When I wanted to sell a Lego table and an electronic drum kit that my son had become too big for recently, I listed them on Trade Me.
The reserve was reasonable, and I paid for a gallery listing.
But there they sat for most of the last month.
Finally, I thought I'd try my luck on Facebook Marketplace, instead. I listed them with the same price, same description and same request for buyers to pick them up. Both sold within a morning.
Trade Me has long been the dominant force in New Zealanders' secondhand buying and selling habits. Launched in 1999 and described now as the country's biggest auction and classified site, it has millions of listings.
But prompted by my disappointing experience, I set out to try to work out whether our behaviour is changing. Is it taking longer to sell things on Trade Me?
It turns out that lots of other people have had similar experiences.
Seller remorse
One woman, Shanelle, told me she used to sell regularly to bring in extra money but had given up. "No one is buying."
Lisette said she felt that people were moving away from Trade Me for secondhand listings.
"People want to buy stuff quickly, not wait for auctions… maybe niche things might go better on Trade Me, but I just sold a niche guitar on Facebook so it seems to work there too."
"I prefer to buy on Trade Me," Stacey said. "But I have noticed a bunch of listings just sitting there doing nothing. I've got a saved search for dining tables because I want one of a particular dimensions and the same six overpriced tables in Dunedin have been sitting there unsold for months."
Linda said it felt like it was harder to sell things and the deals were not as good. "I wish it was more used because of being regulated in a way that Facebook Marketplace is not. But I don't think it has done itself any favours."
Another user said it seemed that more people were switching to smaller buy-and-sell pages within social media communities, where they knew and trusted each other.
Trade Me recently made changes to its structure, removing its success fee for casual sellers but requiring the use of Ping where cash is not being paid.
Trade Me: It's changing
Trade Me head of marketplace Lisa Stewart said sell-through rates would fluctuate depending on seasonal demand, category and pricing strategy.
"Given the current cost of living pressures, Kiwi are understandably being more deliberate with their spending. Because buyers are carefully considering their purchases, and have a wide range of inventory to choose from, they tend to take the time to compare their options before committing.
"Finding the right buyer willing to pay the right price across the country can take slightly longer than a quick local handover.
"We know our members value safety on site, using Trade Me for the security of built-in Ping payment and 'Book a courier,' our dedicated Trust and Safety team, and the ability to reach a much larger audience rather than just their immediate area.
"We are focused on delivering excellent value for money for New Zealanders during these tough economic times."
University of Otago marketing expert Dr Mathew Parackal said Trade Me had transitioned from being a platform for secondhand goods to becoming an outlet for those selling new items.
"The new products far, far exceeds the used product. New products are run by well-established sellers… they're putting a store on Trade Me and running it as a logistic channel, an additional channel.
"So if you're looking fort something cheap or you want something for the family home, we have this in our mind that we might be able to get it on Trade Me but Trade Me has evolved quite substantially.
"There are secondhand goods on Trade Me but they would be ranked very, very low in the listings because all these companies or individuals who are selling new products would get the premium position because they can charge a higher price for the product because it's new, they can get their product listed at the premium listing compared to somebody's who's selling secondhand product... an ordinary person who is looking, we will never see the secondhand products, we've got to scroll down or ask to sort it by used product to see the used product.
"Facebook Marketplace is much more specific. You don't see many retailers or professional sellers on Facebook Marketplace."
A progression
He said it was just an evolution of the Trade Me business.
"If you look at Trade Me's business portfolio, this is just one part of it. They have property and travel … we do not know as an outsider how much, whether this Trade Me auction part of the business is making a profit or not.
"It can just be contributing to the overall profit that the company makes."
He said the fact Trade Me sometimes offered free listing days to attract secondhand products indicate it still saw value in having those items on the site.
Parackal said the arrival of Temu and Shein had also changed the market.
"You can go to Temu and get a similar product or a better product at a lower price than buying a secondhand product. If you look at Generation Z, they've pretty much sold out to Temu whereas you and I would be looking at what we knew from the early days, we knew Trade Me, we saw it develop.,.. it's still in our mind.
"But if you talk to a younger person they would already have Temu hooked into their mobile phone."
Massey University marketing expert Bodo Lang said Trade Me would be feeling competitive pressure form a number of competitors, including Facebook.
"Facebook Marketplace is noteworthy because it has operated in the peer-to-peer space for 10 years now, it has the capability of a global tech giant behind it, and Facebook is part of many New Zealanders' daily social media habits. Recent changes to Trade Me's fees are an indication of the competitive pressure the platform is under.
"It would be easy to jump to the conclusion that Trade Me is in trouble. I think that would be missing an important point though. Different platforms have different strengths and weaknesses.
"Facebook Marketplace has some clear advantages for low-value, bulky, local, household or kids' items: it is convenient, local, quick, and already embedded in people's daily social media use.
"Conversely, Consumer NZ has highlighted that Trade Me offers stronger protections and a more structured selling process. This means Trade Me does have an advantage in trust. Therefore, I would expect Facebook Marketplace to perform especially well for quick local exchanges, while Trade Me may still work better for higher-value, specialised, collectible, shippable, or trust-sensitive items.
"But innovation is needed. Trade Me will need to find ways to reengage buyers and sellers. Having enough buyers, enough sellers, and enough completed transactions is key for online platforms to succeed. Once buyers start looking elsewhere, sellers follow.
"These network effects can create a slow drift, most likely with a tipping point, away from one platform and towards another."
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz |  |
