Comments / Feedback / Suggestions Thread 2023

Another year of OzBargain. Please use this post to submit feedbacks and request features. Again, no guarantee that requests will be responded or implemented, and often feature requests can take months to be pushed out, when there are other issues blocking them.

Here are similar posts in the past: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018.

closed Comments

      • +1

        Thanks, I see… But, are comments in a post the best way to structure that data? Say, how does one filter by store? Or by brand? If they were kept as individual posts, they could mode easily be tagged and independently discussed.

  • On the site discussion main page, the "Please use the current annual thread to submit your suggestions." link currently goes to the 2022 link instead of 2023

    • Thank you, fixed now.

  • I moved sign-up bonuses table that was at the bottom of the birthday deals page to its own dedicated page so it could more easily be found (the table is far — very far! — from complete, though), but I wonder whether this truly is the best way to structure that data. It seems to me that tagging deals with Referral or Sign-up Bonus would be far more fluid, effectively maintained, and easily searched.

  • The Rules & Guidelines tell us not to post "Government Programs," but I see this is not being followed (and I'm glad it isn't, as I took advantage of the recent post on fully subsidised courses at Qld TAFE). Perhaps it needs editing out.

    • The Government Programs is a section of the deal posting guidelines. It does not mean all government programs aren't allowed. It explains what is and isn't allowed within, QLD TAFE courses are allowed.

      Thanks

      • Here:

        Do not post the following:

        • Auctions.
        • Competitions or contests within the deal as this detracts from the bargain. More information.
        • Adult sites or adult items. Check banned items.
        • Gambling or Betting websites.
        • Deals that resemble work or a job.
        • Deals available only to staff or employees.
        • Government Programs
        • Crowd Funding Sites
        • Incomparable Services
        • Amazon eBooks & Udemy Courses (If you are associated)
  • Sorry if this is a dupe, can’t read through all the comments.

    In the referral system, once the user had received the referral information from one user, can they then confirm and send a notification to whomever they had pm’ed to let them know? The system encourages users to pm many users, and the many users would respond at the time they are able if they choose to, once the request has been fulfilled and confirmed by the requester, the system should notify everyone so we don’t all come back and waste time. This has happened more than three times to me now, very annoying.

    Edit: out of all the requests I’ve replied, only one user get back and said they had received the code elsewhere. The etiquette is there but might be too hard to execute if one had messaged 20 users.

  • Hey mods,

    Is there any chance we can create a wiki page or something along the likes, for long running deals like VPN deals with those long complete guides I make?

    Instead of reposting them every 6 months, what if we make a page with all the guides in one spot under their respectable link.

    My guides are very lengthly and generally contain all the info needed for any beginner:

    Youtube, Netflix, Discord, Google Drive, Microsoft 365

    etc etc, but I’d like to create more

    If there’s any updates to methods, I can always update them.

    I guess the only problem is the ability to have users comment on their success or problems.

    Any mods or does @scotty himself want to discuss this?

    • Is there any chance we can create a wiki page

      You know members can post wiki pages…? (I think)

  • Regarding - Birthday Deals & Freebies Wiki Birthday Deals & Freebies Wiki

    I just had a big birthday on Monday 19th and been in hospital for 2 weeks only coming home today.

    I used my phone to keep up with things for the duration. And then in today's post out, right at the top…. Birthday Deals & Freebies Wiki

    What a list it is too, too long for my addled brain today. But… no notification up to, on or since my day, and a big x0 too.

    Narthing. Where did it come from? I didn't get any offers from any of them from any means. :-(

    • I just had a big birthday on Monday 19th and been in hospital for 2 weeks only coming home today.

      Happy Birthday and hope you're on the mend.

      Narthing. Where did it come from? I didn't get any offers from any of them from any means. :-(

      I add a notice once a month, usually on a random day, in the newsletter.

  • Ability to sort the game freebies page i.e. most recent at the top would be useful
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/pages/free-games
    .

  • Is System no longer sending notifications that reports have been resolved or is it just a case of certain mods not deciding to send one?

    • Mods can decide on the individual report level whether to send feedback, and often notifications aren't sent on some trivial reports (e.g. deal expired).

      • -1

        I get the feeling they were trying to avoid me raising TWAM. All good thanks

  • Bug fix suggestion: Make the Create Alert option visible on iPhone portrait mode.

    When using the Chrome browser on an iPhone 13 in standard portrait orientation, we can only see the
    Sort, Type, Category, Time, Options menu items after doing a word search.

    The Create Alert option at the end is chopped off.

    It took me ages searching all through the Help forums to realise where it was, despite having used it in the past via the desktop browser - I just forgot it was there offscreen when on the mobile site.

    There is no visual cue hinting that there’s another option to the right of the menu so it can be a frustrating experience looking around for it.

    We just have to know to scroll to the right of the menu bar, or turn the phone sideways to landscape orientation in order to see the Create Alert menu option.

    Can you include a visual cue, maybe like a scroll bar or a little floating arrow indicating that there are more menu items to the right of the last menu item that is physically displayed if only part of the menu is visible?

    Apologies if this has already been suggested - I tried to search for it but couldn’t find a similar request.

  • Can you make it so we can hide "DEALS EXPIRING SOON" they are annoying.

  • Has the site switched UI, no longer getting the banner always open on the top and so much wasted space now on my desktop screen. Feels like it's being forced into mobile UI for some reason?

  • Feature suggestion: beside notification for new comments, how about one for when the Expired / Out of Stock tag is removed from a Deal page .. .eg deal is OOS, but say within a day more stock got added and the deal is no longer OOS and the page was updated.

  • Merged from Tooltip popups: click/tap anywhere to dismiss/close

    This bit of UX really grinds my gears.

    • View user profile
    • View votes/vote
    • etc.

    They're used everywhere. You know the ones.

  • On the search page there is no "magnifying glass symbol" to click to search similar to one on the top right corner quick search bar. I have to press enter on my keyboard to search after I have entered a keyword.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/search/node/

    Please add.

    Thanks

  • Any plans to add a feature where you could have (private) tags/flairs for users? Eg I want to tag a member for my own reference as being super knowledgeable about Ghostbusters ii etc or make a future note for myself not to mention x y a topic around someone else etc

    • You can ask them change their username to iluvGhostbusters. If someone like freebies their username can me "iluvfreebies"

  • Hey there, is it possible to get an alert when cash back rates change?

    • Shopback has a notification in their app for changed rates. Maybe Cashrewards does as well? Might be a better option.

  • Is there — or could there be — a way in which price beating and price matching stores — OW, JB, BigW, etc — are tagged in deals they price beat or match? We sorta try remember, and people here are kind to remind us, but that doesn't always happen, and I, for one, routinely forget. If the deal were tagged with them, in addition to the original store, it would show up on the price beating/matching stores' feeds and notifications.

  • +1

    Is it just me, or does anyone else have an issue with the "New comments" anchor links where the page jogs down to the actual comment text instead of the top of the comment (with the username, etc.)? Have experienced this on multiple devices (Windows/Android) but only tried Chrome.

    • The anchor should point to the top of the block of that specific comment. Do you mean that the viewpoint of the browser window scrolls too much down? Do you have extensions that might alter the page, i.e. the page might somehow "shrink" after loaded, so it looks like it might have scrolled down too much?

      • Yeah it's scrolling down past the top of the block - seems to be happening briefly after onload so yes, it does look like something is shrinking the page. I'm using stock Chrome with no extensions/ad blockers/etc. that may be altering the page post load…

        Anyway, I'll keep digging and let you know if I figure anything out. Thanks. Just wanted to check if this was happening for anybody else.

        Edit: FWIW this only happens for the first anchor on the page. Subsequent anchors work fine.

  • +2

    I've just created a new wiki page with an excerpt of a summary I posted on another forum with money saving tips and tricks. The idea is to distil and summarise years of OzBargain wisdom for newcomers, to the country or to the OzBargain 'lifestyle,' or even to ourselves to make sure we're checking all the OzBargaining boxes, and not leaving money on the table. Please feel free to add, subtract, divide and multiply.

    • Good idea. I wonder if it's better to separate each category's tips to a new page. For example, the automotive wiki page has a bunch of tips. It also saves the page from being very long.

      • OMG, and I thought I had ticked every thrifting box already! 😅

        My idea was to make it an introductory page, especially for newcomers (either to thrifting or Australia). Perhaps it can work as a summary of the more in-depth category pages.

  • +1

    I wonder if it'd be easy enough to incorporate some sort of social network logic into the feed algorithm. OzBargain has grown to include users with quite a diverse range of interests and consumer preferences. People are often headlocking each other complaining that this or that post is "polluting their feed." Sure enough, the settings allow filtering and sorting posts based on categories and stores, but perhaps OzBargain could leap to the next level with an easy library out there to simply favour deals in users' feeds from people and in categories they often upvote.

  • +1

    Not sure how long this has been a thing, but today I've noticed the new Cashback site MyAmexShop

    Could it be added to the cashback sites in bargain listings?

  • just curious.. My account view is on Dark Mode and on iphone, if you "clear the last hour of browsing" in Safari, why does the OzBargain site revert back to the normal view?

    • Your dark mode preference is stored on the localStorage on your browser (i.e. not stored on the OzBargain server). I suspect that "clear browsing" feature on Safari iOS also clear the modifications to localStorage.

  • +2

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/live

    can the check/unchecks be saved?

  • I love that OzB has TOTP 2FA. However could we take it a step further and implement FIDO2 (for hardware security keys) for secure passwordless logins!

  • It looks like the "notification" panel on mobile has changed - I like the fact it's full screen now but it's a little annoying the CLOSE button has moved to the other side of the screen, it doesn't really match the UX logic of the drawer so it makes it a little less intuitive imo to quickly open and shut the drawer to check the notifications, especially with those of us with wide phones (perhaps I'm just too lazy to use my other hand)

    What would you think about moving the close button either right aligned and inline to the See all and Mark as read buttons, or on top of the bell icon so it acts like a toggle open/close similar to the nav drawer/menu?

  • +2

    Really minor thing, but I’m not a fan of the new fading animation on the menu bar on mobile when scrolling.

    • Yeah, it doesn’t work properly and sometimes covers the top of a new comment if you are using the arrows instead of scrolling.

      • Even when it does work, I find it distracting while trying to read.

  • I might be missing something, but is it possible to mark a deal as seen – similar to competitions?

    The use case is to make it easy to see where you have last left the “new deals” page.

    • No it's not possible. The deal that you've visited won't have "new" next to the title though, but there's no function to filter it.

  • feature suggestion: don't count unpublished posts in the post limit (2 per hour/4 per 6 hours)

  • Is there limit to the number of stores one can block/hide?

    • Yes.

      • Can it be increased please?

        • 50 is the hard limit. See this thread.

          • @neil: I can only block 30 stores in competition. Can this also be increase to 50?

  • Merged from Competition filters suggestion

    Hi!
    When browsing the Competition section the filters feel a bit limiting.

    I'd suggest add a filter to:
    Exclude seen
    Exclude entered
    And an order by (end date, etc).

    For instance, I have this filter
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/competition/all?filter_types=0&…

    But I'd like to exclude comps I already entered or seen and then also sort the results.

    What do you guys think, something that can be done?

    Thanks!

    • Go to "Comps" -> "Not Entered" and select your filters from there.

    • As dylo suggested, your personal Not Entered page will filter both entered and seen competitions, sorted by earliest closing dates.

      Sorry we are not planing to do any other sorting at this stage.

  • +3

    Can the URL field for AliExpress please be updated to automatically remove vi.aliexpress.com? This sets AliExpress to the Vietnam region and it'll stick until you manually change your region. No biggy.

    Seems to be caused by people clicking through affiliate links. It assigns Vietnam to Australians randomly :/

  • +1

    An option to save a user's default search options if they're logged in would be 👍
    Eg sort by post date, search deal only not forums

  • Is it possible to set a reminder to later that day? I check ozb during the day when I get some free time but don't have time to make the purchase, especially if it involves cashback.
    Would be nice to be able to get home and have a notification reminding me to action that deal instead of having to set a reminder in my calendar.
    Maybe "Remind me when I open ozbargain again"?

    • Just make a reminder on your phone

  • Sounds like the start and end date of a deal might need some tweaking going by this discussion? https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/807912#comment-14472959

  • Can the 'hide' [user comments] button (that I affectionately call the '<two letter username> button') also hide replies to those comments? I don't want to see replies to a post that I don't want to see.

    I think it's a relatively common practice on other sites with user comments.

  • Have I gone blind? cant find where to add/edit search alerts?

    • Search something, and on the search result page, click on the button "Create Alert" (right most button under the search input box).

  • Hi, I enter alot of competitions…current count 939 :) - Only ever one 1 OzB hoodies….

    Sometimes I want to see the competitions I've entered (so I used the entered button), but I want to filter out closed, as well as order by the closing date…. so I know whats being drawn soon. Is there a way to do this?

  • +2

    Allow voting on long running deals even after the 180 day vote limit

  • -2

    Could we see deal comments on the homepage please?

    If you hover over the comment icon (desktop), a simple floating comment box appears and you can scroll them (view only).
    or
    You could click the comment icon and a frame drops down under the deal with scrollable comments (view only).

    Would save a tiny amount of time for the few of us that want to quickly read the comments on a deal without leaving the home page.

    • How am I going to present hundreds of comments in a popup? It would be easier to middle-click / Ctrl-click to open the deals in a separate tab so you can read the comments and easily go back to the home page.

      • You could just show text only so the payload would be tiny. Then just set a width and height for the frame and put in a scroll.

        • the old ozbargain days (where people only post relevant, concise comments) are long gone, comment section now full of same old boring memes, people too lazy to look up details, and 'guys help me now! urgent!'

  • +3

    New members shouldn't be allowed to vote as soon as they join. A time limit would make sense to reduce fake upvoting.

    It happens a lot on associated / rep posts which is making a mockery of the Performance-Based Store Bans guidelines.

  • Hey, not sure if this is the right place for this.

    When I click on the "Alcohol" category in deals, I only get a small handful of results. If then I click further into a sub category (like whisky or wine) I get many more results.

    I would have expected that the parent category would contain all the deals that exist underneath it.

    Is this not how the site functions?

  • a forum category purely for TRS queries

  • Unless I'm mistaken, when looking at a specific revision for a post, the tags are always the current revision's tags, not the snapshot's.

    On this post you can see tags were added, but if you click on the first version you see all the current tags on the post (the post itself is otherwise correct for that snapshot).

    Also, out of curiosity, how often are alerts/subscriptions sent out? Regarding that same post, I have email subs for 'Hard drive' category, and I got the email ~26 minutes after the tag was added to the post (unfortunately after the deal expired, but that's not anyone's fault).

    • That's the problem of user-tagging. The deal was posted at 10:12PM last night, without anything tagged. It was later tagged by our moderator just before 10AM. The tag (Product, Brand, Product Category) notifications aren't triggered at the point of post update, but polled every 20 minutes.

      Search alerts these days are sent out 10 minutes after a deal has been posted, as there are usually quite a few edits within the first 10 minutes. However that also means any edit after the first 10 minutes won't be picked up by the search alert.

      • Sorry if it wasn't clear. The post wasn't about the user tagging and what wasn't tagged - totally understand why I didn't get notified (hence the no blame comment at the end).

        I was commenting on the bug where the revision snapshots don't show the tags at that revision. E.g. the original post/version 1 has no tags but viewing that revision shows all the tags that have since been added.

        • In the revision snapshot only the main text content is taken from the revision itself. All the other meta-data were loaded from the current post. The revision of the meta-data was an after-thought, stored internally as just text data, and it would be a bit tricky to display them in a normal page view.

  • +2

    No suggestions. I want to say thanks for running such a great site, and thanks to all those that contribute. This is a far superior community compared to the nut job paid subscription site that I won't name. Lets just say this is a friendlier soace that isn't trying to make money off free information. I am still learning about all the features of the site, but I love it. So helpful!

    • Thanks.

      I am still learning about all the features of the site…
      Member Since 19/11/2016

      No problem. Often I can't remember all the features of this site either.

  • I have a few suggestion one for this site the other for the app

    i noticed when doing my first trade on classifieds there wasn't to much info on who to trust and who not to had to really just look and see who had previously had selling experience so i suggest making a forum on all trust worthy members

    i will start the first name off with akarub bought $1000 ebay giftcard off him very trust worthy even had 24 hr to scam me as bank held the pay id payment

    my suggestion for the app is the ability to acess pm

    also i noticed theres no way to look for forum's on my app i can only acess deals and comps and i just open up a mobile desktop browser but would love everything in the same place

    • If you are on a mobile device, the best experience would be using your browser to access OzBargain. You'll get 99% of the functionality of a desktop OzBargain site.

      As of trustworthiness of other users in the classified, we found most "scams" were from accounts with previously successful trades. Someone might have good history for 5 years and then suddenly go AWOL.

  • IIRC there was a way for deals to show it was posted on date & time X instead of YYYY hours ago
    Had look in User Settings but cant find it.. anyone remember how?

    • I don't think we have such settings to display absolute (rather than relative) time only.

      • -1

        thanks scotty
        Couple years back 2x users were arguing whether it was a few minutes too early to repost a deal, someone jumped the gun by a matter of seconds.

        I remember now. If i open a deal posted 10 mins ago in a private window it does display using absolute timestamps. For logged in users it uses relative.

  • I think the voting system (for comments) on this site is flawed. I've noticed that once a comment has received a few negative votes, it rarely if ever "recovers" and goes positive again. I don't know why, but people seem unwilling to vote +ve for a comment once it's gone into -ve territory. Meanwhile, those that do continue to vote -ve are most likely doing so not based on the merits (or lack thereof) of that comment, but based on seeing other people's -ve votes (i.e. herd mentality). I'm not sure how to solve this issue, perhaps getting rid of negative voting completely, or put a delay in whereby the vote doesn't show up until a certain period of time after the person has made the comment?

    • Actually please check "controversial comments" in our monthly transparency reports — these are selected because of similar +1 & -1 votes.

      I have seen some subreddits implemented delayed display of votes. I'll take a look & investigate.

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