OzBargain 18th Birthday Meetups (2024)

How to use Event Checkins and List of Your Events

For those going to an OzBargain meetup, please ask the organiser or a co-organiser to check you in.

For meetup organisers, please

  • Make sure you check in everyone that comes. Make another user or two as "co-organisers" to help you check in.
  • Scan or take photos of all the receipts, and email them to me [email protected]. Make sure you include (1) the location of the meetup, and (2) your bank account or PayID for reimbursement.

This is the forum post that some of you guys have been waiting for — a placeholder for all the OzBargain birthday meetups in 2024. We have been running these IRL meetups in November each year since 2017, and last year the OzBargain meetup organisers put together 29 events where 565 ozbargainers get to meet and share a meal together. We will be doing the same again this year —

  • Someone from the OzBargain community might want to organise an event locally
  • Other OzBargain users will want to attend those events
  • OzBargain will sponsor those events

There will be a new OzBargain T-shirt this year to be given out exclusively at the meetup events, in Aussie green & gold with "OzBargain verified Not A Bot" at the back. Finger crossed that the factory I found on Alibaba can deliver those shirts on time though.

Process will be similar to last year. To organise an event:

  • Post a new thread in Site Discussions with "OzBargain 18th Birthday - <Location> Meetup" in the title. Use the thread to discuss with the community to work out preferred date/time & venue. Please note that the meetup event must be in November 2024.

  • Update the title with date/time and venue when it's confirmed, and I'll add your post into the list of events. A poll will be created to allow users to confirm who will be coming.

For the rest of this post, I'll be copying the snippets from last year's, and I will highlight the changes.

Organising events

Budget for the 2024 events will be updated to strictly $45pp (due to increase of cost of living), which should cover food, venue and/or activities.

Try not to duplicate the location. For example if someone has already organised a meetup somewhere in Parramatta, don't organise another one even if it's at a different venue or date.

Please have all the events posted up before the end of October. We will not accept any new meetup requests after 31st of October.

Some budget examples copied from last year,

  • BBQ or pizza at public park (with coupons, of course)
  • Everyone orders UberEats / DoorDash / HungryPanda to eat at the beach and send receipts to scotty for reimbursement
  • Cheap eat in a cafe / restaurant

We are not able to sponsor alcoholic drinks in these meetup events. Some people might want to consume alcohol at meetup events, and that can be done at their own expense.

Add the tag ozbargain18 to your posts.

Soft cap of organising up to 2 meetups. We are going to limit the number of events one can attend this year (see under "Attending events" below) and we don't want people to get around the limit by being organisers of multiple events.

Attending events

You can attend at most two events that you are not organising. We did have that clause last year but we still have quite a few people attending 5+ events, so we will be putting a hard cap this year, i.e. you won't even be able to click on "Yes I am attending" if you are already registered for 2 events.

OzBargain meetups are strictly users only this year. In the past there were some leniency for partners, children or other family members that don't have OzBargain accounts. However for this year we decided that one must have an OzBargain account to be part of the meetup.

We won't allow "new accounts" from participating in meetups either. In the last couple of years we had accounts created just to have free meals at OzBargain meetups, and then never logged in again.


Frequently Asked Questions

These are some of the questions asked by organisers and attendees.

Q: How can we get the OzBargain T-shirts this year?

OzBargain T-shirts this year would be gold/yellow text on green — I've given the Pantone code to the manufacturer however they will probably just pick whatever in their inventory that's closest. The delivery of the T-shirts is also delayed (as of 18 Oct) due to Chinese national day holidays and material change. Currently no ETA but I'll work with the organisers once I have received the shirts, so I can forward those to organisers in different states. I'll put the design here when the manufacturer sent me a photo of the test print.

300 shirts are ordered this year, and I'll try to distribute them amongst organisers, so that they can be given out to ozbargainers during the event. Not everyone is going to receive a free OzBargain T-shirt of their sizes — consider that as a bonus rather than entitlement.

Organisers: please do not promise the availability of T-shirts.

Update 31 Oct: looks like it might get to the organisers near the last week of November

Q: Can we bring family members and kids to OzBargain meetups? Will the cost incurred by them be paid by OzBargain?

OzBargain meetup events this year are for OzBargain members only — you need an OzBargain account (that's not recently created) to register for meetup events. Our meetup budget of $45 per person is also for OzBargain members only. You can bring your family or friends to OzBargain meetups. However if they are not registered to the event, they aren't sponsored.

Q from organiser. How is OzBargain paying for my event?

The sponsorship works by reimbursing the cost of the event. So

  • As an organiser, please pay for the venue and food first. Use the reward cards if you wish to collect points. However please keep all your receipts.
  • Send the receipts to my email address scotty@<this domain>. Make sure you take good photos and the numbers on the receipts are readable. Please also include your banking details (BSB/Acc or PayID) in your email so I can reimburse you.
  • I'll do a fund transfer to your bank account.

This post is work in place. I'll keep everyone updated when we move closer to November and event features get implemented.

List of Events

DateTimeVenue, LocationOrganiserRegWL
ACT
Fri, 22 Nov7:00PMDookki, BelconnenCodeXD160
Thu, 28 Nov6:30PMStar Buffet, Canberracaptain danger222
NSW
Fri, 1 Nov1:30PMIppudo, Chatswoodihbh260
Thu, 7 Nov6:00PMThe Savoury Dining, Penrithidontalwaysnotlie140
Sat, 9 Nov11:00AMTaste of Shanghai, Burwoodjiayijames160
Mon, 11 Nov6:00PMFortress, Sydneyimpostor660
Tue, 12 Nov6:30PMLuho, Crows NestSerathis420
Wed, 13 Nov6:00PMBar Reggio, Darlnghursttlai200
Thu, 14 Nov6:00PMLeumeah Hotel, Campbelltownweb5090
Fri, 15 Nov6:30PMCommercial Hotel, ParramattaI Smell Pennies810
Fri, 15 Nov6:00PMDoodee King, Castle Hillsd4399340183
Sat, 16 Nov5:30PMStar Buffet, BankstownI Smell Pennies320
Mon, 18 Nov6:00PMNikaido, MascotFat Horny Ghost820
Thu, 21 Nov6:00PMSubset 27 Ed Square, Edmondson Parksuchan180
Sat, 23 Nov1:00PMAll About Chicken, Coffs Harbourtwilsoncrow80
Sat, 23 Nov12:00PMDa Franco, Concordjiayijames110
Sat, 23 Nov6:00PMZaap by Chang Thai Lao, Cabramattadinted170
Wed, 27 Nov7:20PMEpicurean Crown, BarangarooFat Horny Ghost257
Sat, 30 Nov5:00PMButchers Buffet, Blacktownsydney au6810
Sun, 1 Dec11:00AMHyde Park, Sydneycerealsmok3r550
NT
Fri, 29 Nov6:30PMParap Tavern, ParapJaymeRyan50
QLD
Sat, 2 Nov4:00PMMt Gravatt Street Food, Mount Gravattilyhu130
Sun, 3 Nov6:00PMDavid's Master Pot, Underwoodp1723227
Sat, 9 Nov12:30PMGreen Zebra, Sunshine CoastAlley Cat90
Sun, 10 Nov6:00PMVizzeto Woodfire, Moorookaquop120
Wed, 13 Nov6:30PMOkami, SpringwoodWarmachine992710
Sat, 16 Nov12:00PMThe Gunshop Cafe, West Endquop212
Sun, 17 Nov1:00PMEl Atar, ToowoombaTooSerious250
Fri, 22 Nov12:00PMHanwoori Restaurant, Brisbanejaysee-teh250
Sat, 30 Nov11:30AMRen Yakiniku, Sunnybankjaysee-teh370
SA
Wed, 13 Nov7:00PMIndian Temptations, Enfieldtwilsoncrow340
Sun, 17 Nov6:00PMBeach Bum, Hovekickling320
TAS
Sun, 10 Nov1:00PMBar Wa Izakaya, Hobartzelliot40
VIC
Fri, 8 Nov7:00PMWill's Dumpling, Moonee Pondsharryozz440
Tue, 12 Nov6:00PMMoohan, Box Hillhamroll510
Thu, 14 Nov6:00PMFortress, Melbourneneil940
Fri, 15 Nov6:00PMOkami, CragieburnRoadZilla190
Fri, 15 Nov12:30PMInglewood Coffee, Mount Waverleyneil470
Tue, 19 Nov6:30PMVillage Green Hotel, Mulgravepatryn330
Fri, 22 Nov6:00PMPacinos, Flemingtoncerealsmok3r210
Sat, 23 Nov12:30PMQuang Vinh, St Albansmangamuncher60
Fri, 29 Nov6:15PMMoon Dog Wild West, Footscraymangamuncher2110
Fri, 6 Dec4:30PMAsian Beer Cafe, Melbourneneil240
WA
Sat, 9 Nov6:30PMThe Gate Bar and Bistro, SuccessOzbargainasaurus188
Sun, 10 Nov6:00PMMack Daddy's, Mount LawleyMixhael4019
Sat, 30 Nov6:00PMMack Daddy's, Mount LawleyMixhael211

46 events from 35 organisers.

Comments

  • +1

    Was scotty's thought's about the yearly event written anywhere and I missed it?

    • You mean this one? Or a followup?

      • Yes at the bottom there was supposed to be a follow-up. Did I miss it or Scotty's been to busy to write his thoughts?

        OzBargain 18th Birthday Meetups (2024) (Page 5) - OzBargain Forums

        More about this in the next couple of days.

        • +1

          I don't think he's given the update. There were some similar comments made in the AMA eg. can of worms #1 and this response to a question.

        • +2

          I was away in December so I did not end up writing one up. It's now almost 2 months later so I've already forgotten about what I was going to write.

          However the main gists are:

          • I don't feel comfortable spending that much sponsoring meetups. Those don't reflect my personal spending habit.
          • While meetups are awesome for many ozbargainers, these aren't really serving their purposes. Many high profile contributing ozbargainers don't come, and many who came have never posted anything not even comments.
          • +1

            @scotty: I agree with point 2 so much. For Parramatta I was hoping for some big names and while there were some it was mostly a lot people who don't contribute much. It's pretty obvious when you have to explain who other big names are, i.e. jv.

            Come November if there's no official meetups I'd still be keen to organise something unofficial. I'm sure some bigger names can be rounded up :)

            • @Clear: High-profiles like to stay incognito and not attract any attention, nor want to be in photos.
              Many topics become controversial over the years, so I guess it's avoiding the putting faces of to usernames.

              Maybe, there needs to be special, separate invite-only 'high-profile' meetup,…like the Stonecutter's meeting.

              Still, I totally agree with scotty's 1st point, ie. the spend amounts are quite high.
              ( I went to a meetup last year and spent my own money, just because I was interested to meet with fellow OzB members )

              • +1

                @whyisave: Not all of us high profile members want to stay out of the limelight and some still attend without being in photos.

                I've been to plenty of private meetups too. One of the highlights was TA delivering me a bottle of alcohol in person when I was in hospital for a month 🤣

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