New look saved searches & favourites emails

Yes, so if we are going to be stuck with only 10 new listings, that's one thing.

But with no easy way to then view all the others via a link that at least gets you to the actual search (And maybe auto-sorted by latest listings) the email is now all but useless for searches that have more than 10 results returned.

Now that Trade me have changed their favourite searches emails and applied the 14 days drop off from buyers' watchlists, I personally no longer bother searching to buy new items on Trade Me, I cannot afford to do so, as these brutal changes by Trade Me have all but destroyed my sales on the site, and yet Trade Me continues to show no interest in helping their sellers in this matter. So maybe when they see for themselves how their profits have also plummeted, they may realise what caused it, but by then it will be too late as more and more of their sellers, and buyers, are walking away for good.

Hello tlzee

Because Trade Me is no longer publicly listed detailed financials aren't disclosed. However it is reported that last year Trade Me marketplace only accounted for 15-20% of their profits and is dropping year on year. This year it will likely be less again due to the removal of fees for private sellers, the problematic "improvements" to the website, and ongoing local and global financial worries.

So unfortunately as far as Trade Me Marketplace is concerned it could be a case of "Meh, who cares. We are going to focus on the things that still make us profit (vehicles and property) or our other investments" 

You're right that it's tough though. I have been a Top Seller for continuously since day 1 of it's implementation 10 or more years ago. But a couple of times this year I feel I have came close to losing it. I used to see the Top Seller badge everywhere. Now, it's something of a rarity. 

I suspect they will make more passive income off the interest of everyones combined ping accounts, than from sales. Which I suspect is the reason they forced ping on everyone.

Kia ora everyone, appreciate the feedback, we've updated the way search categories appear in the emails, putting them first so they are easier to read on a small screen. The team are working on adding search links to the emails.

The very first sentence in the emails is just all wrong.

"Today's 10* listings matching your saved search for"

1. It's not a list of today's listings. It's a list of recently listed items, that may have been listed today, or yesterday, or some other time. It would be much better to say, Recently listed items matching your saved search for....

2. I know there is a * after the 10, and small print at the bottom to explain further, but again, the Today's 10* listings, is just wrong. Better to say, 10 recently listed items matching your saved search for....

Today means today, this day, not yesterday, or 3 days ago.

TBH, the wording is the last thing Im concerned about. They can call the emails whatever they like if they actually had what they used to have and be actually useful - they need to show all the new listings that they used to show, and then a link to the rest if over 100 new listings (or whatever the previous ones used to do). This max of 10, even with a link is a bad idea.

Id like to know the business reason this was changed. Yes I get trademe are going through the site upgrades, but this one is causing less items being seen and therefore sold. I makes no sense when your business income is based on sales

Hi Michelle,

Your post suggests that that maximum 10 items has been decided and our pleas not to completely destroy the usefulness of favouurites email has fallen on deaf ears. Correct?

S, thanks ever so much for converting our concerns into marketspeak. That should hopefully improve our chances of a massive backpedal event.

I hope so. I don't know how much clearer we can make it, nor should we have to. Its blimmin obvious. This is affecting people's livelihoods.

Not the first time they've released a complete flaming bag of DS onto their users without checking with anyone if it was a good idea. Won't be the last either, I'm afraid.

Watchlist update: My watchlist is now down to 9 non-car listings. A couple of months ago it would have been at least 100 listings. This is a shambles.

The new Trademe favourites emails are much worse than the old ones. Nearly every change trademe has made in these past 5 years has been a backwards step. I don't know who their web developers are but they need to sack the whole team and start again

Maybe they already have msc_nz 

A large staff churn could explain some of the issues. You'd have to wonder sometimes if the people that implement the changes actually use Trade Me themselves in their personal life? It's a shame because there are some absolutely brilliant people working at Trade Me. They no doubt feel the pain as well when a poorly thought out or implemented change is made. 

But don't forget that while we all think of Trade Me as being the online Marketplace, that only accounts for 10-15% of their profits and dropping. So it's maybe not really the big focus for them. 

Still, lets hope the new CEO that started last month can get in there and revive things.