Trade Me

Trade Me
Company type	Private company
Industry	Online auction and classifieds
Founded	1999
Founder	Sam Morgan
Headquarters	Wellington, New Zealand
Area served	New Zealand, Australia (limited)
Key people	Sam Morgan (founder)
Products	Online auctions, classifieds, FindSomeone, Holiday Houses
Owner	Apax Partners
Website	trademe.co.nz

Trade Me stands as New Zealand's premier online auction and classifieds platform, established in 1999 by entrepreneur Sam Morgan. In 2006, Morgan sold the enterprise to Fairfax for NZ$700 million. The company went public on 13 December 2011, trading under the symbol "TME," before being acquired by private equity firm Apax Partners in May 2019 for NZ$2.56 billion. Additionally, Trade Me manages affiliated websites such as FindSomeone and Holiday Houses.

By 2019, Trade Me was ranked as the fifth most frequented website within New Zealand and held the position of 2,711th worldwide. With a population close to five million nationally, the platform boasted 5 million active users by 2021 and attracted approximately 690,000 daily visitors on average.

Most transactions are processed through New Zealand’s banking infrastructure; however, sellers have the option to accept credit card payments using Trade Me’s instant payment system, Ping (previously known as Pay Now). Australian sellers are required to maintain a New Zealand bank account, while sellers from other countries must obtain special approval.

Trade Me incorporates features typical of online auction platforms such as eBay, including options like "Buy Now" and "Auto bidding." Sellers can limit bidding to "authenticated" members—those verified through credit or debit card details or by depositing funds—who are also the only users permitted to post questions. Membership is restricted to one account per person, remains valid indefinitely, and can be partially suspended upon request while retaining member profiles and feedback for future reactivation.

Origins and early development

Sam Morgan created Trade Me in 1999 while employed full-time at Deloitte as a technology consultant specializing in Internet initiatives and supply-chain management. During this time, he observed both the triumphs of online ventures like eBay and the downturn caused by the dot-com bubble.

At age 23, Morgan was motivated to develop Trade Me after unsuccessfully searching for a secondhand heater online in Wellington. Existing platforms delayed listings so long that items often sold before potential buyers could make contact.

Morgan described the origin of the site:

"Some time later we were in a backpackers in Sydney and got evicted because it was overbooked. We went up to some backwater because it was the only accommodation we could find. Anyway, there was nothing to do, so that night I started drawing a data model. So it sort of started there really. Then when I came back to Wellington I literally sat on the couch and built the site on a laptop over a five- or six-week period."

Trade Me officially launched in March 1999 with minimal capital, attracting 155 members within its first week. Early on, Morgan humorously attempted to sell Trade Me on eBay with a $1 million "buy now" price; although eBay removed this listing, it sparked local interest in online marketplaces.

Initial growth was gradual due to limited financial resources and Trade Me’s approach of providing free services to both buyers and sellers to cultivate its user base rather than immediate profits. To support expansion efforts, Morgan sold nearly half of the company to former Deloitte associates for roughly $75,000.

By August 1999, membership had grown to 3,500 users, allowing Morgan to allocate more effort toward scaling the platform. The early growth strategy focused heavily on acquiring users and encouraging referrals, alongside introducing the Safe Trader escrow service around this period.

Growth and expansion

During its initial phase, Trade Me faced financial challenges despite a gradual increase in its user population. The company initially depended on web banner advertising, but falling ad rates rendered this income stream inadequate. The launch of auction-related fees—beginning with features such as bold listings and later introducing "success fees" in September 2000—was crucial in steering the business toward profitability. This achievement was consistent with the principles outlined in the 'Trade Me Manifesto', which emphasized speed and technological innovation.

In 2001, eBay attempted to penetrate the New Zealand market but was unsuccessful, leaving Trade Me as the leading online auction platform with minimal competition. Founder Sam Morgan attributed eBay's failure to cultural misalignments, including issues related to currency and localization.

Morgan took a hiatus in September 2001 to oversee an IT team in London; upon his return, Trade Me had reached profitability with 100,000 registered users, expanding to one million by April 2005.

Trade Me broadened its services by launching Trade Me Motors in August 2003, followed by Trade Me Property in 2005 and Trade Me Jobs in 2006.

In 2005, Trade Me was recognized by New Zealand's Deloitte/Unlimited Fast 50 as the fastest-growing technology company in the country.

Fairfax subsidiary, 2006–2012

On 6 March 2006, Australian media corporation Fairfax purchased Trade Me for NZ$700 million, with an additional NZ$50 million contingent on achieving specified earnings targets, which were met. Sam Morgan and key leadership remained with the company. Following the acquisition, Fairfax streamlined its online classifieds by phasing out platforms such as Jobstuff and Propertystuff in favor of Trade Me’s services.

By December 2012, Fairfax aimed to divest its stake in Trade Me to lower debt levels; the transaction was completed on 17 December. After this sale, Trade Me reported a robust profit of NZ$37.4 million for the second half of 2012, exceeding forecasts.

Apax Partners, 2018–present

In December 2018, British investment firm Apax Partners made a NZ$2.56 billion takeover offer for Trade Me, marking the largest private equity transaction in New Zealand’s history. The acquisition was finalized in May 2019.

On 3 June 2025, Trade Me acquired a 50% ownership interest in media company Stuff's Stuff Digital division, which encompasses the Stuff.co.nz portal and the evening news program ThreeNews. Stuff’s property section will be rebranded under Trade Me Property, facilitating shared listings, advertisements, and certain content across both platforms.

Listings

Trade Me has diversified its categories over time and by 2009 offered an extensive selection of listing types:

General merchandise
Motors: including cars, motorcycles, and boats
Real estate
Employment opportunities
Rental accommodations
Flatmate searches
Antiques and collectibles
Pets and animals

Community and related sites

Trade Me manages several affiliated websites:

Trade Me – the primary auction platform
FindSomeone – a dating and matchmaking service
Holiday Houses – holiday rental properties
MotorWeb – vehicle license plate search and information portal

Discontinued services

smaps – a web-based street mapping service for New Zealand, terminated in December 2008
Old Friends – a platform for reconnecting with former schoolmates and colleagues, ended operations in January 2016
SafeTrader – an escrow service designed for Trade Me auctions, discontinued as of July 2017

Controversies

As a prominent international marketplace, Trade Me encounters issues such as fraudulent activity, requiring users to exercise caution. In response, the company formed a dedicated Trust & Safety team in 2007 that monitors the platform daily to safeguard its community.

Members have the ability to flag listings violating the Terms and Conditions through the "Community Watch" icon found on each listing or by reaching out to the support team via the "Contact Us" link available on every page. Additionally, communication is maintained through various social media platforms.

To minimize fraud and payment complications, Trade Me limited its membership to residents of New Zealand and Australia in 2005, which affected approximately 20,000 international users. Nevertheless, in September 2013, the platform reopened access to selected overseas sellers who fulfilled specific eligibility requirements.

Only individuals aged eighteen and above can register due to legal contract stipulations. Prior to 2005, younger users were able to sign up by entering their true birthdates. After a consumer protection segment aired in June 2005, Trade Me requested that underage members update their information and now blocks registrations indicating an age below eighteen, although some minors may still provide false age details.

Conflicts with competitors

In 2006, Trade Me lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) against Realestate.co.nz over allegedly deceptive advertising claiming to be "the only place with every place." Trade Me contended that it listed properties absent from Realestate.co.nz's database. The ASA upheld portions of Trade Me's grievance.

On 6 November 2008, auction competitor Lixtor accused Trade Me of employing bullying strategies; Trade Me dismissed these allegations as attempts to attract media coverage.

Later that month, community newspaper The Aucklander reported that Trade Me’s legal representatives demanded Lixtor remove their published "Terms and Conditions."

In February 2009, amidst proposed copyright legislation changes (Section 92a), the New Zealand Creative Freedom Foundation cited the dispute between Lixtor and Trade Me as an example illustrating potential abuses under the new law.

Disputes with software developers

Several developers have encountered legal warnings for creating third-party applications interacting with the Trade Me website.

On 19 August 2006, the New Zealand Listener published an article titled "Bidding War," focusing on developer Ciaran Riddell who developed AuctionBar using screen scraping techniques. This software provided enhanced search capabilities, bid notifications via text messages, and an automated bidding "sniper" feature.

Following this, Trade Me revised its "Terms and Conditions" to forbid access through "robots, spiders, scrapers or other automated means" as specified in section 4.1(c).

On 7 May 2007, Trade Me introduced its inaugural official application: a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget that required an XML Feed. This launch sparked discussions among developers regarding the lack of a formal API.

Trade Me subsequently released an official API (as of July 2025).

Highest-Traffic Auctions

By July 2013, the Trade Me auctions that garnered the most views were:

Position	View Count	Closing Date	Description
1	1.1 million	3 June 2006	A Roxy handbag thrown at Wellington Hurricanes player Chris Masoe, teammate of Tana Umaga, in a Christchurch bar was sold for $22,750, attracting over one million views.
2	1 million	10 July 2013	A humorously described 'possessed' faulty printer was sold for $280 following a witty auction listing.
3	810,802	18 June 2009	The 'Scary Washing Machine' auction by Mike Whittaker raised $5,160, featuring a fictional narrative that inspired charity events and merchandise.
4	459,420	1 August 2012	The privilege to initiate the demolition of Radio Network House in Christchurch was sold for $26,000; the winner allowed a Queenstown child to press the detonation button.
5	355,889	20 January 2012	An auction titled YOUR Tattoo on my Bum!!
6	384,705	24 May 2009	Allan & Shelly Holland from Southland auctioned a tractor together with an 8.1-hectare farm located in the Catlins.
7	316,350	7 March 2011	Rocks for landscaping were offered for sale following the Christchurch earthquake in February.
8	292,184	6 May 2010	Folden 2010 auction event.
9	276,094	8 January 2009	Jesus Christ Pita Bread auction.
10	258,775	9 January 2012	Two days in the studio accompanied by advice from Neil Finn.

Additional Notable Auctions

In April 2005, an auction for a "comfort hug" aimed at spreading love and kindness attracted significant media coverage.
Towards the end of 2005, an auction for a "time machine" reached bids as high as NZ$300 trillion but was withdrawn prior to completion. It also held the record for the highest number of questions asked.
In 2006, an attempt to sell a malfunctioning Optus B1 satellite starting at NZ$200 million was removed after gaining substantial attention.
That same year, a user humorously listed Australia for sale, drawing over 11,000 views and bids exceeding NZ$200 million before being taken down by administrators.
An auction involving an amputated leg due to diabetes appeared in May 2006; it was promptly removed and resulted in banning "Body Parts" from listings.
June 2006 featured an auction of a bikini worn during an All Blacks streaking incident; although it fetched $4,010, the sale was later invalidated.
In October 2007, a pebble claimed to bear the Virgin Mary's image attracted more than 100,000 views but did not meet its reserve price of NZ$78.6 billion.
November 2008 saw Lixtor list its own auction website for NZ$100 million amid copyright disputes with Trade Me; this auction was withdrawn within hours.
February 2010 included a lemon marked "XT" mocking Telecom's XT Mobile Network outages; it sold for $1,155 and highlighted customer dissatisfaction.
Labour MP Trevor Mallard faced criticism in February 2012 after reselling Homegrown music festival tickets on Trade Me for profit despite supporting anti-scalping legislation.
One of Pak n' Save’s final single-use plastic bags sold shortly before a nationwide ban in 2019 attracted media interest and became one of that year's most viewed auctions.
The top-viewed auction of 2020 featured a bag of Covid-free air commemorating a negative test result during the pandemic, accumulating over 210,000 views.

Auctions that are withdrawn become inaccessible after sixty days; bid records are removed after forty-five days.

Noteworthy Individuals

Sam Morgan, entrepreneur and founder
Gareth Morgan, economist and investor

External Resources

Official website