Sandpaper, wedding dress 'worn once by mistake' make Trade Me's top listings of 2018

December 28, 2018

The site sells millions of listings each year.

A piece of sandpaper, a wedding dress "worn once by mistake" and the last Girl Guide biscuits have been named some of Trade Me's most popular listings for 2018, the online auction place announced today.

The most popular listing for the site this year was a piece of yellow sandpaper, titled "Australian sports tape", following the Australian cricket ball tampering scandal in March.

The "tape", which received 260,000 views, was sold for $58 to a buyer in Papatoetoe, Auckland.

The second most popular listing was a wedding dress "worn once by mistake" by a Masterton woman, which she described as "in excellent condition unlike my marriage". The listing received 106,000 views.

An extra-large condom under the description "don't let a mate use glad-wrap", listed during the nationwide condom shortage in June, came in at third with 69,000 views.

Honourable mentions included the first-ever bottles of Lewis Road Creamery's mint chocolate-flavoured milk, ACT party leader David Seymour's twerking outfit from his stint on Dancing With the Stars, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's doodle for charity, and the last Girl Guide biscuits.

Trade Me's Millie Silvester explained in a statement, "Some listings have that certain X factor. They capture the imaginations of the country, and sometimes even the world, because they're weird, topical or because the seller writes a great description and commits to being creative and entertaining in the Q&A".

However, it wasn't just about the weird and wonderful which had Kiwis hopping on the site.

"When big news lands or something goes viral in New Zealand, we often see our members getting inspired, getting involved, grabbing memorabilia and jumping onsite."

"This year, we've seen searches for reusable items double after the plastic bag ban, searches for electric vehicles zoom up 42 per cent year-on-year and after the untimely death of artist Kate Spade we saw searches for her work leap 795 per cent."

The Top 10 Trade Me listings of the year:

1. Australian sports tape - 260,000 views

2. Wedding dress - worn once by mistake - 106,000 views

3. XL condom - because there is a shortage, 69,000 views

4. First ever bottles of Lewis Road Creamery Mint Chocolate Milk - 66,288 views

5. Portal gun for Rick & Morty dress up - 36,000 views

6. Ed Sheeran ticket and a date - 33,700 views

7. Wedding for a $1 reserve - 34,400 views

8. David Seymour's twerking outfit - 33,500 views

9. The last Girl Guide biscuits - 26,400 views

10. Jacinda Ardern's doodle - 25,700 views

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