Tech bargains: Get a feel for daily deals

It wasn’t too long ago that online shopping was still a novelty for most people, with many deterred by fears about credit card security and generally uncomfortable buying goods without touching them first.

These days, Australian shoppers are buying so much online that physical retailers have been notoriously on the ropes – desperately discounting, and embracing measures such as customer loyalty programs, to stem the flow of money away from their high-rent physical outlets. As the rapid demise of booksellers Borders and Angus & Robertson showed all too clearly this year, consumers value the convenience – not to mention, the discounts – afforded by online shopping. And they'll go wherever the bargains are.

Little wonder there has been an explosion in daily-deals discount sites, which offer extremely low prices on one specific item, or a few, every day. These items are often overstock or excess inventory discounted to get it out of distributors' warehouses; parallel imports offered at prices way below the local equivalent; or refurbished goods that vendors just want to get off their hands.


In a significant proportion of cases, the goods on offer are technology-related: market-leading site CatchOfTheDay.com.au, which recently attracted an $80m investment from James Packer, almost always has at least one piece of technology on offer; regular clearance sales see products like iPhone/iPad accessories and all manner of cable selling for under $10, and CatchOfTheDay recently ran a one-day shopping event offering huge discounts on soon-to-be-superseded Samsung plasma, LED and LCD TVs.

True to expectations, online shoppers are frequenting the sites in droves: in May, marketing analyst firm Experian reported that visits to such sites by Australian shoppers had increased 1,000% compared with a year earlier, and that shoppers spent 153% longer looking at the sites. Combined with group-buying ventures like Spreets, JumpOnIt, Cudo and Scoopon, they're contributing to a market that jumped from $63m in sales last year to $400m this year. There are so many such sites that ventures like Love One Day Sales (www.loveonedaysales.com.au) have emerged with the sole purpose of inventorying them all.

Daily-deals sites aren't exactly new: long-running online retailer eStore, for one, started offering its MegaDeal of the Day about three years ago as a way to stay in more regular contact with customers. More than 100,000 customers now get daily emails advertising daily discounts designed to keep them coming back to the site.

"One of the main problems we had as an online retailer was that when people go to a store, they get a shopping experience that involves at least half an hour," says CEO Lorenzo Coppa. "Whereas if you ring us up or go online, you only spend two minutes. I needed a way to get in front of customers on a daily basis without annoying them. Vendors always have some product they want to move volumes of, and it's possible for us to get a lower cost on physical products that we're not even carrying in stock."

But which sites offer the best deals? The answer here may be "all of them", since deals change by day. However, we've scoured the Net and have compiled a list of ten sites – including some of the deals on offer on our sample day – where you're most likely to snag a good tech deal. Follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook, download their smartphone apps, or subscribe to their email lists (many offer special subscriber-only deals) – then get ready to save big!

Catch of the Day
Catch of the Day offers several tech items daily – either through its main offer, or as one of several 'Small Fish'. With a dizzying array of tech and non-tech products it can resemble a department-store clearance sale, but there are great deals on a range of often brand-name tech products.
Related to: Scoopon.com.au (group buying)
Recently spotted deals:
Kensington iPad extra-battery case: rrp $149.95, selling price $49.95
Sennheiser MX 980 Earphones: rrp $399.95, selling price $194.30
Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse: rrp $79, selling price $49.95

Zazz
Long-running Zazz specialises in gadgets and gizmos, ranging from solar-powered Bluetooth hands free units to docking stations, SD cards, and cheap HDMI cables. It sells loads of USB-connected Santas and other novelties around Christmas. Many of its products are from less well-known brands, but many others are incredibly useful gear you won't find in your local stores. Zazz is well worth visiting regularly, as its discounts are significant and you're likely to find something you need.
Recently spotted deals:
Gecko Soundbase iPhone dock: rrp $179, selling price $58.95
16GB Class 10 SD card: rrp $56.88, selling price $19.95
Cassette tape to USB recorder; rrp $60, selling price $29.95

1-Day
1-Day offers lifestyle and tech deals, with a simple interface and familiar brand names. Also offers gift vouchers.
Related to: torpedo7.com (clothing), 1-daytee (T-shirts)
Recently spotted:
Oregon scientific blood pressure monitor: rrp $129.95, selling price $24.99

Only Online
Don't let the dizzying range of perfumes, manchester or sunglasses confuse you: there are some great tech deals here for the finding. Only Online is a conventional e-tailer with a broad range of products and relationships with a range of A-list tech suppliers. Daily deals aren't always tech-related, but there are good prices all around.
Recently spotted:
DVico TVIX HD SlimS1 HD PVR: rrp $529, selling price $369.95
Bluetooth USB mini dongle: rrp $18.95, selling price $5.95

Daily Gizmo
This stripped-down, gizmo-focused site may not offer pillows or beauty treatments, but its one focus – offering great deals on all manner of tech – is sure to appeal to many. Parent site Gizmomart.com.au has an even broader range of tech.
Recently spotted:
1TB Iomega Select bus-powered portable hard drive: rrp $199, selling price $94.95

DealMe
Combines local group-buying offers on cooking classes, beauty treatments and the like with national deals that are often tech-related.
Recently spotted:
21.6in HD LCD TV, DVD and PVR: rrp $299, selling price $199
Sanyo video camera: rrp $479, selling price $239

eStore
Online retailer eStore offers a range of goods and has offered a Mega Deal of the Day for several years.
Recently spotted:
HP OfficeJet 6500a multifunction inkjet: rrp $299, selling price $197

Dino Direct
Dino Direct offers all sorts of merchandise, but offers a Daily Deals selection that may well entice your wallet . Set your currency and see what kind of discounts you can find.
Recently spotted:
Magic digital pen for entering written notes into iPad, iPhone, netbooks: rrp $247.50, selling price $99
3.5inch touch screen mobile phone (Android powered): rrp $254.31, selling price $122
180 lumens waterproof headlamp: rrp $25.72, selling price $9.52

Mwave
Mwave is a conventional online e-tailer, but like many such e-tailers offers a daily-deals subsite, called Bargain24, that's loaded with tech deals.
Recently spotted:
ASUS K52F-SX207C notebook (i3 CPU, 320GB, 4GB RAM, 15.6in display): rrp $799, selling price $549
WD WD3000HLFS 10K RPM hard drive: rrp $379, selling price $158
Samsung 24in LCD monitor: rrp $599, selling price $299

Sites like All the Deals, Everyday Deals, Deal Sucker and Cheap Cheap Deals are deals aggregation sites. This means they do the hard work for you – scouring a range of other daily-deals and group-buying sites and combining their daily deals into an easy-to-scour matrix.