Just a couple of quick questions re some wording used on the site, re a reason for reporting a post, what does 'NSFW' stand for, and re a reason that a post was removed, what is 'sockpuppeting'?!?
OzBargain 'jargon'
GnarlyKnuckles on 10/06/2014 - 16:45
Comments
Thank you kindly Neil, I didn't realise that info was available on the site itself!
Here are a couple more:
Broden To broden a deal generally means to buy lots of a limited quantity item to possible on-sell on somewhere like eBay.
Professional. A term coined by Gerry Harvey after a price error on the Harvey Norman site ended up with numerous OzBargainers attempting to buy a tablet for $122 (instead of ~$700). He referred to the buyers as "professionals".
Here's another one you see sometimes - YMMV - your mileage may vary
I was aware of 'Broden' as it is used frequently in jest on the site, and I've also been told of its origins. You have to wonder though, whether it would really be worth anyone's time and effort to actually Broden anything… I mean sure, if you could buy up all available stock of some highly sought after item at ~10% of what others were willing to pay for it, and it was a pretty expensive item, and you managed to get a lot of them, then the profits might justify the time/selling-costs. But it's actually pretty hard to imagine such a scenario. Those Iphone case/keyboard thingies just recently offered at Australia Post for $10, for example, would not even really have been worth Brodening (if you were that way inclined), unless you could acquire about 20 or more. Even then, your market would be reduced to the poor saps that missed out on the $10 deal, and it would also be further reduced by the fact that Target (awesomly) came to the party to price-match… then there's the fact that on principle, surely not many would pay more than, say, $30 for something that they know they 'just missed out' on getting for $10.
So I suspect that Brodening doesn't actually happen (or hardly ever does), it's more of a largely anecdotal phenomenon, that makes for amusing banter. I'm told that even the original geezer 'Broden', after which the phenomenon is named, didn't actually do it (despite claiming to have done). He probably did the maths and decided against it.
I notice that the term 'Brodened' has now been, erm, broadened, to include buying up all available stock at an outlet, for personal use. I don't reckon this should count as Brodening… it's quite different from trying to turn a monetary profit by on-selling something you got cheap. Mind you, I personally don't see either as morally/ethically wrong; it's a free market.
While I'm raving about Brodening (which I'm highly amused by because I'm amused by the origins of new words), I was wondering about a couple of trivial spelling aspects… I reckon it should always be capitalised, because it's derived from a pronoun (of sorts), and I also reckon the past tense of it should be 'Brodened'… numerous variations fly around…
I'd like to hear any thoughts on this highly unserious topic. And I'd even like to meet Broden. Is he even aware of his newfound fame?!?It happens very often.
For example, the Tiger Airways $100 voucher deal
Check out all the Tiger Vouchers on eBay. It's even in the classifieds.
My local veggie/fruit place often has Pepsi products and toilet paper for sale after Woolworths has a special. No way they are getting good prices for such a small amount.
I also see evidence of 'The Brodening' all the time. I reckon that it's a full-on eBay business model for some people.
Cheap prepaid phone deals are clear broden-fodder. They're all over eBay.
Expecting to see plenty turn-up courtesy of the recent Kmart/Vodafone specials.When Officeworks turf certain product lines for ridiculously cheap prices, that stuff invariably lands in eBay listings.
Buyers, indeed beware, brodenesque behaviour be everywhere.
Ah OK, well I stand corrected. I guess I was thinking of non-professionals in their lounge-rooms/ kids in their bedrooms laughing evilly with dollar-signs flashing in their eyes; I didn't think about already established sellers. It makes sense that they would do it, now that I consider them… I mean why wouldn't they do it. So the question of whether it is unethical is a real one then, cause it actually happens. Personally, I certainly wouldn't begrudge a 'local veggie/fruit place' (in the context mentioned above) for doing it at all. My personal view is that any time any seller wants to legally sell any amount of anything to any buyer willing to buy it (who is of age, not drunk, not an addict etc. of course), then that is between those two parties only. Of course this is just my opinion, and I realise many do not feel the same way.
What do others think about the ethics of Brodening (in the 'pure' sense of the word, i.e. buying up big to on-sell for profit), in various contexts?
Definitely a "problem" here. Recent thread that discuss it:
- Is OzBargain facilitating greediness in people?
- How Broden are you? — yes people actually talk about their experience with buying cheap items they spotted on OzBargain & then resell.
- How much money have you made from OzBargain? — again, similar discussion on reselling cheap or price error items.
- Buy stuff with OzBargain and resell on eBay?
The truth is, most "broden" actually don't come and discuss. They just wait on the email alert or Twitter feed waiting for the right deal to pop up to pull the trigger. Maybe already have eBay stuff all typed up.
NSFW is "Not Safe for Work". It is a common Internet phrase. OzBargain NSFW Page
Sockpuppeting is also an Internet phrase. OzBargain Sockpuppeting page. In most circumstances here, it's a business pretending to be a customer and either posting a deal, commenting or voting on a deal.