wheedle is back – trademe’s competition?

A while back, I wrote an article about the online selling market in New Zealand.  Today we will look at recent developments and see how the playing field stacks up in 2013.

As before, Trademe is still the dominant player in the market.

Wheedle is back.  As discussed on NBR, Wheedle has conducted a security review, and after closing it’s doors for 6 months, are now open for business again.  They had a decent number of followers and products but have wiped that information following their security revamp.  With $10 million+ budget, some attractive features, and a large amount of press coverage, they will get some business.

Another player that I was not previously aware of is EzyAuctioNZ.  I they offer free listings, and some good features, but have the same hurdle as many other startups – gaining sellers.  The old chicken and the egg… How do you get buyers, if you dont have sellers?  And how do you attract sellers if there are no buyers?  They have been open since 2006, founded by “gifted web guru” Scott G., and have close to 6000 members.  I will follow their progress and update you if their numbers grow.

Sella has closed. shop.  The grew exponentially since starting three years ago to become New Zealands’s second largest auction site with over 725,000 visits each month.  They merged in 2012 with Trade & Exchange!, and now An article on NBR said they are closing:  APN folds auction site Sella, Bradley leaves the APN building, and that March 31 is the last day to list an auction.  Going to their’s sell link shows a discussion about their purchase by NZ Herald Online, and the fact that you can no longer sell items through sella.

About andy dingfelder

Andy is a CISO/CTO in the fintech sector with over 20 years of experience in Software Delivery and Team Leadership in multiple industry domains. Master's Degree (MPA) in Public Administration Information Systems and over 10 years of board governance experience for multiple organisations. Full bio is available at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dingfelder and links available at https://linktr.ee//dingfelder or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dingfelder. Andy lives in the Wellington region, New Zealand with his wife and two daughters.
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