Items such as surplus tools, stuff in the kitchen appliance graveyard, that God awful fish platter that a well-meaning Aunt bought us for a wedding present eons ago. I have also been wondering about using Trademe as a medium to sell woodturning. So far, from my own experience and from what I have observed from other auctions, I think the prices you receive for things as a seller are well beyond what you might expect to receive from a second hand dealer. From the buyer s perspective, the cost of things is reasonable and less than what a second hand dealer would sell a similar item for after adding their markup. This depends of course on the reserve price set by the seller.
Some people set their reserves unrealistically high.
Not surprisingly they are the same people whose items generally do not sell. Far better, I think, to set a realistic reserve and anticipate that the bidding will go beyond that amount. Uploading pictures to run with your auction and writing a good description of the product is a key to this happening. So for those woodturners like me who are not professionals but who have surplus tools and stock to sell, I think Trademe is well worth exploring. People overseas simply would not buy at those prices and you as the seller would certainly not be able to absorb the postage costs.