We recommend that members become authenticated to prove they are serious about trading. You must be authenticated to sell. Authenticated members have red stars beside their name.

Used in combination with a member's feedback, authenticated traders are more trusted than non-authenticated members. The number of stars next to a trader's name represents their feedback rating. The more feedback, the more stars - read more.

To become an authenticated member on Trade Me (and get your first red star ) you need to credit your Trade Me account with a minimum of $10.

Authenticated members have additional features available to them on Trade Me. These include being able to:

• Place a listing
• Place bids over $5,000
• Purchase items using 'buy now'
• Place bids on as many auctions as you choose
• Use the question and answer feature
• Remove the lead bids from your auctions (members with two or more stars only).

The money credited to your Trade Me account is used to pay success fees when you sell an item, or promotional fees when you place a listing. If you don't sell anything this money remains on your account until you use it or decide to close your account.

Accounts left inactive for 18 months are closed automatically and any remaining credit may be forfeited. We'll send an email prior to this, giving you the opportunity to keep your account open.

Please note: Members not located in New Zealand or Australia may not buy or sell items through Trade Me.

The warning sign () identifies traders who have joined Trade Me in the last month and have not yet credited their account.