User Guide

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Table of Contents

Welcome to Trade Me Property 3

How to list a property manually 4

Manual listing FAQs 6

Listing through a Software provider 8

Agent Reports 11

Open Homes 14

Invoicing 16

Mastering the basics of marketing your property 17

Trade Me Property tips 18

General FAQs 19

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Welcome to Trade Me Property New Zealand’s #1 Real Estate Website!* Thank you for choosing to advertise on Trade Me Property. This guide will ensure you receive the most out of the site and your subscription.

You have a dedicated Account Manager who will by now have introduced themselves to you. They will be your main contact and all Trade Me Property queries should go direct to them.

This document is divided into the following sections:

• How to list a property manually:

This provides a step by step guide on how to list a property. It also includes a troubleshooting help guide for any issues that may arise.

• Listing through a Software Provider:

This section relates to the offices that use an external software provider to load their listings onto Trade Me. There is also a troubleshooting guide following this

addressing any issues that may arise.

• Agent Reports:

Are useful reporting tools which you can use to monitor the success of your

listings by tracking their progress. This section covers the steps on how to generate an Agent report and Activity report for a listing.

• Open Homes:

This section provides instructions on how to enter open homes so that your listings appear in our dedicated Open home section.

• Invoicing: This section outlines how to access feature references for any listings you have featured throughout the month.

• Marketing basics:

This section covers some basic tips for marketing your property on Trade Me.

• Trade Me Property Tips:

This section is especially useful if you are new to Trade Me Property and want to know how to maximise your results and get the most out of site.

We hope you find this document useful in dealing with your daily experiences on Trade Me Property!

We welcome any feedback or suggestions about the site, so please let your Account Manager know if there’s anything you think we can improve on.

From the Trade Me Property Team Phone: 0800 866 266

Email: propertyagents@trademe.co.nz

*Nielsen Online Market Intelligence Ranking Report. Based on Total Traffic Dec 2010

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How to list a property manually Step 1: Login to Trade Me

Once you have logged into your Trade Me account, click the ‘List a property’ tab at the top of the page.

Step 2: What are you listing?

Choose a category for your listing, and then complete the category details for that property type.

Step 3: Completing listing details Fields marked with a red asterix (*) indicate mandatory information.

Click ‘Next’ at the bottom of the page once you have filled in all the required fields. Step 4: Uploading photos

• You can upload up to 20 images • All images must be under 5MB in size

• You can select multiple photos files when uploading photos

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To upload photos, click the ‘Browse’ button and then select the photos from the folder you have saved the photos in on your computer.

Once you have uploaded all required photos, Click ‘I’ve finished uploading photos’.

Step 5: Featured listings

In this screen, you can choose to make your listing a ‘featured’ listing. Featured listings receive the following benefits:

• On average, double the views and email enquiries than standard listings

• Appears first in searches and categories • Has a distinctive yellow background, yellow border and bold title

The cost to feature a ‘For Sale/Lease’ listing is $69 and $24 for a Rental listing (inclusive of GST). Your office will receive an invoice for any feature charges.

If you would like to make your listing a feature, check the tick box.

If you do not want to make your listing a feature, click ‘Next’.

Step 6: Check your listing

Ensure that all of the details are correct on your listing.

For help with what to include in this section, please refer to the ‘Mastering the basics’

section.

If changes need to be made, click ‘Edit’.

Step 7: Start your Classified

If you are happy with the content, click ‘Start my classified’.

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Manual listing FAQs

How long will my listing stay on the site for?

The maximum duration time of a Residential and Commercial ‘For Sale/Lease’ listing is

56 days and 14 days for rental properties.

Will I receive a reminder before my listing expires?

Yes – an email will be sent to your nominated office email address advising how to

extend your listing.

Do I need to pay anything extra to extend my listing?

No. You can list your property on the site until sold, providing you extend the listing,

or relist the listing within 45 days of it closing.

Can I edit the content of my listing once the classified has started?

After 7 days of a listing going live, the following attributes can not be edited on the

site: Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Location and Category. However all other details can be

changed.

Can I withdraw a listing?

You can manually withdraw a listing (providing it was originally added manually onto

the site) by going to your ‘Current listings’ and selecting the ‘More options’ option on

your listing, and then you will see the option to Withdraw the listing.

The correct suburb for my property is not an available option – what should I

do?

If you come across a suburb that is not currently available on the site, please advise

your Account Manager and they can see whether it meets the criteria to be added to

the site.

Alternatively you can list the property in a nearby suburb and place keywords in the

text or heading of the listing to identify the exact location.

The map on my listing is displaying incorrectly. Can it be removed or

changed?

If the map is incorrect, you must ensure that you have added the full street address

(with correct spelling) rather than just the suburb/district and region, as this may fix

the map.

Contact your Account Manager if the map is still incorrect, as they can change it to a

suburb level map or remove the map from the listing.

Why is there QV information on my listing?

QV information is a valuable tool for browsers who are serious about purchasing

property. This was added in response to browser requests in 2007.

Please note - we are not able to remove or alter this information.

How do I feature my property?

You will be given the option to promote your listing as a feature during the initial

listing process. If the listing is already live in site, you can feature they listing by

clicking the ‘Promote’ option. All feature charges will be added to your monthly

invoice.

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How long does a feature last?

Providing you extend your listing before it expires, it will remain featured until sold. If

you relist a featured listing, the system will charge you a second time for it.

Can I use my Trade Me account for non-property related items?

Recently we made some changes to the ‘My Trade Me’ page which means your

property account can no longer be used for anything other than property listings.

Please contact your Account Manager for more information.

I’m not receiving emails from Trade Me about my listings. What can I do?

You should check your junk mail folder regularly to ensure that emails from Trade Me

and other traders are not dropping into there.

You should also add Trade Me to your contacts list or safe list to ensure that emails

from Trade Me are not blocked.

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Listing through a Software Provider

Trade Me Property currently accepts feeds from the following software providers:

• BKA • PortPlus • Business Mechanix • Property Suite • Console Getaway • Real Base

• Cybernamix • Real NZ • HubOnline • RentMaster • Interspeed • Rockend

• MultiArray • SalesPartner • My desk Top • The Logic Studio (ProSouth) • OSL • Virtual Homes

To set up a new feed from a feed provider that is not currently supported by Trade Me, there must be a minimum of 150 live listings on site.

When using a software provider, your listings are automatically sent to real estate portals such as Trade Me Property in a bulk file.

Your new listings and updates are received in this file up to three times a day, depending on which software provider you use.

Please contact your Account Manager if you wish to start sending your listings automatically through a software provider.

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Automatic listing FAQs

I have made changes to my listings via our software provider but the changes

aren’t appearing on my Trade Me listing.

Trade Me accepts three feed updates per day. It may be that the information has not

been sent to us in time to be updated in the next available feed. If it’s been over 24 hours, it’s best to contact your software provider or Account Manager at Trade Me so they can investigate further.

When do I need to submit my updates by via my Software provider so that it

appears on the site as soon as possible?

New listings or updates you make via your software do not appear on the site

immediately. The Trade Me import process runs three times a day, and you will need to ensure all updates are sent to Trade Me before the import process starts. I’ve entered a suburb via my software provider, but it’s not displaying on

Trade Me in the right suburb.

If a listing is sent through with a suburb which is not available on Trade Me Property, it will default to the next available suburb.

I don’t want to specify a price range on my listing. Why do I have to give an

‘approximate value’?

This is a mandatory field for listing For Sale properties as is used to drive the ‘price

range’ search. This value will not display on the listing. I’ve made a manual update to a listing through my Trade Me account, but it’s

gone back to what it was before I made the change.

If you make any updates which aren’t made via your software provider, your listings will update with the original listing information and override any updates you may have made.

Its best practice to make all your updates through your software provider so this doesn’t occur.

Are there mandatory fields for a listing?

Yes. If the following fields are not completed, the listing may not load and not appear on the site: • Title

• Agent Name and contact information • Any residential listings require at least 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom • Price. If no price is entered, it will default to ‘Price by negotiation’ • Minimum 2 photos

How long will my listing stay on Trade Me for?

Because your listings are coming through to us via a software provider, they will remain on the site until removed from your software.

How do I withdraw a listing?

To withdraw a listing from Trade Me you must withdraw it via your software provider

system. The listing will be removed during the next feed update. Please note – you do not have the ability to withdraw a listing manually if it’s come through via your software provider. Please contact your Account Manager if you need a

listing removed urgently.

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How do I feature a property?

You need to select the feature option via your software provider, and it will appear

featured on the next available feed. Please note – not all software providers have this ability. Please contact your account manager if you are unsure.

How long does the feature last?

The property will remain featured until the listing is removed through your software provider system.

I relisted a withdrawn listing after making some changes, but it’s not

appearing on the site.

If you are relisting a listing which has been previously withdrawn, you will need to upload the photos again as Trade Me requires a minimum of one photo per listing.

If no photos are received, the listing will not display.

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Agent Reports

Agent reports are a useful tool which you can use to monitor the success of listings on Trade Me, and report back to your vendors. These can be generated from your ‘My Trade Me’ account at any time, or you have the

ability to have these emailed out to your office automatically each week (see instructions below on how to set this up for your office).

Step 1: Go to your ‘My Trade Me’ page

To generate an agent report for your office, click on ‘Export agent reports’ link under ‘Reporting’ in your ‘My Trade Me’ page.

Step 2: Report options

You have the option of selecting a report for all your current listings, listings closed

last 7 days or listings closed last 45 days. These reports can either be generated in a CSV or PDF format (select your choice using the buttons).

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Step 3: Export report

Once you have selected the information you require, click the ‘Export’ button. The information will then be exported into an Excel spreadsheet or PDF file. From here you can either open or save the report.

Monthly Summary

You can view a snapshot of your listings by clicking on the ‘Monthly summary’ tab. This will show you the total number of listings started and email enquiries received in a 6

month period.

How to set up automatic reports

Follow the instructions below to have your agent reports automatically sent to the

email address registered with your Trade Me membership.

Step 1: Go to your My Trade Me page, and click on ‘Email options’ under the ‘More

options’ heading.

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Step 2: Select whether you want to receive current listings or closed listings report, and the format you would like to receive it in.

Click ‘Save changes’ once you selected the options.

Activity Reports You can generate an individual activity report for each of your listings, 3 days after the listing has started. This PDF report is ideal for sending to your vendor and includes the

following information:

• total views, enquiries and watchers • weekly summary of page views, watchlist adds and enquiries (in easy-to-read

graphs) • agent details and logo

To generate an Activity report, click on the ‘Export activity report’ link on your listing which will generate a PDF ready to send direct to your vendors.

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Open Homes on Trade Me Property

Trade Me Property has a dedicated Open Homes section which automatically includes listings which have their open homes displayed in listings, at no additional charge.

Important points to remember when entering Open Home times:

• a full street address must be entered in order to display an open home time • times can be entered in 15 minute increments

• times can be entered Monday-Sunday, from 9:00AM to 8.00PM • Open homes will automatically drop off a listing after the time has ended

Contact your software provider directly if you automatically feed your listings through and they will instruct you on how to enter your open times, otherwise follow the instructions below to manually add them to your listings.

Step 1: Locate your listing

Once you’ve located the listing that you would like an open home entered for, click the ‘Add open home’ button.

Step 2: Enter open home details

In this screen, you can enter the dates and start/end times for up to 4 open home times. Once you have entered these, click the ‘Confirm’ button.

Your open home times will now display on your listing during the week of the open home (see example below).

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Each listing with an open home time entered will also display an ‘Open home flag’ on the main photo on the search card.

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Invoicing

All subscription and feature invoices are emailed to your nominated email address at the beginning of the month, in arrears. Payment can be made either by direct credit or cheque. The invoice will state the total number of listings your office has placed, as well as any

feature listing charges. If you require copies of invoices, please contact your Account Manager.

Please follow the instructions below on how to check the reference numbers for the feature listings you have placed during the month. Step 1: Click on the ‘account statement’ link under the ‘Account’ section within your

My Trade Me page.

Step 2: Within your account statement you can view the dates of the listings you have placed with a hyperlink which directs you to the listing on Trade Me.

Any feature listings will display as: ‘Feature combo (Feature, Highlight and Bold, listing no’. Your agency reference number will follow after this so your office can easily identify

which listings have been featured.

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Mastering the basics of marketing your property on Trade Me

Description

Give a good comprehensive description of the property. The more detail you include, the less likely it is that you will receive repetitive questions like “Where is this property located”.

When possible, include the street address so that the property is mapped

correctly and enter an open home time.

Break up your text with line spaces.

Proof read for spelling and grammatical mistakes.

Display open home details.

Photos

Maximum of 20 photos (2MB size per photo) – take advantage of this.

It is vital that you include good quality photos of the interior and exterior of the property.

Make your photos large (800 x 600 pixels) and unique to grab viewers’

attention.

Price

We recommend including an Asking Price.

Make sure you include information about how you will be accepting offers (via an agent, formally through your lawyer etc) to help potential buyers.

Featuring your property

On average a featured property receives double the views and email enquiries than standard listings.

Appears at the top of the category.

Distinctive yellow background.

Bright yellow border.

Bold title.

Title

Bold title.

Descriptive.

Emotive.

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Trade Me Property Tips As we use the Trade Me Property site every day, we would like to share a few tips on making your experience as trouble free as possible:

Keep getting logged off Trade Me?

Tick the box ‘Keep me logged in on this computer’ so you don’t have keep logging back into Trade Me!

Searching for your listings by classified/reference number

Go to the main Trade Me home page and enter your classified or office reference number to find a specific listing.

Details changed? Update them through your ‘My Trade Me’ page

You can update details such as Email address, password, address and phone number through your ‘My Trade Me’ page.

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General FAQs

Can I change my email address or password?

Yes. Once you are logged in, click on the ‘My Trade Me’ tab, and on the right hand

side of the screen there is a link to “change my email” and “change my password”. Just follow the prompted instructions. How can I change the office details and/or logo that appear on my listings?

If you would like your phone numbers, website URL or logo removed or amended, please contact your Account Manager to do this.

I have to cancel my office subscription. How much notice do I need to give?

As per our terms and conditions, you must give us one month’s cancellation notice in writing to your Account Manager. After this time all listings and branding will be removed.

Our office has had a name change/change in ownership. Do we need to

inform our account manager?

Yes. Please inform your Account Manager of this in writing so we can update our records. I can’t upload photos to my listing because the file size is too large.

Each photo image must be under 2MB in size. If your photos are too large, you will need to resize the photo file. You will need to use a photo editing software such as Photoshop or Microsoft Picture Manager to do this and resize the images to under 2MB.

I want to sell a “Business for Sale” on the Trade Me Property website.

Where can I do this?

If the business has no property or land attached to it, it can not be classified as a property listing; therefore it has to be listed under the general Trade Me site. As a subscribing office you receive a discounted listing charge of $49 + GST for a Business for Sale listing (and $24 for a feature).

I want to list a property which is a studio/bedsit, but there’s no category for

this.

For searchability reasons, we cannot offer this within the ‘Bedrooms’ category. You will need to list these types of properties under ‘1 bedroom’, and clearly state in the description of the listing that it is a studio/bedsit.

Can I list a property or land which is not in NZ? No. You are not able to advertise listings which are not in New Zealand. Can I list a non property item on my property Trade Me account?

Recently we made some changes to the ‘My Trade Me’ page which made it easier for offices to navigate around their listings and options. This change meant that you can only list property related items on this account. For more information please contact

your Account Manager.

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