Trade Me has revealed its top listings of 2020 and, unsurprisingly, they're dominated by one thing: COVID-19.
The online auction site's five most-popular listings were all related to the pandemic in one way or another, with the most viewed item being a "COVID-free bag of air".
"In August, a Hamilton student celebrated his negative COVID test by breathing into a ziplock bag and popping it up for sale onsite," Trade Me spokesperson Millie Silvester said.
"The auction - and its roaring Q&A - took New Zealand by storm, garnering a heap of media attention and fetching a whopping 210,086 views."
However, after five days on the site, Trade Me contacted the seller and the decision was made to withdraw the listing.
"Our team was actively monitoring the listing and when it became apparent that some bidders were not genuine, we made the call to remove it from our site. At the time we removed the auction, the leading bid was $101,200."
Coming in second was the "leprechaun turd" found by a Christchurch father and son who were out for a walk during the COVID-19 alert level 4 lockdown.
"The charming listing description was written in the words of eight-year-old Pacey and told the tale of how he found the rock and came to list it onsite. It was an instant hit, fetching 157,275 views and selling for $274," said Silvester.
Dan Carter's 70th All Blacks test jersey was the third most viewed item, selling for $21,300 - money which went to support his local rugby club Southbridge after COVID-19 brought the season to a halt. It was viewed 129,357 times.
Fourth was a drawing of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield which went for $6350, while a lunch with Dr Bloomfield as a Cancer Society fundraiser came in at number five. That special lunch date went for $13,550.
"Dr Bloomfield was widely commended for his outstanding service last year, so it is fitting that he featured not once, but twice on the list."
Other listings rounding out the top 10 included a "'potentially' nuclear fusion reaction *Comes with Deuterium*" - that did not sell - an "excavator bed", a printer called Satan, McDonald's Szechuan sauce and a ride in a McLaren.
"Obviously, much of 2020 was dominated by COVID-19 and so were our top auctions, with all five of our most-popular listings of the year related to the pandemic in some way," said Silvester.
"While we reckon New Zealand's team of 5 million did a damn good job banding together last year, it was tough, and we loved seeing Kiwis coming together on Trade Me to raise money for charities, help each other out, and have a much-needed laugh."
