[AMA] I founded OzBargain 13 years ago. Ask me (almost) anything, again

scotty on 25/11/2019 - 19:14

Hi everyone. I am scotty, and I created a website 13 years ago called "OzBargain" — surprisingly that it is still around today. I actually did an AMA 4.5 years ago, and I've been getting PMs asking for another one. So here we go. Ask me (almost) anything, again.

Rules:

  • Ask questions in the top-level comments. I might miss your questions if they are posted as replies to other comments.
  • Vote up good questions and vote down bad ones.
  • I'll try to keep the AMA open until Wednesday (27 Nov 2019).

Also some notes:

  • Good idea to check my previous AMA. Your questions might have already been answered there. For example, I'm still driving that old Kia 7-seater.
  • Bad commenters will get kicked out from the thread. I'm the admin on this site, after all.
  • Don't ask moderation related questions regarding to your account/store. Use TWAM instead.
  • Don't request features or send feature-related feedbacks. Use this thread instead.
  • Don't expect me to answer all questions. I reserve the right to refuse answer some questions without giving explanation.

Fire away the questions! I'm getting off for dinners for now and will be back in 1/2 hour to answer the questions. Just in case someone asks "what are you having for dinner?" The answer would be: wife's cooking (rice + tofu with pork fillings + vegs).

Introduce Yourself

closed Comments

      • dust on 26/11/2019 - 08:53
        +6

        If the catch of the day April fools was anything to go by, we are glad you haven't sold the site yet!

  • PropertyPig on 25/11/2019 - 21:10

    Will you ever do a redesign of the UX/UI?

  • dlakers3peat on 25/11/2019 - 21:11

    Why haven't you updated the look of the website and modernised it.

    • murkywater on 25/11/2019 - 21:18
      +41

      To be honest it works pretty well as is.

      • blighst on 25/11/2019 - 21:22
        +7

        +1 form follows function.

        The site works well, why screw with it.

      • dlakers3peat on 25/11/2019 - 21:24

        Sorry but I never said anything about the functionality of the website. aesthetically it's not pleasing on the eye.

        • uk3000 on 25/11/2019 - 21:56
          +2

          Each to their own I suppose. To compare, could you provide some examples of site designs you find appealing?

        • Godric on 25/11/2019 - 21:59
          +11

          Disagree i find the simplicity of this site most appealing

      • PurchaseAnxiety on 26/11/2019 - 08:54
        +1

        Agree. I think the look is part of its charm, like how Bunnings and JB purposefully try and make their storefronts look cheap as part of their brand.

      • skillet on 26/11/2019 - 09:34
        +1

        It works very well as of now don't screw it up. ie Windows 10.

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 22:18
      +4

      If you are looking for rewrites, then it might be "never". We do tiny updates every now and then though. I am not a designer, but I am fine with copying borrowing designs. Maybe you can show me some example and how we can carry OzBargain's model over?

      • Viper18 on 27/11/2019 - 22:21

        Maybe add a dark theme? Just my 2 cents, don't change anything else.

        Edit - Sorry just found the answer question further down.

    • lachhelix on 25/11/2019 - 23:39

      I think it works pretty well - maybe a bit of a colour scheme update but design works well!

    • Nillionaire on 26/11/2019 - 01:44

      In what way? Examples on you'd consider a modern look for it?

      • Skramit on 26/11/2019 - 08:08
        -3

        Make it blue instead of orange. Wayyy more modern.

        • chriskq on 26/11/2019 - 10:43

          can the button be cornflower blue?

        • No ONE on 26/11/2019 - 23:17
          +2

          instead of orange

          Orange is literally OzBargain's trademark!

        • pinchies on 26/11/2019 - 23:20

          I'm think you dropped this: /s

  • fishball on 25/11/2019 - 21:12
    +4

    Do you think the future landscape of bargains in Australia are getting worse as the popularity of ozbargain goes up?

    For example, AMEX shop small has been getting worse and now is targeted. A lot of the more popular deals get "ozbargained" really quickly etc.

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 22:36
      +7

      With OzBargain gaining popularity, I am sure merchants would have it on the crosshair. How to market to it? How to prevent being gamed?

      I don't think the landscape is getting worse. There might be fewer "too good to be true" deals, but in general more companies are having sales because they know there are people looking for it.

      As of popular deals getting "ozbargained" — there are always going to be people who missed out. The bigger issue I see are the "brodens", i.e. people utilising OzBargain to buy up multiple items or items they don't need, in order to sell on eBay or other market places to make a profit.

  • Clear on 25/11/2019 - 21:12
    +5
    • What do you hate most about OzBargain?
    • What has been your most proud moment of OzBargain?
    • What is your favourite smell?
    • capslock janitor on 25/11/2019 - 21:40
      +2

      What is your favourite smell?

      Perhaps smelling a bargain 2 weeks in advance ;)

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 22:39
      +4

      What is your favourite smell?

      Fresh air after the rain, like what Sydney is having right now :)

      • Clear on 25/11/2019 - 22:40

        Especially after all that smoke. I don't know how you lived through that.

        • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 22:42
          +4

          That's the benefit of working from home, i.e. I don't even need to commute to work. Yes it has been pretty bad over the last couple of days. Besides the smog, NSW is also having drought problem. Yes we need more rain.

          • Clear on 25/11/2019 - 23:50

            @scotty: Fair to say you're living the dream having to never leave the house. You're welcome to move down my way… too much rain 😂

      • [Deactivated] on 25/11/2019 - 22:43
        +1

        You are simple man with simple taste😯. What do you splurge on?

        • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 22:49
          +19

          Eneloop and Quilton 4 ply.

          • pinchies on 26/11/2019 - 23:21
            +1

            @scotty: A true connoisseur, and a man of discernment and wisdom.

      • dust on 26/11/2019 - 08:53

        Spoke too soon. Smoky again in Sydney today!

  • Blue Cat on 25/11/2019 - 21:12
    +3

    Do you use those %5 discounted eWish gift cards from Cashrewards or Shopback when shopping at Woolworths, BWS or Big W yourself?

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 22:39
      +19

      I shop at Aldi.

      • Blue Cat on 26/11/2019 - 09:55
        +1

        But some homebrand items are cheaper at Woolies when using the egift card, compared to the Aldi equivalents.
        Things like rice, milk, pasta & spaghetti - cheaper at Woolies (when using the gift card).

        Also, do you atleast top up your Opal with the egift card at Woolies?

        • BradH13 on 26/11/2019 - 15:51
          +1

          I find Aldi's house brand products better than Coles and Woolies house brand products, and alot of times; better than regular brands. In fact, there's only one thing I've tried from Aldi and didn't like; their packaged ham.

  • rompastompa on 25/11/2019 - 21:15
    +2

    you have turned off ads from your profile settings.

    If we as regular users turned the setting on, would you see a huge increase on revenue or is it negligible?

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 22:41
      +8

      The default is on and I am guessing most users would have left it in the default setting. I really don't want people to see ads if that troubles them. Revenue wise it might be negligible.

  • Godric on 25/11/2019 - 21:17

    Do you attend Ozb Meetups?

    • blighst on 25/11/2019 - 21:19

      Find out for yourself 😉 - certainly hope it wasn't an impersonator

      • Godric on 25/11/2019 - 21:20

        I am not in Sydney :(
        That's cool though

        • blighst on 25/11/2019 - 21:21
          +2

          Maybe Scotty should do a nationwide stadium tour soon lol

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 22:48
      +7

      I would love to go to more meetups, especially when I'm paying for all the food! I felt a bit envious when looking through the meetup photos. Unfortunately November is our busiest month, and I am not that keen on travelling.

      I would be going to the Chatswood meetup this Wednesday and Sydney CBD meetup this Thursday though.

      • rompastompa on 25/11/2019 - 22:58
        +1

        Why don't you have an OzBargain "Non-Birthday" In May then? :)

        • [Deactivated] on 27/11/2019 - 09:36

          I was recently invited to a "conception" party. The kid was turning 5, 9 months later🙄.Once you get over the fact that we were celebrating the date my colleague had sex, it was lots of fun.

  • blighst on 25/11/2019 - 21:20

    Has anyone ever approached you (realistically) offering to buy Ozbargain? How recent has there been a genuine attempt?

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 22:56
      +2

      Nothing genuine or serious recently. Last serious offer of buying out would have been 10 years ago. Maybe PayPal can spare us something, after splurge US$4B on Honey.

  • activ8newbs on 25/11/2019 - 21:21
    +1

    Do you ever sit and wonder how/why so many Aussie's use up their time to post deals? E.g Particularly some of the heavier users of the website who regularly compile and share deals without any personal benefit.

    Do you feel obliged to return something to them for contributing to your bottom line?

    Keep up the good work Scotty - You've done a tremendous job maintaining the grass-roots culture of this community alive, despite the massive societal changes in the last 7-10 years.

    • capslock janitor on 25/11/2019 - 21:44
      +2

      E.g Particularly some of the heavier users of the website who regularly compile and share deals without any personal benefit.

      Well it's a mutual community effort that's what I love about Ozbg

    • timps on 25/11/2019 - 22:13
      +3

      compile and share deals without any personal benefit.

      Well they do get a benefit.
      Name up in lights, votes and comments coming in, they could see their deal on the frontpage.
      We're pretty simple creatures. Chasing dopamine hits is a perfectly valid thing, it's been going on online since the third person ever connected to the internet.

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 23:09
      +12

      Do you feel obliged to return something to them for contributing to your bottom line?

      You mean, like creating and maintaining a platform for them to shine, and gathering an audience?

      I don't think in the way that everything has to be reciprocal, and you only do something when you can reap some benefit at the end. OzBargain wasn't started as a business in the first place. I also do not want the posters to think that they are earning something on a per-post level. I did do some research on micro-reward schemes, but at the end I do not think it suits OzBargain. People share useful information because they are in a community and understand that good news should be shared.

  • activ8newbs on 25/11/2019 - 21:22

    Hiring staff for Ozb….was this your first time hiring/leading staff? If so, how did you carry out your decisions? Were you nervous you may have made the wrong deicsions or at times been a bad leader?

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 23:19

      See OzBargain moderators. All current mods / admins are full-time staff working at OzBargain. Most were hired through this community, as I can see how they interact with the rest of the community through their comments, feedbacks, reports, etc. I'm usually looking for who are helpful, meticulous but not pedantic.

      As of being nervous, I would think most small business owners in Australia would be nervous in hiring because all the workplace laws.

      • Vote for Pedro on 26/11/2019 - 18:21

        What do you mean by ‘all the workplace laws’

  • Derpaldinho on 25/11/2019 - 21:31

    How long did it take for OzBargain to gain momentum and what do you think were the leading factors to establishing it's current presence on the internet?

    I notice ChoiceCheapies and CheapCheapLah still only generate a fraction of what OzB does most probably due to still being in its infancy stage. Do you see these sites growing at the same rate as OzB did and do you plan to enter any other international markets in the future?

  • hundredplus on 25/11/2019 - 21:33

    What makes OzBargain different from other similar sites?

  • axlfan on 25/11/2019 - 21:34

    Did you copy this or base it on slickdeals from the US?

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 23:24
      +2

      Have you seen Slickdeals back in 2005-2006?

      However OzBargain does copy ideas from other websites, but might not be Slickdeals. Digg was popular back then. Reddit as well — these formed the basis of voting on deals to bring it to the front page. Over the years we did borrowed some designs from Slickdeals and HotUKDeals, and they too also borrowed some of our designs.

      • axlfan on 26/11/2019 - 10:29
        +3

        Nice! Just to let you know mate. I lived in the US between 2009-2015. Was hooked onto slickdeals.
        When I decided to move, I checked first if Oz had a similar site and they did!..In a small way it gave another incentive to move!

  • movieman on 25/11/2019 - 21:57

    What has been your biggest achievement?

    What are your future goals?

  • uk3000 on 25/11/2019 - 21:58
    +6

    Do you have any plans for dark mode for the site?

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 23:29
      +7

      Been asked so many times in the feedback thread… I am still hoping that the browsers would provide a universal dark mode to all websites :)

      Doing a dark mode is more than just another set of CSS that set the text colour to white and background to black. There are buttons, borders, blocks etc in various shades. Moreover, across our sites (NZ & SG) we have different colours for various UI elements.

      Maybe we need to simplify the differences between our sites first (just different headers, same colour theme for the content), and then do a dark mode that will work across all sites.

      • uk3000 on 25/11/2019 - 23:36

        I am still hoping that the browsers would provide a universal dark mode to all websites :)

        There's a bunch plugins for Chrome that claim to achieve that, but I don't trust them :)

  • [Deactivated] on 25/11/2019 - 22:07
    +3

    How much data do you have on each of us?

    Ps: Happy birthday ozb!

    • CandyMan on 25/11/2019 - 22:17

      I guess the question is how much metadata

      • [Deactivated] on 25/11/2019 - 22:42

        Yep.

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 23:31

      Meta-data: your email address & IP addresses.

      • [Deactivated] on 25/11/2019 - 23:46

        Do you keep them forever?

        • scotty on 26/11/2019 - 09:21

          You are making it sound like it's an effort to keep those records… We don't deliberately delete old records. Moderators can only see some metadata over the last 365 days, but they are still in the database.

          • [Deactivated] on 26/11/2019 - 12:55

            @scotty: Cheers.

    • donga100 on 26/11/2019 - 11:23

      @Jar Jar binks Your whole life story is contained in your comment history. :)

      • [Deactivated] on 26/11/2019 - 12:55

        Lol! True. Was asking for a friend…

  • uk3000 on 25/11/2019 - 22:14

    Don't request features or send feature-related feedbacks. Use this thread instead

    That link yields 404, so I take liberty to post here :)

    One thing where the current website can be improved is to display a warning when a navigation is about to occur (because say I've accidentally clicked a link), and there's still an unsubmitted post/comment being edited, with like half screen of unsaved text.

    Happened to me quite a few times here and it's very frustrating. Pretty sure you know what I'm talking about :) While it's a common problem not specific to OzB only, it can easily be fixed by handling onbeforeunload event.

    Do you folks have plans to implement this?

  • Dazza102 on 25/11/2019 - 22:15

    Do you ever get garlic bread with your pizza meal deals?

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 23:36
      +1

      Ever? yes. Often? no.

  • CandyMan on 25/11/2019 - 22:19
    +1

    How do you explain your job to your kids
    And
    How do they explain what you do

    • Hardlyworkin on 25/11/2019 - 23:21
      +4

      He drives a Hilux?

      • Lizard Spock on 25/11/2019 - 23:34

        Is your comment meant to be here?

        • Hardlyworkin on 26/11/2019 - 07:28
          +1

          Nope, someone our there will get it though.

    • scotty on 25/11/2019 - 23:47
      +6

      Last answer for tonight.

      My kids know I run OzBargain. However I doubt they understand the exact process of "running OzBargain". Most people have no idea either — that I do almost everything from coding, devops, to accounting, HR, to moderation, answering lots of emails, meeting people, business analysis, business development, etc.

      So I just tell them that I run OzBargain.

      • Nillionaire on 26/11/2019 - 01:46

        How old are your kids if you don't mind sharing?

        • scotty on 26/11/2019 - 06:45
          +20

          12 & 15. I know the older one is on OzBargain every now and then, and there's a possibility that she might be stalking me on this post. She found out that I bought her a new computer through this comment, before I told her about it.

          • acly on 26/11/2019 - 13:15
            +19

            @scotty: yes indeed i am stalking you
            hello :D

          • [Deactivated] on 26/11/2019 - 19:14

            @scotty: Is she one of your 12 subscribers? Is that how she found out?

          • leiiv on 27/11/2019 - 21:50

            @scotty: Do you know if they talk about OzBargain to their school friends?

      • Roman Sandstorm on 27/11/2019 - 10:45

        At least I got the reference to the Hilux ad… :-)

  • Farrba on 25/11/2019 - 22:56
    +1

    did this website turn you into a very wealthy person? can you now say this has secured your retirement?

    • scotty on 26/11/2019 - 06:54
      +4

      I am already a wealthy person :) I am also easily contented though, and don't have the urge to catch up with the Jones.

  • drose1 on 25/11/2019 - 23:03
    -5

    What kind of car do you drive?

    • Rauland on 26/11/2019 - 09:06

      High investment vehicle

  • idonotknowwhy on 25/11/2019 - 23:04
    +1

    Have any other parties every requested metadata about any of our users, eg. people spoofing gps and using the 7/11 app to get free fuel, creating lots of fake accounts and boasting about it, or posting controversial [hack] deals, etc?

    If so, did you comply?

    • scotty on 26/11/2019 - 07:11
      +5

      Have other parties requested? Yes. To sign up an OzBargain account you only need to provide your email address, but we do keep a log of your IP addresses indefinitely because we too need to use it to combat fraud, sockpuppeting, etc. There have been companies requesting in the past for email addresses & sometimes IP addresses, for various reasons.

      Did we comply? That depends. It's really case by case, but in general,

      • We do not give out metadata about an account on OzBargain.
      • We do comply if it's coming from an authority, i.e. court order, police authority, etc.
      • It gets complicated when large corporations / merchants requesting information about their associated accounts. For example the previously declared rep has left and they need to recover the account. It can go into a lengthy negotiation for the company to prove that they have authority to recover certain information.
  • Hardlyworkin on 25/11/2019 - 23:25

    Has anything to do with running Ozbargain caused you significant stress in the past few years?

    If so what caused it and how did you get through it?

    • scotty on 26/11/2019 - 09:43
      +5

      There are a few instances, usually involved with threats — lawsuits, violence, etc. I have to get lawyer involved once (dealing with Maccas copyright claim), and called police once about this guy who had called and emailed me physical threats. Not really sure what happened to that guy though.

      Keeping the site running is not stressful. It gets knocked off the Internet every now and then from DDoS, and our service provider (great guys at BinaryLane) usually dealt with these in timely matter. I'll just reply some emails during the down time.

      • Rumbaar on 27/11/2019 - 15:32

        Macca's copyright claim … what a joke, if it wasn't so serious. Sorry.

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