Mike Pero Launches Innovative New Service

Media Information July 31, 2007

Mike Pero Launches Innovative New Service
And Loses His Watch In The Process

Mike Pero likes the company so much, he’s putting his watch on it! TradeRunner is a new business that helps people sell their goods on NZ’s biggest online auction site Trademe.

With one phone-call TradeRunner will pick up goods from your door, catalogue, photograph and list them on Trademe. While your auction is live, TradeRunner stores your goods manages the auction process. The goods are then dispatched to the buyer by TradeRunner once they have been sold.

TradeRunner’s first customer is Mike Pero himself. He is putting his own watch on Trademe – a three year old gold Raymond Weil watch purchased for $2500. Proceeds will be donated to St John’s.

Mike Pero says he was astounded by some of the figures surrounding Trademe, particularly the overwhelming ratio of buyers to sellers. He says TradeRunner will make it a lot easier for people to sell things on Trademe and is aimed at the huge number of people who have goods they want to sell, but haven’t the time or inclination or just don’t get around to it.

“Most of us find it easier to buy on Trademe than sell - the average user buys at least 4 times more often than they sell. Buying is easy and only takes a few minutes, whereas selling can take a few hours,” says Pero. “The average amount of time it takes to sell something is two hours compared to just eight minutes to buy something. Trade Runner aims to make that selling process as simple as possible – we do it all for you.”

Mike Pero also believes that a large target market will be people shifting house – “Moving house is a good time to consider what is excess baggage. Your TradeRunner sales could go towards your legal fees of buying & selling or shifting costs,” says Pero.

Trade Me’s Sam Morgan is a fan of the TradeRunner concept: “Services similar to TradeRunner are common overseas. They are growing in popularity and seem to work well with online auction sites like ours. Anything that is going to help people sell online is good as far as we are concerned. We always envisaged that this sort of business would evolve around Trademe”.

Initially the pick-up service is being offered in Christchurch only, with the option of delivery anywhere in New Zealand. Expansion is planned throughout the country during the coming months.

Franchise opportunities are now available with a view to creating a network of owner operators around New Zealand: “It’s a bit like owning your own internet sales business, and ideal for those people who would like a change in life, like meeting people and enjoy variety,” says Pero. More information about TradeRunner franchises is available on the TradeRunner website.

Only new or second hand items individually worth more than $50 dollars can be sold via TradeRunner in the preliminary stages. TradeRunner will also not accept anything that they classify as Dodgy, Difficult, Dirty or Dangerous.

The service is the brainchild of Christchurch based entrepreneur Grant Wells and uses a software platform developed Gallagher Business Systems and hosted by Sir Gill Simpson’s Jolly Good Software company.

Ends

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