Warning, unpopular opinion ahead…
First off, I think it's great we are getting good deals on popular items. However, I think this is worth discussing because it is starting to become a trend.
The reason I bring this up is because there are rules as to how often a store representative can post deals on OzBargain. Shopping Square has currently been banned from posting on OzB because of a breach of these rules, however in the past week they have had 4 codes, generated by SS staff for the purpose of being posted on OzB, hit the front page. Shopping Express and PCByte seem to be in good order as their official store reps seem to rarely post (once a month), however it should be noted that PCByte is only narrowly avoiding breaching the 2 deals per week rule depending on how you define a store rep.
Now the definition of a store rep is pretty loose which is why I think the current strategy of having OzB members post on their behalf is working so well for these retailers. It's all well and good to say that an OzBargainer negotiated hard to drive down the price but let's not forget that they are still just companies who have a bottom line of making money. They are not going to roll over because someone asked nicely, or aggressively ;), they are going to do whatever gets them the most clicks and sales.
This is not me accusing TA or EC of foul play as from what I have seen in the few months I have been a part of this community, they both genuinely want to help the rest of us get a great deal; I'm just making sure everyone is playing by the same rules.
TL;DR
We should be skeptical of all deals posted here, regardless of who posts them.
Gee you are cutting red wires on a bomb with your opinion piece, lol