The Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) applies to some but not all sales on Trade Me. The CGA only applies to sales by sellers 'in trade' – essentially, professional sellers. It does not normally cover private or one-off sales.
If an item is bought through a Trade Me classified, or by “fixed price offer” or “buy now” from a professional seller, it should be covered by the CGA.
The CGA doesn’t apply to items sold by auction. What constitutes an “auction” is not defined in the Act, so it is unclear whether the CGA applies to items bought by bidding online.
Trade Me’s Code of Conduct sets the expectation that professional sellers should honour the obligations they would normally have under the CGA when items are sold by bidding. Professional sellers also have obligations under the Fair Trading Act to not be misleading in trade.