Trade Me increases in-trade success fees for small business owners

Trade Me is increasing its success fees for business owners using the online selling platform.

From October 1 fees for selected categories for in-trade sellers will increase at different rates.

Electronics and photography will increase from 5.9% to 7.9%, while building and renovation – tools, and musical instruments will increase from 7.9% to 9.9%

Antiques and collectables, art, books, clothing and fashion, electronics and photography (excluding binoculars and telescopes, DVD and BluRay players, GPS, media streaming, phone and fax), health and beauty, jewellery and watches, movies and TV and music will increase from 9.9% to 11.9%.

The move faced backlash online, with one Reddit user saying it would force people to use Facebook Marketplace to earn better money.

But Trade Me head of marketplace Lisa Stewart said the average sale price for an item on Trade Me was $66, so a success fee increase from 9.9% to 11.9% would only mean $1.32 more.

The success fee for these in-trade categories had not changed since 2021 and based on the past 12 months, it would affect 23% of total purchases on Trade Me.

“When compared to other regulated online marketplaces, we believe our prices are still very competitive,” Stewart said.

“This was not a decision that was taken lightly, however, we believe we still offer great value for money.”

Casual and in-trade sellers operate differently on the platform, which is why Trade Me fees were structured separately.

“In-trade sellers follow a category-based success fee structure while casual sellers have the same success fee across all categories. This is common across many regulated international marketplaces,” Stewart said.

In-trade sellers also get additional benefits such as promotion on Google Shopping funded by Trade Me and specialised products.

Casual sellers were not affected by the fee change.