Of course we’ve all heard of eBay and Amazon. eBay is the largest online marketplace in Australasia, by a wide margin. Amazon is firmly in second place.
But third in the list is New Zealand’s Trade Me with 17.7 million monthly visits, 96% of which come from New Zealand.
In fact, Trade Me is so popular in New Zealand, it is the seventh most visited site in the country, just behind Netflix. eBay has only 2% of Trade Me’s traffic in New Zealand, and Amazon has little over 1%.
In this article we'll tell you a bit of the history of Trade Me and further down there's a video tp show you it how it all works. And there's a detailed explanation of the process, with the appropriate links.
Remarkable success
Trade Me is a remarkable success story in New Zealand. It was founded in 1999 by New Zealand entrepreneur Sam Morgan and grew steadily, seeing off competition from eBay in 2001 and reaching one million members in 2005. It now has over five million registered members – slightly more than the population of the country – and around 8.8 million live listings. Trade Me was acquired by private equity firm Apax Partners in 2019.
Trade Me has a strong reputation for safe online trading, and is one of the most influential domestic brands in New Zealand. It is a listing-driven site in the style of eBay, and products can be sold by auction or at a fixed-price. All listings have a fixed duration, but can be renewed.
So how do you get started?
This YouTuber posted a video a year ago on what you need to do and his own thoughts about the best way to make it work.
Otherwise here's Trade Me's explanation of what to do. (Note that you must be located in New Zealand or Australia to list Items on Trade Me, unless Trade Me specifically approve you to use their platform from another country.)
Getting started
First off, create an account. From here you can manage items you’re selling, and keep an eye on ones you like for yourself. You can view your sold, won, and lost listings in one place.
Don’t forget to download the Trade Me app, to do all this on the go.
Creating listings
Selling is easier and faster when sellers take the time to create great quality listings. The appropriate category, a detailed description, and good quality photos are all gold in helping your item get found and sell quick.
Trade Me also recommend:
Use keywords in your description (e.g. ‘Mid-century standing lamp’ vs ‘lamp’)
Photograph your item with natural light and ensuring the background is free of distractions
End your auction between 7-10pm, Sunday – Friday
Include shipping costs
Enable the Make an offer feature so members can send you offers you can accept or decline
Promoting your listing.
Read their guides on how to create a great listing or our tips for selling quickly.
Promoting your listings
The best chance an auction has to sell is the first time it’s listed, so it’s worth considering how promotional extras can improve your chances.
Promotional extras:
Gallery – appears above basic listings in category
Feature – appears above Gallery listings in category, highlighted in search results & categories
Feature Combo – appears above Feature listings in category, extra highlighted border in search results & categories*
*Highlighted border only available on the new look Trade Me web experience (desktop and mobile)
Add ons:
Subtitles – increases your up-front key words character count and maximise your listings reach
10-day auction – score more listing views or bids with an extended auction length
Scheduled end time – select when your auction will end
Second category – a second, relevant category gives your listing twice the exposure (if a promotional package has been chosen, listings will display as such in both categories, at no extra cost).
Keep in mind:
Promotional extras are not refundable.
Promotional extras are automatically reapplied on relisted items and will be recharged too (unless you untick the checkbox when relisting).
Visit our fees page for up-to-date information on pricing.
Promotional extras and add ons will help your listing stand out.
Fees
There are no upfront fees when listing items in marketplace categories (other than when listing animals, carbon credits, and domain names*). Instead, casual sellers are charged 7.9% of the sale price, and in-trade sellers have a three-tiered pricing structure, based on listing category. The success fee tiers for in-trade sellers are 5.9%, 7.9% and 9.9% of the sale price and the shipping cost combined. The maximum success fee is $349, and no fees are taken for items that sell for $1 or less.
*Visit their fees help page for specific pricing.
Keep in mind:
If you need to end an auction, you’ll be charged a $3 withdrawal fee (or the applicable success fee if it sells).
You’re able to apply for a success fee refund if the buyer pulls out of a sale.
Making it easy for buyers
The most important thing buyers need when shopping online is to feel confident about what they’re buying. As well as creating a good listing and promoting it, you’ll want to make it easy for potential customers to place a bid or buy without hesitation. Consider adding the Make an offer feature or a Buy Now, offer a range of payment options (outlined below) and always specify shipping costs.
Trad Me recommend adding:
Make an offer feature
Add the Make an offer feature to your listing so buyers can send you offers you can accept or decline. Make an offer has been known to help reduce the time to sell by 17%* and increase probability of a sale by 8%*!*Based on our A/B experiment 2 Oct - 15 Nov 2020.
Ping
You no longer need to manually email your bank account details after every purchase – use Ping for instant, easy and safe payment, through your own Trade Me account (note the 1.95% transaction fee). Most Ping purchases are covered under our Buyer Protection programme too.
Afterpay
Make pricier items more affordable and appealing with Afterpay (4.95% fee of the total purchase). Buyers pay off their purchase in four fortnightly interest-free payments, but you’ll be paid in full and able to ship the item to them immediately.
Read their tips on how to get the best price for your Trade Me listing.
Shipping plays a huge part in making a sale - make it as easy as possible for buyers.
Shipping options
Assure buyers about their total purchasing price by being specific about shipping costs, and manually enter standard, tracked and rural postal fees. Always ship items as soon as possible after receiving payment.
Book a courier
You can use our Book a courier service to send your items and to easily get estimates added to your listing when you set them up. You'll get our courier mates' rates, save time with home pick-up, and track your parcel with our trusted partners.
Free shipping
Buyers are able to filter search results to show listings with free shipping. If you can offer it, give your auction extra appeal by ticking ‘free shipping within New Zealand’ when creating your listing.
Combined shipping
If you’re selling a few things, you can also offer a ‘$0 combined shipping’ option so that buyers can pay a flat fee but receive multiple items from you at once. This might encourage buyers to check out your other listings too.
After the sale
There are a few features you can utilize to ensure the overall trading experience is smooth and seamless for both you, your buyer and others in our community.
Arrange payment and delivery
Setting an auto-email with payment instructions to be sent to the successful bidder makes for a fast trade and cuts down on your administrative time. Including an estimate of delivery times ‘once payment is received’ can incentivise quick payment too.
Placing feedback
Our feedback system is designed to help members make decisions about who to trade with – we expect members to maintain an overall rating of 98% or above.
While giving feedback is not compulsory, we’ll automatically remind you about it 21 days after your sale. We encourage buyers and sellers to always place simple and professional feedback after every trade, as it helps maintain those high standards.
Our customer support team can help if a trade doesn't go as expected.
If things don’t go as expected
If you’ve received unfair feedback, your item has been lost in the post, or you’ve not heard from your buyer at all, we’re here to lend a hand.
If you need to resolve a trade issue with a buyer, try to reach a resolution in the first instance. Nearly all problems can be resolved with good communication. You can read the Trade Me Code of Conduct for information about buyer and seller obligations.
If your item has been lost in the post, contact the postal company you used first. Keep your buyer in the loop and arrange a refund or replacement for them if the goods have been confirmed lost or damaged.
Get in touch with them if:
The buyer hasn’t been in touch with you within two working days of the listing closing
Your sale doesn’t go through – we’re happy to refund your success fee (request this from the ‘sold listings’ page under ‘sellers options’)
You can’t find an answer to your issue or concern in their help section.
Trade Me prides itself on being the marketplace you can trust. To sell your first item with them, start by registering an account and create your first listing.
Banner Photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash Any video material in this article is not owned by "Matahati - Confessions from New Zealand". Video material embedded for this story is used on the basis of fair dealing to support the news reporting, criticism or the review objective of the article. Please support any YouTubers listed by liking, subscribing and, if appropriate, donating to their channels.
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