Postanote Continues to Capitalise on Gumtree’s Exit

New Zealand’s Postanote.co.nz Continues to Capitalise on Gumtree’s Exit

With Gumtree’s exit from New Zealand’s free buy/sell marketplace, PostaNote.co.nz quickly gains in popularity.

“It was truly a godsend Gumtree leaving New Zealand. The timing was just incredible, and our growth has been staggering since they closed their doors. I guess it pays to be lucky sometimes,” commented Nathan Weathington, Post a Note’s general manager.

Weathington would not give any specifics about their growth, as he cited many examples of startups who had to spend precious time and money defending such statements. But he said the easiest way to see their growth is in the number of items posted on the site each day, which range from a $65,000 church and a $149,000 tractor, down to $1 baby clothes.

“We think the reason it helped us so much is because people coming from Gumtree were already comfortable using free-classifed websites. So when they learned we were New Zealand based, it was a pretty easy transition,” said Weathington.

Although Post a Note allows you to buy and sell for free, just like Gumtree, there are some differences with the site and business model. I asked Nathan why he thinks they will be able to succeed where Gumtree failed.

“Our biggest advantage is that we only operate in New Zealand. Gumtree operates all over the world, New Zealand was just a data point to them. Our site has been designed by our users which has made it customised for kiwis. Not many websites in the world allow you to buy and sell goods from a place like Tarras, which is a small town in Otago with only a few hundred residents.”

When asked what the most popular item listed on Post a Note has been thus far, Nathan laughed and showed us a hilarious woman (after a few drinks) trading her husband for a washing machine. This may or may not have been part of an elaborate April Fool’s day joke, but regardless, it’s worth a read with 6,639 views and counting.

https://postanote.co.nz/personals/women-looking-for-men/worthless-husband-needs-new-home_i12851#.VU_9d6Z5cUU

People have been curious about the origins of the name Post a Note.

“I wish I could take credit for it, but we just asked hundreds, if not thousands of people how they sell second hand goods in New Zealand, and I bet 90% of the people said they simply ‘post a note’ on local community boards. And the name really stuck.”

What was once a small south island website has now grown to service all of New Zealand and might be on the verge of becoming one of the largest websites in New Zealand. We wish them continued success.

ends

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