Rocket Lab engineer launches Kiwi eCommerce site

A new online marketplace offering a free platform for regular users to buy and sell has launched.

AllGoods announced that after 2 years of preparation and testing, and successful pre-launch, they were ready to transition into their marketing phase.

AllGoods founder and CEO Levi Fawcett, who also oversees Rocket Lab's rocket simulator, explained that the dream was to create an innovative and modern online marketplace for New Zealanders to buy and sell without it costing them an arm and a leg.

AllGoods only allows products to be shipped from within New Zealand, usually sent within 24 hours.

This means fast, easy shipping for buyers, and gives local Kiwi businesses the level platform they have been lacking.

In line with their vision, the platform also allows normal users to list and sell auctions for free.

International sellers make up a large proportion of sellers on Trade Me.

AllGoods co-founder Caleb Honiss found that almost three-quarters of TradeMe's top 50 stores were having their products shipped from overseas.

"This creates a massive disadvantage for New Zealand-based sellers since the international stores have thousands of low-quality items flooding the site, often making it quite difficult for those wanting to support NZ," he says.

Levi adds, "TradeMe has allowed the site to become flooded with non-GST paying overseas sellers, a greedy move that hurts the average Kiwi.

New Zealand's tax laws also allow these international stores to sell on websites such as Trade Me without having to pay GST.

The AllGoods website was founded by a group of five with a range of diverse backgrounds—the majority of whom are graduates of the University of Canterbury.

"We have always believed that it should be completely free for New Zealanders to list and sell their second-hand items. Profit should be made from businesses, not your average Joe Bloggs who is just trying get rid of his couch," says Levi.

Kiwi stores can also sign up and sell products for a success fee.

CEO Fawcett was an integral part of Rocket Lab's successful launches late last year and early this year, building and maintaining a hardware and software simulation of the entire rocket.

AllGoods was also responsible for developing the website and tracker used for the Humanity Star, a revolving geodesic sphere in space, visible from Earth.

"We committed to using nothing but the latest frameworks right from the outset which has enabled us to create a modern and secure website," says Fawcett.

AllGoods ran a two-week soft launch in which they invited a select group of stores to list on the site.

"We had over 160 stores sign up and collectively list over 10,000 products, all within a two-week window.

"We believe that this, coupled with the sheer number of people that have tried listing on second-rate alternatives, really shows that there is a demand for the platform we are offering," says Levi.