Channel Advisor gets competiton from EasyTrade. Both handle logistics for retailers selling new goods on Trade Me - a key area of growth for the listed site as it attempts to move beyond its amateur auction roots.
A second company has come out of the wood-work promising to make life easier for retailers who sell new goods on Trade Me.
EasyTrade promises logistical support for commercial sellers, including e-commerce support, warehousing and shipping of orders.
The new outfit is a partnership between NZ start-up TradeVine and Brightstar, a well-known player in the international field of so-called "aggregator" services for retailers.
TradeVine's service only went live last month after a year's trial. Founder Peter Montgomery (not to be confused with the yachting commentator of the same name - although he does have a maritime systems backround rather than a traditional tech CV) says his Christchurch-based service has 400 registered users. Brightstar says it has $US6 billion annual revenue.
Their merged service, EasyTrade, will compete with another high-profile global aggregator, Channel Advisor, already named as a Trade Me partner.
Trade Me CEO Jon Macdonald said help overseas retailers (especially those from Australia) reach New Zealand customers by selling new goods on its site.
Should retailers choose Channel Adviser's service or Tradevine's EasyTrade?
Trade Me spokesman Paul Ford told NBR Online, "Channel Advisor is much bigger and offers a broader range of functionality and services."
A spokeswoman for Tradevine offered, "While both Channel Advisor and Tradevine are multichannel ecommerce providers, they target different markets. Channel Advisor is a powerful solution designed for large scale international enterprises selling on EBay and Amazon, whereas Tradevine is designed for small to medium New Zealand businesses selling on Trade Me."
She added, "Tradevine’s point of difference is that customers can extend their system to also integrate with Xero for their accounting and Brightstar for fulfillment."
Earlier, Mr Macdonald told NBR that Trade Me is seeking to sign multiple aggreggator services - the better to boost the number of retailers, and the amount of new goods, sold through the site.
Small businesses needed logistical help, Mr Macdonald said - and Trade Me preferred to supply it through partners such as Channel Advisor rather than build its own warehouses and become an Amazon.com-style service.
Larger retailers would always sell through their own sites, but there was potential for them to use Trade Me for the likes of end-of-line sales..
Along with increased classified listings (and increased classified fees), new goods - which already account for 40% of sales - are seen as a key area of growth for Trade Me [NZX:TME] as it moves beyond its amateur auction roots.
