedback than positive ones. I’m still undecided on whether empowering us is a terribly good thing, or a terribly catastrophic thing. Either way, it does have its obvious advantages.

If someone has been sold a questionable piece of cod from Dave’s Fish Palace, you can bet your left nutsack on the fact that you’ll be able to read about it somewhere, even if it’s ticked away in the darkest depths of the internet – it will be somewhere.

So if you’re happy to put a monetary value on objective reviews/ratings from the general public, which people seem to be, maybe Yopa is money well spent (or saved, depending on how you look at it). Credit where credit due, because their TrustPilot rating is sweet as a nut.

So, are you interested or what? How to get started with Yopa…

As mentioned in the opening overview, Yopa provide free property valuations (conducted by one of their local agents), so that’s probably a good starting point. Just to clarify, there are no obligations to use their services after receiving your valuation!

Book a FREE Valuation with Yopa Today

Tell me about YOUR experience

As a matter of interest, have you used Yopa or any other online agent? What’s your experience been? If you’re looking to use an online agent, who are you going to use and why?

18 Join the Conversation...

1 out of 5 rating2 out of 5 rating1 out of 5 rating2 out of 5 rating3 out of 5 rating11 people have rated their experience with Yopa - The Online Estate Agents.2.5 out of 5 Stars.Leave your Comment / Review
Guest Avatar
Tim 31st October, 2017 @ 17:45 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating 4 out of 5 rating 5 out of 5 rating

Surprisingly YOPA worked for me and my wife, and this is coming from an old git that's reluctant to embrace technology.

1
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m parker 16th March, 2018 @ 12:04 1 out of 5 rating 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating 4 out of 5 rating

absolutely useless, agent who doesnt call you after viewings or even offers, after weeks you wonder if he still works
there, due to the lack of contact, and when you try to complain, after managers hang up on you, you eventually get the arrogant one that enjoys telling you how you are tied with them for 4 months and have to go through their lengthy complaints procedure, basically taking your house off of the market.

2
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Steve 29th June, 2019 @ 15:23 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating 4 out of 5 rating 5 out of 5 rating

hahah I first heard of Yopa when I saw their advert on a double decker red bus in London, when I was travelling down from Manchester for a meeting.

Sold my property last week, took approx 2 months.

I saved about 5k. So I'm over the moon. Thank you Yopa!

3
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John Stevens 5th July, 2019 @ 08:27

The reason why the likes of YOPA work is because less and less people worry about making purchases online, even expensive ones. Researching and buying online is how society works in the 3rd world.

I remember when people said that online retailers would never take off because people love the personal service/touch!

What people love is good deals and saving money.

4
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Rob H 6th July, 2019 @ 19:28

Don't suppose you have a valid discount code for Yopa? Noticed you have for some of the other agents so I thought I'd check.

Cheers

5
The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 6th July, 2019 @ 20:23

Gosh, I wonder why this page has suddenly become active!

@Steve
Great to hear, congrats!

@John Stevens
Agreed!

@Rob H
Sorry, man. Unfortunately I don't. I don't think Yopa does the whole discount thing!

Yopa, if you hear me, show my reader's some love and toss over an exclusive discount code, please :)

6
Guest Avatar
Rob H 6th July, 2019 @ 21:07

Well I found you on Bing search.

I'm subscribing to comments in case Yopa reply to your shameless begging lol. I don't plan on selling for another month or so, I can wait

7
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Tom 9th July, 2019 @ 15:31

I'm a black cabbie and I had my vehicle wrapped with yopa branding. They definitely got there brand in front of everyone's eyes in the city.

8
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Mark 25th July, 2019 @ 20:59

Any updates on a discount code anyone? =)

Cheers

9
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Mike Dolan 26th July, 2019 @ 10:42

I'm deciding between the big two purplebricks and yopa, does anyone have any advice or recommendation? Are there any pros and cons to using one over the other? It looks like they offer the same services but I could be missing something.

Many thanks in advance. Mike

10
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Tom 16th October, 2019 @ 09:28 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating 4 out of 5 rating 5 out of 5 rating

Mike, as the review said I really don't think it makes much of a difference between the two.

I just used Yopa and was very satisfied. Saved me a packed compared to my local agent that wanted 1.8% and that was after haggling them down from 2%.

11
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Will 24th March, 2020 @ 23:18 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating 4 out of 5 rating 1 out of 5 rating

I've used Yopa to sell my property and so far they've been good and my local agent seems to have good knowledge of the current market and my area. I've had quite of lot of viewings and their website is easy to use to manage viewings (as I don't like the estate agent showing people around my house, I can do this myself), it saves me lots of money compared to the typical 1% that high street Estate Agents charges.

The only thing I would say is, the agent will not chase your offers and feedbacks from viewings, you have to do most of the work once the property is listed on Rightmove or Zoopla, which is fine for me.

12
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Jason Armstrong 29th June, 2020 @ 18:34 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating

This is a shame of a company. They told me to turn down an offer as I should expect to get 12% more.

Two weeks after signing up with them, they contacted me and told me to drop the price 10% (as he had more done more research than then their local rep) . They continually told me to keep droping the price until it went below the original offer price. They then told me I should rent not sell the property (I think this was more for their selling stats) .

Almost 2 years on the market and I've eventually sold the house, 5% lower than the original offer, paying taxes and costs for 2 years. This was higher than what they said I should do the price to.

People who came to see the property were not vetted, some complained of communication with Yopa. They included other estate agents trying to sell me their services. So I ask what did Yopa do other than cost me money.

Once they lie to get your money they just keep getting you to drop the price talking a load of........

13
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Jayne 10th October, 2020 @ 06:53 1 out of 5 rating 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating 4 out of 5 rating

We have decided to do the viewings ourselves as the viewing pack we purchased wasn't working out but 2 months later and the estate agent still hasnt returned our house key after numerous requests from myself and the resolutions team, she keeps telling us she will as soon as is humanly possible! Any advice on steps we can taken to ensure its return would be appreciated

14
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Mark Shepherd 9th November, 2020 @ 20:51 1 out of 5 rating 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating 4 out of 5 rating

Charlatans, unethical, dishonest, unprofessional,waste of time ,use their system seal a deal , waste all your weekend putting funds in place, setting the deal up with conveyancers etc only to be told , 17:10 the next day they want a bidding war, avoid these xxxxxxxx like the plague, I am 56 , bought boats ,planes ,houses ,hotels , and NEVER in all my dealings experienced anything even close to the horror of trying to purchase through these people!

15
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Rebecca teasdale 5th March, 2021 @ 16:38 1 out of 5 rating 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating 4 out of 5 rating

Wish i had done more research before instructing as it was a massive mistake, dont touch with a bargepole, ended up taking it off the market with them and selling in 2 weeks with another agent, now having the battle where yopa still want there money even though they didnt provide any service

16
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Andy 5th March, 2022 @ 10:47 1 out of 5 rating 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating 4 out of 5 rating

Atrocious. I put in a request to view a property. They said the viewing was pending. I rang the a week later to find out what was happening. Only to find the vendor had accepted a offer. How was they to know I wouldn’t have offered more. Appalling service.

17
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Martin 4th April, 2022 @ 10:18 1 out of 5 rating 1 out of 5 rating 2 out of 5 rating 3 out of 5 rating 4 out of 5 rating

Honest experience with Yopa: They created the the advertisement and put it on the internet. I had three viewings in the first two weeks, seemed to be people who were going around looking at lots and lots of properties. No viewings for the next month. No feedback ever received from potential buyers. Contacted the agent to discuss the situation, their only suggestion was to reduce the price.
Told Yopa to stop the process and instructed a high street agency. They conducted several viewings, and I accepted an offer of the full asking price ten days after going on the market. The house sale was completed less than two months later.
Yopa may do strictly what is in your agreement with them, but I found they are not proactive - once you have signed up you are effectively on your own.
Potential buyers who are preparing to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds need encouragement and to have their "hand held" by someone they feel they can trust. This is the service provided by a high street estate agent through personal contact and experience of the local market. Of course you pay a good chunk of money for that service, however it was well worth it in my case. Wasted a thousand pounds on Yopa - an expensive lesson for me.

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