Keeping it Kiwi

Steve Harris, left, and Mark Brown with their mascot for usave. Photo / Janna Dixon

Creators of an online shopping website are hoping to reduce Trade Me's grip on the New Zealand market by promising to give commissions to charities, schools and clubs.

Auckland-based usave.co.nz sells new and used products and gives away 50 per cent of commissions in donations and prizes.

Co-founder Steve Harris said the country's biggest online auction player, Trade Me, owned by Australian company Fairfax, made millions in profits each year, most of which flowed straight out of New Zealand.

"We keep it here and spread it around the community. As much as we admire and respect what Trade Me has done, it is now an Australian company."

The website has had 8000 hits since launching on May 6 and 48 charities have registered to receive donations, including the SPCA, Coastguard and Age Concern.

The charities, schools and clubs will help spread the word by contacting their communities and encouraging them to buy through the site.

The site is unique as it allows distributors to list items that can be bought through a local stockist. It tells buyers how much they will save and has a "my tracker" page to monitor transactions online.

Company partner Mark Brown said the goal was to become the biggest generator of contributions to charity in New Zealand, other than the Government.

"Charities are used to asking people for money and it's a burden. They ring at dinner time and feel bad about asking you and you feel put upon."

Harris admitted their motives weren't solely altruistic.

It would take volume and masses to generate enough business to make a profit. "Giving so much back to the community definitely lowers the margin. We don't know of any company giving half its commissions back to the community. It's unheard of."

The pair and a team of three spent three years working on the concept unpaid while working at their main jobs. Brown is a former property developer who emigrated to New Zealand from Colorado 12 years ago and set up a chain of El Taco stores in Auckland's Queen St and Karangahape Rd.

Harris ran karate schools in Auckland and on Waiheke Island before starting a direct-selling business in Whangarei.

The pair met after Harris responded to an ad Brown had placed looking for someone to help with a viral marketing plan, and the idea grew from there.

The website has 22 different categories, include clothing, antiques and computers and it plans to add cars, boats, houses and an online dating agency.

"At a time when the gift of giving has become more difficult than ever, usave makes it easy and fun," Harris said.

How it works

When a customer registers with usave.co.nz they deposit $10 into an account to be used to sell items in the garage sale. For every registered shopper usave will make a donation of $5 to their chosen cause. In addition, 25 per cent of commissions are given to the chosen recipient, 10 per cent goes towards a million-dollar charity giveaway and 15 per cent goes to competitions, prizes and giveaways to site users. In the new section, money is given to the buyer's chosen charity and in the garage sale section money is given to the seller's chosen charity.