Boating New Zealand, New Zealand’s best-selling boating magazine, has announced the purchase of Trade-a-Boat, a digital-only boat sales marketplace. The purchase agreement, effective August 30, 2024, includes Trade-A-Boat’s website, assets and intellectual property.

Trade-A-Boat NZ has been a part of the New Zealand marine scene since the mid-90s, so the brand is familiar to most Kiwi boaties and the marine industry. Trade-A-Boat NZ started out with boats for sale listings, but later added editorial content and morphed into a full-blown, corporately owned, monthly boating magazine. Trade-A-Boat NZ transitioned from print to digital in 2016, becoming primarily an online boats for sale marketplace.

Since 1986, Boating New Zealand magazine has provided a popular, cost-effective boat brokerage section in the back of every print issue – somewhere boat brokers and the general public could advertise boats for sale. The brokerage section was and continues to be an important part of Boating New Zealand magazine – for advertisers and readers alike.

With Boating NZ magazine’s strong following, brand power, extensive reach and nearly 40-year pedigree selling boats through its brokerage and private listings, adding Trade-A-Boat NZ’s well-established digital platform to Boating NZ’s mix of print and digital advertising opportunities makes good sense.

Boating New Zealand’s owners see the acquisition of Trade-A-Boat NZ’s website as an exciting opportunity to rebuild Trade-A-Boat NZ’s brand. Their aim is to make Trade-A-Boat NZ’s digital marketplace once again a popular, cost-effective platform for buying and selling boats – one that’s run by boaties for boaties.