Sometimes, you really have to ask: why do things happen the way they do? This week, a truly strange deal has landed in New Zealand’s media and business world. Trade Me, a long-standing marketplace name, has bought 50% of Stuff—yes, the news site that’s had more hits and misses than many care to count. It’s a partnership few saw coming. And many are already asking: what’s the plan, and does it even make sense?

Trade Me has long been seen as a trusted Kiwi brand, known for helping people buy and sell everything from old toasters to houses. But Stuff? That’s another story. Public trust in the news has been falling fast. In fact, more than three-quarters of New Zealanders say they don’t trust media. That’s not just a dent—it’s a major crack.

Then there’s Trade Me itself. It once ruled online listings, but now faces strong competition. OneRoof has chipped away at its property business. A big Aussie site dominates cars. The rental market is slowing. Advertising budgets are shrinking. Put simply, Trade Me isn’t what it used to be. So, why this move now?

Many are calling it a “contra deal”—an exchange of weaknesses disguised as a partnership. For Stuff, it’s a chance to stay relevant. A bit of steady cash flow from ads doesn’t hurt either. For Trade Me, it’s about reaching fresh audiences. But is this really the best way to do that?

The deal doesn’t feel like a well-planned strategy. It feels scattered, maybe even rushed. And one wonders what Sam Morgan, Trade Me’s strategic founder, would think of all this. Stuff bought the Homes site from Michael Gibbs once, then ran it into the ground. Trade Me tried selling insurance once too—it didn’t last. Now we have a media company trying to be a marketplace, and a marketplace turning into a media house.

It gets even more puzzling when you think about trust. People want secure platforms when selling major assets like homes. They want buyers who are serious and qualified. But Stuff’s reputation doesn’t give that confidence. And Trade Me’s falling numbers aren’t helping either. It’s hard to see how this becomes a smooth, strong partnership. In fact, it feels more like two fading giants clinging to each other.

What’s even harder to ignore is the cost. Stuff has hundreds of staff. Some say 760, give or take a few hundred. That’s a lot of salaries, and now half of that becomes Trade Me’s responsibility. A real risk, especially when cheaper, global platforms are growing fast. Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram run on low local costs, but steal big slices of the same market.

So everywhere you look, pressure is rising. And it’s hard to find any real excitement in this new Stuff-Trade Me brand. Yes, maybe a few new users will cross over. But Trade Me could have chased them without this move.

At best, this deal feels like a rescue plan. Stuff needed cash. Trade Me needed attention. Now they share the same boat—but are heading toward the same waterfall. It’s hard not to compare it to the fall of the Yellow Pages: a once-great service made useless by time and tech.

Are there green shoots? Perhaps, but they are hidden. The idea of a news site and a market platform joining forces could work—if trust, traffic, and value were there. But they aren’t. And unless something changes fast, it’s hard to see how this doesn’t end as one more lesson in what not to do.

One thing’s for sure: everyone will be watching closely. Because in media and business, relevance is everything—and time is short.

By Graham Bloxham