No Bargain... No Post!

noise36 on 23/01/2017 - 23:28
Last edited 24/01/2017 - 09:59

Can we please make it a rule that if you are going to post that a store has a % off sale you have to actually post a bargain?

If you cant find a bargain to post then put it in the forums and someone else can post it when they find a bargain.

Nothing personal "addict" but this post https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/288939 and the many others from different members (mostly ebay) that came before it are not what I think this site was intended to be about. i.e. finding and sharing bargains so other dont have to spend their time trawling through store sales or the entire internet looking for deals.

Site Discussion

Comments

  • Zaenille on 24/01/2017 - 00:11
    +5

    I think they're useful. If they aren't useful to you, you can downvote them. But it seems to be helpful for a few others.

    The recent post particularly doesn't seem to yield any high quality deals, but it doesn't mean you need to ban the whole genre of them.

  • Limitless on 24/01/2017 - 00:17
    +4

    % off deals are a bargain in themselves. I might be looking for something in particular so having the code on the front page so i can find my own deal is helpful.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/275552
    This is a great deal on its own and people can post what they find in the comments

  • PJC on 24/01/2017 - 00:18
    +8

    " … make it a rule that if you are going to post that a store has a % off sale you have to actually post a bargain?"

    I agree if it is a vendor's post, but Member addict is just being helpful by sharing a code and providing a search link, even though it is for 28 vendors I never heard of. In most cases I feel a few example bargains should be compulsory in a vendor's post. There are numerous instances where vendors' laziness is appalling and they treat OzBargain like a free version of Yellow Pages or a portal for their website.

  • spackbace on 24/01/2017 - 00:31
    +4

    Can we please make it a rule that if you are going to post that a store has a % off sale you have to actually post a bargain?

    How's no sound?

    • altomic on 24/01/2017 - 08:39
      +3

      "no"

  • noise36 on 24/01/2017 - 00:45

    All fair comments.

    What do you think the downside of forcing people to post an example of an actual bargain would be?

    The upside is clear…ozbargain posts actually containing bargains.

    • Zaenille on 24/01/2017 - 01:20
      +9

      The downside is that there will be good-willed ozbargainers getting told off because they did not follow republic act no. 361 of the ozbargain book of do's and dont's.

      I'd rather have content that is judged by upvotes and downvotes to automatically sift quality bargains to the top.

      • nisenora on 24/01/2017 - 12:01
        +3

        Except we have do's and dont's about negative votes…

        • cwongtech on 24/01/2017 - 16:39
          +1

          No one reads them though. A lot of people think it's a dislike button on youtube :|
          I would like the negative voting system be changed to a "form", and make people tick the reason they are casting the negative votes on.

      • [Deactivated] on 24/01/2017 - 12:10
        -2

        except you basically can't downvote anything on ozbargain so that system is useless

        • cwongtech on 24/01/2017 - 16:40

          You just don't upvote it. Find better bargains, and post them so it drowns out the lower quality posts. Of course, unless you're a leecher who doesn't really contribute to the site and instead just whinges, I guess my advice is for those who contribute.

  • p1 ama on 24/01/2017 - 01:09
    +10

    Prefer to err on the side of posting rather than not posting. At the end of the day, you're free to skip over it if it doesn't interest you and it won't make the front page anyway unless enough of the community thinks it's a bargain.

    If we enact rules against posting this or posting that, at the end of the day, it only hurts the users here. The less heads up we have about potential deals, the less we will know. This isn't an advertising catalogue, this is a means of disseminating information, which is what you correctly describe:

    finding and sharing bargains so other dont have to spend their time trawling through store sales or the entire internet looks for deals.

    Makes it easier for us to find bargains if we have a starting point to look.

    Also, whilst on the topic, I think it's fair to point out that everyone's definition of a bargain is different. There are many people who are looking for very specific (or perhaps menial) products which are covered by these wide "20% off" sales which do not interest the rest of the community. I know that personally I've picked up a few interesting things from these eBay sales that, individually, would not have had the mass interest to have done well here.

    Still think far too much of this site revolves around complaining and arguing about what is and what is not a bargain. I just don't think it really matters - what's not a bargain won't get upvoted and will just fizzle out on its own, as it should.

  • Clear on 24/01/2017 - 06:31
    +15

    I just ignore deals that I don't like or aren't applicable to me and life continues on. More people should try it.

  • John Kimble on 24/01/2017 - 06:55

    Maybe we could have an up/down voting system for forum posts too?

  • chumlee on 24/01/2017 - 07:19
    +1

    90+ up votes and you think it's not what this site is about? The people have spoken and disagree with you

    • sparkles on 24/01/2017 - 08:54
      +3

      Think you mean, the sheeple have spoken. There is still not one mention or link to a genuine bargain in that post in question.

      eBay % off posts seem to garner lots of votes automatically without necessarily the bargain-ness to back it up, especially so when the stores involved increase their prices before hand.

    • Axelstrife on 24/01/2017 - 10:36
      -1

      sorry mate but 100 votes is nothing now days normally those 20% ebay bargains get hundreds i think a few have been over 1000

  • akd on 24/01/2017 - 08:57
    +2

    Personally, I agree with you. 20% off and more than 200 comments sometimes waste more time than saving any money. But as Clear mentioned - you can simply ignore them and move on. That's what i do now. We don't need to read or comment or vote or down vote everything.

  • Skramit on 24/01/2017 - 09:17
    -1

    It's certainly a better deal than a certain "deal" on a government service about researching a car's finances where it was the same standard price as always…. it got a zillion upvotes. shrug

    The site has become more about PSA's than actual bargains on specific products. But that's fine too, just ignore the ones not relevant to you. Also the 1500 billion lenovo deals we see posted once a week. After a while they stop becoming deals and become the normal price but there are certain OzB people that get upvotes regardless of what they post.

    • cwongtech on 24/01/2017 - 16:47

      Also the 1500 billion lenovo deals we see posted once a week.

      If you look at the specs of them, they are actually quite decent deals..

      Also this seems to be the DSE tactic.
      Change codes every week.. their only good sales were the once a month further 15% off on reduced prices..
      Oh, and let's not forget the +100 exceptions

  • iforgotmysocks on 24/01/2017 - 09:48
    +3

    We can call it jv's law

    • cwongtech on 24/01/2017 - 16:45

      1) Be the first comment
      2) Must contain: "Any Bargains?"
      3) Reply in a witty manner to anyone else's response.

  • cwongtech on 24/01/2017 - 17:02

    Another suggestion to address the issue.. is there a way to add an active coupon code without posting it as a "deal", such that it would not be subject to votes?
    Sometimes I get coupon codes in the mail with my orders.. but I really cannot be bothered to go hunt down every listing that would make it a "deal"
    For example, I left a comment here
    In a nutshell, 10% off knivesonline + free shipping.
    Not the greatest deal, but definitely could help someone out if an OzB member/visitor was trying to find something on that site.

    • Moderatorneil on 24/01/2017 - 17:05

      We can put it on Couponese. Just PM us/report link/TWAM/etc…

  • [Deactivated] on 24/01/2017 - 21:06
    +3

    Admittedly that sale mentioned in this post was pretty disappointing but other sales posted before they begin can be helpful. Imagine if I was planning on buying something from Bing Lee, see a eBay post on here and then don't buy it for a week and end up getting it for 20% less.

  • p1 ama on 24/01/2017 - 23:00
    +4

    Also, I should note that one of the things that I really like about OB over many other forums or online communities is that it's primarily driven by its users. The users choose which posts to upvote and, ultimately, which posts make it to the front page. Users, individually, are free to post and express what they want, within reason. This is as it should be.

    The problem with "rules" is that they need to be enforced by someone. In the real world, you have courts, where you can challenge decisions if you believe that rules have been applied unfairly. This is impractical for a forum or online community and what ends up happening is that moderators have to end up making tough calls which draw the ire of all sides of the community. This isn't what we want here - we want the community to decide on what constitutes a good deal and what doesn't, not a moderator applying an ill-defined "rule".

    • cwongtech on 24/01/2017 - 23:39

      This isn't what we want here - we want the community to decide on what constitutes a good deal and what doesn't, not a moderator applying an ill-defined "rule".

      HUKD has Hot and Cold.
      That's a like and dislike button system.
      Might need a traffic stop sign system?
      A dislike button that doesn't lump "Major issues with deal" and "I don't like it" votes?

  • Baysew on 28/01/2017 - 15:32

    Perhaps a category for "Percentage Off Sales- No Bargains Listed"

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