[AMA] I'm a Top Poster on OzBargain, Store Rep for a number of Chinese Stores & recently beat cancer

Clear on 18/01/2023 - 21:20

AMA's are always a lot of fun and I thought it's about time I do one. For those who don't know I'm one of the top posters here on OzBargain with a total of 2562 deals posted since late 2014 and a whopping 749 deals posted in 2022 alone.

In the 8 years that I've been here I've been a rep for GeekBuying, Romoss, Tronsmart and a number of other stores. Over the years I've also worked as an editor at Gizchina.com and a number of other Chinese related tech websites.

On a more personal note (as many OzBargainers know) I recently fought and survived a very rare type of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine cancer that had metastasised elsewhere in my body. My original diagnosis 2 years ago was completely by surprise and while it was initially considered to be low grade, it was later found to be highly aggressive, bumped up to stage 4 and likelyhood of survival was very low.

Fortunately after a long 10 hours of surgery and a month in hospital I was "cured".

So ask away! I'll be try to be as transparent and clear as possible :)

Introduce Yourself

closed Comments

  • Fishnchips on 19/01/2023 - 23:33

    Clear, congratulations on beating cancer! You mentioned in previous responses that you had checked off a few items on your bucket list before undergoing surgery. Coming back from the near death experience, Is there anything that has changed your mental outlook on life, and if so, what are the few things you would never take for granted?
    Thanks for this AMA!

    • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 11:22
      +2

      It really makes you realise how much we take things for granted and how much it can change so quickly. It makes you think about how many other people around the world don't have access to some of the best healthcare like we do. Like in the US the equivalent surgery would have been at least $70,000 or more. How many people can afford that?

      For now it's just about having fun and trying not to worry about the little things that get you. Post OP I've been getting out a lot more than I normally have.

  • bigbadboogieman on 20/01/2023 - 00:10
    +1

    🖖 live long and proper.
    Are you on any form of special diet to keep the cancer at bay?

    • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 11:17
      +2

      There's no super food that can stop cancer. So really just a healthy diet and avoiding trigger foods that upset my new digestive system.

      I tried chocolate chip cookies today - that's a trigger food :(

  • Bullion78 on 20/01/2023 - 09:36
    +1

    Been in a very similar life scenario where I was given weeks to live yet was saved by a miracle and my life being indebted to extraordinarily skillfull surgeons. Glad to hear you beat it and are on the mend mate. Keep posting those dealz.

  • sauce2k on 20/01/2023 - 10:08
    +1

    Happy to hear you are doing better mate! All the best and thanks for all the good deals!

    • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 14:36
      +2

      Life is certainly good right now. Life is pretty laidback with a stable career, have my own house, small mortgage and a loving partner. Can't complain too much.

      Now I'm just eager to travel overseas again like most people I think. It's just so expensive now.

  • ThadtheChad on 20/01/2023 - 11:46

    Hey there OP,

    Don't have much except to say thank you very much! Congrats on smashing the big-C and sending you my best wishes for a very speedy recovery.

  • drfuzzy on 20/01/2023 - 13:48

    How are you paid for your time? Do you get a commission from these stores based on sales? Or from Ozbargain? Or both?

    • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 14:37

      $X amount per post normally for Associated deals. I'm cheap so it's really only a small amount of pocket money.

  • realaaa on 20/01/2023 - 13:57
    +2

    incredible - thanks for sharing - and all the best mate ! awesome attitude indeed - need more of that in the world !

  • SaberXLancer on 20/01/2023 - 16:44

    Congrats!
    I'll put down my interests here:

    How old are you?
    Do you have private health insurance?
    Do you think it is necessary to get a health insurance to save the wait time for the surgery?

    • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 19:41
      +1

      How old are you?

      Late 20's.

      Do you have private health insurance?

      Yes

      Do you think it is necessary to get a health insurance to save the wait time for the surgery?

      Being public or private wouldn't have made a difference for the wait time given I was a category 1 patient. Urgent cases are always put to the front. The original endoscope where the tumour was found is where it was the most helpful. Without insurance I would have waited about 2 years for an endoscope publicly, while with private health insurance it's up to 9 months.

  • HanaLF on 20/01/2023 - 16:53

    Congrats on beating cancer and live on your second life !

    1. What makes you start to look at Chinese gadgets

    2. How does Ozbargain community change over the 8 years from your perspective

    3. What is your favourite eCommerce platform as a customer and why

    4. How do you balance your time among work, Ozbargain, and personal life

    5. What is your MBTI personality. Test HERE if you don't mind

    btw didn't find u/clearsky on Reddit…

    • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 20:07
      +2

      What makes you start to look at Chinese gadgets

      When I was a broke ass Uni student I discovered Dealextreme and other websites selling all sorts of gadgets that would help with my degrees (IT & Engineering) for a fraction of the cost I could buy locally. I distinctly remember discovering the MK802 Android 4.0 TV Stick which was basically a mini PC that you would plug into your TV and it would give Android on your TV. Having a "smart TV" back then being able to watch YouTube and other content was mindblowing. Plus when I was studying programming it was fun to test Android apps I built on there too.

      There's so many over cool gadgets I could list over the years that really got me into it. The SmartQ U7 Android tablet in 2013 is notable. An Android tablet that had an inbuilt projector - you certainly don't see anything like that anymore.

      How does Ozbargain community change over the 8 years from your perspective

      As the online market has matured in Australia it's certainly shifted a lot here. eBay has risen up from being an auction site to pretty much being an online version of a Westfields where you can get clothes, electronics and all sorts of other stuff brand new. Not to mention Amazon popping up, supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths going online, the popularity of cashback sites etc.

      I've certainly noticed there's far less freebies than there used to be. When I first discovered OzBargain in 2011 you could get all sorts of free stuff from companies and they'd be online for weeks. Now that the site has grown they barely last a day. Not to mention that there's a lot of people who will try to exploit these freebies.

      There's a good portion of people working for financial gain and popularity here as well. It's about getting the most votes, being the most popular and in some cases taking money under the table.

      What is your favourite eCommerce platform as a customer and why

      AliExpress always has a place in my heart since I'm always able to get quality stuff at a low price. i'm always misplacing cables so I end up with a lot of spares, escooter accessories and just other general stuff. Plus it's good for Christmas time stocking fillers. Amazon is another favourite for a lot of household stuff and Prime is really good value given I can get small orders like soap, shampoo, detergent delivered quickly for only $7 a month.

      How do you balance your time among work, Ozbargain, and personal life

      I'm always on OzBargain. I'm very guilty of posting on OzBargain when I should be at work or when I'm sleeping. I often draft a lot of posts so that I can share them when I'm out being social.

      What is your MBTI personality.

      These tests always change depending on your mood at the time. Just now it says I'm INTP-T.

  • maverickjohn on 20/01/2023 - 17:42
    +2

    Hey Clear. Im super glad that you made it out and well from the surgery. Live long and prosper my friend

  • pinkybrain on 20/01/2023 - 17:52

    what is your ethnicity?

    • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 18:18

      White

      • pinkybrain on 20/01/2023 - 19:00

        white as in
        -aussie,
        -american
        -some other country?

        hard to know nowadays with immigration or if parents came from another country

        thought you might be chinese or asian cos of the deals posted mainly from chinese stores and aliexpress etc.

        • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 19:01

          Australian.

  • drprox on 20/01/2023 - 19:09
    +1

    Just wanted to wish you all the best mate :)

  • bobz79 on 20/01/2023 - 20:38

    Congrats on beating cancer and good luck :-) Thanks for all the deals!

    When are you gonna stop impersonating everyone's favourite celebrity @jv ;-)

    • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 20:40
      +1

      When he starts complaining about it. I haven't done my Easter JV yet.

  • luffyex2010 on 20/01/2023 - 20:51

    Thank you Mr Clear,

    I wouldn't know what I would do without my Romoss batteries especially when you are playing Marvel Snap ( I got like 8 of them, 4x 20000 older ones and 4x 30000 which are my daily usage ones)

    Hope you recover soon and post more deals, and a happy CNY if you are celebrating.

    • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 20:54

      You could turn your car into a tesla with that many batteries.

      • luffyex2010 on 20/01/2023 - 21:38

        Lol yes my each Romoss 30000mah will get me 8.3km, then I need to get an Uber after that.

  • pinkybrain on 20/01/2023 - 22:04

    what is your actual job in healthcare industry?

    do you have any hobbies (besides ozbargain)?

    what is your pc/laptop spec and current phone model?

    • Clear on 20/01/2023 - 22:14

      what is your actual job in healthcare industry?

      I specialise in the IT Healthcare industry so think of all aspects of IT in a hospital, plus the setup, management and repair of medical equipment. Patients rarely see us and all the doctors/nurses know us pretty well. We play a big behind the scenes role in keeping everything running smoothly.

      do you have any hobbies (besides ozbargain)?

      A little known fact is that I have a pilots license so flying is always a fun, albeit expensive hobby. Otherwise very much into the outdoors like mountain bike riding, electric scooters, EUCs and all the other usual stuff. Except sport. Footy, cricket, tennis are all boring to me.

      what is your pc/laptop spec and current phone model?

      I have quite a few PCs and laptops. My main rig is a 5800X3D paired with an RTX 3080 10GB, 32GB CL14 RAM and a shitload of SSD storage. It's an all white build. Then I use a combination of a Macbook Pro M1 and HP EliteBook 840 for work/travel.

      As for phones I'm currently rocking a Motorola Edge 20 and an iPhone 11.

  • pao2x on 21/01/2023 - 14:19
    +1

    Hope all goes well and thanks for all your deals

  • lunartemis on 21/01/2023 - 15:41

    How many hours do you spend each day/week looking for and posting deals?

    • Clear on 21/01/2023 - 22:40

      Probably a good hour or 2 everyday. I have a lot of price trackers setup that'll alert me when products go on sale. Other deals often drop at the same time, like SB/CR for example release their banners at 12am everyday.

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