Hone leaving for his debut holiday to Uretiti.
It's official; Northland is second-hand central after Trade Me named the region as having the most Kiwi enthusiasts, with unwanted gifts peaking as their most searched for item post-Christmas.
This was followed by caravans, then boats, as Northlanders got involved in summer activities. Tractors, trailers and jet skis also proved popular among Northlanders over the holiday period.
Trade Me's New Zealand annual Second-hand Economy Report for 2021 showed that Northlanders are the keenest second-hand enthusiasts around the country (44 per cent "definitely would" buy second-hand), followed by Wairarapa, Nelson/Tasman and the West Coast, which were second equal at 40 per cent.
A search of Northland's unwanted gifts turned up a trampoline, hair curlers, a dispensing dish brush, a 10ct gold and diamond ring, a ute tray tent, facial hair remover, a missile-shooting Toy Story robot, camp folding chairs, Quick Silver jandals, Singstar, roller skates, coffee machine, bikinis, a rainbow unicorn, kimonos, a surf board, The Fidgety Itch book, a banana protective case offering no more bruised or squashed bananas in your bag, and two soft toy kiwis purchased to take overseas as a souvenir gift before the trip was cancelled.
From Christmas Day until January 10, there were 241,000 searches for unwanted gifts onsite from Kiwis around the country. This week, there were 8800 unwanted gifts listed for sale onsite with 185 currently in Northland.
Some of Trade Me staff's favourites include the watch from a "thoughtless ex", where the ex "put minimal thought or care into this gift, much like the relationship (I don't wear watches)"; a washing line cord – "My husband thinks he's hilarious and got me a washing line cord for my Xmas present, this is the second time he has done so as he thinks it's so funny. Please bid so I can get something a little more meaningful for my children and me";
and a medium-sized shirt gifted to a member who is now a "lockdown large".
Belinda Tipene and Rob Tikena were among many Northlanders who contributed to the second most popular search – caravans.
After nine years of camping at Uretiti, they'd been eyeing up caravans for years. Then an affordable 1975 retro Liteweight Chevron came up for sale and they made the purchase, subsequently naming it Hone.
"We'd been wanting one for years but they were all so expensive," said Tipene. "We wanted a retro one so we could personalise it. We'd seen a lot of retro caravans with really nice names, like Penny, so we named ours Hone. It's pretty hoary but tough so we think it suited that name," she laughed.
Hone made his debut at Uretiti where the Towai-based family headed on Christmas Day thinking there would be less traffic on the road. However, Tipene said, while the caravan held up very well, he also held up the traffic.
"There was actually lots of traffic - we had to pull over several times."
She said, while it sleeps three, their two boys slept in a tent and their holiday was "awesome", with a number of campers stopping by to enquire and have a laugh over their caravan's name.
They were next heading to Puriri Bay for Waitangi Weekend and hoping Hone handled the steep drive there.
Trade Me research shows the second-hand economy is stronger than ever with 74 per cent of Kiwis buying something second-hand in the past six months of this study and 58 per cent of Kiwis having sold their pre loved items over this period.
Of New Zealand's main centres, Wellingtonians and Cantabrians are the most active in the second-hand economy with 37 per cent saying they definitely would buy pre loved items in both regions. Aucklanders were a little behind with 32 per cent saying they definitely would go for second-hand.
Trade Me's head of Marketplace Ivan Fuyala said every time you buy, sell or swap or give away a used item, you're a part of the second-hand economy - whether it's selling an old TV, donating your children's clothing that no longer fit or buying a vintage lounge suite.
"Trade Me was purpose-built in 1999 to connect Kiwis and enable them to buy and sell faster and easier than ever before. Today there are over 1.2 million second-hand items on our site. In the last 12 months, the secondhand economy has boomed as more Kiwis go green and look for more sustainable options."
The primary reason Kiwis buy second-hand was cited as to save cash (71 per cent) but for many it is about sustainability, with 48 per cent of Kiwis saying they do it to protect the environment.
For others, it's about the thrill of the chase and finding something unique (58 per cent) or supporting other Kiwis selling their pre loved goods. A further 2 per cent of Kiwis say they buy second-hand because the item they want is simply not available now.
Covid-19 continued to have a massive impact on New Zealand's second-hand economy in 2021. After the nationwide lockdown in August, Trade Me saw a sharp increase in the number of second-hand goods listed and sold onsite. This reflects what was seen after the 2020 lockdown after Kiwis spent their spare time cleaning out cupboards and selling items that no longer sparked joy. During the 2020 level 4 lockdown, the most sought-after items onsite were mountain bikes, caravans, spa pools, Lego and couches. The 2021 lockdowns saw the popularity of comfy couches, air fryers and upgrading work from home work stations.
Eighty-three per cent of Kiwis said they are proud of buying secondhand, compared to just 3 per cent who said they feel embarrassed about not buying new. Just 16 per cent of respondents said they probably or definitely would not consider buying secondhand.
The research shows every New Zealander has 26 items they no longer use or need. Based on the average selling price of items sold on Trade Me, that means every Kiwi has approximately $1700 worth of unwanted stuff sitting in their cupboards, wardrobes and garages. That's a $200 increase when compared to 2020 and a $500 increase compared with 2019. Just 7 per cent of Kiwi say they don't have any unwanted items to sell.
Fact Box:
• Average 2021 sale price of items on Trade Me: Books, $15.21, Clothing and fashion - $27.69, All categories - $88.16, Home and living - $108.16.
• Kiwis said they're more likely to buy from Trade Me than anywhere else. Op shops came in second place, followed by Facebook.
• The top three reasons Kiwis sell their second-hand stuff was: "decluttering" – 67 per cent, "thinking of others" - 53 per cent, and "going green" - 39 per cent.
• Millennials (born late 1970s - mid-1990s) love second-hand the most and are most likely to purchase pre loved items with over three quarters of respondents (78 per cent) in the age group saying they would buy secondhand. This was followed by Gen X (born early 1960s - late 1970s) - 74 per cent, Gen Z (born mid-late 1990s - early 2010s) - 73 per cent, Boomers (born mid-1940s - mid-1960s) - 67 per cent and Silent Gen (born before 1945) - 54 per cent.
The company employed a lot of immigrant workers as contractors now owed money.