I think that feature is great, and have engaged in a trade or two off of it recently. It's been a little slow going, but I assume that is because of the holidays.
Anecdotally, the best movement I have experienced, was off of forum posts. The forum lets people know who is actively looking/open to trades, and will most likely engage. Versus sending messages/proposals to people who have recently logged on via trade matching. The numbers speak for themselves. In the last week I have 19 trades active/completed from the forum. 2/10 proposals accepted via trade matching.