[AMA] I am scotty, the Founder of OzBargain. Ask me (almost) anything

scotty on 23/04/2015 - 09:06

Hello OzBargain community,

As neil has advertised, I ended up being the one doing the first Ask-Me-Anything (if you don't count our April Fool's one).

I am scotty, the founder of this very website, OzBargain. It started 9 years ago as a personal blog sharing deals that I found with a few friends, and now turned into one of biggest online community in Australia.

I am not sure what to expect here. I did an AMA with SavvySME back in February but mostly talking about the boring business side of things. However feel free to ask anything here — although there's no promise that I will answer everything.

Some simple rules:

  • Ask questions in the top-level comments, and leave the replies for me to answer your questions & discussions. Top-level comments that do not contain a question might get removed.
  • Please vote up the good questions and vote down the bad ones.

We'll see how it goes. Fire away guys! AMA.

Introduce Yourself

closed Comments

        • letthiswork1 on 23/04/2015 - 13:56
          +13

          I am scared to see what jv would do.. lol

      • tomsco on 23/04/2015 - 13:52

        I thought jv stated he's a she.

        • Banana on 23/04/2015 - 14:17

          Yea I pretty sure jv is a she!

        • pyramid on 23/04/2015 - 14:19
          +2

          I guess JV is HE.

        • ItsMeAgro on 25/04/2015 - 18:09

          I always picture JV as an Asian man. Early 30s.

          (No idea why. Am… am I unknowingly sexist, ageist and/or racist?)

    • tyler.durden on 23/04/2015 - 19:28
      +4

      is JV a bot?

      or some newly created A.I. by scotty?

      Seems to post in every thread or new bargains.
      And makes witty comments that are hit and miss.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2015 - 13:27
    +2

    How much money do you make?

    • edgar28 on 23/04/2015 - 13:28

      Voyager for better human kind, priceless

    • mr_asstight on 23/04/2015 - 14:32
      +5

      How much money do you make?

  • John on 23/04/2015 - 13:27

    1. Are you actually very strict with money in real life? Do you always practice the OzBargain principles when buying stuff?

    2. Name one of the things that you would change, if you could go back to the past and do it again.

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 14:07
      +1

      1. Yes, although not always the case. Often when I need things urgently I'll just use price comparison sites rather than wait for a bargain.

      2. I guess in the context of OzBargain? Probably not base on some outdated open source framework in PHP. It did help me to quickly launch the site as I didn't have much time at the beginning. Both moocher and I are primarily Python developers and feel like wanting to pull my hairs out when I code in PHP.

      • tyler.durden on 23/04/2015 - 19:31

        Yeah I hate PHP as well..

        What alternative language would you use instead of PHP?

        ASP.net?

        Something else?

        • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 19:33
          +1

          As I've stated half of the OzBargain is coded in Python + Tornado. For quick projects I'll go for Flask (which I used for Date-A-Cheapo). Golang would also be a language that I'm interested to use.

        • tyler.durden on 23/04/2015 - 19:38

          @scotty:

          Are you are fan of asp.net?

          I find it is more easier to program and debug
          and it's IDE + tools is much better than PHP
          and many other programming language IDE..

        • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 19:43
          +3

          @tyler.durden: No. I code with Vim in a text terminal. Call me old school but it's productive enough for me.

        • tyler.durden on 23/04/2015 - 19:53

          @scotty:

          Wow your a true hardcore..

          What is your learning strategy?
          -for programming
          -learning anything in general..

          How often do you learn or update your skills and what method do you use?

          What are your productivity and goal setting methods you use? e.g.
          -Do you use pomodore or something else etc..
          -jerry seinfeld method

          Considering that recent medical studies says people who sit a lot are at greater risk of health issues/death than other type of people/workers)
          How do you stay healthy as a programmer?

          -Do you have a standing desk?
          -Do you take a 5 min break every hr?

        • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 20:21
          +1

          @tyler.durden:

          What is your learning strategy?

          Practice makes perfect? Same with programming — you learn through making something useful. I don't have a strategy nor systematic method.

          How do you stay healthy as a programmer?

          Exercise? No I don't lift :)

        • tyler.durden on 23/04/2015 - 22:05

          @scotty:

          Yes, exercise is important
          even more so as a programmer cos
          the job involves sitting so much..

          I guess what my question was not clear about is

          When you are working daily from 9-5 or whatever time..

          Do take 5 minute breaks every hour to go for a walk or do a bit of exercise etc…

          Also what type of exercise do you do?

          Do you use a standing desk?

          In case you didn't know already..
          Please have a look at this

          http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/21/health/sitting-will-kill-y…

          http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/why-sitting-is-ki…

        • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 22:22
          +3

          @tyler.durden: I don't want to consciously take 5 minutes break every hour — that becomes too much a burden itself. However I do move around during the day, take a lunchtime walk to the post office for example, or just do 20 pushups to get some tricky problems out of my head (advantage of a home office). But no, I don't want to consciously think about taking breaks.

          I also jog. Coach kids basketball (although my daughter's team is the worst in the league) & play a bit myself. I use a standard IKEA desk. Yes sitting down is killing me right now, but so do many other things in life :(

  • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2015 - 13:31
    +1

    Has any girl been impressed by you when you mentioned that you are the founder/owner of OzB? Did you score?

    • spackbace on 23/04/2015 - 13:43
      +14

      WTF?! He's married with kids as he's stated!

      • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2015 - 20:17
        -5
        1. Where has he mentioned that he is married with kids? Honestly, I didn't read that.
        2. This question was to be taken on a lighter note. Find some humour.
    • illumination on 23/04/2015 - 17:04
      +2

      Haha that would score negative points on most girl's scales I think…
      but that's good. Helps you filter. And the moment you find one that approves of it, you know you've found the one!!

      .. true story of Scotty meeting his wife, circa 2006

      • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2015 - 20:18

        Haha true..
        Very hard to find 'that one' Lolzz

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 20:25
      +19

      Has any girl …

      My two daughters are big fans of OzBargain & they have been telling their school friends about it. Even their teachers know about the site. How embarrassing.

  • ilikeradiohead on 23/04/2015 - 13:52
    +2

    Have you ever considered relocating OzB's servers overseas as insurance against lawsuits/government interference?
    Not that OzB is on the same shaky legal ground as, say, the pirate bay :)

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 14:11
      +3

      OzBargain was hosted overseas previously (Linode, Mar 2008 - Sept 2010). The site moved back to Australia as 96% of our visitors are from Australia so it makes sense to host here.

      If we are doing dodgy stuff then you'll need to look at hosting in some exotic places, i.e. not US nor EU, which won't be cheap. Why bother if it's not cheap?!

  • letthiswork1 on 23/04/2015 - 13:55
    +1

    I visit this website at least 5 times a day, Along with reddit and SMH.

    Just want to say thank you for the procrastination and great deals..

    Also whats your linked in?

    • rolypoly on 23/04/2015 - 14:06

      I don't think this goes against the rules of posting personal information. LinkedIn

      • letthiswork1 on 23/04/2015 - 14:13

        thanks.. he mentioned it before but couldn't find a link haha

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 14:32
      +2

      I don't use LinkedIn that much actually, and I haven't been receiving many LinkedIn emails recently (probably due to me messing up with the settings) but the link @rolypoly posted — yes that's me.

      • letthiswork1 on 23/04/2015 - 14:44

        Well maybe you should - now that your 1 connection more popular!

      • cypher67 on 23/04/2015 - 14:48

        Kinda dissappointed … I was expecting you to look more Bikie

      • tyler.durden on 23/04/2015 - 22:32

        that pic of you looks so much younger than current one posted..

        http://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/183/23554/scottneilentr…

        how old were you when that pic taken?
        Any photoshop done on it?

        Time takes its toll on all of us :)

        • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 22:35
          +2

          Before and After working on OzBargain. How this site is killing me…

        • tyler.durden on 23/04/2015 - 22:40

          @scotty:

          haha
          so true..

          The medical studies was right…

          Also there is this theory that sitting in front of monitor so close
          ie artificial light/radiation ages the skin more

          At least you don't seem to wearing glasses, which is interesting..
          cos looking at monitor all day can really strain the eye sight

          So how old were you when you took that photo? 20s, 30s etc..
          Did u use photoshop?

          Also how old are you now?
          -early or late 30s, 40s, 50s?

  • weeenis on 23/04/2015 - 13:59
    +1

    do you pay JV per post ?
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/14180/comments

    • pyramid on 23/04/2015 - 14:15
      +5

      By looking at no. of comments from JV,Scotty will be bankrupt in no time.

  • AMLagonda on 23/04/2015 - 14:27

    Do you have a job? or is ozbargain it?

    Are you frugal with you money?

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 14:32
      +4

      Do you have a job?

      OzBargain is currently my full time job.

      Are you frugal with you money?

      Aren't we all? Why else are we here?

  • centrelink on 23/04/2015 - 14:40

    This is great, how did you grow your website big? As in how did you get people to come to your website?

    • tyler.durden on 23/04/2015 - 22:34

      yes I like to know this too..

      what marketing method was used?

      -word of mouth?

      since at that time there was no social networking marketing like today…

  • tomleonhart on 23/04/2015 - 14:52

    Who will win in a fight between scotty and Chuck Norris ?

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 15:12
      +8

      What kind of fight? Karate, Call of Duty or "how many Eneloop you can throw at each other?"

      • tomleonhart on 23/04/2015 - 15:29

        Battlefield Hardline.

        • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 15:40
          +3

          Definitely need to upgrade my PC to play that one (and wait for sales of course)

  • Food on 23/04/2015 - 14:54

    What's your biggest OZB pet peeve?
    JV? ;)

  • rockman117 on 23/04/2015 - 15:13

    what kind of phone do you have and how much do you pay per month?

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 15:18
      +8

      2yo Nexus 4 & about $15/month although I hardly make any calls.

      • mr_asstight on 23/04/2015 - 17:12

        what phone plan?

        • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 18:01
          +3

          An old Exetel plan that gives $500 call + SMS & 1.5GB data. I am no longer with Exetel for ADSL but still keep that mobile plan because I can't anything cheaper these days.

        • Lukian on 23/04/2015 - 18:47

          Telstra F&F I would hope :)

  • monty.melb on 23/04/2015 - 15:25

    Hi Scotty thanks for doing this AMA. Big fan of Ozbargain. Now I don't get much time to post deals here due to my new job. But I check this site may b 20-30 Times a day.

    My questions are

    1) Who are your favorites posters here.

    2) what's your biggest bargain ever?

    3) Where do you buy your grocery from?

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 16:05
      +2

      1. Quite a few. Trent, TA, etc. I don't really have one favourite but appreciate those who actually invested time researching & writing up a good bargain.

      2. It has actually been asked a few times here. I actually don't have one in mind — way too many good ones.

      3. Mostly Aldi. Sometimes Woolies when specific items are on special.

  • shortgum on 23/04/2015 - 15:26

    How much time do you have to allocate with OZB as a Full Time job? Is it fun?

    How do you maintain lifestyle with family, yourself, etc etc etc with a OZB site like this? Is it a worth life/balance job?

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 16:10
      +8

      It's supposed to be a lifestyle business but ended up spending more time than a full time job. Fun though, to see how the community grows and how all the great bargains are shared.

      More hours but flexible time. For example I am replying here from swimming pool — my younger daughter has a swimming lesson now but my wife has to take the older one to her netball training. 4pm looking after kids next to swimming pool — something that's impossible to do when you work in full time software development job.

  • John on 23/04/2015 - 15:34

    Here's some more questions more for fun than anything haha

    1. Where and how did you first come up with the OzBargain idea?
    2. Does your wife/kids check OzBargain quite often?
    3. If you could choose one city in the world to live in, where would it be?
    4. If you could turn into a superhero, who would that be?
    5. What is the one thing you always wanted to do before you die?
    6. What would be the best piece of advice you give to others for life in general?

    Thanks for doing this, loads of fun!

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 22:30
      +12

      1. Sydney and it started from a blog…

      2. No and no. My wife is frugal (almost to the point of stingy :) but she just asks me what's on OzBargain rather than checks it herself. She gets annoyed when her friends told her about bargains they found on OzBargain but I failed to tell her.

      3. Sydney I guess. Why would I want to live anywhere else?

      4. Batman. I like gadgets.

      For (5) and (6) — sorry haven't really thought about that. As you know I am a Christian and I would like to advise people to look at the core message of Christianity objectively — probably not the kind of "advice" people would take seriously :)

      • eug on 23/04/2015 - 22:32
        +1

        Do you still have a copy or screenshots of the original blog? It'd be interesting to see, I think!

      • John on 24/04/2015 - 11:27
        +2

        LOL @ no. 2. Hahaha..

        Btw, I admire your public stance in Christianity and your high integrity. Even though you deal with a lot of people here, whom many are not Christians, but you stick with what you believe and you don't compromise with things you believe is not right. And the great thing is people can understand where you are coming from.

        I am also a Christian, and I really am blessed with that!

  • tdw on 23/04/2015 - 15:34

    is there tight competition amongst similar bargain sites like buckscoop, topbargains, freebies blog etc?

    also, do you find that the tide of public opinion is turning when it comes to bargain hunting? is being frugal, claiming freebies and bargains now more socially accepted and even encouraged?

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 16:22
      +2

      Each one of those sites have evolved over the years although not really competitions as we are focusing on the community.

      As of public opinion, that depends on what defines "public". Being on OzBargain all these years and public to me are OzBargain community members (and feel more distant from other communities). The frugal behavior is certainly accepted & encouraged here :)

      • tdw on 23/04/2015 - 16:43

        i was thinking more about non-ozbargainers and whether we're winning them over to our ideals :D

        with the cost of living rising, i reckon (or hope) that more and more people are getting savvy with managing their money and their spending habits. that looking for bargains and using coupons isn't frowned upon as much. e.g. this deal from 2 years back: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/99454 and how it spread like wildfire. when i filled up that night pretty much everyone had the voucher. but a lady i offered the voucher too refused as if i was offering her illicit drugs lol.

        occasionally when i claim a bargain or a freebie, they give me That Look as if to say, oh, another cheapskate

        have you ever experienced something like that? do you embrace the cheapskate tag, even though there's quite a difference between being frugal and cheap?

        • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 17:50
          +2

          That's more like individuals rather than a representation of the public perception. However I agree that there are many who looked down on bargain hunters and cheapskates. As I have stated before my kids go to an Anglican/Independent school in the Sydney Eastern suburbs. The kids there are great, but some parents…

  • 28kb on 23/04/2015 - 16:06

    Has Ozbargain ever come in between you and your Family?

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 16:16
      +16

      Yeah. Recent example — went to UNSW CSE Startup Expo as we are sponsor. That day happens to be my younger daughter's 8yo birthday. Has to apologise to her as I dashed out the door at 6 o'clock.

      You can also ask my wife — I don't hide my stress well when we are outside on Saturdays, and there's something wrong with the servers. There was once the site got DDoS'ed when I was driving my family from the Gold Coast back to Sydney. My wife ended up doing the driving with me on the passenger seat trying to figure out the issue at 110km/hour on the Pacific Highway. Not a nice experience…

      • 28kb on 23/04/2015 - 16:32

        How Do you make it up to them? Does your wife know if the gifts you buy her are bargains? and does she get offended?

      • silverrat23 on 23/04/2015 - 17:21
        +9

        with me on the passenger seat trying to figure out the issue at 110km/hour on the Pacific Highway.

        Now that my friends, is what I call dedication!

  • SavatteDodo on 23/04/2015 - 16:10

    Superman or Batman?

    • shortgum on 23/04/2015 - 16:29

      Superman at Super Cafe

      • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 17:24
        +3

        Because… I am Batman

  • johninmelb on 23/04/2015 - 16:29
    +1

    Maybe this question has been asked before, but I'll risk asking again!

    How easy or difficult (or expensive!) would it be to add some sort of alert facility that would enable us to nominate things of interest, and the system would send an email saying a bargain had just been posted.

    Not all of us have time or inclination to sit online all day every day watching for particular bargains.

    Just asking as I am looking for free tickets to Melbourne Good Food Show and have missed at least two opportunities posted in recent weeks, as I saw the posts too late.

    Thanks

    • Moderatorneil on 23/04/2015 - 16:43

      Best way for a specific store, e.g. Melbourne Good Food Show, is to hit the subscribe button at the store

      You can also use search alerts to target specific keywords.

      • x d on 25/04/2015 - 09:51

        Hi.

        The exact feature i am looking for, but i can't find how to add a new search alert in the events menu.

        Posted on ipad.

        Cheers

  • movieman on 23/04/2015 - 16:50

    Question:

    What has been the most rewarding part of founding this website, and are you planning to give back part of your portfolio once you've hit the big time?

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 18:15
      +8

      It's rewarding when I see people use it and benefit from it. Sat on a bus once on the way to the CBD, and the guy sitting in front of me was checking his mobile phone, browsing through… OzBargain!! Wanted to lean forward and give him a high5 but thought that would be too awkward on a crowded bus. However this kind of experience is quite rewarding. I'm an engineer by trade & want to see people use the things I build.

      give back part of your portfolio once you've hit the big time

      Not sure what you mean here.

      • 28kb on 23/04/2015 - 18:42

        he wants da money

  • illumination on 23/04/2015 - 17:19

    Hope others don't mind me doing this…

    1. 你看的懂中文嗎？
    2. 你是不是澳州出生的？
    3. What frequent flyer programs are you part of and what is your status?
    4. What credit cards do you have/use? I am assuming you would have the "Ozbargain portfolio" or 28 Degrees/Bankwest Zero, with a couple of AMEXs and a backup Mastercard/Visa?
    5. How often do you take public transport?
    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 17:30
      +3
      1. Yes
      2. No
      3. I don't fly enough to make frequent flyer useful :(
      4. Currently just 28Degree and Citibank Signature. No AmEx yet & yes I do miss out a lot good deals :(
      5. Not often - bus trip maybe 3-4 times a month? I work from home and walk to shops must of the time.
      • illumination on 23/04/2015 - 17:39

        Haha thanks for the reply!

        I'm assuming I got negged for writing in a foreign language… bastards..

        I noticed you said you were planning to do a version of Ozbargain for SEA. What countries is that intended to cover? Just curious.
        It sounds like it might be a little tough to market to the whole SEA region though, because a lot of good bargains for one country are often not very easily accessible in other countries.

        • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 18:04
          +2

          Just Singapore (& maybe Malaysia later). The shopping habit and culture are very different from Oz and NZ so not sure how we can pull this off. However Asians love bargains, and most "bargain sites" out there are promo sites or catalogue sites, rather than a community.

        • chonghe on 23/04/2015 - 20:40

          @scotty:
          thought of this before but people there are generally very "kiasu" and the idea of community based which works well in AU and NZ may not work there

        • scotty on 24/04/2015 - 09:53

          @chonghe: thanks for the tip. Yes I do aware the kiasu culture there although not sure how that's affecting bargain hunting. Does that lead to unwillingness to share?

        • chonghe on 24/04/2015 - 10:21

          @scotty:
          Yup pretty much like "make sure I get all the benefits" instead of thinking to "share on websites" and generally more selfish.
          Yup I understand this kind of people are everywhere but I believe there are more there.

        • illumination on 24/04/2015 - 11:56

          @chonghe:

          That's exactly what I'm thinking too to be honest..
          I can only imagine it working well over there if the poster has a bit of an incentive to post the deal up.
          Could be some cash as someone mentioned, or could be something similar to "reddit gold". Basically they will need more of a reason to post things up than just "to help out the community".

  • scrimshaw on 23/04/2015 - 17:33
    +3

    Would you describe your job as cushy? It sounds like an enviable job for an It professional or web developer… You get to run your own business, and work on the one thing you love and watch it grow, but I'd like to know what you think of your job. (that is, pays well)

    Also if you didn't have Ozbargain, what sort of job would you have envisioned yourself doing?
    Is there a company or brand that you'd love to work with?

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 20:57
      +5

      Yes I agree it's cushy. If OzBargain folded tomorrow I think it would be very hard for me to get back to typical Sydney software developer's 9-6 or 9-7PM work + 1.5 hours of travel. Biggest bonus is certainly the flexibility of time (although I do work long hours).

      if you didn't have Ozbargain, what sort of job would you have envisioned yourself doing?

      Most likely software development. Maybe not in the financial sector again but in the web/Internet space.

      Is there a company or brand that you'd love to work with?

      I've received interests from Google, Facebook and eBay over the last couple of years. Their recruiter certainly didn't read what I put on my LinkedIn profile "No I am not looking for work at the moment". However I don't mind working for those multinationals and play ping-pong whole day.

      • tyler.durden on 23/04/2015 - 22:13

        Simple solution

        Just get a pin pong table in your office..

        ================

        Between Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook..

        Who would you like to work for and why?
        And what project would you like to do for them?

  • etan on 23/04/2015 - 17:40
    • What feature do you want to add for this very website?
    • How many developers do you guys have?
    • Do you have a roadmap?
    • Are you full-time working on it?

    Thanks

    • scotty on 24/04/2015 - 09:57
      • you'll know when they are announced
      • 2, I myself included, and neither on full capacity as we also need to take care moderation as well. There are other staffs. Read my other answers in this post.
      • what's that? :)
      • yes
  • anderstand on 23/04/2015 - 18:05

    Do you accept contrib in git?

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 18:09
      +1

      No. OzBargain uses some open source components but the site itself isn't open sourced. We don't share our git repo but feel free to send me diff's or suggestions.

      • anderstand on 24/04/2015 - 08:54

        How would people send diffs if they can't see the current source

        • scotty on 24/04/2015 - 08:58
          +1

          You can give me the diff of the HTML output or the Javascript for example. Well the whole point is, no you can't contrib or request a pull in git :)

  • nookie on 23/04/2015 - 18:38
    -1

    silly question. What car do you drive, mr scotty? Ps: I am so addicted to your website.

    • dylanando on 23/04/2015 - 18:44

      I see him driving a Nissan cube!

    • scotty on 23/04/2015 - 18:50
      +3

      I have already answered this one here. A small Korean people mover.

      • nookie on 23/04/2015 - 19:10
        +1

        Very down to earth

    • spackbace on 23/04/2015 - 18:50

      See earlier reply

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