Experts on employment predict how Covid-19 will change the way we work and impact jobs in the future. The isolating impact of Covid-19 forced us to change the way we work. It recast the relationship between employer and employee and it brought the role of technology in our workplaces forward by years. This shift was … Read more
Houses might be the most popular and inflated purchases in New Zealand, but there are plenty of other products that are seeing soaring demand and prices over the past few months. Here’s a list of what New Zealanders are spending their money on with international travel out of the picture. Used cars (including vans) In … Read more
Summer reissue: Alex Casey goes on a hunt to find the rarest $10 note in the land. First published February 10, 2020. I’ve always been really good at finding money. Not in the useful, fiscal hole kind of a way, but in the literal, frequently picks up bottle caps thinking they are 50c coins kind … Read more
If you’ve been dreaming of that cute little cavoodle, prepare to end up locked in a bidding war with hundreds of equally desperate buyers. Nothing gets New Zealanders hot under the collar than a story about the rampant housing market. With travel – our traditional outlet of escapism – barred to most of us, we’ve … Read more
It’s a self-righting jet boat equipped with harnesses, racing seats, and reinforced Israeli glass – and it’s spent the last 15 years in a shed. Michael Andrew investigates the origins of Wave Attack, the prototype that never got its debut. Imagine driving an immensely powerful sea craft that appears, to the awestruck onlooker, to be … Read more
Covid-19 related price gouging? Yep, it’s happening. Here are just a few things people are trying to sell for crazy prices off the back of coronavirus. Update, 18 March 2020: Bowing to widespread criticism, Trade Me today announced it is introducing a new policy to crack down on profiteering and price gouging related to disasters … Read more
Alex Casey goes on a hunt to find the rarest $10 note in the land. I’ve always been really good at finding money. Not in the useful, fiscal hole kind of a way, but in the literal, frequently picks up bottle caps thinking they are 50c coins kind of a way. Last year, a car … Read more
The man who led the All Blacks to victory in the first World Cup went on to become a Rhodes scholar, political operator and business leader. Today he’s worried about tribalism and the Trumpian tendency to vilification. He sits down with Spinoff business editor Maria Slade in Sydney. Rugby legend, Rhodes scholar, business leader and … Read more
If you want to shock and amaze your friends and family this Christmas, look no further than the deep recesses of $1 reserve Trade Me. Folks, I’m going to let you in on a huge Christmas secret here: you can get all your presents for $1 if you know where to look. And not just … Read more
What the hell are you meant to give the person who has everything? Don’t worry, Sam Brooks has you covered with the gift guide for that person in your life. It’s that time of year again – that time of the year when you have to think about your sociopathic friend. We’ve all got one. … Read more
It’s officially the festive season, and what does that mean? An office Secret Santa with a budget of $20 and you’ve picked your boss. Instead of settling for a bottle of average wine and a ribbon, follow our essential guide on what to get those unique workmates. At last year’s Secret Santa, I bought my … Read more
It’s the most beautiful time of the year! Comedian Sera Devcich joins Emily Writes to share the joy and investigate the top 10 toys your ungrateful kids will want this Christmas. It’s November which means it’s officially time for your kids to start bugging you day in and day out about what they want from … Read more
New Zealand’s pioneering online auction site and marketplace has just marked 20 years with a staff reunion. Rowan Simpson went along, and it sparked some fascinating memories and reflections. I was irrationally tentative as I walked up the stairs to the mezzanine level at Whistling Sisters in Wellington, on one of those rare you-can’t-beat-Wellington evenings, … Read more
Elle Hunt composes a love letter to New Zealand’s online auction site, with which foreign counterparts cannot compare They looked at the mattress, she and her boyfriend. My two flatmates and I looked at them looking, and with mounting disbelief. We seemed to have reached an impasse. “Is it soft?” she said, uncertainly. The two … Read more
New Zealanders have been filling their homes (and hearts) with cool, trendy houseplants in recent years. But why are we all so obsessed? And why are some plants so expensive? More than 50 but less than a hundred – that’s how many houseplants Ron Goh reckons he currently has in his central city apartment. The … Read more
A piece published earlier this month suggested that Trade Me had hit its peak, citing declining website interest, ageing consumers and problems such as duplicate listings. But Trade Me’s Logan Mudge and Rick Davies argue that’s far from the case. It’s easy to forget that when Trade Me launched back in 1999, e-commerce was a bizarre and somewhat … Read more
Having axed nearly all the people he follows on Twitter, rich-lister Sam Morgan is proudly down to fewer than ten. They’re all men. In the interests of broadening his horizons, here are some real life female humans he might like to add. Hey Sam, We don’t know you, but everyone in New Zealand sort of … Read more
The Filthy Rich Trade Me account reveals an embarrassment of riches, discovers Alex Casey. In a discovery more intriguing than when Gloriavale was flogging bulk Geisha wigs and a haunted goat named Hector, the people behind Filthy Rich have started a Trade Me account to sell off their opulent wares. The account filthy-rich, registered under the … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. You might have heard of the PayPal mafia, a term given to … Read more
Early in June the then prime minister told reporters there were plenty of (relatively) affordable Auckland homes on Trade Me. Madeleine Chapman searched the site to see if he was right. Originally published June 2, 2016 Asked yesterday about Auckland’s average house price nearing the $1 million mark, John Key was as upbeat as ever: … Read more