What’s The Point of Catch?

georgegeorge31 on 31/05/2023 - 08:42

I was looking for an item, and it was cheaper on Catch so I bought it, signed up for OnePass because it was cheaper than postage, and gave an added discount.

The plan was to keep OnePass for the month and just grab stuff off Catch as I found items I genuinely needed.

But literally every single item (except the one thing I bought) is way overpriced on Catch.

  • dishwasher liquid
  • toothbrush heads
  • trackpants
  • travel bags
  • toilet paper
  • laundry detergent
  • random kids toys as gifts

The list goes on.

So I’m wondering what’s the point? What do you all get off Catch (if anything)?

General Discussion

Related Stores

Catch.com.au
Catch.com.au
Marketplace

Comments

  • CyberMurning on 31/05/2023 - 08:45
    +37

    well they started very good loooooooooooong time ago with catch of the day, ie just one item per day at good price (iirc).
    then they become just overpriced marketplace like you said.

    well, sometimes they have clearance and good prices, usually old models.
    i got few casios supposed to be limited edition for cheap, sold for profit after 2 years sitting in the drawer.
    so yeah. its useless 99% of the time

    • 87percent on 31/05/2023 - 09:35
      +1

      When they first started, it was good. They had things like an iPad for $100 but only 20 units.

      • payless69 on 31/05/2023 - 09:53
        +1

        sounds very much like illegal bait advertising?

        • stainedteatowel on 31/05/2023 - 13:12
          +1

          "It is not misleading if the business is upfront and clear about the product being:

          in short supply, or
          on sale for a limited time"

          They would state the quantity they have.

          • payless69 on 31/05/2023 - 15:52

            @stainedteatowel: Apple would have NEVER allowed them to rubbish their product with a $100 sticker. Bait is bait. Some vacuum cleaner salesmen used to bait dumb people with a falsely named "dog".

            • stainedteatowel on 31/05/2023 - 19:22

              @payless69: Regardless whatever the item was and how they were sourced / grey imports, the 'catch' of the day from memory had the quantity listed so it wasn't illegal bait advertising.

              • payless69 on 01/06/2023 - 06:56

                @stainedteatowel: "Good" lawyers will always find a backdoor to the law. If it is grey import then good luck with any warranty. Catch would be your warranty provider and you hit a wall of silence. Better pay 1k more to Gerry so he can feed his horse……

        • DangerNoodle on 01/06/2023 - 18:33
          +1

          Nah it wasn't clickbair, it was a fastest fingers first thing. I managed to get through on the Nintendo Wii U deal, a couple of computers, a TV and a few other things. The catchathon deals used to be epic, stalking the website waiting for the hourly tickover for the next deals.

          • payless69 on 02/06/2023 - 11:25

            @DangerNoodle: Impulse buying: I was in a rush to buy a tripod for a 4mio shoot. Stopped in at Gerry and got a faulty product. Been over a year now and still no warranty!

      • ihfree on 31/05/2023 - 16:15

        I did get a few decent things from their site in the early days but I'm not sure good is quite the right word.

        You can look back at their old deal posts - (example). There used to be an article by a disgruntled employee about servers falling over, picking up goods from retail stores for sales, and just general chaos during sales.

      • outlander on 01/06/2023 - 18:29

        That was when they when public iirc. Circa 2013

        Chimot is more talking about 2007 ish. Initially their gimmick was a deal of the day type thing going. I bought a memory foam pillow once that was very squishy, and some cleaning glove thing. All garbage by my current standards (pretty garbage back then too tbh)

  • theguyrules on 31/05/2023 - 08:58
    +4

    Last time I bought on catch, they took forever to ship and even sent an email saying "its going to be late" like ok, thanks.

    • taradavey on 01/06/2023 - 08:08
      +2

      I had a similar experience, shipped to pickup at a Kmart, it was "sent", and I was not notified of its arrival. After numerous communications with catch it "finally arrives" months later, when it had been at Kmart the whole time.
      It was a skincare item that was short dated, so I was pretty frustrated because it had expired before I got it.

      • RoosterBooster on 02/06/2023 - 20:29

        Similar experience here. I ordered something to be picked up at Kmart. It said dispatched in 1-3 business days. After 2 weeks I get an email to say it had finally shipped, but then nothing else. The order status did not update in my Catch account and there was no tracking. A further 2 weeks on I contacted Catch to ask about my order. They told me it was awaiting collection at Kmart. I headed to Kmart the next day to collect it, only to be informed that it was returned to sender!

  • Clear on 31/05/2023 - 09:02
    +13

    Catch of the day was good when online shopping in Australia was still really immature. Back when Myer would close their online store outside of business hours. Now that they have different owners and allow marketplace sellers like Kogan they're like any other generic overpriced store relying on their name for business.

    • Seraphin7 on 31/05/2023 - 09:32

      Back when Myer would close their online store outside of business hours.

      Really? No wonder they're in the state they're in!

      • CheapandUsed on 31/05/2023 - 09:40
        +1

        No wonder they're in the state they're in!

        Myer sales near two-decade high after department store posts strong Christmas

        • Seraphin7 on 31/05/2023 - 09:59
          +5

          Well, there you go. Good luck to them. I've barely set foot in the joint in close on 20 years and the ones I'm aware of appear to be constantly downsizing.

          • pharkurnell on 31/05/2023 - 10:45
            +3

            @Seraphin7: dont know the last time i went into myer, dj's etc either… they always seemed overpriced

            • Seraphin7 on 31/05/2023 - 11:21
              +1

              @pharkurnell: Agreed. Many other issues as well, the big one being the "brand concession" business model/store layout … the need to wander around half the floor to compare polo shirts (as an example) is ridiculous.

              • CommuterPolluter on 01/06/2023 - 23:45

                @Seraphin7: I go to Myer specifically so I can shop the brands which I like. Love Myer, great store, great model.

          • Spectatie on 01/06/2023 - 08:51
            -2

            @Seraphin7: They are popular with the boomers.

          • barcer on 01/06/2023 - 16:45
            +1

            @Seraphin7:

            the ones I'm aware of appear to be constantly downsizing.

            That's because their B&M business is shrinking, but their online is growing relatively rapidly.

      • Clear on 31/05/2023 - 10:06

        They were quite progressive considering other stores had nothing online.

        • Seraphin7 on 31/05/2023 - 10:25

          I just have no recollection of that at all. Maybe that sort of thing went on in those days, but it just sounds as archaic as sending telegrams via punched tape.

          I remember Australian online shopping in general terms was more than woeful in those days, especially by "established players" that ultimately was one of the factors in their decline over the last 20-odd years.

  • DarkOz on 31/05/2023 - 09:16
    +4

    Hard to find a good catch these days but at least it's another place to go to when comparing prices.

    • Ade99 on 01/06/2023 - 07:53
      +1

      Agree sets the high bench mark price from which you can work back

  • djsweet on 31/05/2023 - 09:44
    +5

    As others have said, it has evolved over time. Used to be one of my favourite sites back in the day! Had great bargains, but you had to be quick and you had to check every day to see if the "one item" was something you want (I think they released the schedule a few days in advance). This was a huge novelty at the time. These days its just another trash tier market place unfortunately.

    • Laserface on 31/05/2023 - 09:52
      +3

      Zazz (now a kogan domain) and one-day/one-day Tee were great back in the day.

      • pharkurnell on 31/05/2023 - 10:46
        +2

        There were a few sites like zazz too…
        agree good in their time, then ruined.

  • pegaxs on 31/05/2023 - 09:45
    +10

    I take a much more nihilistic approach and wonder "what's the point of anything…"

  • Laserface on 31/05/2023 - 09:47

    CoTD was good. got heaps of excellent items back then (and a fair bit of junk, but it was known-junk). I got an ultra portable Toshiba about 10yrs ago that for the time was incredibly good for $700 (it still works!) heaps of cables and stuff cheap. was really good for picking up good quality, high margin accessories (power boards, USB cables, computer peripherals etc) when they had big clearance sales and stuff.

    When they partnered with one of the big retail players about 5-6yrs ago (maybe more) it went to shit. back to back searching for specific items showed they were cheaper elsewhere.

    I call it now 'the amazon effect.' where, you have Prime/One Pass, and you do a decent bit of shopping there, it becomes your first stop when shopping online for a product thanks to free/fast delivery. but if you actually look elsewhere, often you'll find the product is cheaper, even with postage on top.

    I dont use catch anymore fwiw.

    good example is music gear. look up some items on amazon, then compare the prices to music retail stores (like mannys.com.au) and quite often the pricing was better through the retailer than amazon.

    They are banking on you checking amazon/catch first and not going any further because you're on 'the deal website'

    Gotta hand it to catch, they built a reputation for being a cheap outlet for last season/run out stock and now turned it into a massive online retail business.

  • Top G on 31/05/2023 - 09:48

    Got some cheap leatherman’s off there

  • randomusername2017 on 31/05/2023 - 10:20

    Realistic level for kogan to aspire toward.

  • samfisher5986 on 31/05/2023 - 10:20
    +3

    After Catch of the Day, Catch literally transformed into stores like the reject shop. Basically they buy unwanted goods from suppliers or import them cheap from overseas.

    If you've found a branded item for a good price it was either cheaper on clearance previously in the store they purchased from or its imported from overseas and its either inferior or without proper warranty.

  • SimAus007 on 31/05/2023 - 10:20
    +1

    I mainly use Catch for clothing brands I like and tend to find their pricing very competitive in this arena, particularly when they have a sale.
    I have and would never use them for small supermarket items like dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent etc, which are always on a half-price sale in one of the supermarkets.
    OnePass is also great for Target and Kmart deliveries :)

  • 87percent on 31/05/2023 - 11:03

    I will say that their returns policy is good. i bought an umbrella from them nearly a year ago that my kids were using. First one broke when one of the arm things broke, emailed them and they organised a new one. Second one broke after the handle pretty much come out from the rest of the umbrella, they organised a new one.

    I emailed the company that made the umbrella, they offered me a 10% code on a new one

  • AnneThrope on 31/05/2023 - 11:35
    +9

    I've purchased a handful of items which happened to be cheaper than elsewhere but overall their descent into another 'marketplace' has been awful - the same items flogged by numerous random dropshippers.

    My favourite has to be the Search experience. /s

    It's not so much 'fuzzy' as like the commentators here who respond to posts with imbecilic word association quips.

    Scenario : I'm replacing the bearings in a trailer and could use a small quantity of bearing grease.
    Stuff isn't dear (<$14 for 450g at Bunnings) but probably need about 1/4 of that so maybe there's a smaller tube, let's have a look …

    Process :
    1. search "bearing grease"
    cool - 8000 results, they're sure to have just what I'm after.
    Scroll some to 'Penrite High Temperature Wheel Bearing Grease 450g' for $12.46, it's over $20 at Repco and Supercheap. Oh, $12 shipping kills it.
    check "free delivery" to filter out such surprises. 2800 results.
    2. "sort by lowest price" - um, now there's over 6000 results and the first hits are stubby holders?? Ah, they have bears on them; "bearing grease", "bear stubby holder", of course.
    4. Category = "automotive parts and accessories"
    750 results … starting with 'rhinestone bling car seat hangers' ??
    anyhoo, scrolly scroll … ah, "Car Grease Lubricant Food Grade Silicon Grease Lubricant for Car Bearing Gears" in a tube … of 10g.
    5. rage quit

    • bamzero on 01/06/2023 - 10:46
      +1

      Amazon and Aliexpress aren't much better in that regard. I've had items that I've stumbled upon from "other customers viewed" etc, then searched Amazon to find what else they have along those lines and the specific product doesn't even come in the results even if searching the exact product title (though sometimes the multiple options per product can mess things up) Trying to filter by lowest price usually leads to the same frustration though.

  • Godric on 31/05/2023 - 12:31
    +2

    They were good in '09, now they don't really have offer any value, aside from every now and then

    • Woody982 on 01/06/2023 - 09:14
      +1

      Ahh, so same as eBay! eBay was so good, but last 5 years (?) Probably longer eBay has been crap.

      • Godric on 01/06/2023 - 16:11

        Agree

  • aub on 31/05/2023 - 13:28
    +1

    Catch was good when cashrewards was offering 20% cashback. They don't do that anymore.

  • georgegeorge31 on 31/05/2023 - 14:43
    +1

    Glad I’m not missing something lol
    I shall chalk it up to a one off purchase that I’ll probably never do again 🤣

  • Speckled Jim on 01/06/2023 - 07:54
    +2

    My take: filter results from Catch only. Forget marketplace sellers.

  • Bob Svargis on 01/06/2023 - 09:00

    COTD was great back in the day. I remember a bunch of us at work would rush to our devices at midday to see what was on sale that day.

    Then they started to branch out (wine, food delivery, Scoopon etc) and then they were acquired by Wesfarmers who used it to boost their online presence by trying to turn it into something that would please everyone. It ain't the same as it was. Nowadays it's just like an Amazon knock-off.

    I was a loyal fan until about 10 years ago. It's lost its mojo in my eyes.

  • Woody982 on 01/06/2023 - 09:13

    I rarely use catch myself, but every now and then they'll have stuff cheaper than anywhere else. So thats when i buy from them…

  • bamzero on 01/06/2023 - 10:56

    They are good for getting the Amazon algorithm to drop prices.

    Good example is I came across today is these kids school shoes.
    Clearance for $22 at Catch, so Amazon has matched (if you're not in a hurry since they are temporarily out of stock of most sizes)

    • AustriaBargain on 01/06/2023 - 20:28
      +1

      Someone ought to game the Amazon algorithm, somehow make a store that offers things cheap but can't really be bought to trigger Amazon into price matching.

  • Pigey on 01/06/2023 - 18:16

    Living in WA and being able to Express Post for $2 with OnePass means Catch has its place when the local Amazon warehouse doesn't have it in stock.

  • Cluster on 01/06/2023 - 18:46

    Catch used to be good, well over 10 years ago. It was a 'catch of the day' site. One random offer flogging a product at a deep discount. Usually they were the dumping ground for overstocked or unsuccessful products, but every now and then you could find a real bargain.

    Now it's just an aggregator web site flogging products for anyone willing to pay for a listing.

  • linkindan on 01/06/2023 - 21:03

    They’re still doing better than oo.com.au

  • xers on 01/06/2023 - 21:12

    I just create new OnePass free trial accounts and wait for them to give me $30 off $60 purchase coupon codes but even then it's still hard to find anything worthwhile.

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 01/06/2023 - 21:22

    they were good, but they got brought up by the cole group….since then they have been pretty garbage

  • gviddy on 01/06/2023 - 21:42
    +1

    Catch is dodgy. I was after some pillows. These pillows were $90 each at Myer, Spotlight.

    Catch had them for $45. Wow, I can get two for the price of one. Add to cart, enter delivery address in Brisbane Metro. That will be $90 for delivery. What?! Try again, something must be wrong. $90 to deliver two pillows to Brisbane. Nope, that was the correct delivery price.

    As such I never even look at Catch anymore. They do the dodgy, lower the price, but up the delivery fee. Such a scam.

  • 2esc on 01/06/2023 - 22:14

    Ive never found one store online or bricks and motar store has consistently cheaper prices.

    Many people once they get a good deal naively believe all other deals from that company must be cheap also.

  • mattyman on 01/06/2023 - 22:58

    They used to have competition (Zazz) until they bought them out. Ever since, they haven't exactly been competitive.

  • hasher22 on 01/06/2023 - 23:29

    I remember my brother introduced me to catch, it was really damn good, I was addicted, going on everyday to see what deals would come on. It was actually really good deals.

    Now it's just another marketplace of off loaded crap from companies.

  • Spending2Much on 01/06/2023 - 23:52

    I made the mistake of buying an item using a gift card.
    Item not available apparently….stuck with a gift card.
    And as you say, literally everything is over priced.

    Bought an adaptor, the quality is sooooo terrible, I got my money back, returned to gift card/account credit,that expires within one year.

    Honestly, wish I hadn't bothered. I never renewed OnePass once I got the first free month and 3 coffee vouchers at Bunnings….and a $10 gift card.

    Hoping I can find something to spend the gift card balance on before it expires

    • RoosterBooster on 02/06/2023 - 20:48

      I share your sentiments! I recently made some purchases with gift cards. Orders were cancelled. I was informed that I would be refunded in the form of my original payment method. I was awaiting an email with a gift card. However, it wasn't until the following week that I noticed credit in my catch account and realised that is how they refund. There are a couple of reasons I don't like this. One - I usually keep gift cards in my emails or mobile wallet so that I can see which ones I have and for how much. Being only in my Catch account, it is likely to be forgotten about if not spent straight away. The second reason is, like you say, the credit expires within one year! The gift card I used had a three year expiry!

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