Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Trading Trade Me?

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  • Mark Easterbrook,

    trademe? I see John Key is going to auction his cast on that site. Do you think he is going to sign it?

    Is it all his own work?

    Yes, and he's going to offer to drop it off to the winner in an illegally speeding police motorcade.

    Yawn.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 265 posts Report Reply

  • Matthew Poole,

    The Trade-me question will be what eBay does with it? They're only buying the name (they have the technology themselves) so the question is are they buying it to turf it (and introduce ebay.co.nz) or buying it as a portfolio play to continue to run as it stands with the odd eBay intiative tacked on the side?

    The thought of eBay buying TardMe is almost too terrifying for words. The eBay interface is awful ! TM isn't exactly going to win a UI award, but it's still streets ahead of eBay.
    I really can't see eBay management turning down the chance to dispose of the "one of the few Western territories in which the local auctioneering upstart shut out the giant eBay" moniker, either.

    Oh, and that clipping thing with italics, it's any character that comes after the close, not just spaces. It was quite happy to eat the exclamation mark. That's very broken.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 4097 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    I now want to meet Robyn and see if she uses that in irl conversation.

    Um, yeah, I do. Only #ffcc00 and #003399 are the only colours I know (apart from #000000 and #ffffff).

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Lyndon Hood,

    We shall have to ask Graeme about the legal ramifications of such behaviour.

    Has he declared his cast as an asset?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1115 posts Report Reply

  • Neil Graham,

    I thought it was supposed to set his arm.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 118 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    Imagine how bad John Key's cast will smell when it comes off.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Josh Addison,

    Imagine how bad John Key's cast will smell when it comes off.

    It will smell of victory. Or sweat, I guess.

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    There were also compulsory Friday afternoon drinks which you had to attend and be all social and shit. You weren't allowed to go home early. You had to stand around and drink a beer, a wine or an orange juice with the accountant.

    Such wank - that would get me looking for another job straight away. I have these *friend* people that I wish to socialise with on Friday afternoons, not the people I've wound up working with. If the boss was standing drinks in a pub after work on Thursday or at lunchtime, I'd be fine with that (as typically happened in my old firms in the UK).

    Anyways, on TradeMe, I don't really see the difference between an Aussie corporation and an American corporation, or an NZ one for that matter. It's all still The Man.

    But Fairfax would be dumb to sell it, as they'd basically be waving goodbye to personal/SME advertising. Of course, being a dumb corporate they've done nothing (AFAIK) to integrate the classy ads in the papers with TradeMe, which I'd have seen as a no brainer.

    But maybe dumbness in the media industry will have an endgame of No (tory) Newspapers, which I for one would welcome.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Litterick,

    Fairfax bought Trademe, presumably because Trademe had destroyed classified advertising and made itself very profitable. If Fairfax is now trying to sell Trademe, then its New Zealand papers cannot be worth very much.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Andrew,

    It will smell of victory. Or sweat, I guess.

    I thought victory smelt like napalm? Or is that just in the morning, maybe in the afternoon it smells like sweat... If so, what does it smell like by late evening?

    Hamiltron - City of the F… • Since Nov 2006 • 900 posts Report Reply

  • Blake Monkley,

    Has he declared his cast as an asset?

    John should talk to Cynthia plaster caster.

    Auckland • Since Jul 2008 • 215 posts Report Reply

  • Dave Patrick,

    It will smell of victory. Or sweat, I guess.

    I thought victory smelt like napalm? Or is that just in the morning, maybe in the afternoon it smells like sweat... If so, what does it smell like by late evening?

    Ashes?

    Rangiora, Te Wai Pounamu • Since Nov 2006 • 261 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock,

    The eBay interface is awful!

    Not that bad, in my opinion. The TM interface is certainly better in most respects, but there are certain things about the Ebay interface that I think are better.

    The biggest problem I have with Ebay is that the NZ/AU market is too small and too far away from the US and Europe to have a decent local turnover of the more specialist items that I browse for, which are far more readiliy for sale in the US. A lot of US sellers will only ship inside the US, and if they ship outside the US, the shipping charges are generally horrendous. That won't change any time soon.

    However, one of the reasons US sellers only ship inside the US is to avoid scams. What we might see changing if Ebay goes live in NZ (and local users start getting a decent amount of positive feedback) is O/S sellers being more willing to ship to a more demonstrably trustworthy buyer in NZ.

    Apart from that, I don't really give a stuff which 'The Man' is running things.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • Don Christie,

    "Sweat, liniment and lynx"

    comes to mind

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report Reply

  • Grant McDougall,

    And unlike ihug there was - at least on my floor - no sex, drugs or other crazy times, which was a tad disappointing.

    I've got a great anecdote along those lines regarding when Chris Heazlewood from King Loser worked at Ihug in the late '90s.

    For obvious legal reasons, I don't think Russell would want me to elaborate, but I'm sure those of you who know Mr Heazlewood will be able to join the dots...

    Dunedin • Since Dec 2006 • 760 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    I've got a great anecdote along those lines regarding when Chris Heazlewood from King Loser worked at Ihug in the late '90s.

    Whoa, Heazlewood used to work at the 'Hug! Arrgh!

    There were a surprising number of musicians/actors/indiecunts who worked at Ihug. Some of them were brilliant (behold the direct debit form I co-designed with the drummer from Delta!), but others had trouble with the whole "having a job" and "doing work" thing.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    The Herald site may well look good and be very useful, but... it hangs my brouser

    Try adblocking everything and/or uninstalling flash. A lot of those animated ads grab CPU.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Tomorrowpeople,

    I disagree - I think TradeMe is a bit of a pig compared to ebay.

    It's getting better but ebay has a much better search engine, especially for completed items which is what I use it for 50% of the time.

    Whenever I am selling something collectable it goes on ebay US without a thought.
    The only site to sell 'proper' stuff (that you can mail).

    As for shipping from the US - it's not that much if you know your postal shizz.
    Likewise from here to there.

    The Craps tables at the B… • Since Nov 2006 • 188 posts Report Reply

  • Tomorrowpeople,

    What I meant to add, is that TradeMe is often full of cheap-ass tyre kickers.
    ebay is where the real buyers are at.

    The Craps tables at the B… • Since Nov 2006 • 188 posts Report Reply

  • andin,

    Yep have to agree theTradeMe search engine is shite.

    TradeMe is often full of cheap-ass tyre kickers

    Hmm, its a bit of both this and people who have an over inflated sense of what they think their goods are worth.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie,

    Whenever I am selling something collectable it goes on ebay US without a thought.

    What I meant to add, is that TradeMe is often full of cheap-ass tyre kickers.
    ebay is where the real buyers are at.

    I'm sure you're right, but I was very pleasantly surprised at what TradeMe's "cheap-ass tyre kickers" were prepared to bid for a couple of WWII vintage Fun Ho! toys that I happened to have lying around.

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • Evan Yates,

    I guess John Key's cast will just be the colourful fibreglass outer shell bit. These get cut off and replaced. I hope the smelly cloth wrapping and plaster of paris bits are binned as they should be.

    I remember losing the end of a knitting needle down my cast and worrying what the doctor would say when he found it during the removal. Luckily he just used a really grunty cutter down both sides, peeled off the cast in two bits and binned them without examining them for illicit itch-scratching foreign objects.

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    However, one of the reasons US sellers only ship inside the US is to avoid scams.

    Mostly, I think it's because they don't actually know how to send stuff overseas. (Just a tad bitter.)

    a couple of WWII vintage Fun Ho! toys

    I went to the Fun Ho! museum in the 'naki a few years ago. It was at the behest of a male friend - I'd never even heard of those toys before that - but I kinda got into it! I have a little reproduction 'Men Working' sign in my house...

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    Has no-one put Trademe up on TradeMe yet?

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • Josh Addison,

    Lately I've been using Trademe to get a few bucks for stuff I want to get rid of - eBay's not much use for that unless both sides of the transaction are local. That said, the people you meet on Trademe can be bloody annoying. I sold off a bunch of old PlayStation games and other crap last year to help pay the Xmas credit card bills - practically every auction I put up was met with questions starting "Would you consider..." asking for something other than what I was offering. I sold one large and heavy item, having specified "buyer to pick up", to have the guy I sold it to e-mail me and say "hi, I'm in Tauranga..."

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report Reply

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