The above behaviour is driving me close the point of insanity….
Could we possibly have a four or five strikes policy if a rep doesn't meet 10 votes?
Reps get only 2 or 3 votes but keeps posting "bargains" again and again and again and again
[Deactivated] on 12/12/2010 - 19:51
Comments
Yep, what neil said, we're trying to find an efficient way to stop reps from posting crap deals.
To be fair, we would like genuine deals, even if they are useful to only a few ozb members. But some reps are treating this place like advertising.
to be continued…. lol :P
but even stricter than mentioned above
Can't wait… there is 1 today :)
Thanks guys. Could you maintain a simple core rule, and then a list of exceptions?
Generally speaking I would say a true "jump-in the car and rush out" bargain would need to be 40% discount or greater from RRP. With the current supermarket and department store discount cycles 30% off any particular item has become nothing special and certainly not infrequent - maybe 15% is more realistic for electronics.
The exception list would be items where you don't normally see large discounts, like cars or consoles, or protected brands like Apple or Dyson.
yes there would be an exception list, i.e. most if not all electronics
the thing is its not very clear cut.
15% off apple is a steal, considering markup is usually 5-10%
50% off logitech RRP is average price at most computer stores.
I agree - even tring to automate what the real RRP is would be very difficult. I think a vote-based system would be best. Does this stop them just re-registering as a different username?
Sorry, just read this post.
Does this stop them just re-registering as a different username?
No, but if they sockpuppet, they get banned. So it solves the problem for a while.
The other rep trick is to reregister a different domain and mirror the site there. Another trick we're used to.
I'm not sure how you would automate 40% off RRP depending on the product. In any case, 30% RRP may be appealing to some. Not to mention deals where an image or PDF is uploaded, details not listed in description/title etc.
The proposal would be a votes based cull, (e.g. the reps would continually post deals that garner no votes or very little votes).
I think for starters we need a checkbox for reps that says "Is this product cheaper then staticice including delivery?"
Then we have another checkbox that says "Is this product avaliable at Dealextreme or eBay (excluding grey imports) for cheaper?"
Wouldn't that solve all our problems?
I find that if a product is truly cheap, people +vote it even if they don't want it.
The problem with Staticeice is that the cheapest places often don't have stock (either due to it being a lost leader, or because they are all just dropshipping from the same supplier (which has run out of stock). Consequently I will often consider an "ozbargain" offer, even if it is not the cheapest on staticice (i.e. they have stock, ship quickly, etc).
Similarly delivery time on Dealextreme can be excessive, so I will often consider a close local deal. Ebay Australian sites with very high feedback should be comparable, but again overseas Ebay offers mihgt make me consider a good local deal.
Perhaps a tick box something like "I have looked on staticice & consider this a good deal".Or even just a special box that says "I believe that even though I have not ticked the two above boxes that my deal is of special interest to ozbargainers"
Either way it means Reps will quickly get kicked out if they continue to post what they know is junk.
if you make it too hard for reps, they will likely just resort to sockpuppeting…which, unless relatively unsophisticated, is not easy to spot. (There are some that might consider sockpuppeting irrelevant….and consider that it is the deal that is important, not who/why it is posted).
Every single deal on ozbargain comes from a business….I'd rather have someone posting that knows the deal, can answer questions about it, and modify the deal 'on the fly' if need be. We've seen on many occasions reps 'sweetening' deals (Logitechshop, COTD, videopro, geronimojerky are some that spring to mind recently). Reps will want to maintain a good standing with the ozbargain community….only the naive (or a competitor), would post a deliberately crap deal. Ozbargain can be very good (or very bad) for a business.
Spam will always be spam and will disappear, 'meh' deals will also disappear but stay search-able, and good deals will remain, irrespective of the poster's status.
Is this product avaliable at Dealextreme or eBay
Comparing to ebay is a nonsense….ebay is not one store. There are a million and one sellers on there….most of whom (I'm sure), are legitimate. However, there are many who aren't. Some people wouldn't want to take the risk.
if you make it too hard for reps, they will likely just resort to sockpuppeting…
totally agree.
It's something we are currently in discussion with the mods but even stricter than mentioned above.