It could be something that you consider really good value at RRP, it could be something that just never moves price-wise but you know lasts a really long time, or it could be something you know you could knock a few dollars off with some legwork but just never got around to looking into.
Keen to see everyone's answers :)
Apparently you can pay almost wholesale price with Amber, but that means you could theoretically pay more than retail during peak demand periods also.
I’m with Amber and so far have saved $63 by switching. It’s not for all people though as some may end up paying more due to the $10 p/m fee, they also have a guarantee you never pay more than the Victorian default offer which is also good :D
I just got an invite to sign-up but have decided against it, looked at the price trends over the last little while on their site and doubt I'd save anything. Marginally cheaper prices than what I pay during the day ~2c per k/w cheaper than the discounted Energy Australia rates but significantly worse solar FIT and the $10p/m I think would make it pointless (in VIC).
@conan2000: I've just finished my first month on Amber - Was previously on the friends and family discount with EA so thought had nothing to loose for a month or two as i could switch back to the Friends and family discount system easily enough.
First month I've saved approx. $10-$15 compared to what i used on EA.
Main area I've saved on is just the daily supply charge being much lower. (even when factoring in the $10p/m)
The rates are also mostly flat at 20c per k/w which a random spike here and there during the day which hasn't effected the overall cost much.
What i did like, is i use to always just put my washing machine on for example at 1PM when solar was at its peak for my house.
Now with the app i open it and double check the price and adjust within a few hours on the start delay and find i can sometimes get it at 18c or less with a little planning.
For $10 per month its not a huge saving but summer will be the real test to see if the feed in prices go higher and actually make it worth me feeding in.
@Klarato: I was on a friends and family discount with EA which worked out as about $0.19c per kw, had to change when we got solar as my friend no longer works for them, so it's now about $0.23c on my current plan after discounts. Looking at the amber pricing I can see it drop to about 17c between midnight and 6am. We used maybe only 1-1.5kw in that time, so pretty much no saving, and we are generally only feeding in during daylight hours even on cloudy days so the cheaper rate won't help us (we just do our washing/drying in bulk on sunny days/time dishwasher etc for when it is peak solar). We rarely use any energy from the grid between 9-5. I can then see it hits about 35c per k/w at about 6pm, exactly when we are using ovens/heating starts going because it's dark/cooling down.
I'd be interested to see what the rates look like in summer, but can't be bothered making the jump just now, as with our usage patterns, but right now, I'm not sold.
@conan2000: what was your last bill (total amount you actually paid the company), and what was your total usage for the period?
Having seen a friend claim similar, by the time we included all the additional fees and costs, even when receiving the “early payment discount” (don’t get me started on this misleading crap), he was paying much more than he claimed/believed.
Swung him a queue bypass code, and he’s also been on Amber since.
Not a sales pitch, but from what I can tell, Amber only make a flat $10. Nothing else. That’s magnitudes less than the big players.
@Tuttle: It's hard to say what my realistic usage will be at the moment as I installed solar a couple of months back and haven't had a bill yet and have had issues with the meter reading FIT. The early payment discount I had on friends and family was easily better than anything in the market though (over 30%) and I had locked in rates when they were a bit lower as well
I'll wait to see what my bills look like over the next 12 months before I decide to make a move, as I expect I'll be under $100 a quarter on average regardless moving forward.
Theoretically, you are not paying "almost wholesale price", you are paying Wholesale rate +network rate + big margin.
Their rate is hardly close to the retailers' who do offer the real wholesale rates.
Such a disgrace and dishonest on the way they market themselves of.
exactly… Wish I got my power for under $100/MWh
https://aemo.com.au/energy-systems/electricity/national-elec…
Agree - the only true way to work out your actual kw/h is to take your total bill cost, and divide it by your total kW usage.
Ambers app effectively does this for you, as the costs are rolled into the number you’d receive on screen. So when someone says to me “I pay about the same on my other plan” I point out the hidden and fixed costs that make that number MUCH larger when it comes to bill time.
If nothing else, Amber is a much more honest approach, and from my half year of bills, I genuinely am paying only $10 a month to Amber (the rest is the power cost and transmission costs - WITHOUT markup)
i hope you’re being sarcastic… some of the scumbag retailers have hugely inflated retail figures with stupid pay on time discount crap.
Baby formula.
most baby things fit this for me and my wife esp when it comes to safety
Karicare always has discount every now and then, and there is also Amazon subscribe and save to get further discount.
thanks. have purchased our first Karicare+ baby formula.
Tattoos. Sometimes, you really do get what you pay for.
Cheap in most prisons?
Which state?
You first?
Jabra evolve 75
Can't live without them
Broke recently then went out the same day to get again. Couldn't find a sale so had to cough up full price
+1 for Jabra stuff. Have been rocking the Elite 65T earbuds for close to two years now. I know that when they die I'm going to get a pair of the 75T straight away, waiting for sales be damned.
I wish I had 65T back :( mine broke and jb gave me store credit. I thought ooh ill pay a couple extra dollars and get the new 75t. They dont fit anywhere near as well as 65 for me, to the point I dont use them at all, they just fall out. Just an FYI I guess.
Not sure its possible to 'try on' eaebuds though, unfortunately. For similar reasons I doubt I could ever sell mine.
I'd just like to chime in regarding Jabra. Not that I'm a fan of the brand at all. More of the fact that I've had a bluetooth earpiece that I've wanted to replace for ages now. I bought it 10 years ago and it just won't quit.
Pretty impressive considering other bluetooth earpieces I've had before this one lasted less than 2 years.
Groceries, unless you have some sort of vulnerability go to the supermarket
Cashrewards discount vouchers mean I never pay RRP on groceries!
Me too but they only sell discounted Woolworth's gift cards. Do you know anyone that sells Coles discounted gift or Egift cards?
AGL Rewards.
Suncorp used to, but they stopped doing Coles reasonably recently, so might a full Coles stoppage on discount gift cards
Not readily accessible to everyone unfortunately. I get them via a professional membership, and they are 5% off, and about once a month they offer physical ones for 10% off.
I've stopped bothering with Coles for the moment as we have moved to delivery only for the last few months in VIC, and Coles don't accept gift cards online.
Glencore rewards
Local markets are usually 2 to 3 times cheaper. Not even cashrewards and gift cards can match them.
My Japan Made Zojirushi rice cooker. $400 but lasts 15 years easy. Use it daily. In a way it's freaking cheap to me.
Absolutely. Something that delivers reliable quality over a long period of time is totally worth that kind of outlay.
Totally agree, they are so good.
I’ve got a tiger rice cooker for around $250, still going strong at 10 years.
Disappointed about Tiger used for two years well kept broke down
Can’t you just use a pot?
you can.
Or a $20 Kmart rice cooker if you’re struggling with the pot?
Rice cookers are so much easier though. I only use the pot when cooking rice and chicken for my dogs because they don't care about rice texture.
Of course you can, but its about convenience and ease of use.
For most Asian households you're eating rice almost everyday and multiple meals. Saves you loads of time just to be able to put washed rice in with the right amount of water and press a button. With the new "smart" ones you can load it up in the morning and press a button on your phone and voila its done as you get home.
Not to mention in a pinch you can cook all sorts of other stuff in it.
But you can apply those exact steps to using a pot. Does it make the rice taste better?
@Emerald Owl: also, depending on rice variety and cooking style, you might have straining involved. lots of work, involvement.
KFC chicken rice!!
When I used to live in Japan, I would set the Rice cooker timer to start 30 mins before I got home so I could whip something up and have fresh hot rice ready for me. It was very helpful. Got it 18 years ago and brought it back with me. Still working too!
Yeah but i cooked some rice and forgotten about it and it kept warm for me for 3 days. Still steaming hot when i opened the pot. For lazy people you can cooked 3 days worth or rice and just leave it there.
Uncle Roger approves
where did you buy yours from?
^ @monkeybob id like to know too!
Mine was from Singapore as there were more options there but i'm pretty sure i saw another model in Costco a while back! Not sure if the Costco one is Made in Japan or if that makes any difference. Use it to cook Japanese rice and seriously, reminds me of the rice i had in Japan.
Thanks mate. Yeah, there's Tiger in Costco, mixed reviews for a $549 product!
I have a $25 dollar rice cooker I've been using for 14 years now.
same here. Have been using it around 2 to 3 times per week for over 15 years and still delivers perfect results.
I've lived in Japan for some years and also eat rice and Asian food. I know these rice cookers are great, but honestly, cheaper ones are fine. I've had a $20 one for some years, maybe 4. It still works. That's about $4-5 a year so far. When it breaks, it breaks.
This is super interesting by the way
https://youtu.be/I00uy0ssPP0
The Tiffany and Co rings I bought my wife
I get the downvotes but the sentiment here is cute so I'm upvoting for that. You obviously value your wife and relationship, and if you make enough to afford it and you both think it's a nice, tangible gesture of your love, mazel tov to you guys!
Didn’t predict the downvotes.
Interestingly Tiffany and co have never had a sale or discount since opening in 1837
That’s why their items still are valuable
Can't say I feel the same way.
Massively expensive 925, 1000%+ markup & owned by a giant listed company that purchased the brand last year for $16bn because of their eye watering margins. They own 75 brands, all in a similar vein of selling products the people are willing to pay through the nose for to be associated with that 'brand'.
Buy local, save money, support local artists.
@Yorkshire-Man: Didn’t buy silver
Bought engagement ring, wedding ring and a ring when each child was born (3) - all platinum and diamonds - all over 10 years ago when exchange rate wasn’t too bad and all have lasted the distance in quality.
She’s still very happy with them and whilst we haven’t bought anything else at T&C since she’s happy to visit there occasionally as you get free lifetime professional cleaning on platinum rings at T&C
Nice to see it went from -7 to +3!
I agree you are trying to be kind to your wife. But as a chemical engineering, I can tell this company is just a ripoff… nothing valuable, they just sell you their brand. But I guess some people appreciate it. 🤷♂️
Happy wife happy life 🤷♂️
As a chemical engineer, I can assure you chemical engineering has absolutely nothing to do with it. But good job conforming to stereotypes about engineers
He's not an chemical engineer - he's a chemical engineering
But as a chemical engineering,
I studied B Eng (Chem) as well.
You should know you can't just weigh the value of an item based on its chemical components, otherwise everything is overpriced by that token.
Time and labour, distribution, marketing, retailing, logistics, back-end administrative and channel costs costs are not measured on the periodic table
I don't buy Tiffany & Co, but claiming you're a chemical engineer does not really add any strength to your argument..
You'd learn the above in a marketing basics course..
Look up "Augmented Product" for Marketing if you're interested.
Hi!
I am not sure if you checked the process of mining diamonds, but you might be interested to know that it is a very common material, and the costs of mining are very low and involve a lot of exploitation of workers in some of the more vulnerable parts of the world. Diamonds costs are artificially kept up by controlling the quantities released to the market, and by a very good marketing strategy as you pointed it out.
Therefore, it is an artificial but really big business and the source of a lot of corruption and power struggles in Africa. I am aware this applies to other business, but when I understood that diamonds are not even rare, and with low mining costs, and controlled by a monopoly, I can't help but feel cheated by buying one.There is also the ethical side as there is even child labour related to diamonds. Furthermore, Tiffany and Co might have a good quality, but again any good tradesman can achieve similar or even better quality. They don't have special technology to make rings, and in many cases the tradesman from Tiffany have their own businesses, so the over priced hype of Tiffany is pure marketing
Now I accept I am a hypocrite as I got a diamond ring to my wife to make her happy four our engagement. But of course I will try to make her happy.
They don't have special technology to make rings, and in many cases the tradesman from Tiffany have their own businesses, so the over priced hype of Tiffany is pure marketing
100% agree with you there, it is marketing, that's why I don't buy jewellery, then again I am a guy.
Regarding diamonds, De Beers Cartel.. I'm aware.
Just saying we can't judge the cost of everything by the industrial bulk price of the raw material.. otherwise diamonds should be worth the same a graphite powder, and a house is technically a pile of bricks aligned in a fashion which gives it purpose, should only be worth the raw materials cost.
I take gift giving as a personal challenge to match person and item, that’s where value comes from, for gifts at least. The price and brand name don’t have to be premium.
Person wanted a high quality platinum ring with lifetime warranty and free cleaning and maintenance 🤷♂️
Have a + from me, we have a pair of wedding band from Tiffany as well. Timeless classy design, very comfortable to wear.
Gotta say their service is on point. Had issue with one of their silver necklaces corroding, took it in no questions asked and replaced with new next day. Mind you, I replaced it in SK while on holiday there.
preorders.
Fr!ckn panadol
Just by chemist no brand paracetamol, usually under $3 for 100 tablets even at full RRP.
That's a lot of drugs. Mmm drugs.
Brand name panadol does have the advantage of being slipperier. Some of my patients with sensitive gag reflexes or impaired swallow think it's worth the extra cost.
Yeah, the round Panamax and hedanol tablets both start dissolving straight away from my experience. So you not only get that little bit of resistance as it clings onto your tongue, but you also get the god awful taste. I don't seem to have the same issue with capsule shaped cheapos though.
could say, your patients swallow the extra cost
Loooool
Buy panadol osteo, it lasts longer and it is cheaper because it (used to be) on the pbs
96 tabs for around $8. It should actually be more expensive than regular panadol
panadol osteo requires prescription as mentioned on chemist warehouse website for some reason
Thats not correct. Its over the counter. S2/S3 from memory
@tensionday: this is what I found for panadol osteo, I am looking at something wrong? If not, those negging me, share the link please
https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/49434/panadol-osteo-…
@jedimaster: Doesn't mention anything about requiring a prescription. It says "This is not required if you have a doctor's prescription". What that is referring to is the consultation with a pharmacist to assess the suitability of the medication for the patient. This is part of the up-scheduling from S2 to S3 (Pharmacy Medicine to Pharmacist Only Medicine).
@jedimaster: It doesn't require a prescription
It costs more then normal panadol even the generic brand osteomol here in Sydney costs $6 for 96.
Source: Been purchasing and using it for over a year, over the counter.
Why is this downvoted ? If you do by Apple devices then the smartest time to buy them is launch. I do the same.
People on OzBargain don't see Apple devices as value. In their defence tho, MacBooks, iPads, and AirPods, tend to go on sale much more often than iPhones.
Or you can use hacks,discounts etc to get your bargains. Airpods Pro cost me ~$330 on launch due to the ebay UK gift card sales. No more though…
condoms
and the one to use it with
Brain surgery.
Or Rocket Science?
Electricity.