What's Hot This Week On Trade Me December 31, 2007
Posted by Michael Carney in : auctions, new zealand, trade me, trademe , add a commentAmongst the week’s hot offerings on Trade Me: a classic collectible featuring the Caped Crusader’s legendary Batmobile that’s already attracted 261 pageviews and 59 bids. Details on the car are sketchy, but – good old Trade Me community to the rescue – a more-informed passerby notes that this Corgi Batmobile “is the 1976 whizzwheel version and is missing the red beacon from on top of its canopy.” You’ll find the Batmobile here, but be quick: the auction closes on Wednesday (Jan 2) at 9.36am.
So what makes an item “Hot” on Trade Me? The Hot Listings category on Trade Me is simply a collection of the 1000 items currently on display on Trade Me that have attracted the most bids. Top of the listings as we write these words (but subject to change as bids ebb and flow) – an LG KU970 mobile phone which was listed for $1 but, after 177 bids, is currently deemed to be worth $248. At the other end of the spectrum, a number of items with 23 bids apiece are sharing last place in the Hot 1000. They range from the ethereal (World of Warcraft characters on the block for $151) to the obscure (10 metres of camouflage netting can be yours for as little as $30) to the ordinary (trampolines, cellphones, dishwashers).
And how can you make your own auctions hot? Well (ahem) we have written a book which covers exactly that topic at some length. In a nutshell, though, it’s a mix of:
- appropriate pricing — many of the hot auctions started life at $1 No Reserve, although that’s not a price point we recommend for every product (that strategy is a great way to go broke fast)
- headlines that sizzle and sell (see Trade Me Success Secrets for eight types of compelling headlines)
- descriptions that enlighten and inform
- a closing call to action that drives bids
- and promotion to the right people in the right place at the right time
Easy, right?
A Pago Update December 17, 2007
Posted by Michael Carney in : auctions, ecommerce, new zealand, pago, paymate, paynow, trade me, trade me business, trademe , add a commentLate last year the ASB Bank launched Pago, a mobile and online payment service. If you’re not familiar with the offering, a quick introduction: “Pago allows customers to make digital cash payments to friends and families online or via their mobile phone. They can also shop online without a credit card.” For the full sales pitch, head over to Pago.co.nz.
The main benefit of Pago, at least from a Trade Me perspective: Pago allows buyers to send instant cleared payments to sellers. If you have enough money in your Pago account (you can store up to $200) just send a text or email to the seller. If they have a Pago account as well, they get the money instantly. It speeds up the buying process as quickly as — well, as quickly as using a credit card.
At the time that Pago was launched, sellers couldn’t offer credit card processing on Trade Me unless they had their own merchant account or were signed up to PayPal. Pago seemed a great alternative, offering instant payment possibilities (although with the minor inconvenience of both buyer and seller having to set up a Pago account). Pago and Trade Me seemed a natural fit, with the Trade Me’s younger audience so wedded to their mobiles already.
Unfortunately for Pago, however, Australian credit-card processor PayMate turned up on Trade Me (offering credit cards as a payment option) not long after Pago launched, to be followed in mid-2007 by Trade Me’s own credit card service Pay Now. Buyers, given the choice of using Pago or their existing credit card, are more likely to follow the path of least resistance — using a facility with which they’re already familiar. As a result, there’s been no particular pressure on Trade Me sellers to offer the Pago service.
That said, however, there’s been some promotion of Pago of late, especially on the ASB Bank’s website, and it’s obviously having some effect. Latest Pago statistics:
- The Pago service is now growing by 200 customers a day
- Pago has attracted more than 15,000 customers in 12 months
- Christmas shoppers have boosted transactions by 300% in November 2007
- The average Pago transaction is around $22
If you’re a Trade Me seller, you should offer as many payment options as possible. There may not be many Pago customers right now, but the sign-up process is pretty painless — and the offering might just one day create a sale that you wouldn’t otherwise have had.
In Our Latest Newsletter December 17, 2007
Posted by Michael Carney in : auctions, ecommerce, new zealand, paynow, trade me, trademe , add a commentThe latest issue of our email newsletter README has just hit the virtual newsstands. Content includes:
Should You Offer Pay Now?
Fascinating facts and figures on “Trade Me’s most important release of 2007″
Christmas in e-otearoa
What Kiwis want for Christmas, according to research from Nielsen//Netratings.
If you’d like to see a free copy of this month’s newsletter, just send us an email at newsletter@SuccessSecrets.co.nz with SAMPLE in the subject line.
David Beckham: Corncobs, DNA and Domain Names December 14, 2007
Posted by Trade Me Success Secrets in : david beckham, new zealand, trade me, trademe , add a commentWe Kiwis are supposedly blasé about celebrities, pretty much leaving them alone as they wander the highways and byways of New Zealand. Tall poppy syndrome, respect for privacy — or sadly ill-informed and unaware of the famous folk in our midst? The reasons don’t really matter.
But when it comes to real superstars, any feigned Kiwi indifference goes out the window. Just look back at our reaction to the recent visit of the world’s most famous footballer, David Beckham. Adoring crowds, rabid fans — and those who are happy to exploit Beckham-mania in the hope of making a bob or two. As Stuff noted in its story last week, “Becks’ dirt dished on Trade Me“:
A mystery customer swiped the football star’s cutlery moments after he had finished his meal at Nando’s restaurant in Courtenay Place. The entire haul – including a half-eaten corn cob, a knife and fork with pieces of food still on them, a glass, and a half-filled Coke bottle – have now been listed on Trade Me.
The restaurant obviously needs to look a little more closely at who it lets through its doors. Yet another larcenous diner managed to swipe poor David’s serviette, and has spent the last week trying to flog the superstar’s DNA on Trade Me at a starting price of $500. Thankfully, cloning and genetic modification are still off the menu in this country, so the auction closed without any takers (though with some 371 curious visitors). We’re not sure how Victoria would react if little Beckham lookalikes suddenly started appearing throughout Aotearoa …
The domain name davidbeckham.co.nz has also been on offer through Trade Me this week, Unlike the serviette, however, this auction started at $1, which has proven (as it often does*) to be a most unwise marketing strategy. The Nelsonian seller, who bought the domain a week ago for around $27, has just managed to resell the name for $2. Once you include the $19.95 fee for listing Domain Names on Trade Me, our intrepid entrepreneur is out about $45 on this little investment.
*We’re not knocking $1 auctions — they’re wonderful for the right products, but only those that are very popular and thus will attract a lot of interest (and convert into frenzied bidding). Otherwise, as the man from Nelson has just discovered, such auctions tend to be very expensive (see pages 166-171 of Trade Me Success Secrets Second Edition for advice on the right pricing strategies). The time to sell davidbeckham.co.nz was during the feverish build-up to his arrival, not after the party was over.
PS A word to the lucky buyer of the domain name: be very careful what you do with it. There are major copyright issues involved in using registered brands in domain names, and the courts have come down strongly in favour of the copyright owners. And make no mistake about it, David Beckham is a brand — and, as we’ve just seen, a very magical and powerful brand!
PayNow Now Available To More Sellers December 12, 2007
Posted by Trade Me Success Secrets in : auctions, new zealand, paynow, trade me, trademe , add a commentWith Pay Now firmly established as a popular payment option on Trade Me, the organisation announced yesterday that:
You can now register for Pay Now if you are address verified and have a feedback rating of 50+.
That’s a reasonable barrier to potential fraudsters, and probably as low as we’d want Trade Me to go. If sellers with less feedback want to offer credit card facilities on the site, there’s always PayMate and PayPal.
An Open Invitation To Trade Me Sellers December 10, 2007
Posted by Trade Me Success Secrets in : auctions, new zealand, trade me, trademe , 1 comment so farAs an ongoing extension to the just-published Second Edition, we intend to track the ongoing stories of Trade Me traders through this blog. If you’re willing to be interviewed (by email) and have your story told here, please comment accordingly or drop us an email at trademe@SuccessSecrets.co.nz. Thanks!
All They Want For Christmas … December 10, 2007
Posted by Trade Me Success Secrets in : auctions, new zealand, trade me, trademe , add a commentRob Stock of the Sunday Star-Times yesterday looked at tasteful and enduring ways to leave money under the tree at Christmas although some ideas come with risks. We were particularly grateful for one of his suggestions:
A money book: There are plenty of titles available. Make sure you match the book to the recipient. Someone you know is struggling to get their head around KiwiSaver might value Peter Hensley’s book on the subject, while a TradeMe junkie might get a lot out of Michael Carney’s new edition of Trade Me Success Secrets. Sometimes a book can be life and fortune changing.
Top Pre-Christmas Searches on Trade Me … December 10, 2007
Posted by Trade Me Success Secrets in : auctions, new zealand, trade me, trademe , add a commentfor the first week of December 2007 were:
- iPod
- Playboy clothing
- Billabong
- Transformers toy
- Tents
- Part-time work
- Bach
- Holden Ute
- Wedding dress
- Mazda RX8
All the classic elements of a riveting Christmas story – the drifter living in a tent near the bach, looking for part-time work. Accused of stealing the family’s Christmas presents (ipod, clothing, transformers toys), he hides out near the (NZ equivalent of a) billabong until he spots the thieves in a Mazda RX8. Gives pursuit in a borrowed Holden ute, retrieves the loot and is exonerated. The youngest daughter is relieved — he’s not just a rogue and a playboy after all. Could there be a wedding dress in her future?
New Edition, New Blog December 9, 2007
Posted by Trade Me Success Secrets in : Uncategorized, auctions, new zealand, trade me, trademe , add a commentTwo years on from the first edition of TRADE ME SUCCESS SECRETS, we’re back with a Second Edition. We also decided to mark the occasion with a new blog. So here we are.
What’s new since the First Edition?
MIND-BOGGLING NUMBERS
- Trade Me sold to Fairfax for 700 Million Dollars.
- Trade Me membership swells from 1 Million to 1.8 Million.
- Numbers of auctions double to 1,000,000 per week.
- Traffic doubles to more than 400,000 unique visits a day.
- Attracts over 65% of domestic page views on the internet in NZ.
- Trade Me now serves more than a billion pages a month.
- Trade Me hosts its 100 millionth auction.
- Trade Me Property now NZ’s #1 Real Estate Site.
- Trade Me Motors has more automotive listings than any other NZ website, and around 90% of NZ’s automotive web traffic.
- Trade Me Jobs launched.
When our first edition was published in November 2005, Trade Me attracted two million visitors per month.
A year later, that number was three million.
Now it’s 3.9 million and still growing strong.
So we decided it was time for a Second Edition. We’ve made revisions and updates throughout, added three new chapters (and another 32 pages). Check it out.
