Every dollar you spend at the big-box store evaporates. It flies to Auckland head office, then to a container ship from Shenzhen, and never comes home. The local tradie who used to hire your nephew can't afford to anymore. The main street shop closes. The café shuts at 2pm because nobody walks past.
BuyLokal.kiwi is the turnaround. We make every NZ town's local businesses findable, visible, and easy to hire — so the money we earn here gets spent here, and circulates between the plumber, the butcher, the rugby club and the kids' dental bill.
This isn't nostalgia. It's economics. A dollar spent locally changes hands up to seven times in your community. A dollar spent at an import retailer changes hands once, then it's gone.
4 local businesses have already taken the pledge — Marton: 3 · Raglan: 1
Where does your $100 go?
Same product, same price. Totally different outcome for your town.
Big-box / online import
→ $43 Auckland head office
→ $38 overseas supplier
→ $12 tax & logistics
→ $7 local wages (part-time checkout staff)
≈ $7 stays in your town. Gone in one transaction.
Local business on BuyLokal.kiwi
→ $50 owner's take-home (spent at local café, school fees, groceries)
→ $30 staff wages (spent at other local shops)
→ $15 local suppliers (hardware, cleaners, landlord)
→ $5 local tax → your council services
$100 recirculates 7×. That same dollar quietly pays for your neighbour's new washing machine.
Figures illustrative based on NZ Small Business Council studies of the "local multiplier effect".
Back the makers
Cheap imports killed craftsmanship. We put our money where our mouth is — and celebrate the tradies, artists and growers who still take pride in their work.
Build your town, not the algorithm
Big social media farms your neighbours' attention and sells it to Auckland. BuyLokal gives that attention back — geo-targeted to your town page.
Zero commission, ever
We don't clip your ticket. $2–$99/mo flat subscription. You keep 100% of every sale. We win only when your town thrives.
FOUNDING 10 PROGRAM
Be one of the first 10 in your town. Pay today's price forever.
The first 10 businesses to list in each town get Founding Member status — a perpetual badge shown on your profile, directory card, and anywhere your listing appears. It tells every local "I was here when it mattered".
Price locked for life
Even when we raise prices for new joiners (and we will), your subscription rate never changes. Period.
Perpetual Founding badge
An exclusive Founding Member badge on your profile, directory card, and town-homepage placement. Instant credibility.
Free Leaderboard ad — launch week
Your first week on BuyLokal, your banner runs free in the headline ad slot at the top of your town page. Normally $50+/week.
Featured on the homepage
First 10 in every town get rotated on the BuyLokal homepage "New Founders" strip for 30 days.
First refusal on new features
Early access to the Jobs Board, Events ticketing, and any new tier before it goes public.
Your story published
We interview the first 10 per town and publish a short profile — free inbound links to your site, which Google loves.
Pick your plan
Monthly subscription · cancel anytime · zero commission on your sales.
Basic
Show up, stay local
$2/mo NZD
Clubs, hobbyists, side hustles
Public profile + photos
Up to 3 team profiles
Google-indexed — helps your own search ranking
Can pay to feature your business in a town-homepage banner ad
—Not in the Town Directory
MOST POPULAR
Directory
Most local tradies pick this
$5/mo NZD
Plumbers, builders, cafés, services
Everything in Basic
Listed in your Town Directory
Searchable by category
Appears on the town homepage
Real Estate — Office
Independent & franchise offices
$99/mo NZD
One office · one home town · admin/secretary role
Search-optimised office profile + your website link
Listed in your town's Local Business Directory under Real Estate
Featured spot in the rotating real-estate showcase on your town's homepage
Admin/secretary dashboard to manage listings
+ $20/mo for each additional town you operate in
+ $5/mo per agent profile (added separately)
—Agent profiles not included — billed per agent
Questions we get asked
This is basically Yellow Pages, right?+
Nope. Yellow Pages was a generic phone book. BuyLokal is a geo-targeted town-by-town platform with a mission: slow the bleed of local dollars to overseas corporations. Every listing is part of a town page that residents actually visit — because it also hosts council notices, community suggestions, merch, events, fundraisers.
I'm already on Facebook and Google — why add BuyLokal?+
Facebook and Google sell your neighbours' attention to Auckland corporates and overseas advertisers. BuyLokal keeps that attention hyper-local and builds inbound links from a trusted NZ-based domain — which boosts your own website's Google ranking at no extra cost.
How does billing work?+
Monthly via Stripe. First charge at checkout, same day each month thereafter. GST-inclusive. Cancel from your dashboard anytime — no notice period, no exit fees.
Do you take commission on my sales?+
Never. We're a directory, not a marketplace. We never touch your customer payments, and we never clip your ticket. Our revenue is the subscription — that's it.
What happens if nobody visits my listing?+
Every profile is Google-indexed with your website link — a clean inbound backlink to your site from a trusted local directory. That alone justifies the $2/mo for your SEO. Plus your listing shows on your town's homepage, council notices page, and directory whenever residents browse.
Can I cancel? Is there a lock-in?+
Cancel anytime. No contracts, no notice period. The only thing you lose is the Founding Member status (if you were one of the first 10) — you can't re-claim that later.
Business in two towns — two subscriptions?+
Yes, one subscription per town listing. If you serve Marton AND Bulls with a physical presence in each, that's two listings. If you're based in Marton but travel to jobs in Bulls, one listing is fine (list your service area in the description).
What if I'm not a "traditional business" — a coach, consultant, independent contractor?+
Perfect fit. The $2/mo Basic tier exists exactly for you. You get a professional SEO-indexed profile page for less than a coffee.
Put your money where your mouth is.
Five minutes to list. Live on your town's page today. Price locked forever if you're Founding 10.