[[help:faq_beginner]]

Table of Contents

User FAQ

Removing Content

How do I remove my deal?

If no comments have been made you can remove your own deal within 10 minutes of posting by clicking 'edit' and 'unpublish'. After that, please hit the report button and a moderator can assess if removing it is appropriate. Please note that if the deal is popular or has important value regarding discussions, it will not be removed.

How do I remove my comment?

Click 'edit' underneath your comment, then click the yellow 'unpublish' button.

How can I edit my comment?

A comment can be edited using the edit button, unless (1) it's been more than 60 minutes since you made the comment or (2) another member has replied to your comment. If you are no longer able to edit your comment, you may unpublish it.

How do I remove my vote?

Go to the votes tab at the top of the page. Click the revoke button at the top of the page. You can only vote one time per deal.

What deals are being removed?

Removal of deals generally occur if the deal is:

  • A duplicate (deal has already been posted recently)
  • SPAM or an advertisement for the store instead of a deal
  • Better suited to the forums (e.g. Selling or swapping request, competitions)
  • Not available to Australia (Retailer can't ship to Australia)
  • Listing issue (e.g. Lack of ABN for an eBay deal, insufficient quantity)
  • Banned items (e.g. Adult products, gambling)
  • Sockpuppeting (Companies falsely pretending to be customers)

Removal of deals can only be done by moderators and not by users. Please use the report button for any removal requests.

Additionally, if enough people cast a negative vote on a deal, the post is hidden from the new deals page. You can still access the deal if you know the direct URL.

If you want to know why a deal has been removed, you can contact moderators through the Talk With a Moderator (TWAM) forum, or if you feel that you want a public answer, then post in the site discussion forum.

How can I block posts from certain users or stores?

Find a post by that user or store, then click the hide button. You have an option to:

How can I include posts from certain categories?

Go to My Account - Edit - Deals - I want to include.

Select the categories you wish to see.

How can I exclude posts for certain products or product categories?

Click on the tag within a deal post, click the … menu, click 'Hide on Front page' and/or ' Hide on New Deals page'.

Using OzBargain

What is a new user?

New users are people new to our site. For spam countermeasures, commenting and posting is limited for the 1st 24 hours.

How many posts can I make?

Frequency New Users Regular Users Classifieds* Competitions
5 Minutes 1 1 1 5
1 Hour 1 2 1 20
6 Hours 2 4 1 30
24 Hours 3 10 1 30

Note that unpublished posts are still counted towards the posting limits in the table above.

* Only contributing members may post in the classifieds section. For further details see Classifieds Posting Requirements.

What is the difference between the front page and the new deals page?

The new deals page has all the latest deals that have been submitted by users. They are displayed in order from most recently published. However, when a deal becomes popular (reaches a threshold based of votes), it is moved to the Front page. The number of positive votes to push a deal to the front page changes based on the sites popularity and other factors but by default it is 30 votes. However, you can override the settings by doing the following:

  • Go to My Account - Edit - Deals.
  • Adjust the “Minimum Votes” value.

I've seen deals on the front page with less than 30 votes. Why?

Hot Deals Can Reach the Front Page without Reaching Minimum Votes

We want to bring deals that gain enough momentum, i.e. getting many votes within a short period of time, to rise to the front page even when it has not yet reached the minimum votes (30). Because of the number of deals getting posted everyday, some of really good deals got pushed to page 2 of “New Deals” page within 2-3 hours without gaining sufficient votes. When you are on the 2nd page of “New Deals”, you are not likely to be graced by many users so they might never reach front page…

So we are now using a simple algorithm to determine whether a deal will be on the front page.

let v = positive votes - negative votes (total number of votes). let m = minimum votes (default=30)

A deal will be on the front page if

  • v >= m, or
  • v >= m /2 + (current time - deal posting time) / rate

Currently rate is that for every 30 minutes, new deals need one more vote above m /2 to be on the front page. Due to the way rounding works, a deal needs

  • Only 16 votes to be on the front page within the first 30 minutes
  • 17 votes if it has been posted for more than 30 minutes but less than an hour
  • 18 votes if more than an hour but less than 1 1/2 hours
  • 19 votes if …

m would be different if you have changed your front page minimum votes, but basically that's how it works behind the scene to bring recently posted deals to the front page even when it does not have enough votes.

How do I put a strike-through (strikeout) on a word?

This is a ~~test~~.

produces

This is a

test.

I've clicked on the 'Full Site' link on my mobile. How do I go back to the mobile site?

You can use this URL to set it back to using the mobile site: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/api/mobile/setfullsite?mobile=1

I've clicked on the 'Mobile Site' link on my browser. How do I go back to the full site?

You can use this URL to set it back to using the mobile site: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/api/mobile/setfullsite?mobile=0

How do I upload a picture or document?

Go to My Account - Files and click the Upload New File button.

I keep seeing expired deals in my newsletter. How can I change this?

Go to: My Account - Subscriptions - Newsletter

Check the box: Exclude expired deals

How do I view all comments for a deal on one page (like Whirlpool's "archived view")?

If there are multiple pages of comments on a deal, forum post or competition, a comments tab will appear at the top of the page. Clicking the comments link will put all comments onto one long page which can be useful for searching for a specific comment.

Why are the comments in a deal closed?

Deals posted 45 days ago or older OR where there hasn't been a comment for 2 weeks will be automatically closed for commenting.

However if you think you wish to comment on a deal, please use the Report link and we will re-open the deal for commenting. Once you have commented, it will stay for another 2 weeks (or more, if there are further follow up comments).

How can I disable ads?

You can block ads entirely by going to:

My Account - Edit - OzBargain Settings - Banner ads: No ads

How do I remove an association with a store?

If you haven't posted a deal for your associated store, you can remove the association by going to My Account - Stores. Select the store and click association as none.

If you have posted a deal for your associated store, you will need to contact a moderator via Talk with a Moderator forum.

I'm not getting notifications. How can I get email/web notifications of comments?

See this thread.

Make sure auto-subscribe is turned on: My Account'→'Subscriptions', and on the 'Threads' page, under Auto-subscribe.

Under Notifications, choose your preferred delivery method. If you want to receive web notifications, make sure the 'Web' checkbox is checked.

How do I turn hide/show my online status?

To do so, click on My Account > Settings > edit > account > uncheck 'show online status'.

Setting:

Enabled (default):

Disabled:

How do I link to a comment?

The timestamp next to a user's name is a link to that comment.

How come I can't edit my post anymore?

By default, editing is locked after 30 days. If you do need to edit a deal after 30 days, please hit the report link underneath the post to let a moderator know.

How come I can't vote on older deals?

The vote should be a indicator of how popular the deal was at the time of posting and kept for historical purposes for comparison. Allowing forever voting would skew the vote and make deals seem better/more popular than they were at the time.

How can I mark my classified as sold or expired?

Click the end button.

How can I rate users?

Go to Edit Account - OzBargain Settings.

Check the box that says:

Show user rating widget

See your list of rated users in My Account - Lists - Users

How can I suggest a store's referral program?

Make a comment in this thread with the store, what the referral looks like (e.g. URL/code), and the benefits to the referrer/referee.

Everything Else

I've been contacted by "OzBargain sales staff". Is this legitimate?

There are some users who have claimed to be an OzBargain staff member when clearly he/she is not one. There have also been merchants telling us that they have been approached by “OzBargain sales staff”, which simply do not exist.

If you have received this kind of communication where someone who claims to be from OzBargain when clearly not – try to be authoritative on this site for example – please report to us. We take mis-representation seriously.

The best way to reach OzBargain staff is by using the contact form. If you leave the Category as “Support”, it will be seen by all OzBargain staff.

Who are the staff/representatives of OzBargain?

There are 7 members of staff – scotty, moocher, neil, hamza23, RichardL, scrimshaw and alvian that are on the OzBargain payroll. These are the only 7 users that can call themselves “OzBargain staff” and can officially represent OzBargain.

What is an "OzBargain certified website"?

This is a community website and this kind of “certification” simply does not exist. It is no more than a dodgy way of retailers trying to boost its credential.

If you have spotted something similar – sites with the OzBargain logo as though they have been officially endorsed by us – please report them as well using the contact form.

Do companies pay OzBargain to post deals?

NO. OzBargain is a completely independent website that strives to be as transparent as possible. Companies or those associated with a company are free to post deals making sure they make a selection from the “I am Associated with:” drop-down list when posting a deal.

Does OzBargain have an app?

Yes, iOS and Android apps however our website is optimised for mobile use.

Alternatively, you can add an OzBargain icon to your homescreen by loading up OzBargain in your browser on iOS or Chrome and then Add to Homescreen.