Trade Me recently removed success fees for sellers. Does that make it more or less attractive than Facebook Marketplace? Here’s how the two platforms compare.
Which has the lowest fees?
The big negative for selling on Trade Me until recently was its 7.9% success fee for sellers. In March, that fee was removed for casual members selling on Trade Me Marketplace, with a spokesperson saying this was to make it “easier to sell, safer to buy, and better for everyone”. (Fees still apply for professional sellers and on Trade Me Motors.) “We know the cost of selling has become a hurdle, so we’ve removed that barrier,” the spokesperson says.
Facebook Marketplace continues to have no cost to list an item, and you don’t pay a sold fee either.
Winner: It’s a tie.
Which gives me more protection?
The big pro for selling on Trade Me is the help you have on hand if things don’t go well. If the trade doesn’t go ahead, it’s easy to contact Trade Me for advice, and you can file a “dispute report” to request its help.
When things go wrong on Facebook Marketplace, you can feel like you’re on your own. And they often do go wrong. There are frequently stories in the news about people being scammed on Marketplace. Keep in mind you’re telling someone you don’t know that you’ve got something they might want, then letting them know your address.
Winner: Trade Me.
When you’re buying or selling second-hand goods online, it’s important you know your rights. We break down your rights when deals go wrong. If you need our help, members can get personalised advice from our Consumer Rights Advice Line.
Which is more convenient?
On Trade Me, buyers bid for your items, so you don’t have to wade through offers to see which one is best. There’s also the “buy now” option, if there’s a selling price for the item you’d be happy to accept.
Trade Me’s payment platform, Ping, makes it easy for buyers to pay you, with no need to swap bank account details. Its Book a Courier service also makes it easy to get your item out to the buyer with a few clicks.
Meanwhile, anyone who has used Facebook Marketplace will know the pain of being constantly asked if an item is still available, only to never hear from the person again after you reply “Yes”. You should also be prepared to deal with people trying to haggle down the price.
On the positive side, because you’re not running an auction with an end date, you can find the deal is done very fast on Facebook Marketplace. And because buyers can home in on areas close to where they live, they can also be at your place to pick up the items they’ve bought quickly.
Winner: Trade Me, unless you’re in a huge rush to sell.
Trade Me or Marketplace – which do we prefer to use?
We asked around the Consumer NZ office to see which platform our colleagues preferred to sell on after Trade Me announced its changes. It was split pretty evenly. Here’s what they said.
Jessica Walker, communications & campaigns manager
My first preference would still be to sell locally on Facebook Marketplace, but only on groups where I have a level of confidence that there are administrators across what's happening. For me, it’s not about fees, it's more about convenience.
Scott Moore, market research & insights manager
I haven’t used either in a long time, but I wouldn’t touch Marketplace, given previous issues/risks flagged, so I tend to think I’d stick with Trade Me for peace of mind.
Chris Schulz, investigative journalist
I use both Facebook Marketplace and Trade Me about equally for purchases, usually secondhand vinyl or the odd thing I need around the house. But I’m much more likely to sell on Trade Me now that the fees have been removed. The 7.9% success fee was always a killer.
Kate Harvey, content manager
I tried Facebook Marketplace once and decided never again. You get so many time-wasters who say they’ll come and pick something up and never do. I love the excitement of seeing what an item will sell for in a Trade Me auction and then how easy it is to send it through their ‘Book a Courier’ service. The fees did always sting, though, so it’s great now to be able to keep the full amount that something sells for.
Bryan Wall, product test journalist
Facebook Marketplace is my first port of call if I’m selling, but I post in local groups first, to minimise time-wasters. It’s more convenient to discuss sales and purchases with messages, and I can usually suss out the time-wasters and scammers quickly. But it can also be a pain to manage the amount of enquiries you sometimes get. It’s great to be able to advertise stuff in specialist groups, though, so the right people see what you have on offer.
I’ll use Trade Me if Marketplace hasn’t found me a seller within a couple of weeks, or if I don’t really know what something is worth and want the market to decide its value via auction.
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