ChoiceCheapies Weekly Deal Posting Rewards 2016

scotty on 18/01/2016 - 11:01
Last edited 30/08/2016 - 16:27 by 1 other user

We have been running our monthly posting competition for over a year now. To encourage more participation from the community however, from this week onwards (18 Jan 2016) we will be giving out the same prizes every week instead.

We will be giving out 3 prizes every Monday to the posters of the top 3 deals from the previous week. The prizes will be 1x $50, 1x $25, and 1x $10 which will be paid in PayPal credit, a gift card of your choice, or donated to your favourite charity. From past experience PayPal credit has been the most popular choice and the most convenient method for us.

Here are some rules / terms & conditions:

  • Deals are judged from the number of + votes
  • Moderators and Store representatives are excluded from participating
  • Users resided outside New Zealand are excluded from participating

Update: As of June 2016, the announcement will now be delayed by 1 day (Posted Tuesday am, instead of Monday am) to give deals posted on Sunday an extra day to gather votes.

Update 2: As of 17 August 2016, any user receiving a ban for artificial and/or manipulation of voting will be first disqualified from the competition for 1 month, and if found to be committing this again, will be removed from contention in the future. This goes for not only the weekly competition, but any and all competitions run on this website. Giving back to the community is of huge importance, and we want to be able to continue this well into the future.

Site Discussion

closed Comments

  • scotty on 18/01/2016 - 11:09
    +6

    18 Jan, 2016

    Winners of the first weekly deal posting competition are:

    Congratulations!

  • Jay on 18/01/2016 - 16:01
    +2

    Good to see some new names on the list !!

  • tkiara on 18/01/2016 - 22:16

    geat competition. Keep up the good work!

  • deladani on 19/01/2016 - 10:52

    Wow, nice. I can't believe I won on my first ever post!

  • scotty on 25/01/2016 - 17:12
    +2

    25 Jan, 2016

    Winners of last week's deal posting competitions are:

    Congratulations!

  • scotty on 01/02/2016 - 00:33
    +3

    1 Feb, 2016

    Winners of last week's deal posting competitions are:

    Congratulations!

  • scotty on 08/02/2016 - 00:03
    +3

    8 Feb, 2016

    Happy Chinese New Year! Winners of last week's deal posting competition are:

    Congratulations!

    • coolstorybro on 08/02/2016 - 12:02

      Thanks Scotty!

    • Dunno on 08/02/2016 - 12:05

      neat thanks again

  • scotty on 15/02/2016 - 11:55
    +2

    15 Feb, 2016

    Winners from last week are:

    Looks like the real winner last week was The Warehouse… Congratulations!

    • Mark Wasley on 15/02/2016 - 13:48

      Hi @scotty.

      If you look at this page, you will see that the third prize was a draw this week. User Bobs also had 7 votes on his Huawei Ascend P7 and PlayStation 4 deal from Noel Leeming, also apart of The Warehouse Group ;) Shouldn't both bigbosssnake and Bobs get $5 each?

      I can email you a screenshot if required.

      Regards,
      Mark.

      • scotty on 15/02/2016 - 14:10
        +1

        There is no need for screenshot but thanks for the catch. I'll add Bobs as an equal 3rd winner from last week.

  • Hamster on 15/02/2016 - 20:28
    +1

    Thanks, much appreciated.

  • scotty on 22/02/2016 - 00:07

    22 Feb, 2016

    Winners from last week are:

    Those were the most popular deals from last week. Congratulations!

  • scotty on 29/02/2016 - 01:24
    +1

    29 Feb, 2016

    These are the winners from last week:

    Congratulations!

  • scotty on 07/03/2016 - 10:47
    +3

    7 Mar, 2016

    Winners from last week (excluding ChoiceCheapies staffs and non-NZ residents)

    Congratulations!

    • Wellington on 07/03/2016 - 12:10
      +1

      Thanks everyone! Some great posts now, nice to see Cheapies growing like it is.

    • bigbosssnake on 07/03/2016 - 13:37

      Warehouse Leap Year Sale Any idea why this deal isn't in the top 3 list?

      • Mark Wasley on 07/03/2016 - 15:11
        +1

        The Popular Deals page counts today as within the last 7 Days (last Tuesday-Monday). You should have won first prize this week. Scotty can check this by looking at the last 8 Days on the Popular Deals page.

        • bigbosssnake on 07/03/2016 - 15:36
          +2

          Thanks, scotty has Pm'd me about it.

  • scotty on 14/03/2016 - 01:27
    +3

    14 Mar, 2016

    I figured that manually querying the database on Monday morning might not be the best way to check the winners. Now I got the system to do the queries and email me the winners at 12:05AM every Monday — hopefully the winner list is correct this time :)

    1. Mark Wasley — Exchange Your Old Razor for Schick Hydro 5 Razor Kit for FREE
    2. Robbert — Burger King $2 BBQ Rodeo
    3. Wellington — Kathmandu Centaurus Sleepsuit

    Congratulations!

  • scotty on 21/03/2016 - 11:15
    +3

    21 Mar, 2016

    Winners from last week:

    1. davidtse916 — Canon PIXMA MX496 Multifunctional $11.88 @ Ascent
    2. ArchSerpo — Digitor Multi Reverse Travel Adaptor $5.99 @ Dick Smith
    3. Robbert — 10c/Litre off Fuel @ Caltex & BP

    Congratulations! Due to being Easter weekend next week, the announcement will be a bit late. Happy Easter!

  • Kiwi on 28/03/2016 - 01:01
    +2

    With Scotty slacking off and taking a break for Easter, I have the job of announcing the weekly winners for

    28 March, 2016.

    Congratulations to:

    1. ClipIt - 40% off Everything Excluding Value Pizzas @ Domino's
    2. bigbosssnake - Brother Colour Laser $39.99 @ Noel Leeming
    3. asmcar - Brother MFCJ5320DW InkJet A3 printer $24.30 @ Noel Leeming
    • [Deactivated] on 28/03/2016 - 09:50

      Do I PM you or will scotty PM me later

      • Kiwi on 28/03/2016 - 09:53
        +1

        Scotty will follow up with the PM's when he is back.

    • scotty on 28/03/2016 - 18:22
      +1

      I'm back! Thanks for making the announcement. Doing the PMs now.

    • bigbosssnake on 28/03/2016 - 20:05

      What happens if clipit or someone else votes for me leading to a draw with clipit? Do both get 1st prize each?

      • [Deactivated] on 28/03/2016 - 20:23

        I'm not sure but I suppose that if two people draw the money would be split, but after the prizes have been announced I think that the prizes have already been chosen and can't be changed.

        • bigbosssnake on 28/03/2016 - 22:59
          +1

          Nah I'm not fussed. Just very curious but yes, announcements are final :)

      • scotty on 28/03/2016 - 22:22
        +2

        The prizes are calculated based on the votes at 12am Monday morning so any vote manipulation after that would not work. In fact we might reconsider the entire competition if vote manipulation has been detected.

  • scotty on 04/04/2016 - 02:01
    +4

    4 April, 2016

    Winners from last month:

    1. ClipIt — 50% off Domino's
    2. ArchSerpo — Free Fanpass One Day Pass
    3. Toddy47 — Panasonic Microwave $99 @ Harvey Norman (equal 2nd)

    Congratulations!

    • [Deactivated] on 04/04/2016 - 07:48
      +2

      Twice in a row, both times with Domino's! Thanks Scotty.

  • scotty on 11/04/2016 - 01:29
    +3

    11 April, 2016

    Winners from last week:

    1. Mark Wasley — BOGOF @ Independent Fisheries
    2. Avantime — $4 SIM Card from The Warehouse
    3. davidtse916 — Kambrook Blitz2Go Blender $20 at Harvey Norman

    Congratulations!

    • Mark Wasley on 11/04/2016 - 20:31
      +1

      Thanks Scotty!

      I'm so stoked to win first prize, for my third time. I'm glad my contributions to ChoiceCheapies are appreciated by members and staff and love sharing the deals I discover with everyone.

      Cheers, Mark.

      • Jay on 11/04/2016 - 22:17

        Oh Gawd, here comes the I want World Peace, and I love teddy bears, Miss Universe speech…….

  • scotty on 18/04/2016 - 00:56
    +3

    18 April, 2016

    Those are the winners from last week:

    1. Michelle — Free $6 Voucher at The Jimbo's
    2. bholu — Lexar 32GB MicroSD Card $9.99 @ Noel Leeming
    3. Hamster — Veon 55" 4K TV $799 @ The Warehouse

    Congratulations!

  • bholu on 18/04/2016 - 10:52
    +3

    Thanks Scotty. I never thought my deals would get this much attention. Its a great appreciation.cheers.

  • scotty on 25/04/2016 - 01:51
    +4

    25 April, 2016

    Here are the winners from last week:

    1. ClipIt — 15% off Everything @ The Warehouse
    2. Sam91 — 50% off Xbox Games @ Microsoft Store
    3. asmcar — Nutri Ninja Blender $57 at Noel Leeming

    Congratulations!

    • asmcar on 25/04/2016 - 19:49
      +1

      Cheers Scotty, these rewards do certainly spur me to post more deals.

      • [Deactivated] on 25/04/2016 - 19:51

        I think that when there is a draw (like there was today) scotty goes on and votes one of the deals up to avoid a draw.

  • scotty on 02/05/2016 - 00:55
    +2

    2 May, 2016

    Winners from last week:

    1. ClipIt — Free Access to 4000+ Newspapers
    2. shami — 10c off Fuel at BP AA Smartfuel North Island
    3. techhit — 40% off Bikes @ The Warehouse

    Actually ClipIt took the 1st, 2nd and 4th most popular deals last week but could only claim one prize. Well done!

    Congratulations to all the winners.

    • techhit on 02/05/2016 - 08:31
      +1

      Wow. It's the one prize thing a new rule? I did not expect to win anything. Thanks!

      • Kiwi on 02/05/2016 - 21:56
        +1

        It's the one prize thing a new rule?

        Na, always been that way.

        Congrats to everyone this week, good job!

        • [Deactivated] on 02/05/2016 - 22:08

          Nobody's got enough good posts until now :).

    • coolstorybro on 02/05/2016 - 20:23
      +2

      ClipIt, you're on fire bro!

  • scotty on 09/05/2016 - 01:11
    +3

    9 May, 2016

    (drumroll…) Winners are:

    1. jamie111 for FREE Shipping Code for The Warehouse
    2. ClipIt for Various DickSmith deals, after resurrected by Kogan
    3. Cyzar for Panasonic RP-HC200 $37.95 from PB Tech

    Congratulations!

  • scotty on 16/05/2016 - 01:18
    +2

    16 May, 2016

    Winners are:

    1. ClipIt for 13% off JB Hi-Fi
    2. Teckiwi for $1 off Gregg's Product
    3. Wongtong for Free Maggi Flavour Pack
    4. Avantime for 5 Chicken Nuggets $2 at Burger King

    Wongtong & Avantime's deals are equal 3rd as both have the same number of votes. Also congratulations to ClipIt for winning 4 weeks in a row + member of the month for April!

  • scotty on 23/05/2016 - 00:39
    +2

    23 May, 2016

    Winners from last week are:

    1. Mark Wasley for $2 Whopper Burger
    2. Hamster for Huawei P9 / P9 Plus / Huawei Classic Watch at Noel Leeming
    3. choniesbum for Super Dream Rolled Queen Mattress at The Warehouse

    Great job everyone — especially choniesbum who came 3rd, as the account was only created earlier today.

    • Sam91 on 23/05/2016 - 13:06
      +2

      Congrats guys. 4th two weeks in a row : P

  • scotty on 30/05/2016 - 01:32
    +1

    30 May, 2016

    Here is our weekly announcement for last week's deal posting winners:

    1. eXDee for Spotify Family Plan
    2. ClipIt for KFC 5pcs + Reg Chips $9.90
    3. Mark Wasley for Creamy Mayo Cheeseburger $1.50 @ Burger King

    Cheap food & cheap music — what else do you need? Congratulations!

  • scotty on 06/06/2016 - 01:22
    +2

    6 June, 2016

    Winners from last week:

    1. coolstorybro for Xiaomi 10000mAh Power Bank from Everbuying
    2. ClipIt for 10c/Ltr off at BP & Mobil
    3. Mark Wasley for Moto 360 & Emtec 128GB USB from Warehouse Stationery (equal 2nd)

    Congratulations! Note that Everbuying deal was sourced from OzBargain (ChoiceCheapies equivalent in Australia) where deals from Everbuying, GeekBuying, BangGood, etc are frequently posted, and most of them would be free delivered to NZ as well. Feel free to source the deals there :)

    Both ClipIt & Mark Wasley are also frequent winners of our weekly deal posting competition. Thank you for all the deal hunting! At the same time, how can we structure the competitions to encourage more participation from the rest of the community here? I would love to hear some suggestions.

    • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2016 - 11:48

      Perhaps the rewards could be more like the OzBargain Members' of the month awards, so have each prize for something different (i.e. Top Deal, Most Front Page Deals, Top Competition) and make the rewards $25 each. Also I think that having deals posted on Sunday being in the next weeks comp because a deal like this one would probably win a prize in next weeks comp if it had been posted today. Currently deals post on Sunday are majorly disadvantaged in the comp because they only have one day to be voted up.

      • Kiwi on 06/06/2016 - 12:38
        +1

        Currently deals post on Sunday are majorly disadvantaged in the comp because they only have one day to be voted up.

        Although this would still be the case regardless of the posting day, as there would still have to be a cut off point.

        • [Deactivated] on 07/06/2016 - 07:44

          What I was meaning was that the prizes are drawn on the same day but deals posted on Sunday are part of the week afterwards comp. This would probably be too complicated and confusing though.

        • Kiwi on 07/06/2016 - 13:43
          +2

          @ClipIt:

          I understand your point, and it makes sense, but the fact is there will always be a case of less days before cut off for a particular day, it's the nature of the system. If we made Sunday included, why wouldn't we also include Saturday which only has 2 days?

          Basically, Sunday is our quietest day (With Saturday following in second), and always has been, hence it being an ideal cut off point, as there is very limited activity on weekends, compared to week days.

    • coolstorybro on 06/06/2016 - 12:53
      +1

      I think maybe give a small cash incentive for earning badges? For example new members who earns a "first post wonder" badge could continue to post more deals if they are rewarded for their efforts? Also active participation in the community is important, so we could also encourage new members to vote and comment if they get "civil duty and contributor etc." within a set time like 6 months? Just a rough idea.

      • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2016 - 12:56

        Something like:

        • $10 for find badges
        • $25 for silver badges
        • $50 for find badges

        Though people could sign up, vote up 100 deals, take the money and never show up on the site again.

        • coolstorybro on 06/06/2016 - 13:05
          +1

          Maybe we could combine certain badges together before obtaining reward? I don't think the rewards need to be large like $25+. It just need to be enough to motivate people.
          perhaps like this:
          Civil duty + Commenter = $10
          Comp Addict = $5
          First post wonder = $10
          Contributor = $10
          Store fans 1st badge = $5, 2nd badge = $10, 3rd badge = $15, 4th badge = $20, the rest capped at $20?

        • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2016 - 13:07

          @coolstorybro: They just can't be too easy.

        • coolstorybro on 06/06/2016 - 13:15
          +1

          @ClipIt: I agree.
          Here are some of the badges member count:
          Civil duty - 28
          Commenter - 23
          Store fan - 15 different members (44 badge in total)
          Comp Addict - 4

          It's pretty easy to vote 100 deals, so it's pretty surprising that only 28 members have this badge when there are hundreds (perhaps thousands??) of members..

        • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2016 - 13:16
          +1

          @coolstorybro:

          there are hundreds (perhaps thousands??) of members..

          Total number of users: 1342 (134 logged in last 24 hours, 370 last 30 days)

        • coolstorybro on 06/06/2016 - 13:18
          +1

          @ClipIt: That means only ~2.1% of total members have the badge for voting 100 post and ~7.6% of members who last logged in 30 days. Not that many.

    • Sam91 on 06/06/2016 - 21:37
      +2

      You could add a prize for the most popular deal from a new member (joined the same week). Most people wouldn't expect to receive anything, but if they get a prize out of nowhere they might hang around and continue to contribute.

      An example would be this deal. A new member comes out with one of the most popular deals ever. Unfortunately as clipit has mentioned, the Sunday thing meant they only got 3rd, but that's another story.

    • techhit on 12/07/2016 - 18:00

      Here's my 2c…

      Can we stop warehouse free delivery codes (to a lesser extent), junk food (KFC, Pizza, Burger King) and fuel discounts posts from being eligible for the weekly prize draws? These vouchers come up almost every week, and they have their own Wiki pages already.

      I don't know of anyone who rushes out to buy junk food just cos there's a voucher available. That's not what I deem to be a "good deal". To me, a good deal is something I wouldn't normally buy because it's normally too expensive, but now worth buying cos of a significant saving…. Or something I've been in the market to buy, and is now on special.

      Rarely do free-shipping, junk food, and fuel deals make the front page of HUKD or Ozbargain, so why are they so popular here? The way I see it, these types of posts are the ones that get significant upvotes (in the absence of any other 'real' deals). And it's just a matter of someone catching on and subscribing to newsletters and scrambling to post the deal first.

      Maybe it just reflects what the community really wants… Or maybe it's just a reflection that shopping in New Zealand sucks and everything is expensive. All I can say is, thank god for Amazon, eBay and Asian retailers (everbuying, gearbest, zapals, aliexpress etc) that ship to New Zealand. The only time I look forward to shopping in NZ is on Boxing Day (Last year's $24 Nespresso machine was an AMAZING buy). Other than that, the shopping here is pretty dire.

      /End of rant

      • Jay on 12/07/2016 - 19:11
        +1

        Not in disagreement, but would ask if there are really that many other deals around anyway. If there were, suspect they would be overshadowing those deals anyway. If nothing else, they keep the site cycling over with regular fresh content and page views.

      • [Deactivated] on 13/07/2016 - 10:45
        +1

        Can we stop warehouse free delivery codes (to a lesser extent), junk food (KFC, Pizza, Burger King) and fuel discounts posts from being eligible for the weekly prize draws? These vouchers come up almost every week, and they have their own Wiki pages already.

        I actually haven't seen any Warehouse Free Delivery Codes for a few weeks, KFC & Burger King coupons come up monthly not every week and I only do a monthly Domino's post. What Wiki pages are there? There was once one for warehouse free delivery codes but it is no longer updated.

        Rarely do free-shipping, junk food, and fuel deals make the front page of HUKD or Ozbargain, so why are they so popular here? The way I see it, these types of posts are the ones that get significant upvotes (in the absence of any other 'real' deals).

        What? I'm not sure about HUKD but here are some examples form OzBargain:

        And it's just a matter of someone catching on and subscribing to newsletters and scrambling to post the deal first.

        Thats how it is with most deals, infact with KFC and Burger King coupons emails aren't sent out. Domino's deals are even harder though.

        It's up to users what wins the weekly draw, you don't have to vote on deals.

        • techhit on 13/07/2016 - 11:44

          No, but it is indicative of the "quality" (Yes, I know that is subjective) of posts here. Like I said, I don't have the answer and can't speak for the shopping habits of what Kiwi shoppers are truly looking of, or whether it's just a general lack of good deals in general. I subscribe to many newsletters that offer a promotions, but given the lack of votes/interest/comments/clicks from the likes of retailers like ComputerLounge, Farmers, Playtech, Toyco, Toy World etc, so I've stopped posting those deals. I can only assume that people aren't interested in these offers.

          The only other types of deals that generate a lot of interest are offers available from overseas stores that ship to NZ, and quite often these are reposts from OzB.

          Like I said… I don't have the answers, and I don't know what can be done to improve the situation. But it's obvious that a relatively small number of users (and the small population of NZ in general) is severely hindering this site's potential. It's not a criticism of the site by any means. It's a great site, and the only one of it's kind here. The posting rewards is a great way of spreading the word through word of mouth, but perhaps we could forego the weekly prize draws and have that money directed towards paid targeted advertising on google ads or facebook etc. Having more users can only be a good thing, which in turn will mean more posts/participation.

        • Sam91 on 13/07/2016 - 13:40

          @techhit:

          I agree, there's definitely some good deals that go unnoticed for whatever reason, so they're not really worth posting.

          In my opinion, there is a lack of voting in the new deals section, so it's down to a few users whether or not your deal escapes. So it's very easy for a good deal to die in there and never get to the front page. Maybe each new deal could get a brief amount of exposure on the front page. Obviously you'd limit it to one new deal on the front page only, and that slot just gets rotated every hour or so. Just an idea : P

        • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2016 - 16:48
          +1

          @Sam91:

          Maybe each new deal could get a brief amount of exposure on the front page.

          Already if a deal reaches 2 or 3 votes quickly it will reach the front page. Also the time in between deals being posted isn't even and sometimes no deals are posted at all for a day. Then if a crappy deal was posted the day before it would be on the front page for a whole day.

        • Sam91 on 14/07/2016 - 17:53

          @ClipIt:

          That's interesting, I didn't know how it works. I just thought it was 4 votes and it reaches the front page. Fair point, I guess you could give each new deal a maximum of an hour, and if there are no new deals, then there's no new deals on the front page. We just need to encourage people to vote for new deals somehow. An example would be this deal. He posted it with 2 hours remaining, by the time it got to the front page it had probably expired.

          There's one thing we can definitely agree on, more people need to vote : )

      • Dunno on 13/07/2016 - 12:57

        It's making people aware of the offers, if people didn't like the junk food posts etc they wouldn't vote for them or have a 100+ page thread on gpforums dedicated to pizza store deals.

        • techhit on 13/07/2016 - 13:50

          It's a gaming forum… Gamers eat shit food (and yes, I'm a gamer too). So what do you expect? A lot of people who have heard about this site are from geekzone/gpforums.

          This site needs to appeal to more than just gamers.

          Do you not understand my point? It's about broadening the user base, and doing more to encourage the diversification of posts.

        • [Deactivated] on 13/07/2016 - 14:59
          -1

          @techhit:

          It's a gaming forum… Gamers eat shit food (and yes, I'm a gamer too).

          I'm not a gamer and I eat Pizza

        • techhit on 13/07/2016 - 17:41

          I'm an avid movie fan and I eat steak

  • Jay on 06/06/2016 - 15:29
    +5

    I know I stopped trying to post. I got slapped by a long term member for posting a deal that they were about to. It was unpleasant, so never bothered again after that.

    Similarly, if I found an error in a post, or some aspect of the deal had changed (eg. online course availability) I used to post a comment about it. This editorialising was so poorly received that I don't bother to do that any more either.

    The post voting system is also a bit off. Some deals attract a lot of clickthroughs, but get few votes. Others, visa versa. The post vote doesn't always seem to accurately reflect interest in a deal. Comment voting almost seems superfluous. Gets used so little that doesn't do much more than a way to acknowledge someone's reply without having to say anything.

    Comes back to an earlier comment. Deciding if you want to build an inclusive community, or a Boys Only club. You want more participation, encourage nice playing in the sandpit.

    • Wellington on 06/06/2016 - 16:23
      +2

      I must admit that I agree with a lot of what you have said here Jay. I almost think that having posting rewards has caused some members to go a bit overboard, getting upset when someone posts a deal before them, or posting a deal without any information in the body just so they get their post in first, and then fixing it later. I can think of a few times recently where some members have had a little rant in the comments after someone posts a deal before them.

      People need to remember that the point of this website is to share the great deals together. If some members treated Cheapies like a friendly community instead of a competition it'd be a lot more productive, and pleasant for everyone.

      One thing I think we could maybe do to fix this would be limiting the number of times a member could win an posting prize in a month, for example only being able to win 1 week a month. This would encourage more people to post and lower the levels of members posting deals solely with the goal of getting a prize.

      As for the voting system, I don't think it is perfect, but I'm not 100% sure what could be done to improve it either.

      I'd also like to apologise for any ill-minded comments towards you from anyone, I know that some of the deals you have posted have benefited me :)

      • Jay on 06/06/2016 - 16:38
        +3

        Thanks Wellington. No need for any apologies. Not bothered.

        Many of the folk I work with try hard to document the 'customer journey' as part of their product/service development processes. So simply providing some experiential detail here for that purpose, not to have a whinge.

        I think the dual posting issue is a valid one for both competing posters. I can understand the frustration, since it does take some time and effort to set up a deal post, especially with suitable additional details and links.

        So the issue is more about the transparency of the deal queue rather than necessarily just competitiveness.

        Perhaps if there was a way to create a transparent deal queue so at least others can see if someone is about to post a deal. Something like a simple title indicating the post-in-progress and an embargo period of say 30 mins. Nothing posted in the allotted time frame, others can bump up the queue.

        Perhaps might even help people collaborate on putting up a deal together. (and sharing any associated reward?)

        Guess what we really need is the equivalent to a Github/Trello. A transparent work area/sandbox where others can see work in progress and offer to collaborate if appropriate?

        • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2016 - 16:50

          I think it would be a good idea to have a small notice saying something like: 'one other person is posting to this domain'. No blocks at all, just a notice.

      • Jay on 06/06/2016 - 16:53
        +2

        One thing I think we could maybe do to fix this would be limiting the number of times a member could win an posting prize in a month

        Don't really have a problem with someone winning too often per se. On the basis that some folk may have more time/resources to devote to tracking down deals. They've set themselves up with the email and site subscriptions to be able to monitor new deal flow.

        That actually provides a service to the community which I have no problem with being rewarded. Provided it can be done without discouraging participation from new deal brokers. Perhaps this is where more creative use of the badge or flair system could be used to improve recognition?

        I tend think that the simple relaying of deals from the Oz site should almost be treated as an affiliate or referral status. Just seems far less effort and creativity involved than sourcing a deal direct from its origin?

    • Moderatorneil on 07/06/2016 - 04:49

      The post voting system is also a bit off. Some deals attract a lot of clickthroughs, but get few votes.

      Clicks are counted for guests and members. Votes are only counted for members. There is also a lot of traffic coming in through search engines which often skew results. Take for example Subway Sub of The Day: 6" Subs for $4.90 Each. 8 votes but 5851 clicks. This is due to that page coming up high for Subway searches.

      OzBargain is the same, in fact in our monthly stats post, we track the deal with highest clicks without making the front page. For April, that was Nike & ASICS Running Shoes for Men/Women $69.99 (Was $99.99) @ Anaconda. 9 votes, 3165 clicks. The 5th most popular deal by votes was Uber: $20 off Your First Ride - New Users & VIC Only with 231 votes but only 572 clicks. In that case (at a guess), it's possibly because you need to enter the code in the app so clicking through is not necessary.

      Just wanted to say thanks for all of the feedback. With such a small community, a positive and inclusive environment is what we are striving for while also giving members a chance to give feedback on deals. After all, we are all here for the deals where votes and comments can determine if posts are a bargain or not.

      As for issues relating to other members, I have PMed Jay and will be PMing the other party so we can nip this in the bud.

      • Jay on 07/06/2016 - 14:50
        +4

        Informative response, Neil. As per PM, just want to re-iterate I have no issue with any other members or the way the site is managed. Info was only to provide feedback on customer experience. Not to have a whinge or take a swipe at anyone else.

        For the most part, it is a social media issue. Text lacks the nuances of speech and visual. It will always tend to come out sounding a bit harsher and clunky than any other medium.

        Emoticons can soften this a bit, but not much. It just behoves all of us to be aware of that and exercise some consideration of what we are messaging, why, and if our words adequately reflect our true intent? The occasional 'friendly wave over the garden fence' doesn't do any harm to keep the joy flowing.

        Not by any measure do I think this site or community is dysfunctional or broken. It rolls along quite well, with the odd bit of tweaking from time to time. Not sure what the longer term vision for the site is, but that's really a back-office discussion anyway.

        All good. Thanks Neil.

        P.S. Suggest that when we are done with this current discussion, most of this can be deleted? It is clogging up the Prize Announcement thread with no real need to be here long term. Cheers!

    • [Deactivated] on 07/06/2016 - 14:19
      +2

      post voting system is also a bit off

      Can't see any problem with the voting system. Some deals get more click throughs because they look like great deals but aren't when you click. I might also click through a deal more than once.

      Comment voting almost seems superfluous

      That will change as more users join, also it's a perfectly good way to acknowledge a comment without replying don't have any problem with that myself.

  • ModeratorKiwi on 07/06/2016 - 14:14

    Update on the rewards process:

    After reading through the comments above, and taking on board some user feedback, we have decided to implement a change to the competition cycle.

    The announcement will now be delayed by 1 day (Posted Tuesday am, instead of Monday am) to give deals posted on Sunday an extra day to gather votes. This does not change the period within which deals are included, it it still 0000 (12:00am) Monday - 2359 (11:59pm) Sunday, but there will simply be a delay in the judging and announcement to allow extra time.

    • [Deactivated] on 07/06/2016 - 14:46
      +1

      Might be worth updating the OP.

  • scotty on 14/06/2016 - 01:47
    +2

    13 June, 2016

    As Shaw has announced last week, the vote calculation and announcement for our weekly competition is delayed for 24 hours to account for deals that have been posted on Sunday. Those are the winners from last week:

    Congratulations!

  • scotty on 21/06/2016 - 00:45
    +2

    20 June, 2016

    Weekly competition prize announcement — here are the winners:

    Congratulations!

  • scotty on 28/06/2016 - 00:28
    +1

    27 June, 2016

    Last competition announcement for the first half of this year — here are the winners:

    Congratulations — especially to CLlipIt for grabbing all the most voted bargains last week and for winning every week this month.

    • [Deactivated] on 28/06/2016 - 06:13

      Thanks scotty! Not many good bargains last week hoping to see some better one's this week.

  • scotty on 05/07/2016 - 00:23
    +2

    4 July 2016

    Winners for our weekly competition are:

    1. asmcar for $50 Warehouse Gift Card with Credit Card Application
    2. Wellington for Free Touch Voicemail Pro Lifetime Subscription
    3. ClipIt for 10c/Litre off at AA Smartfuel

    Congratulations!

    • asmcar on 05/07/2016 - 00:30
      +3

      Thanks Scotty,and well done to Wellington and ClipIt too!

      • Wellington on 05/07/2016 - 09:12
        +2

        Thanks all. :)

  • scotty on 12/07/2016 - 01:32
    +1

    11 July 2016

    Winners for our weekly competition are:

    Congratulations!

    • coolstorybro on 13/07/2016 - 23:18
      +1

      Thanks Scotty! Congrats to Techhit & zajnic!

      • zajnic on 14/07/2016 - 22:07
        +2

        Thank you and Congrats too!

  • techhit on 12/07/2016 - 08:54
    +2

    First time winning first prize! Thanks!!

    • [Deactivated] on 19/07/2016 - 13:14

      Thanks Scotty! Especially big congrats to asmcar for posting 7 Amazon Prime Day deals this week.

  • scotty on 26/07/2016 - 00:40
    +4

    25 July 2016

    It's time for the announcement again. Winners from last week are:

    Congratulations!

    • Huntakillaz on 26/07/2016 - 08:21
      +2

      Yay! Thanks Scotty :) Congrats Jay & Asmcar too!

    • [Deactivated] on 26/07/2016 - 09:19
      +1

      Great to see more deals with 20 or 30 votes!

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