Unwanted: lockdown buys, and pets
The things Kiwis bought to get themselves through lockdown are appearing in increasing numbers on Trade Me.
Items being listed with increasing frequency include home gym equipment and sewing and scrapbooking supplies.
The online marketplace also registered a spike in dogs being put up for adoption.
‘‘Thousands of Kiwis are selling their exercise machines, with listings up 26% on June last year,’’ Trade Me spokesperson Millie Silvester said. ‘‘We also saw a spike in the number of gym weights for sale in June, with listings up 22% on the year prior.’’
Silvester said that during the 2020 lockdown, Trade Me saw plenty of Kiwis look to crafting as a way to pass the time, with a boom in sales related to sewing, scrapbooking and knitting.
She said sales had remained steady since, with many Kiwis continuing their hobbies, but in June the number of listings in the sewing category were up 28% on 2021, listings in scrapbooking were up 19%, and listings in knitting were up 22%.
Dog classifieds leap as owners return to normal
When compared with June 2019, prior to Covid, there had been a 36% jump in the number of dogs to adopt on Trade Me.
Auckland animal shelters have warned they are at capacity after lockdowns led to a puppy and kitten boom. Auckland Council animal management manager Elly Waitoa said the three council shelters in Manukau, Silverdale and Henderson were at breaking point.
Waitoa said it seemed most dogs were being given up because owners could not get them into rental homes or were being called back to the office and could no longer work from home as much.
Trade Me head of trust and safety Lisa Kerr said it was important that users were aware of the responsibilities that came with owning an animal. ‘‘Pets are great fun and really rewarding, but owning one can be costly and timeconsuming.’’
Trade Me publishes guidance when trading animals online.
Pets could only be listed as classified on Trade Me, which allowed breeders and buyers to be selective about whom they sold, bought and adopted from and to, and ensured animals were going to homes where they would be cared for.
‘‘It’s important to us that unwanted pets find a new family, so we have a free ‘adopt’ categories for both cats and dogs,’’ Kerr said.
All animals in this category were free except those listed by approved organisations such as rescue shelters, which may charge a small fee for necessary costs associated with rescuing the animal.