Should Price Error Deals Be Visible to OzBargain Members Only?

barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 19:01
Last edited 04/06/2020 - 20:31

Intro: How many price error deals have you missed on because many people got it and the store knew something was up?

Background story: I was price matching the Jim Beam White at Dan Murphy's for the price error which is still showing with the error price on Coles (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/542218). The rep was nearly done when he searched it up on google and the ozbargain deal post showed with the title "price error" so he stopped the price matching and refused to do it anymore.

Proposal: Since all the forums under "everything else" are only visible to Ozbargain members and not visitors why not make deals that are likely to be price errors be put under a special list visible to only members?

scenario A: visible to the public so everyone sees it = store alerted= ALL orders cancelled and no one benefited

scenario B: Visible to ozbargainers only so not many see it = less likely to be all cancelled = more chances of someone benefiting

What are your thoughts?

Poll Options

  • 119
    Great Idea
  • 17
    I don't support this idea
  • 8
    Meh I don't care
Site Discussion

Comments

  • spackbace on 04/06/2020 - 19:05

    If it wasn't google, then he would've search the Coles website which had been changed shortly after the deal was posted.

    Get over it…

    • barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 19:05
      -1

      he checked the Coles website which was not changed (for me it's still showing until this second as the price error price and when he tried it showed as that price too)

      That was a step after this when he was looking for the product in general

      • spackbace on 04/06/2020 - 19:08
        +4

        You knew it was an error, you got greedy. It was at this point you should've gone "ah no worries was worth a shot", and never thought about it again.

        In posting this, it's clear it's been on your mind.

        Scotty has never been behind notions of 'special' forums for certain members. Never. (Insert OzBargain Platinum membership joke here)

        • barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 19:09
          -1

          Scotty has never been behind notions of 'special' forums for certain members. Never.

          This is not true though as currently from what I can see the "everything else", "dating and relationship" and "classified" tagged forums are not visible unless you log in

          • spackbace on 04/06/2020 - 19:12
            +2

            @barozgain: Off-topic posts/comments and classifieds are an exception.

            It's not like there's anything amazing hiding behind "Everything else", or "Dating & Relationships". Nothing deal related, hence the titles…

            Do I need to clarify it for you, and say that Scotty has never been behind hiding, or delaying the timing, of deals to guests? Better?

            Oh and thanks for the negs, it's ok I'll post more than 5 comments on here so you can come back tomorrow and use tomorrow's neg quota :)

            • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 04/06/2020 - 19:17
              +2

              @spackbace: Here have some upvotes :)

            • barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 19:17
              -2

              @spackbace:

              thanks for the negs

              No worries mate :)

              I'll post more than 5 comments on here so you can come back tomorrow and use tomorrow's neg quota

              Aw very nice of you mate

              Chill mate lol I'm not attacking you it's just a suggestion lol

              • spackbace on 04/06/2020 - 19:22
                +2

                @barozgain:

                I'm not attacking you

                Ah huh, so why neg vote when you're replying anyway? It's not like I don't have the exact same ability to downvote your comments, I just choose to use my words to convey what I want to say instead.

  • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 04/06/2020 - 19:16
    +5

    Personally, I like the idea but I doubt it will happen since (as spackbace said above) Scotty doesn’t like hiding things for non-members.

    • barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 19:19
      -1

      yes but price errors aren't deals really like:
      scenario A: visible to the public so everyone sees it = store alerted= ALL orders cancelled and no one benefited

      scenario B: Visible to ozbargainers only so not many see it = less likely to be all cancelled = more chances of someone benefiting

      • SleepyPolarBear on 04/06/2020 - 20:24
        +4

        Let's play devil's advocate.

        Scenario B: visible to ozbargainers only so not many see it = less orders = less public backlash when cancelled.

        Scenario A: visible to the public so everyone sees it = more orders = more reasons to honour pricing error.

        While I show no love for large monopolistic liquor retailers, using something you know to be a price error to take advantage of another retailer is somewhat wrong. I am glad the rep did his/her due diligence albeit it be just googling, as losses incurred because of advertising incompetence should be limited to just the incompetent company.

        • barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 21:00
          +1

          using something you know to be a price error to take advantage of another retailer is somewhat wrong.

          Some of the most upvoted and most liked deals on Ozbargain were basically price errors and people price beating at Officeworks so yeah I kinda agree with your point but from what I've seen on the website, that's not how most ozbargainers think

          • SleepyPolarBear on 04/06/2020 - 21:58

            @barozgain: Haha, well even if we move away from the ethics side of it.

            If I had found a pricing error, by your ideology, I should not share it with anyone because it would increase the likelihood of the store noticing. There is no benefit for me posting and risk my order being "ozbargained" and cancelled. This is essentially opposite to the idea of an Ozbargain forum of sharing deals with everyone. While, I know this is a stretch from what your proposed limitations are, it still seems to be in a direction that is not conducive to the overall intention of this community.

            There have been many a times I kicked myself for not checking ozbargain every 5 minutes for something new, and also wished less people were alerted to it. But after the umpteenth time, I've just learnt to look at them like a lottery ticket, rather than a missed opportunity.

            • barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 22:21

              @SleepyPolarBear: well usually the OP doesn't benefit from posting a pricing error since all orders get cancelled

              If I find a price error, I'd get it myself first then post on Ozbargain as it's highly unlikely anyone from the store would realise it's a pricing error from just one order so it'll still be available for the fellow ozbargainers.

              I'd also think it'd be better if only ozbargainers saw it when posted as that's 70% less people seeing it and ordering= more likely to be successful

              But yeah I agree with your sentence "like a lottery ticket, rather than a missed opportunity" but if it's possible to make it less lottery-like then why not?

              • SleepyPolarBear on 04/06/2020 - 22:51
                +1

                @barozgain: Yep, I totally agree that such a proposal would be advantageous to existing members. But the idea of segregating visibility by membership status is just ummm… "Trumpish?". It's a step in a direction that is not beneficial to the overall health of the forum. Like, someone could similarly argue, there should be a special bargains list for contributors and not lurkers as there should be some give and take. While I could support a timed release, i.e. visibility is blocked for 30mins after posting for non-members, the complete segregation is just somewhat a little elitist to me and not what a "bargain" community represents. Anyways, that's just my 2C.

                • SleepyPolarBear on 04/06/2020 - 22:52

                  @SleepyPolarBear: PS: okay, "Trumpish" was a little harsh. Soz :P

                  • barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 23:08

                    @SleepyPolarBear: first of all, I want to applaud your way of thinking and good debating skills; thanks for being a good sport

                    the complete segregation is just somewhat a little elitist to me

                    But wouldn't it be like this if you have to pay to become a member or it's something you're born with etc?

                    Like membership is free and available for every one so doesn't make us elitist I reckon

  • Davo1111 on 04/06/2020 - 19:23
    +3

    premium/member specific deals have been denied many times. This will be no exception

    • chrisie on 04/06/2020 - 21:07

      Exception being the Cashrewards & ShopBack deals for members

      • barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 21:11
        +1

        Exception being the Cashrewards & ShopBack deals for members

        Those deals even though are targeted for Ozb members, they're visible to everyone whether logged in or not

        • chrisie on 04/06/2020 - 21:15

          Oh OK

  • DASHCAM NOW DUDE on 04/06/2020 - 19:43
    +1

    No. You snooze, you lose. Life moves on.

    • barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 19:48
      -1

      well in this case everyone loses as per my earlier comment:

      scenario A: visible to the public so everyone sees it = store alerted= ALL orders cancelled and no one benefited

      scenario B: Visible to ozbargainers only so not many see it = less likely to be all cancelled = more chances of someone benefiting

      • DASHCAM NOW DUDE on 04/06/2020 - 19:51
        +2

        I feel like their are enough OZB'ers that it won't make a difference. Particularly for price error items.

  • ihbh on 04/06/2020 - 21:15

    What are your thoughts?

    Most important is what is Scotty's thought? More members, fewer ads…

    (… although it does create bigger community which creates long term value.)

  • [Deactivated] on 04/06/2020 - 23:07

    So you want ozbargain to be complicit in fraud?

    • barozgain on 04/06/2020 - 23:10

      since when does a store making a pricing error and you ordering a fraud??

      It has always been and will always be a mistake from the store not the consumer's mistake

      Neither does price matching a "pricing error" a fraud as until it's removed or declared an error it's a genuine price available for consumers

      • [Deactivated] on 04/06/2020 - 23:38

        Fraud : the wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.

        IMHO, it fraud once you become aware that it is a price error and still try to deceitfully take advantage of it. Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong.

        • [Deactivated] on 05/06/2020 - 09:42

          it it's fraud once

    • jimdotpud on 05/06/2020 - 09:36

      so if that's true, then shouldn't OzB prevent all posts of price errors in the first place?

      • [Deactivated] on 05/06/2020 - 09:46

        How would mods know it's a price error? They usually only find out much later and then label it as such.

        • jimdotpud on 05/06/2020 - 09:53

          fair enough. rather then relabel, suppose it should be removed once discovered then??

          • spackbace on 05/06/2020 - 11:18

            @jimdotpud: They get moved to the forums after it's discovered and refunds start coming in

  • Hellcrusher3304 on 04/06/2020 - 23:59

    Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others.

  • Moderatorhamza23 on 05/06/2020 - 12:13

    The rep was nearly done when he searched it up on google and the ozbargain deal post showed with the title "price error" so he stopped the price matching and refused to do it anymore

    The issue there is, it was tagged as [Price error] based on assumption, before it was declared as such by the company, that tag shouldn't have been added and this issue wouldn't have arose. We'll address that thanks.

    For these same reasons, mods won't judge/tag anything as a price error until it's been announced by the company/refunded. If it isn't honoured or it's refunded, the deal is moved to the forums, if it is honoured or partly honoured it stays as a deal post. Examples

    There are many issues that make this idea near impossible and undesirable.

    • Mods hiding 'price error' deals from guests would require us to make assumptions that something is a price error, we don't have special powers/knowledge and won't do that.

    • It would require mods to be online and actioning reports immediately, to hide particular deals, which we can't always do.

    • We don't want to force people to sign up to obtain 'hidden deals', this feels spammy.

    • Our Twitter, amongst other things, pushes out deals after they are posted. Twitter is public.

    • We don't want to encourage price errors and we certainly don't want to make them a special member benefit.

    There are other issues and discussions relating to price errors, but you get the idea.

    Thanks

    • barozgain on 05/06/2020 - 12:18

      a very reasonable response

      Thanks @hamza23

  • miztadave on 15/06/2020 - 13:33

    Something needs to be done about obvious price error "deals". The most recent example being a commercial grade food processor. Unfortunately, there seems to be a selfish, uncaring portion of the OzBargain community that jump on such "deals", often attempting to buy multiple units. This is done with total disregard for the significant time and cost penalty imposed on the retailer in reversing and refunding the orders, which they quite rightly refuse to honour. Even worse, there are those who aggressively insist the price be honoured and demand an instant refund and some form of bonus compensation if not.

    This behaviour does nothing but damage to the reputation of the OzBargain community. Most often, it is glaringly obvious that a "deal" is, in fact, a price error. These need to be hidden from all users. Of course, mods are not online 24/7 to action this kind of thing. But they are online often enough to at least limit the damage.

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