Trade Me is New Zealand's biggest "retailer". And a staggering 40 per cent of all items sold are new.

A couple who took out a Master Builders guarantee and paid more than $500,000 in progress payments on their new home are in danger of getting nothing back after their builder went under - because they paid too much in advance.

Having cysts removed from above my eyebrows cost me $800, which I paid the same time as the visit. I sent my account to Sovereign for a refund and was told that I couldn't claim because it wasn't for $1,200.

People signing to build a house are being warned that hiring a Master Builder doesn't mean automatically getting a guarantee.

A scammer has targeted people with items listed for sale online this week.

Aucklanders in some of the city's most expensive suburbs don't just pay a lot more in house prices for the privilege - it even costs them more to buy groceries.

One of the great successes of modern marketing has been the mass engagement of the population in rewards programmes, says Damien Grant. The most prevalent are Fly Buys. They are awful.

Taxi companies are imposing some of the country's highest credit card surcharges.

A retired man with a track record of taking big-name Kiwis through the courts is lining up some of our biggest corporates with a service he says will get justice for ripped-off customers.

Government agencies are assessing the legality of a diet that promises people they will lose up to half a kilo a day by using a fertility hormone banned in the US.

A range of meat products sold in New Zealand have tested negative for horsemeat, DNA tests show - but the content of some products would raise eyebrows.

The high kiwi dollar means it's a great time to be an importer or to go on holiday.

Two "green" cleaning product manufacturers have been warned that their anti-chemical claims risk breaching the Fair Trading Act.

It's interesting how a food scare on the other side of the world can create ripples right around the globe, writes Sue Kedgley.

Nine popular baby strollers have failed New Zealand's safety standards - including seven that didn't pass a strangulation test.

It's the great Kiwi power rort. A university researcher has found that New Zealand power prices have surged at twice the rate of nearly every other developed country over the past 30 years.

The outlook for fans of fresh produce looks good after stunning weather in the first half of summer.

The proposed star system, like the previously proposed traffic light system, has the major advantage for consumers of telling them at a glance if the food is good for them overall.

New Zealanders living in the country's largest cities are paying up to $32 more for casual private parking than those in smaller towns.

Neil Riley, from Wellington, was livid about the quality of a stick he bought in Hamilton last year.

A landscaper who ripped off clients by taking deposits without completing jobs is still advertising for work.