When a seller contacts an OzBargain member to post a special deal or discount code does that not suggest they have an association or relationship?
I don't think there is a requirement for the poster to even mention this in their deal post?
I think it should be a requirement. What do others think?
Yes! They need to click I am Associated with the Store when submitting a deal.
Surely that's a grey area though, given this one:
or if someone asked you to post here.
If it can't be proven that the person who asked you is a store rep, then sockpuppeting can't be proven.
IE:
"Credit to Oneforall"
(a user with zero post/comment/vote history)
I'll give you a clearer example.
If a company or an employee emails OzBargain AND they don't want to post themselves AND it's a good deal we will post it. (Not associated)
If a company or an employee emails OzBargain AND they don't want to post themselves AND it's a meh deal, we comment in the Anonymous Deal Submission Thread (Not associated)
Now, some people seek out deals from reps.
Users asking companies for deals and then posting WITHOUT receiving a financial reward (money/freebie/store credit etc.) is fine.
If there is a financial reward OR the company is asking you to post on behalf of them (as this bypasses posting limits), then the user should mark as associated.
For reps sending a user a heads up on a deal that's no different than seeing it posted on Facebook, newsletter etc.
Bottom line is we all want good deals and we want everyone to be honest. We investigate as much as is possible but obviously don't have ASIO powers (yet!).
but obviously don't have ASIO powers (yet!).
Jees cmon! You should!
I think whether it's an OzBargain member asking a seller for a deal or the other way round it should be declared. Both scenarios suggest a relationship or association.
Whatever your view, it makes everything more transparent on OzBargain. How can that not be a good thing?!
Contacting a company or vice versa doesn't imply a relationship with them. If for example, tranter, you contact/live chat eBay and ask them when their next 20% off sale is and they tell you, do you think you are associated with eBay?
No there is no relationship or association in that case.
I said 'asking' for a deal, by which I meant creating a new deal that didn't exist before and normally involves an exchange and negotiation between member and seller.
I see what you're saying but it's a slippery slope.
U: Hi, when is your next 20% off sale?
eBay: Next Monday starting at 10AM, code LABORDAY
U: Thanks
U: Hi when is your next 20% off sale?
eBay: We don't have one coming up.
U: Could you do one for next Monday?
eBay: Sure, use code YOUASKED
U: Thanks
Do you think scenario 2 would mean the user is associated with eBay?
Also I should add about negotiated deals (Oct 2015) from here:
Just a quick update on negotiated deals: We are no longer allowing negotiated deals for stores that are banned from store rep posts on OzBargain (this would obviously apply to stores that are completely banned from OzBargain too, as no one can submit any deal for these stores). Before contacting any rep to negotiate a deal, users can ensure that the store isn't banned by viewing the store page - eg https://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/dicksmith.com.au If a store is banned an orange box will display stating "This store is currently BANNED from store representative posts." with the reason and expiry date below. If a negotiated deal is posted for that store it will be removed (so please do check before spending your time negotiating).
Basically we don't want to give store reps who have done the wrong thing, a potential way to exploit the rules further. We are appreciative of the honesty and transparency of OzBargain members in relation to this.
Ok thanks Neil for the clarification, although I'm sure I've seen this happen more than once from a prolific deal poster. I'd have to go back and have a look for examples.
That's crazy!
Yep, those posts are autoposted on Twitter as well as coming up in Google Alerts. We usually can figure out who they are. Sometimes the store is already banned and sometimes the stores just don't know what they are doing.
That task was for Chocelo.com and the OP clicked associated (which is fine) but that store is part of a bigger group of stores already banned for spamming. Deal was removed.
The confused/stupid example, is with Superpharmacy, 1, 2, and 3. Whoever set up that task, assigned it to 5 different people which resulted in a bunch of duplicates being posted at the same time. No idea why the rep didn't just post themselves and saved them the $50 * 4 and $29 * 1. This resulted in a ban for sockpuppeting, the 3rd within a year which results in a permanent ban.
As above though, $50 for the one recently, posts were deleted within minutes… bloody stupid!
Yes! They need to click I am Associated with the Store when submitting a deal.
Sockpuppeting
and
Deal Posting Guidelines