Can Latest Deals Be Honest about Using "Bots" to Post sponsored "Deals"
Latest Deals
It's been obvious for a while (to many of us ) but has it now gone too far ?
I post deals , if someone has a question I'll answer it as I know my deal . Ask a question on their deal to a LD Hunter - never a reply !
I realise Latest Deals are trying to automate everything to pay for our Amazon vouchers , fair enough . Sponsored deals etc are fair enough as they are clearly stated ( but still gain unfeasible numbers of "likes" for a non deal )
My worry is That Latest Deals are taking the Mick out of our less savvy members (who believe every deal posted is a "Deal" ! )
Please LD at least add "sponsored deal" to the multitude of non deals/vouchers posted by your "Hunter/Bots " ? " You can fool some of the people all of the time / All of the people some of the time " .
Perhaps Latest Deals might realise they have gone too far to soon in taking advantage of their less savvy members ?
I appreciate that Latest Deals will allow this "critical " post to run as I know they are always open to feedback (Good and Bad ) 
Good luck for the topic I might join some other day just want to see others opinion first thanks for reminding amazon voucher mine still in important folder didn’t check after that 
take care 
Please comment honestly - That is the point of the post , Must admit I'm not shy at expressing my opinions , as many LD members know . I'm sure LD founders love our opinions /feedbacks even if negative as they aspire to improve the site . Don't be a "shrinking violet" ? Say what you think and I'm sure note will be taken and the site improved . Why is everyone so shy of expressing their opinion ? Or maybe just happy to carry on garnering points towards their next Amazon voucher ?
Golfforall I am helpless
i might quit posting deals in future.take care I hope this topic will stay
Jasmine111 The Latest Deals team love feedback , only by getting that can they "tweak" their business model to satisfy the majority (posters for points) and the minority , genuine members like me .
I have only ever posted genuine deals (and never by click and paste, all typed out ) , most go by the wayside , but at least I have tried (though a lot less recently 
) .
Yes I'm getting disillusioned but it appears Latest Deals are happy for my input but I accept it's a business decision that the "Bots" masquerading as real people ? posting 100 "deals" a day fool the majority of members . As a supporter of my fellow members TBH I find it unacceptable .
Well I never get reply off them either plus they take deals from the flash section which I posted about today. Not only them other members are doing it too so it’s a duplicate
Surely that's what LD is about ? Sharing Deals ? As you know when I share a deal I respond to any questions on the deal , as I know you do . Members can trust us as we obviously know our deals . I'm afraid when "Latest Deals Hunter " is put as the poster surely an element of trust is implied ?
Should we not just replace "Latest Deals Hunter " with "Sponsored Post " ? would that be more honest ?
Or perhaps members are happy to believe anything posted on here is a deal ? Shock Horror I have news for you !
Ann1984 Sadly I don't believe they are employees ! They are "Bots " fair enough -why don't Latest Deals be up front about it ? They present "Deals?" don't need to be paid or fed - why not be honest about it ? Very disappointed with Latest Deals .
I think there may be some confusion regarding FLASH DEALS where the deals are admittedly posted by the vendors (must be at least half price - not sure if the vendors have to pay). And the deals posted by LD hunter. (deals I presumed were posted by a member or members of LD staff).
You still believe "LD Hunters" are real people ? Ask one a question on their deal (as I have many times ) - don't wait up for an answer 
Golfforall I do actually believe they're real people, the reason that they didn't reply to you could be that they were too busy looking for more deals.
This could be an automated message they MIGHT think of sending.
"Sorry I'm busy right now - but would be happy to ignore you some other time",
(I like to help)
ADDED BY EDIT
I hadn't seen the reply (below) from Kelsey when I wrote the above.
I think they're real people rather than bots but it's true that they never reply or give likes to comments. Most of their deals are duplicates of the deals already posted by real members.
I have never purchased anything from these deals, I just don't trust them to offer a good value, I prefer to check real users's deals but still will do my own research before purchasing.
Morning 
Hopefully I can clarify a few things about our Latest Deal hunters -
They are real people - honest! Each profile is unique, human and very much a real person.
We hired the LD Hunters following community feedback that members wanted more deal stacks and great deals from Amazon. All of these deals have to meet certain criteria to be shared. None of the deals are sponsored posts or are shared because of a relationship with a brand or retailer. They’re only shared as they’ve hit a set of criteria that should, theoretically, mean they’re a decent deal. (eg, cheapest ever price, at least x% off, etc). Whilst we may earn commission on these deals (as we potentially do on any deal shared on Latest Deals) it isn’t a driving factor in whether or not they’re shared - it’s purely that we want to try and have all the best deals in one place.
The LD hunters do use structured templates in their deal posts to try and make sure each post includes all the relevant info e.g. discount codes, delivery costs, and product details. This can however make the written style of the post seem repetitive (and I can understand why the “robot” alarm bells may therefore be ringing!)
It sounds like perhaps the criteria needs to be tweaked or improved for deal selection - something we’re always trying to improve. Specifically re: commenting - as employees of LD the hunters are currently only asked to share, rather than comment (or reply). The idea behind this was to allow honest critique/input from members of LD rather than staff. However, having typed that “out loud” I now appreciate that it perhaps doesn’t gel too well with the community element of LD. I’ll speak with the wider team about how we could improve that!
As a general heads up, where LD has robots or automated tech to try and help the community we always shout about it! For example, if you search for anything on LD you will see price comparison results at the top. That is all powered by software. If you go to some retailer voucher pages, there are vouchers found by tech (which are not shown elsewhere on site). If you use our contact support chat, that is powered by software. For the sake of clarity - we have absolutely no desire to try and dupe or deceive members with robots pretending to be humans. We always aim to be honest! Even if you ask our support chat “what are you?” it will reply, “I am a digital assistant created by LatestDeals.co.uk”.
I hope I’ve covered all the concerns (sorry if not!) I’ll try and respond to any follow up comments but I’m technically off this week decorating my house so may be a bit slow 
(PS. This is also why the points for likes change sadly didn't make it out last week!)
Thanks for replying , a very diplomatic answer if I may say so. If I could pick up on one crucial point - x% off 
. Off what ? a totally made up unfeasible price ! I always advise members not to be swayed by huge discounts (whether it be a straight discount or a voucher ) , but to know the "value " of an item .
Many members and indeed deal posters get star struck by massive discounts /vouchers off a totally ridiculous "original price " when a few seconds comparing with identical items on Amazon /EBay would reveal the true "value" of the item ?
For far too long we have members garnering points by randomly posting Amazon "deals " always x% off a totally made up price ! Which are obviously not deals in anyone's book .
How can we rely on deals on here when , the current favourite "muscle massager" identical but for the brand stamp is posted many times a day at varying prices/discounts /vouchers ? Sadly several times a day by "Latest Deals Hunters " (often duplicates) .
Latest Deals is trusted by many members , would it not be possible to ensure that the "Hunters " do not post identical items at different prices/discounts/vouchers every day ?
It's not about the "quantity " of deals it should be about the quality and your "hunters" if they are indeed "real people" must surely realise they are posting identical Amazon marketplace deals several times a day ? Same applies to resistance bands , electric razors , haircutting sets etc etc .
I know you listen and often act on criticism of elements of the site . I have long been a critic of those who post Amazon marketplace "non deals "(always with unfeasible discounts off a totally made up price ). Yet now your employees are doing it in abundance ?
Perhaps your "Deal Hunters " could be advised to check the "value" of an item before posting as a "Deal" with *** % off ? Many members rely and trust their credibility .
I would never dream of posting a deal with a false discount off a made up price , how can we expect members to abide by that standard when your own "employees ? " do so every single day ?
I find quite a few of the deals from 'deal hunters' expire so quickly. Ive clicked 'go to deal' seconds after its posted and the promotion or code isn't available anymore. Its like a one time promotion for only 1 purchase - 1st come 1st served kind of thing.
I'm sorry about this. Many of the deals our colleagues look for are "deal stacks". This is one of the most popular alerts members subscribe to on our Latest Deals app. (Read: How to sign up for instant deal alerts). We never know how much stock there is available, so some deals do finish quickly.
PinkElephant26 it’s because the deal posted have reached thousands on social media and telegram I can’t give out sources name not allowed. And yeah they do expire quickly
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