The websites that help you hunt down bargains

Everyone loves a bargain, right? Well you don’t have to look too far to find one. Over one 15-hour period this week I received these savings alerts to my personal email:

1. Australia Post – Free shipping with Shipster
2. Ozsale – Free delivery one time only
3. Fishpond.com.au – save 37 per cent
4. Jetstar – Fares to Perth from $105
5. Kogan Mobile – Free 16GB 30 Day plan
6. Camera House – Canon Spring cash back deal
7. Vacations To Go – Save 68 per cent
8. Murray Princess Summer Cruising – Save 25 per cent
9. City Beach – Save on sunnies
10. Ozstock – Home wall double power supply deal
11. Millers – 40 per cent off sale
12. Noni B – 25 per cent off
13. Rivers – 40 per cent off
14. Free Samples Australia – Ebooks for free
15. RedBalloon – Spend $250 get a $100 gift voucher

That equates to roughly 8,736 notifications a year. But how do you work out what are genuine offers and what are just designed to get you in? Here’s some tips:

1. Firstly, do you trust the business sending the email?
2. Have you done business with them before or know of someone (who you trust) who has saved money with them?
3. Are they well established?

In a world where we are bombarded with advertising it can be difficult to wade through it all and who has the time anyway?

I’m a member of a Facebook page in my local community and every day someone on there is asking for a recommendation for a local tradie or service, proving the strength of word-of-mouth.

There is also strength in numbers and over 300,000 FiftyUp Club members have shown us that Aussies want to be heard and rewarded for the loyal customers we are.

One of my colleagues here at the Fiftyup Club alerted me to the OzBargain site, a community of on-line shoppers in Australia. How does it work?

1. Register an account.

2. Submit new bargain.

3. Vote for deals you like or dislike.

4. Discuss deals with other shoppers.

The other good thing about OzBargain is that if sellers put bad bargains on there, they will get negative feedback from the OzBargain community. There is no charge to use the site – either for sellers or buyers – and it’s moderated by a small team of keen bargain hunters. I found everything from a Hot Wheels car to pool cleaners!

The number of bargain websites popping up around the world is staggering. Here are some of the big ones:

• USA – Slickdeals, DealNews
• Canada – RedFlagDeals
• UK – HotUKDeals, MoneySavingExpert
• New Zealand - ChoiceCheapies

Have you used any bargain websites? We’d love to hear your stories so we can share with the club!

Click here to listen to the interview with Neil Moreton from OzBargain