Should Dick Smith (DSE) Online's daily deals be banned?

Gladioli on 30/10/2015 - 17:04

Hi folks,

I've been paying a bit of attention to Dick Smith's online store a fair bit lately and I'm becoming more convinced that the majority of their online sales are no sale at all.

In addition to this, these sales are occasionally posted on Ozbargain, receive a reasonable number of upvotes because of the appealing title, before receiving quite a few comments about the only desirable items being excluded from the sale. For example:

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/217322
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/215891
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/215413

Notice how the first or second comment in each case is about the exclusions in each sale. Here is the standard list of exclusions that has applied to each of these sales (and all of the ones in between):

Terms and Conditions: Sale only applies to items marked with "XXXXL Sale!". Offer is available Friday, 30th until 11:59pm AEDT. Offer available Online Only. Excludes Apple, Beats By Dre, and Seagate branded products, Google Chromecast, Nexus Player, Logitech UE Boom and UE Boom 2, Megaboom and Roll Products, Dick Smith branded TVs, Home Appliances, Small Kitchen Appliances & Personal Care Products, Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge, Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, Mobile Phones & Pre-paid Broadband Products, Recharge Vouchers & Calling Cards, iTunes & App Store Gift Cards, Dick Smith Gift Cards, Gaming Consoles, Software and Accessories, and Xbox Live & PSN Cards and selected advertised lines (GE6992, GE5183). Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer.

As you can see, the list is large and includes Apple products, home appliances, mobile phones (with special mention for Samsung Galaxy S6), gaming consoles, software accessories and many other products. Once you work through this list, its hard to find much at all that is actually included in the sale (except perhaps for already overpriced HDMI cables or similar).

This has gotten to a ridiculous level today, where DSE's sale is called the XXXXL sale "It's that big we had to add another 'X'". Wow, that sounds huge, right? What great bargains might I find here? http://www.dicksmith.com.au/

Apparently none.

When you click on the 'Learn More' button, it takes you to the Terms and Conditions (with the same exclusions) and apparently no actual sale.
There appears to be no actual price reduction on anything (the deals at the bottom of the front page are a separate sale lasting until the 3/11/15 and are specifically excluded from the XXXXL sale in the terms and conditions).

Also, this forum post from July: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/201094

So what are your thoughts OzBargainers? Is it time that DSE had daily sales banned? Do they deserve our attention anyway because of the occasional great bargain we find there? I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

Poll Options

  • 86
    Ban DSE daily deals
  • 9
    Ban DSE entirely
  • 1
    Give DSE a short suspension
  • 45
    Don't ban DSE at all
  • 4
    Any deals on Eneloops?
Site Discussion

Related Stores

Dick Smith / Kogan
Dick Smith / Kogan
Marketplace

Comments

  • inherentchoice on 30/10/2015 - 17:13
    +3

    First world problems: retailer has too many sales.

    • ATangk on 30/10/2015 - 23:23

      Head straight to Woolies or Coles for that idea. "hundreds of specials, every week" - that is, if not thousands. Most of the products are on sale every second week, and should just stay the same 'low' price for eternity instead of it being 'on sale' all the time.

      • DeafMutePretender on 31/10/2015 - 01:05

        Most of the products are on sale every second week, and should just stay the same 'low' price for eternity instead of it being 'on sale' all the time.

        Maybe instead of half-price specials, they can just average out the price for eternity? Eternity price = 75% of normal price

  • lj87 on 30/10/2015 - 17:21
    +1

    I vote don't ban. Yes they have loads of deals, but generally when someone posts, they list half a dozen or so notable products in links. 99% of us would never know of these, because we're too lazy to scour their site whenever some sort of sale/deal is on. Given how many deals are posted to this site each day, seeing a few DSE ones mixed in there, I don't think is a problem at all. Lots probably don't even make the front page.

    • Gladioli on 30/10/2015 - 17:32

      Yeah, I suppose my issue is that each sale ends up being very similar to the last (today's being an exception in the negative sense). Most of them end up being pretty close to 15-20% off, sometimes using the $XX off $XXX spend to achieve about the same discount. Perhaps I just need to take a screenshot of their site each day to prove my point…?

  • SrMoure on 30/10/2015 - 17:32
    +2

    Yes. I vote BAN, this is plain advertising masked as a sale

  • spackbace on 30/10/2015 - 17:52
    +6

    You must have a very easy going life if 1 post on here each day, or every now and then, affects you so much.

    Alternative to your poll, why don't you choose to block the posts from DS from your end, thus you never have to see them again. Sure, you'll miss those times there are genuine bargains (at least once a month), but it saves a whole store being banned just because you don't like it.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/10/2015 - 18:45
      +2

      Yup, if you don't think a store is of any value, click Hide and avoid the frustration.

    • Grillman on 10/12/2015 - 01:29
      +1

      I don't think he is claiming power to ban them, it would appear he has put up a poll to see if the community would like to ban them. Weird to have to explain that.

      • spackbace on 10/12/2015 - 10:13

        Weird to get notified of a reply to a 6 week old comment :/

        • Grillman on 10/12/2015 - 13:28

          lol I was searching for something else DSE related and opened a few pages.

  • spackbace on 30/10/2015 - 18:01
    +4

    HAHAHAHAHA

    Omg I just saw the hilarious irony of it all!

    OP posted a DSE deal only a few weeks ago! 1 of only 3 posts they've made since joining (this forum discussion being 1 of those 3).

    Wow, just wow!

    • Gladioli on 30/10/2015 - 19:56
      +1

      Yeah, this was my first attempt at highlighting the issue ;) Got about 40 upvotes in half an hour because tons people agreed it was a joke of a sale

      • spackbace on 30/10/2015 - 20:04
        +2

        Lol and on the same day you posted that:
        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/214864 +93
        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/214911 +79

        4 days before you posted:
        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/214399 +45
        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/214393 +37

        2 days after you posted:
        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/215318 +37

        Notice a trend here? Yeah that they do actually offer good deals. Whether you care or not, that's up to you, just block them from showing and leave the rest of us to take advantage of their offers.

        • Gladioli on 30/10/2015 - 20:15

          If you'll read the original post you'll see my issue is with the online store's daily deal, not with DSE as a whole. I love the genuine bargains that DSE have. What I don't like is sneaky marketing tactics to get on the front page of Ozbargain without actually offering any bargain.
          I love OzBargain, I want it to continue to be the very useful tool that it is (including the healthy and helpful community). I think this is helped when dodgy tactics are addressed in the proper way.
          BTW, my vote is for the eneloops deal ;)

        • spackbace on 30/10/2015 - 20:18

          @0HERD0:

          What I don't like is sneaky marketing tactics to get on the front page of Ozbargain without actually offering any bargain.

          Yes, there's some marketing guy @ DS going "hmm how can I word this so it goes on the front page of OzBargain" lol

          You realise that general sale posts get deleted by mods if there is no deal actually offered? And the community as a whole is quick to work out if there is or isn't any deals.

          Sure, I'm the same as everyone and hate the daily "OMG WE'RE THROWING THE BIGGEST SALE EVER" emails. But fact is that there are deals. No need to ban them or further moderate them.

        • Gladioli on 30/10/2015 - 20:31

          @Spackbace: Again, I'm not looking to get DSE banned, I'd like to see their daily sale banned. The fact that these daily deals keep getting upvoted shows that the community still hasn't cottoned onto the fact that they aren't really any good.
          If all that this thread achieves is that other OzBargainers become more aware of the slack daily deals of DSE then I'm happy. (Again, daily deal referring to their 'XXXXL Sale' and similar).

  • spackbace on 30/10/2015 - 18:06

    Oh and I just went through and counted, you know there's been 27 DSE deals hit the front page in the last month alone? (>20 votes) But you want them banned? Riiiiight…

    • mmd on 30/10/2015 - 20:22
      +3

      Slow day selling cars in this dreadful weather eh?

      Anyways, I prefer NOT to ban.
      Might miss out on an important deal!

  • [Deactivated] on 30/10/2015 - 18:07

    Dick Smith's seems to be losing money fast, so you may not need to worry for too long.
    Their shares dropped 34% in one day this week.

  • altomic on 30/10/2015 - 18:13
    +2

    this is probably why DSE have such shit sales - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/217486

  • PJC on 30/10/2015 - 20:02
    +4

    For me, it is all about timing. I doubt Dick Smith have made 1c profit on me overall. I got a Sony Cybershot camera 2 years ago for $28, my stepdaughter still uses the $2.86 stainless steel toaster, on the train I wear my $7.50 Sennheiser Adidas headphones, I still have many Verbatim blank discs and Fujitsu batteries. Nobody has to click on a deal they dislike. Scroll on and let others make their own decisions.

  • Axelstrife on 30/10/2015 - 20:10
    +1

    i looked through my emails from them last week and three days in a row i received emails of a "sale" of the same items at the same price just a different name of a the sale.

    lately their sales have been called XL or XXL or XXXL etc…

    while i do think there sales are complete crap there are some bargains

  • [Deactivated] on 31/10/2015 - 02:52
    +2

    I would prefer that any store is limited to perhaps 3 (serious) posts per week.
    With some restrictions on non-associated persons of perhaps 20 posts per week, per store.
    Dick smith are perhaps a bit dodgy, but either way having 50+ junk posts in a week, by any company is degrading to this fun & useful website.

    Sidenote to DS: 8 enelopes for $10 delivered and I'll remove my post.

  • Baysew on 31/10/2015 - 18:13
    +1

    If we are not going to ban Dick Smith (DSE) Online's daily deals, there must be something else that needs a darn good banning.

    I really would like to jump on the banwagon

    • [Deactivated] on 02/11/2015 - 19:05

      'Ban the Dick', unpopular with some, but their deals are so often trash, that discretion must come to play eventually for the benefit of this discerning community.

  • dtc on 16/11/2015 - 18:41
    +2

    Thought I would drag out this 'old' topic with this little DSE gem

    http://www.dicksmith.com.au/earphones-headphones/airbeatz-bl…

    'buy one get one free' - price is $79.98 each (or two for that price)

    Head over to 'David Jones powered by Dick Smith' and, what do you see, oh, the exact same headphones for $39.98

    http://shop.davidjones.com.au/djs/en/davidjones/airbeatz-blu…

    So in fact the 'buy one get one free' only works by doubling the price (and adding 2 cents). This has to be skating the edges of legal

    • Gladioli on 16/11/2015 - 19:43

      Yeah, dropped into my local DS the other day and they had a phone for $549, or $599 with a 'free' selfie stick valued at $29! Some high quality deals…

  • Hirolol on 10/12/2015 - 21:31

    I know im late to the party but the sales have been rediculous the past week with the recent ULTIMATE DICKSMITH sale they had.
    Mainly the onelast week where the upto 75% off Clearance sale but then barely anything good remaining.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/01/2016 - 19:07

    Aaaaaaaaand they're gone.

  • gimli on 20/01/2016 - 20:15
    +1

    Ding Dong the Dick is Dead

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