Selling guide
Selling on Trade Me: top tips for speedy sales
Wondering how to sell items quickly on Trade Me? Here are your answers.
Last updated: 13 June 2023
Speedy selling on Trade Me: a guide
1. Create a quality listing
The best chance an item has to sell online is the first time it’s listed, so take the time to create a good listing.
- Descriptive titles work: Think about the words a buyer would type into the search bar if they were looking for your item. You can also include a subtitle to increase the number of keywords that maximises your listing's reach.
- It’s all in the details: Try and reduce the need for Q&A where possible, by including as much info as you can to remove uncertainty. Mention things like the condition, make, model, year, colour, brand, measurements, sizing, and specifications.
- Make it pretty: Use clear, high-quality photos to stand out, and support your description.
Be sure to include different angles, close-ups of any flaws, and make sure the best picture is your main one. Remember that 20 photos are free for all Marketplace listing
- Upload your own images – you don’t need to be a professional photographer, just use natural light and choose a clear background.
2. Build trust with your buyer
One thing every buyer has in common, especially online, is a need for trust. They need to know that the item they’re looking at on a screen will be the same when it appears on their doorstep.
- Authenticate your membership: Doing this will mean you’re more trusted, and it's easy to do.
- Research: Taking the time to research similar listings should give you an idea of competition and buyer expectations. Free shipping or an appealing Buy Now could make all the difference.
- A your Qs: Remember that if one buyer asks a question, chances are there are others wanting to know the same thing. Answering questions quickly builds a rapport with the interested member, which sets you up as a seller they want to buy from.
- Care about your buyers: Make every sale a great one and you’ll receive quality, genuine feedback. Sellers with good feedback gain buyers’ trust, which inspire quicker sales. Make sure you’re giving feedback too!
Take the time to build a relationship with buyers.
3. Use our features to encourage a speedy sale
You might be wanting a quick sale – but a buyer might also need your item quickly too! Think about what might convince them to purchase your item over another.
- Add our Make an offer feature. Buyers can send you offers you can accept or decline - Make an offer helps reduce the time to sell by 17%* and increase probability of a sale by 8%*!
- Take ‘Buy Now’ literally. Adding a Buy Now makes buying quick and easy. It’s that simple.
- Add a little razzle dazzle. Using our promotional features gives you a bunch of ways to make your listing more appealing to buyers. Having your listing appear bigger or or higher up on the search results page could be the difference between a quick sale, and a few weeks of relisting.
- $1 reserve it. These listings are a great way to generate interest but you’ll still need to demonstrate the product’s value, so reflect this in the description of your listing. Your listing will also appear on the $1 reserve page, which is a great way for bargain hunters to find your listing. The listing will still run for a set time, but it's much more likely to sell!
- Book a courier. Save money on shipping costs for your buyer with our Book a courier service (mates' rates). Adding Book a Courier to your listing will also give the buyer an accurate shipping estimate.
Long story short – if you make sure your listing is as helpful and appealing as it can be, you’re more likely to find yourself with extra cash (and garage space!) in no time.
Now you’ve read our top tips for fast sales, why not get started?
*Based on our A/B experiment 2 Oct - 15 Nov.
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