'10% OFF' & 'FREE SHIPPING' alone does not make a deal HOT!

tenaza · 06-21-2008, 11:15 AM

In my opinion, '10% OFF' or even 'FREE SHIPPING' is not a HOT DEAL! My thoughts are 25% or more off (unless the site is overcharging by 25% compared to industry).

I see alot of NOT-SO-HOT deals cluttering up the HOT DEALS section.

One answer would be a coupons and codes section . . .

What are your thoughts???

Amanda · 06-23-2008, 01:09 PM

Sometimes it really makes the difference on whether or not I purchase something from a site so I don't think they should be banned or that they are "cluttering" up the Hot Deals section. A coupons and codes section would certainly be helpful but banning them from Hot Deals might mean missing out on a great code.

I know lots of people that won't shop online without free shipping or wait until a particular site has free shipping before they order something - I wouldn't rule it out as being important.

Wayne · 06-23-2008, 05:05 PM

Although 10% or free shipping might not sound like alot or a Hot Deal, it could be the difference between going with one seller over the other, especially if they have some sales going on. I do agree that another section should be created to categorized 'coupon' deals so that it may be easier to search.

siliconjon · 06-24-2008, 02:42 PM

In general I agree: percentage off sales are complete gimmicks most of the time. You can charge 100% more than everyone else and have a 50% off sale and still be the worst price in the market.

I tend to prefer more specific deals, but the gimmick marketing works for a lot of people, and sometimes it can even make for a good deal. Though without a few examples it does leave the major footwork up to the shopper to see if such a discount can be applied to make for a real deal.

Perhaps a seperation of coupons/sales/store-wide promotions and specific hot deals would look nice in seperate forums.

RicheemXX · 06-25-2008, 11:15 PM

My personal thoughts on this:

1. I agree whole heartily that we should have a coupons section, on the same note, we shouldn't have a need for a bunch of new posts for ongoing promotion or sites that continually post the same general coupons IE the Restaurant.com threads (now an all in one for June Restaurant.com June Coupon Codes)

2. What makes a deal "hot" is really varied by personal opinion, FS on some deals can be very hot. Case in point a recent PC case purchase, it wasn't on sale but newegg finally offered FS - saved me $20+ that is a fairly sweet deal in my book.

3. "Not so hot deals" - I've seen a lot more of these popping up this month than previous months. IMO just because a deal is on another deal site or a daily deal doesn't make it hot! QUALITY should be the focus.

4. Again in my personal opinion, all the recent "up to % off" threads aren't really hot deals, and IMO look a lot like filler. If its a great sale and there are good deals in there then we should be adding more substance than just the link. At least add in a couple of good examples of what you see as a "hot deal".

I've seen a few deals that go to an every day outlet sale, clearance section or open box section and no other info, if its a one time sale that's different but almost every site on the web has their own outlet or clearance section. The idea, at least IMO, is to find the deals hidden in those sections someone might overlook.

One thing to keep in mind, as SJ said, just because a site says 40-50% off doesn't mean they really are. Overstock, Amazon and several other sites advertise everything as huge savings, that doesn't mean those prices are big sale prices (heck most the time they aren't even decent prices).

Wayne · 06-26-2008, 08:45 AM

In reference to RicheemXX's point #1, what are eveyone's thought on how a new thread should be Titled so that all new or ongoing promotions with that site post continuously? Sometimes i'm not sure to continue on a thread if the promotion is slightly different from the original, say, if originally there are coupon codes but now they may be offering a BOGO or twofer, or even free shipping. Or should this be left up to the moderator?

RicheemXX · 06-26-2008, 12:26 PM

To me if its a site like Restaurant.com, then creating an all in one monthly thread should be fine. If there is a screaming hot deal, say 75-80% off compared to their typical 50-60% then a new thread would probably be good.

Dell, is another good example, they continually have some of the same basic types of promotions and not every deal is a hot one. So we did an all in one thread that stayed updated with all the current coupons (We'll need to start another one for July). Anyone looking for dell coupons/deals can go straight to that single thread and find tons of coupons. But once in awhile there were some extra hot deals that got placed into their own thread, which I think is the ideal way to go.

Wayne · 06-26-2008, 12:35 PM

That's cool.

Amanda · 06-27-2008, 05:23 AM

It's good that we're talking about this. I'm thinking harder now about how to work my posts.

I too sometimes wonder if it's better to post a new price on an old thread or to start a new one. In respect to the original poster, I usually post under the original thread, but wonder if it gets read by anyone looking for a deal.

Wayne · 06-27-2008, 02:12 PM

I think it does. It gets placed as a latest post anyway. If the deal is close to a prior post, I usually try to post under the original thread.