Top Of The Shops, December 2007 January 9, 2008
Posted by Michael Carney in : Christmas, auctions, ecommerce, new zealand, top ten, trade me, trademe , 2commentsThe numbers are in and we have a winner!
According to those fine folk at Nielsen//NetRatings and their NZ Market Intelligence research, these were the top 10 websites in the Shopping category for December 2007:
- At Number 10, nzpost.co.nz/goshopping, which attracted 9,409 unique browsers across the month, looking for postage and packaging details.
- Number 9, mags4gifts.co.nz, Fairfax Magazines’ subscriptions-as-Christmas-gifts promotional site, 12,826 browsers.
- Number 8, interflora.co.nz appealed to 20,322 who like the thought of saying it with flowers.
- Number 7, smokecds.com, luring in 30,777 music lovers to this smokin’ music store.
- Number 6, torpedo7.co.nz, 46,051 extreme sport fanatics, on yer bike.
- Number 5, 1-day.co.nz, torpedo7′s one-day-deals site, lured 64,923 punters.
- Number 4, 121,564 visitors decided they’d like to sellmefree.co.nz.
- Number 3, designerexposure.com drew 192,909 in search of a little bit of luxury.
- Number 2, all that marketing drove 303,234 to ferrit.co.nz.
And, at Number 1, still champion after all these years, trademe.co.nz with a mere 3,532,434 unique browsers, more than eleven times the traffic of the Number 2 slot. Trade Me, take a bow.
What's Hot On Trade Me w/c 6 January 2008 January 6, 2008
Posted by Michael Carney in : auctions, trade me, trademe, what's hot , add a commentAnother week, another Hot List. You can tell it’s summer — hot auction action includes kayaks, tents, barbeques and fish finders, as well as the usual collection of cars, gadgets & gizmos, and a surprising number of paintings. Some of the less common items amongst this week’s most popular offerings on New Zealand’s most popular site:
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A pallet load of off road tyres – just the thing for the car enthusiast who has everything. According to the accompanying description, this load includes “4 Used plus 7 new tyres — various tread patterns, some with solid rubber centre tread ready to cut your own tread or use as is.” Current vital statistics: 186 bids, 1892 pageviews, started life as $1 No Reserve, bidding has now reached $505. Better hurry — the auction closes at 9.11pm tonight.
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Polaris SLX1200cc Jetski 2004 — “2 seater, 109.1 hours, 140hp, new battery, trailer will have new rego and warrent when sold – was built with room to put tool box on front plus has rollers” — also started life on Trade Me at $1 No Reserve, now $4510 after 84 bids and 2789 pageviews.
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365 White Pieces of Lego — one for each day of the year (Leap Years like this year excluded). Currently sitting at 47 bids, 142 pageviews and $30.01 the top bid.
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Two Times Weaners Hereford X cattle — “both have been drenched, 5-1 vac, dehorned prim & sec ear tagged. Reared on Colostrium and Fibro Pro for healthy development” (as one would of course expect). 44 bids, 355 pageviews, currently tracking at $210.
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And (a headline that caught our eye, which is all one asks of it): nestled under Art Supplies, Evil Tattoo Machine, boasting 10 coil wraps, join the bidding currently in progress at $68.25 after 44 bids and 322 pageviews.
Such is our round-up, drawn from the 500 listings that have proven most popular so far this week.
List #5: Google's 2007 What's Hot, What's Not January 5, 2008
Posted by Michael Carney in : Google, top ten, trade me, trademe, zeitgeist , add a commentIf you happen to operate a rather popular search engine — the sort of place where kazillions of people stop by every day, say — you could get a pretty good feeling for what’s hot (and what’s not) by noting what people are looking for and tracking how that changes from day to day and from week to week. You could if you’re Google, for example.
Google does indeed capture such info, and reports on it regularly through its Zeitgeist pages. We’ll let you explore those pages for yourself, but we thought we’d take a few electrons of your time to share with you Google’s report on 2007 — those search enquiries that rose in popularity the most during the year (and those that dropped like a stone).
First, the losers (or, as Google more delicately describes them, the “fastest falling” queries from around the world:
10. mp3
9. shakira
8. sudoku
7. webdetente
6. xanga
5. kazaa
4. rebelde*
3. fifa
2. mozart
1. world cup*
*Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Those marked with an asterisk appeared amongst the Fastest Risers in 2006.
And the hottest of the hot in 2007? Stand well back or prepare to be scorched by:
10. club penguin
9. hi5
8. second life
7. ebuddy
6. youtube
5. webkinz
4. dailymotion
3. facebook
2. badoo
1. iphone
List #4: The Top Movies Of 2007 January 5, 2008
Posted by Michael Carney in : auctions, box office, cinema, film, movies, new zealand, top ten, top twenty, trade me, trademe , add a commentThe lists go on — our continuing mission, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go, yadda yadda, and also to provide guidance for Trade Me buyers and sellers in 2008. This time round, our topic is movies. Lights, cameras, action, quiet on the set, send the striking writers out of the room, it’s time to relive the celluloid sensations of 2007. First up, the hot picks from TVNZ for best flicks of the year (subjectively speaking). Full details here.
Oh say, have you seen:
10 – Atonement
First up is this British romantic-tragedy, with Keira Knightly “acting up a storm when her romance to James McAvoy (also seen in The King of Scotland) is turned on its head after he is accused of a crime he did not commit.”
9 – Hairspray
John Travolta in a fat suit playing the role made famous by drag diva extraordinaire Divine should have signalled disaster. Instead this remake of John Waters’ 1988 campy classic proved to be a critical and commercial hit.
8 – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
You can’t keep Captain Jack Sparrow down as Johnny Depp swashbuckled his way into the chart. The third, and supposed final film of the series, picks up exactly where Dead Man’s Chest left off as our heroic captain fights off all sorts of nasties. Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom also return, as do pretty much everyone that has appeared in the movies so far.
7 – Knocked Up
Every year a small comedy, featuring modest celebrities and a handful of expletives, seems to cut loose from the pack and deliver huge numbers at the box office – this year it was Knocked Up.
6 – Die Hard 4.0
Yippe-kay-ay as Bruce Willis dusts off his singlet and sets about saving world yet again in the blockbuster Die Hard 4.0.
5 – The Lives of Others
This German-language movie about the life of a secret police agent in East Berlin before the fall of the wall packed out art house cinemas around the world and took the Oscar for Best Foreign Language movie.
4 – Eagle vs Shark
Taika Waititi‘s charming Kiwi comedy about two misfits trying to find love proved a hit with audiences around the globe. As the film’s tagline opines, “Finding love was never so… Awkward”.
3 – 300
Gerard Butler shouted up a storm as the leader of the Spartans who must battle overwhelming odds against wave-after-wave of Persian attack. A huge body count (585 according to the Internet Movie Database), lashes of blood and graphic violence brought in the masses and a relatively cheap Hollywood movie ($65 million to make) turned into a huge blockbuster with takings in access of $200 million.
2 – The Bourne Ultimatum
You would think baddies around the world would know by now – don’t mess with Jason Bourne!! The fast pace never let up for the 115 minutes of running time as Jason is chased, and chases, around worldwide locations including Morocco, Italy and an unforgettable sequence at London’s Waterloo station.
1 – Transformers
And so to TVNZ’s pick for number one film, narrowly beating Mr Bourne by just a single vote. Transformers (robots in disguise) take out the top spot as the year’s best movie, as voted by you and the team at tvnz.co.nz.
Turning a children’s cartoon into one of the biggest blockbusters of the year was no mean feat and credit where credits due to one Michael Bay. The director, who is reviled by critics for his over-the-top style of bombastic action (see Bad Boys 1 and 2, Armageddon, Pearl Harbour etc), bounced back after turning in his first true turkey with The Island two years ago.
But the nature of Transformers, which pits two warring robot clans against each other on little ole Earth, suited Bay’s style perfectly. Throw in scorching hot actor Shia LaBoeuf and a whole heap of special effects and just sit back and watch the fireworks!
NZ’s Most Popular Movies — By The Numbers
Well, that’s what the people say. The actual NZ box office results tell a slightly different story. The top 20 titles for calendar year 2007 (box office take shown for each movie):
20 Knocked Up $1,260,229
19 Rush Hour 3 $1,362,618
18 Miss Potter $1,391,383
17 Ocean’s Thirteen $1,396,154
16 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer $1,420,316
15 Live Free or Die Hard $1,432,389
14 Stomp the Yard $1,468,746
13 Wild Hogs $1,553,813
12 Amazing Grace $1,667,980
11 300 $1,848,409
10 Shrek the Third $1,982,622
9 Hairspray $1,991,518
8 Ratatouille $2,294,439
7 Mr. Bean’s Holiday $2,353,233
6 The Bourne Ultimatum $2,559,711
5 Spider-Man 3 $2,759,554
4 The Simpsons Movie $3,303,450
3 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix $4,024,957
2 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End $4,714,947
1 Transformers $5,274,014
List #3: 100 Most Borrowed Books Of 2007 January 5, 2008
Posted by Michael Carney in : auctions, books, trade me, trademe , add a commentOur fixation with listing continues, this time with Auckland City Libraries’ recitation of their 100 most loaned books of the year just gone.
You can scan the whole 100 by clicking here, but we’ll save you a little time and effort by telling you what we gleaned:
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All 100 titles are fiction, and almost all are popular fiction at that. John Steinbeck makes an appearance with The Grapes of Wrath and our own Lloyd Jones’ Booker finalist Mister Pip also features; otherwise the most popular titles are what we’d call airport novels, okay for killing a few hours but not necessarily ‘significant’ [BTW, we're not intending to be elitist in our labelling -- our own reading pleasures include such transient tomes as well].
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We spotted fewer children’s titles than we might have expected — around seventeen from that genre (E&OE — we don’t claim to be experts in children’s literature). Captain Underpants and Hairy Maclary make guest appearances, along with one of Margaret Mahy‘s masterpieces.
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Amongst the better-known authors in the lineup, we identified Marian Keyes, Patricia Cornwell, Lee Child, James Patterson, Ian Rankin, Robert B. Parker, Alexander McCall Smith, Kathy Reichs, Stephen King, Stephen Leather, Lisa Scottoline, Jeffrey Archer, Jonathan Kellerman, Nicci French, Janet Evanovich, Robert Goddard, Harlan Coben, David Baldacci, Frederick Forsyth, Robert Ludlum, Dean Koontz, John le Carré, Bernard Cornwell, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Lynda La Plante, Dick Francis and Jilly Cooper (and yes, we’re bound to have left off your favourite author – forgive us, it’s holiday time).
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Also noted, the only mother and daughter to both have titles on the list: Mary Higgins Clark (#70) and Carol Higgins Clark (#31).
And now, without further ado, Auckland City Libraries’ Top 10 Most Borrowed Books Of 2007:
10. Beach road : a novel / by James Patterson, Peter de Jonge.
9. Tim and Charlotte / by Edward Ardizzone.
8. Agent Arthur’s jungle journey / Martin Oliver illustrated by Paddy Mounter
7. At risk / Patricia Cornwell.
6. Losing you / Nicci French.
5. Second honeymoon / Joanna Trollope.
4. Anybody out there? / Marian Keyes.
3. The tenth circle : a novel / by Jodi Picoult illustrations by Dustin Weaver.
2. The hard way : a Jack Reacher novel / Lee Child.
And the Number 1 Most Borrowed Book of 2007: False Impression by His Lordship, Jeffrey Archer.
List #2: Top Ten Book & Manuscript Sales Of 2007 January 3, 2008
Posted by Michael Carney in : auctions, books, magna carta, trade me, trademe , add a commentTry not to salivate as we share with you a list of the top book/manuscript/printed ephemera sales of 2007, as collated by the Americana Exchange, which “tracks sales at all of the large, and many other auction houses, some 140+ in all”. Included in this list are books, manuscripts, and related ephemeral items. And all values are in US dollars.
The Top Ten:
10. Sir Robert Dudley’s great English sea atlas of 1661, Arcano del Mare. $824,000.
9. Large paper first edition from 1857 of Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal. $859,198.
8. De Architectura, written by Vitruvius Pollio in the first century B.C., herein edited by Johannes Sulpitius and published circa 1487. $881,000.
7. French translation of The Bestiary, an illustrated vellum manuscript circa 1280-90. $910,490.
6. The working draft manuscript from 1938-39 for Alcoholics Anonymous. $992,000.
5. Edward S. Curtis’ North American Indian Portfolio, sixteen portfolios and sixteen text volumes from the early 20th century. $1,080,000.
4. Christopher Saxton’s An Atlas of England and Wales, published 1579-90. $1,366,654.
3. Vita Christi, an illuminated English vellum manuscript in Latin circa 1190-1200 with a later supplement to become a devotional. $3,470,721.
2. Near the end of the auction season, on December 13, a very un-antiquarian work became the auction price leader of 2007. The title is The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a very limited edition autographed manuscript created very recently by Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling. $3,979,950.
1. Five days later, at the very end of the season, the top spot on the list was secured by one of the few surviving copies of perhaps the most important document ever written, a 1297 manuscript copy of the Magna Carta. $21,321,000.
The Americana Exchange has collected data on the five hundred most lucrative sales of 2007 – the complete AE Top 500 may be viewed here: AE Top 500
We admit that it’s unlikely any of these documents will ever turn up on Trade Me. But we can dream, can’t we?
List #1: The Century's Top Selling Classical Albums January 3, 2008
Posted by Michael Carney in : classical, music , add a commentIt wouldn’t be a New Year without somebody compiling lists of achievements. Here’s one we (or rather Classic FM) prepared earlier, of New Zealand’s top 300 best-selling classical albums since 2000. Actually, we’ll save a few virtual trees by only including the Top 20 here — and point you to this link for the rest of the countdown.
And, before you ask what this has to do with Trade Me: there are some 562 classical CDs currently listed for sale on Trade Me. This list will point you in the direction of popular classical artists to (a) sample (if you’re a buyer) or (b) sell, if you happen to have them in your possession.
Drum roll, maestro, and the envelope please:
20. Pieces In A Modern Style – William Orbit
19. Aria The Opera Album – Andrea Bocelli
18. Odyssey – Hayley Westenra
17. Simple Gifts – Bryn Terfel
16. All Angels – All Angels
15. The Choirboys – Choirboys
14. The Lord Of The Rings OST – Howard Shore
13. The Voice The Ultimate Collection – Russell Watson
12. Viaggio Italiano – Andrea Bocelli
11. Reprise – Russell Watson
10. Gladiator Ost – Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard
9. Serenade – Katherine Jenkins
8. Sentimento – Andrea Bocelli
7. Bryn – Bryn Terfel
6. Second Nature – Katherine Jenkins
5. Living A Dream – Katherine Jenkins
4. Voices Of The Valley – Fron Male Voice Choir
3. Encore – Russell Watson
2. The Voice – Russell Watson
1. Pure – Hayley Westenra
Paradigm Shift: The New 'New' Thing January 2, 2008
Posted by Michael Carney in : Christmas, auctions, new zealand, trade me, trademe , 1 comment so farOver the years, Trade Me has steadily evolved from online garage sale to virtual flea-market and thence to NZ’s biggest shopping mall. Used goods, the traditional mainstay of the site since its inception in March 1999, have been slowly sharing shelf space with more and more new products. By mid-2007, some 45% of the items on sale on Trade Me were new.
We’ve just reached the Tipping Point. In the lead-up to Christmas 2007, undoubtedly driven by that seasonal event, 50.4% of the items on sale on Trade Me were new.
Yes, you read that correctly – more than half the items on sale on Trade Me pre-Christmas were NEW.
The times, they are a’changing.
The Gift That Keeps On Being Given January 2, 2008
Posted by Michael Carney in : Christmas, auctions, eBay, regifting, trade me, trademe, unwanted gift , add a commentWe’ve already waxed semi-lyrical about the regifting of Christmas unwanteds on Trade Me, but we just came across some fascinating new stats and couldn’t resist doing some regifting of our own.
Firstly, some fast factoids courtesy Trade Me’s head of commercial, Mike O’Donnell:
“Last year we saw regifting start to take off around 28 December, this year it was evident by Boxing Day evening.
“Over two thousand items put up in the two days immediately after Christmas have been identified as being unwanted Christmas presents, however the real number is likely to be more than twice that as the social stigma of selling a present prevents many from ‘fessing up’.
“We estimate that about half of our recent growth in listings has been driven by people liquidating unwanted gifts,” said Mr O’Donnell.
“The five most popular items for regifting so far this Christmas are gift vouchers, cosmetics, jewellery, music CDs and kitchen appliances. Previously popular regifting items included ties, boxer shorts and chocolates.”
That’s the view from Trade Me. Global giant eBay, on the other hand, announced at the end of the official holiday season that “more than a million gifts have been offered for sale and as an opportunity to be re-gifted.”
“We see a noticeable rise in listings after Christmas as people look to rehome their unwanted presents and raise some extra cash for the New Year.
“Patterned ties, bubble bath, socks and the obligatory foot spa are firm favourites guaranteed to pop up on Boxing Day.”
According to eBay’s annual re-gifting survey (conducted by Harris Interactive and reported by ABC News) 83% of American adults receive unwanted gifts during the holiday season. This can’t be just the casual-acquaintance category of gifts–it has to include gifts from loved ones too. This means that most people are potential re-gifters or resellers. Do you think the gift you gave could end up being re-gifted? The survey said that nearly half of those adults (47%) typically re-gift or resell items.
Better than re-gifting, and becoming more and more acceptable, is reselling. Businesspeople and housewives, college students and professionals are all finding their way to an Internet-driven marketplace to sell their gifts and fatten their wallets. eBay to the rescue. The same survey found that unwanted does not mean unappreciated: Nearly one-third of all adults surveyed (32%) would rather get a present they could re-gift or resell than not get a present at all.
eBay Canada, getting into the ‘spirit’ of the anti-season, offers up its own (somewhat materialistic) point of view:
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with re-gifting, as long as it’s done the right way. Just because a gift isn’t your style or taste doesn’t mean it isn’t perfect for someone else. Storing an unwanted gift at the back of your closet is just a waste – why not re-gift it and let someone else enjoy it?”
Not only that, but eBay Canada even provides some re-gifting etiquette to help you re-purpose those unwanted holiday gifts:
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Don’t re-gift the re-gifter – Lots of people have horror stories of proudly presenting a gift they pulled from the back of the closet to a friend or family member, only to have them say “Didn’t I give this to you?” Avoid embarrassment by writing the name of the giver on a sticky note and placing it on the gift itself.
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Make a list – If you received a number of gifts that just aren’t your taste, make a note of a friend or family member who you know will love it. Or think about a special event that might be on the horizon, like a wedding or anniversary. If you’re confident the gift is on someone else’s wish list, you’ll be able to hand it over to someone who will really appreciate it.
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Don’t keep it in the family – If you received an unwanted gift from your cousin, don’t re-gift it to her sister! Be discreet and only re-gift to someone who doesn’t come into regular contact with the original sender. Selling your item on eBay is a great way to avoid having to explain why your gift is suddenly hanging on someone else’s wall.
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Accept graciously – Sometimes you get a gift that you really dislike but it’s from someone you see very often and don’t want to offend. If that’s the case, accept it graciously. If it’s something wearable, like jewelry or a scarf, wear it once or twice in their presence so they can feel good about it. If it’s something for the house, like a vase, keep it in the closet until you know the person will be visiting; then whip it out and give it pride of place. It’s always best to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.
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Donate it – Charities are often looking for special items. Instead of hiding unwanted gifts of clothing in the bottom drawer, donate them to a shelter. Or donate a quirky item to an organization’s charity auction. Your re-gifting will make a difference to someone who really needs it.
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Sell it – Selling an unwanted gift is a win/win situation. You’ve passed it on to someone who really wants it, and you’ve experienced some joy from the gift itself (albeit in the form of cash!) This especially comes in handy in January when you’re reeling from your holiday credit card bill. Selling it online virtually guarantees finding someone who will love your item and pay top dollar for it!
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Enjoy the spirit of the season! – This time of the year is about family, togetherness and sharing, so appreciate the thought behind your gift, no matter how much or how little it appeals to you – and remember to send a note of thanks!
Thanks eBay! Those sweet sentiments make us feel so special …
Serendipity & Book-Burning On Trade Me January 1, 2008
Posted by Michael Carney in : auctions, books, new zealand, trade me, trademe , 1 comment so farTrade Me’s booksellers are kicking up a stir on the Message Boards with a thread entitled “Books: Non Fiction NZ.Category removed. WHY?”
The essence of their complaint: that the Books>Non-Fiction>New Zealand category was removed without consultation or advance notice, the week before Christmas.
Some of the heartfelt pleas to Trade Me on the subject, via the Message Boards:
“I used this [category] heaps when selling, browsing and buying, it’s the obvious place to look first for NZ written and published non-fiction books!” — jo.dcat
“You know what is bound to happen now? People will flood the Rare & Collectable — NZ Published .. category with books that are neither rare, nor collectable, because they can’t find anywhere else to list them. That category is already misused as it is … grrrr” — bookshelves
“I’m concerned about the removal of the NZ Non-fiction category from ‘Books’. While fiction buyers usually search (by author) non-fiction buyers tend to *browse* by subject – and ‘New Zealand’ is a significantly collected subject so it needs to be a category on its own. Many collectors of New Zealand books (like myself) collect widely within non-fiction and are going to struggle to browse among a dozen other categories (Architecture, Biography, etc) to find the New Zealand books. One of the difficulties in selling books on-line is that it works better for searchers than browsers and since people don’t have lists of non-fiction titles or authors they want, non-fiction relies on browsers. Having a New Zealand category encouraged browsing within it – scattering New Zealand books through a number of large categories makes browsing almost impossible. Please reconsider this change.” — thirzajane
“This decision doesn’t make financial sense at all. We all know how we shop for non-fiction and we know that breaking up the highly collected New Zealand non-fiction category and scattering it here and there will negatively affect sales, thus reducing success fees paid. I don’t think for a moment that this is a malicious decision, just one made by people with little or no knowledge of the mechanics of collecting/buying New Zealand non-fiction. Perhaps we should ask them to pop down the road to a bricks and mortar store and sit watching the people in the New Zealand section? They’ll be the ones who arrive with very little idea of what they want and who BROWSE until they discover something they never knew existed and which they now realise they can’t live without.” — thirzajane
“Please scour your trademe staff for someone ‘on the team’ who understands the ramifications of this unwanted change,understands book sellers and book buyers and is prepared to acknowledge a mistake has been made in this instance and has the nous to reinstate Books Non Fiction New Zealand as a primary category.” — hurworth
“I know from having been a buyer in a major bookshop that NZ books are the life blood of a bookshop in NZ! TM is a business which is fine but who is financing this?” — mme
“Please bring back NZ Non Fiction Category. Removing this as a primary category defies logic and commonsense. By all means add sub categories under NZ Non Fiction. But by this action in removing this category you have disrupted trading in Non Fiction NZ Books, created headaches for many loyal sellers and disadvantaged buyers who may be looking for NZ Non fiction.Please act quickly to restore NZ Non Fiction as a primary category and listen to the voices of experienced booksellers on this matter.” — hurworth
“The figures from the books/non-fiction section seem to make the case for reinstatement of the New Zealand sub-section. There are now more than 3500 listings in the “other” section (the area into which we are [now] advised to place NZ non-fiction). Yet subjects with far fewer listings rate their own sub-sections (flora and fauna 80 listings, genealogy 92, wine and drink 129). Reinstatement would be a great Christmas presents for buyers and sellers — and even for TM’s bottom line.” — bookstacks
“We had nearly 1000 listings, many with Gallery, on Monday. TradeMe by removing all our listings to odd places you have cost us a lot of money in lost sales. Buy Nows of NZ books stopped as soon as you did this and most of our books are NZ. If we don’t get sales you lose money on commissions. We need a NZ category with sub-categories.” — morrisandbill
Most of the Message Boarders are reporting automated email replies, but a few booksellers have managed to attract real responses. Here’s perhaps the most relevant reply from a Trade Me Customer Service staffer:
“Thanks for contacting us. We do not appear to have made a Site Announcement yet about this change so I do apologise for any confusion that you may have experienced when going to list yesterday. I can appreciate that the books you intend to sell (the ones you have listed) would fit most appropriately in a NZ Non Fiction category and this feedback is greatly appreciated. The changes were made based on feedback from members and the use of these categories on the site, but having said that, feedback on the changes is also very helpful for us. Thanks again and if you have any further questions or if I can be of any further help please do not hesitate to contact me.” — reported by felix00
Booksellers as a genus are not generally considered inflammatory individuals. However the removal of the Non-Fiction>New Zealand category has sparked a fiery reaction from these stereotypically placid purveyors of printed matter, and the issue risks becoming a cause célèbre amongst the literati. That’s unfortunate because both Trade Me and its bookseller customers have the same end purpose in mind — providing the most effective marketplace for the buying and selling of products.
The issue under debate — whether book buyers search or browse — was well captured in an article in The Times of London last April entitled “How internet booksellers are killing art of browsing”. As The Times put the matter, rather more poetically, “The joy of stumbling on a captivating book of which you were previously unaware is being undermined by the internet.”
Margaret Atwood, the Canadian author whose books include The Edible Woman, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Blind Assassin, which won the Booker Prize in 2000, was reported in the article as saying that the “serendipity” of discovering something in a bookshop has not been replicated online. As Ms Atwood told the London Book Fair:
“You are not going to get the same experience on the net. Amazon is trying, by saying, ‘If you like this book you might like this other book’, but it’s often something quite offensive that they suggest.”
It’s quite a heavy burden to lay on Trade Me: preserve the Art of Serendipity (and the ancient and honourable craft of bookselling) by reinstating the Non-Fiction>New Zealand mega-category, so that casual browsers wandering through a large number of unrelated-except-by-country-of-origin books will encounter and potentially be captivated by previously unknown titles. A big ask, when elegant simplicity suggests that buyers would prefer to search by more specific categories.
And yet sellers are obviously convinced otherwise.
What to do? Some possible solutions:
- Reinstate “Non-Fiction>New Zealand” as a category, without changes. Easiest to implement, but probably requires a substantial amount of Trade Me number-crunching to confirm (or quash) sellers’ beliefs that sales within this category are driven by browsers rather than searchers.
- Reinstate “Non-Fiction>New Zealand” as a category, with a wide range of sub-categories to cater for
searchersbrowsers [corrected - thanks thirzajane]. Theoretically a good idea, but inefficient (do you browse for a book about Kiwis during the Second World War under “Non-Fiction>War & Military” or “Non-Fiction>New Zealand>War & Military”?) - Add “New Zealand” as a sub-category to every other book category. Effective but (as above) also inefficient for browsers.
- Allow sellers to add a “New Zealand” tag to any book at listing time, which can then be used as a search filter (Just as “New” and “Used” can be similarly filtered). Would enhance the listings, but at the risk of non-standardising the Books category compared to the rest of the site, a definite negative. And does nothing to further the cause of serendipity.
All in all, a difficult issue without an obvious quick fix.
