Petition: Please Make All Prices on Bargains Include GST in The Title!

StrayfireX on 23/08/2018 - 14:33
Last edited 23/08/2018 - 14:47

To avoid a problem like this in future can we mandate officially that all posts must include GST in their price and make it a valid reason for reporting/moderator edit?

There is a lot of confusion in that post bit: "BW-MF8 Lightning Cable 1.8m $7.69"

  1. the title is in USD without clear indication. When it's converted to AUD -> bam $10.76 AUD (this is already covered by existing rules, but the vendor is being slightly cheeky)
  2. doesn't include GST -> bam $11.83 AUD. This makes deals posted by other members that include GST less appealing than those that don't include GST.

So suddenly a cable you think is $10.76 turn out to be $11.83. It really makes comparing bargains much harder. I don't want shonky reps to exclude GST as a valid way to promote a bargain.

User A posts Item for for $200 (including GST)
Rep B posts Item for $198 (excluding GST)

Rep B's offer looks better than User A's post. That is the issue here.

eBay also seems to be doing GST the American way and adding GST at the end. It would be totally deceptive of me to knowingly write "Pixel for $390.45 with PENNY5 code" because the tax is added on at the checkout, making it $431 in reality. It is vaguely mentioned in the rules and guidelines that a bargain must "cost of postage, fees or other costs", but given the confusion, I think GST should be added to that list, for the sake of consistency.

Thanks!

Poll Options

  • 69
    Let's do this
  • 0
    Nah, right now is fine
Site Discussion

Comments

  • Diji1 on 23/08/2018 - 14:38
    -2

    More inconvenience from the attack on your money by Turnbull.

    He was blocked yesterday from lowering taxes on business yet again while he's taking your money to give it to those same businesses who use infrastructure way more than you.

    Diji1 on 23/08/2018 - 14:38 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
    • StrayfireX on 23/08/2018 - 14:46

      As much as I would like to engage in a political debate about this, I'm more concerned about the continued consistency of this website.

  • Moderatorhamza23 on 23/08/2018 - 14:48

    It's already a requirement to have the full price in the title, you just need to report the deals so moderators can update them if the price is missing GST. Not a single member reported that deal and thus it was never updated. The majority of deals need manual intervention from moderators or power users to ensure all required information is included.

    • StrayfireX on 23/08/2018 - 14:52
      +3

      Well what I mean is I want it to be clearly written in the rules that GST needs to be included so that posters can tell the rep and inform the mods to change the post.

      I didn't report the post because I was confused at the guidelines because it doesn't explicitly state that GST needs to be included. The 7 people that upvoted a comment asking the rep to include GST in the title price also must have been confused, as none of them reported the matter.

      For new bargain writers, having a bit in the rules section about including GST means that the bargain writer knows to include it and saves some mod work.

      Thanks.

      • Moderatorhamza23 on 23/08/2018 - 15:19

        The final price/GST should always be in the title, that has always been the case and I don't think we need a guideline specifically explaining that, nor would that change anything anyway. Most reps don't read the guidelines once, let alone read the guidelines again for updates we make, there are a lot of guidelines. You are going to have to report the deals regardless. If there are certain reps or stores that continually miss it we'll eventually talk to them on a individual basis or add something to that specific store block so it appears as they/you are posting the deal for that store, ie something you can't miss. That would be the best way to tackle the issue when it's only a handful of merchants/stores, to have requests/reminders on that posting block that user see as they post the deal. However once again not everyone has the same mindset as you do, they might not care or they might just genuinely miss it and we still need for members to report the deal.

        We hope all members report things they think that are incorrect, even if they aren't sure. There is no harm in reporting it to us so we can make that call and often we can explain what we do and why if we don't take action or do something different. Unfortunately things aren't going to happen by itself (just like store in title, price in title, postage cost in title and everything else is often missed and moderators/power users need to update).

        As for reps not updating the deal, that is a different subject. Maybe a lack of understanding, overseas reps may rep for many countries and not understand our new laws or maybe just too busy/don't care.

        In summary, what you are asking in this 'petition' is already what we are doing (ie let's do this) and we are reguarly updating deals that miss this or other information; we kindly request members report any deal missing GST/the final price/anything else.

    • HighAndDry on 23/08/2018 - 14:52

      Yup, I've seen deals updated with GST once it's discovered. I don't think reps are deliberately using it to be dodgy either - it's just a new issue that is necessarily going to take time for people to get used to, especially since for a lot of products it's added only at the last step of checkout when the delivery address is confirmed, and isn't a universal issue because it depends on whether the seller is over the threshold or not.

      • StrayfireX on 23/08/2018 - 15:00
        +3

        I mean my issue is with the reps that don't amend the post, like the Banggood rep above that just shrugged it off. The users obviously wanted them to include GST in the title but users were too confused to report it to the mods, so I believe a short clarification to the rules is in order, that's all.

        • HighAndDry on 23/08/2018 - 15:05
          +1

          Oh yup. Eh - it's not really that confusing, it's a standard rule that the entire price needs to be in the title, doesn't matter if it's from overseas or domestic, if GST is going to be charged, it should be there.

          Good looking out though, because yeah, apparently it did need clarification.

  • hashtagbargain on 23/08/2018 - 16:33

    The standard should be final price including GST in AUD. Showing other prices is simply a distraction!

    • HighAndDry on 23/08/2018 - 17:35
      +2

      Sometimes that's not possible, because while there is one price in USD, the final AUD price could depend on if you use the site's AUD price, or pay in USD but convert through Paypal, or pay in USD but convert through your credit card.

      • Certified Angus on 23/08/2018 - 18:41

        I don't completely disagree, but surely we can use some standard methods e.g. xe.com rates, or Visa/MasterCard rates.

        Nobody really complains at the moment if you say 'pay with 28 degrees to get this rate' and even then the rate can change quickly

      • havebeerbelywillsumo on 23/08/2018 - 18:42

        Simple to me - rule should state "price must be full Australian cost, include country if "dollars" is not Oz dollars and finally include "+ Oz taxes (GST), postage" - where postage is not included eg $35US + GST, free post".

        Errr I thought it would be simple anyway…..however it is up to the merchant to get the message to potential customers IMHO so the learning burden is at their end.

  • ronnknee on 23/08/2018 - 22:59
    +1

    Price in title should already be the final price as per existing guidelines. If not, they can be reported. What's the point of this petition?

    • Quantumcat on 24/08/2018 - 08:45

      Making it clearer in the rules I believe

      • Baysew on 24/08/2018 - 10:40

        Rather than muck around with petitions just report it!

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