Allow buyers to make an offer

Kia Ora Nicholas,

Make an Offer is currently available to casual sellers only, if the seller selects it during the listing process - it is available for some listings in the mobile apps and only can be made until the reserve price has been met - it is not yet available through the Desktop. - Offer's automatically expire within 24 hours of the offer being made - where there is no reserve, any bid placed higher than an existing offer automatically declines any outstanding offers.

When editing your Listings, if they are still valid for the 'Make an offer' you will want to ensure you reselect the Offers checkbox - Cheers. 

EDIT: I see S answered your first part better than me.

For the second part of your post, yes, it is a trial. Only available at present to casual users, and only via the app. It's not currently on desktop or for business sellers. You can read more about it at the help file, linked below.

https://help.trademe.co.nz/hc/en-us/articles/360048790832-Make-an-Offer

Okay thanks for the explanations. That brings up another question - why is my account is considered "In Trade"? 99 percent of my listings are for used items I not longer need. I'm not "in trade" at all. I should be considered a casual seller.

Hi Nicholas. Generally sellers turn on the "in-trade" status themselves. So you perhaps did that by accident.

Occasionally Trade Me will turn it on if people have reported you as an in-trade seller, they investigate and determine that you are. But you are always given warning first and contacted to say that is what they are doing.

If you are marked as in-trade, you can't turn it off yourself. I have a feeling even Trade Me can't?  But if you have made a genuine mistake they might be able to do something for you if you contact them.