Sadly My Criticisms of Latest Deals Becoming a Voucher Earning Site Justified .
Latest Deals
I have often been critical on here that the majority of members are only on here to earn points by sheep liking popular deals and posting non deals in the shortest time possible .
I've known this for a while and often mentioned it (normally to abuse from the "posters for points " - falls on deaf ears I'm afraid ) .
I'll be honest I ONLY post deals which I believe are great deals and which will help members save money . I have also stated that any deal that doesn't happen to get 6 or 7 likes in the first 10 - 15 minutes then drops off the first page of "New " deals never to be seen again .
I know a good deal , I know a non deal and I also know and recognise a Scam (which I report and get taken down ) .
Now I posted a great deal tonight , https://www.latestdeals.co.uk/deals/echo-dot-latest-4th-gen-amazon-smart-plug-2999-amazon
Probably the best deal on any Amazon Echo device for months if not ever . But it did not get noticed on here , dropped off the "New" list into the abyss of the multitude of non deals never to be seen again .
Well it was seen by a member from a competing site , who posted it there (currently 650+ heat in under 3 hours ) .
My point : If you don't respect this site it makes it a "non deal" site and great deals will simply vanish into the abyss.
That deal is the best deal currently around yet missed by members on this site through being swamped by non deals posted purely for points -You can see the result !
Unlike many I don't post for the points , I post deals (maybe 5 - 10 a week ) to help members save money . I don't actually give a hoot about how many likes a deal gets .
Think about it members - Its your site - its a DEALS site - please respect it more .
Yes that is a good deal but I tend to use the search bar if looking for a certain item, not to over spend today has been all about Argos 
but I was to blame for that sadly but yep were fantastic deals I must pat myself on the back there
I rarely moan about individual deals as I know how it works on here , the deal doesn't get noticed in the first 15 minutes and it disappears for ever amongst all the non deals posted for points .
I just thought this deal proved the point . Whereas my beer deals or golf deals or mower deals may not be everyone's cup of tea an echo deal , ridiculously cheap must be of interest to most ?
I don't post for the points and I'm not bothered about likes but I just thought this one illustrates where this site fails .
Hundreds of members could have bought a quality £75 Christmas present (or even split it for 2 presents ) for £29 .
Its a Deals site ! Don't members realise they are ruining it for themselves and all other members by treating it as a voucher earning site ?
By the way the 30 cans of stella for £23 is still going on Amazon https://www.latestdeals.co.uk/deals/stella-artois-30-x-440-ml-tins-3-cases-10-2333-amazon !
Ann1984 The tins are back in stock again , anyway have a good trip . Ever thought about taking a tanker instead of the car ?
Golfforall we got the transit leaving car at home taking orders for any Welsh won’t any
Unfortunately, your topic will most likely get locked so I'd best get my point in now whilst I still can.
But I am in full agreement with you. There are indeed many good deals posted on here on a daily basis, but they get overlooked and don't receive anywhere near as much recognition that they deserve, whilst all the poor ones make it to the first page with over 100 likes. I know that what constitutes as being good or bad is to a certain extent subjective, but some people don't seem to know what the true definition of a deal is.
An example of what I believe to be a poor deal which was posted on here the other day was a multipack (4) of Twixes. It is normally around that price anyway in many supermarkets, and the fact that this particular one is a whopping 9 pence off (originally £1.34, now £1.25) has attracted over 160 likes.
But as you say, it's all for points.
My only purpose on here is to help people (its a club really ) . I post helpful and critical comments (the box of biscuits today for example ) . Looks like crisp box size but check the weights of the biscuits and its actually cunningly photographed and is about shoe box sized - about £3- £4 worth of biscuits for £5 Wow !
I don't think the thread will be locked provided we have a constructive discussion . The Founders are always looking for constructive comments even criticism .
I'm sure they are aware that they now have x million members but they must also be aware a good majority of those are just members to harvest the points and have no interest in the deals (apart from posting poor ones as quickly and with as little thought as possible ) !
Golfforall I think that good and bad will come from every deal site, but does have to serve to over a million members. I only tend to like Supermarket deals if are worth it for example Tesco recently have good club card price and on most stuff I wouldn’t look at before due to being too expensive. If someone posts a Amazon device then that day you will see about 20 different ones instead of a mentor updating the post to link to all which to me would be better instead of clogging up. Then they magically appear from curry’s Argos etc same price where again could be in all one post.
Like today now the studio one which Emma have given quick links but no your going to get over 10 now from studio.
Ann1984 Its nice we can move seamlessly from moans , to echoes, to nuts , to beers , to biscuits and to decorations !
Very true , I don't even try anymore . By the way be careful in that transit - the springs must be shot by now (oops nearly used a rude word then !) .
Golfforall it’s ok brand new only had 3 weeks early Xmas present for other half along with is toy car for big boys
Deals are subjective. I personally don't like, let's say, LOL (even the name sucks) toys yet others like them so.. whatever floats their boat.
Morning 
Feedback is always welcome! It doesn't even need to be particularly constructive (to be clear - this definitely is constructive, so thank you!). As long as it's polite and doesn't descend into abusive comments between members then I certainly wouldn't want to lock the topic.
It's all incredibly useful and interesting to read. I know I've said changes are coming on this front before and that they haven't materialised yet. I know I've apologised for the delay before and - sadly - I'm going to have to apologise again today. Sorry!
- We have plans to experiment changing the points system for liking (perhaps trialling removing it entirely).
- We also want to explore a way to reward a popular deal over a deal that gets shared and doesn't receive any likes. However, we'd never want to discourage people sharing so need to walk that line carefully.
- We're open to ideas to encourage members into the "New" section rather than the "Popular" section so that more deals are uncovered and reach the homepage.
- Whilst I would agree that deals are subjective I think there can be objective elements to them too. If a popular item is the cheapest it's ever been then that would suggest it's objectively a good deal (to me, at least!). We're exploring ways the LD team could identify these standout deals early and get them more exposure to the LD community. Ultimately we don't want people to miss out on cracking offers!
The better news I can share today is that we'll be actively looking for an additional tech person to join the team in the new year. Hopefully this will allow us to start cranking out new features and changes more regularly 
Whilst your post https://www.latestdeals.co.uk/deals/echo-dot-latest-4th-gen-amazon-smart-plug-2999-amazon for an Echo Dot & Smart Plug for £29.99 is undoubtedly a good deal, I am not surprised it's not received many 'likes' on LD.
What you may not have considered, is that essentially your post is too late.
Those people in the market for an Echo Dot would most likely have bought one at a hefty discount during the Black Friday / Cyber Week sales. Indeed there have been over a dozen posts for the Echo Dot (at under £30) on Latest Deals in the last month. One of my own posts for it received 170 likes, another just one! I'd say the market is mostly exhausted for now.
Another reason for the low popularity of your post could be that it links to the Glacier White Echo Dot on Amazon - it's the the only model of the three that isn't available for pre-Christmas delivery. On clicking through to the Amazon page, many people shopping for gifts will see 'In stock on December 31, 2020' and turn away. The Blue and Black models are still available for Christmas delivery but many people won't click that far to find that out.
To give your deal a better chance of being found by LD members using the search function, and a longer shelf life', I would suggest adding some more 'tags' to your post such as 'Alexa' and 'Speakers'
I did say that - A 4th gen echo dot at around the best discount available with the addition of an Amazon Smart Plug . The echo Dot wasn't the deal it was the "free " smart plug that made it a deal .
I am touched by your naive faith in LD members ! Lets face it the majority do not even read the comments or click through to the deal to read the details (including any P&P ) let alone read the reviews as I always do .
A typical example is the numerous chocolate and biscuit box deals posted on here that inevitably get well liked . If members actually clicked through to discover the size and quantity of the contents they would realise what a poor deal most of them are and really only a "deal" for housebound people . Like the £5 biscuit box that always gets well liked every time its reposted . A bit of trick photography that makes it look the size of a crisp box - but check the contents £3- £4 worth of biscuits .
Sorry Johnny the majority of members just click whichever deal is prominent for their 5 points . This was fine until a few months back , but it is now totally skewing the site and the much "liked" deals on the popular page are by no means the best deals on the site .
I say that having had quite a few deals up there which didn't deserve to be there , but surprisingly just got a few "likes" in the first 30 minutes and after that the "likes" are self accumulating .
You post loads of deals on here and don't tell me that you haven't noticed the same anomalies ?
Thanks for that Kelsey , its good to see you have your eye on the ball as always , We have conversed on this subject before and I appreciate any changes could have unintended consequences .
Now I realise deals are to a large part subjective , obviously , and who knows what makes a great deal ( I thought I did ! ) . I think there has to be a human element in it somewhere .
Too many members "like" just for the points and thus just "like" deals on the first page of the "New" page or the "Popular " page . Obviously they spend little time actually looking at or through the deals .
I really thought I'd found a deal that was "best price ever" by a country mile and on a universally popular item ? But as the "New" page fills up with "non deals " (most posted solely for points ) about every 20 minutes it went unnoticed (apart from someone on that other site !) and once it drops off the first page is probably only seen by those members actually searching for that item .. Needless to say on that other site it is one of the most popular deals of the week (heat over 1200 ) . Here 4 "likes" ! I thought it was an excellent example of what is going wrong on this site .
I can see you have an algorithm that moves deals in and out of the "Popular " page once they reach 6 or 7 "likes" which helps a little .
It is obviously great that we have so many new members ( the number obviously helps when negotiating referrals and/or sponsorships ) but I'm sure you must realise that the majority of members now just use the site for voucher earning :- Posting poor deals and "liking" whatever comes into view first .
I have seen this trend for a while now and it's getting worse daily . I have dropped the odd polite hint on various deals and posts but many members feel it is their "right" to "like" at random and post non deals .
Maybe removing points for "liking" might lead to members to "like" only deals that they actually did like ? Perhaps give those points to comments made on a deal (more than one sentence ? )
The problem under the current system is that deals are "liked" on their visibility and its purely down to luck if a deal gets its initial 6 or 7 likes in the first 20 minutes , at which point it drops off the first "New" page never to be seen again .
I always try to post only really good deals that will help other members save money but accept it is subjective . I have had average deals (in my opinion) get ridiculous amounts of "likes" and great deals getting 2 or 3 likes and disappearing into the abyss .
I'm actually not that bothered for myself but annoyed as it displays conclusively that Latest Deals is being ruined as a Deals Site by the influx of hundreds of thousands members using it purely as a voucher earning site and thus totally ruining the concept of the site .
Maybe removing points for liking would mean the Popular page actually has some meaning , its just pure luck at the moment . Once that is sorted maybe "Don't Likes " could be brought in (again for no points ) and the "Popular" page might then give a truer reflection of what is generally considered a good deal ?
Golfforall commenting on a deal I don’t think will work because you will get must send this to my sister she been looking for one of these. Just removing points for likes as a temporary thing just to see if works I think.
Or am sure there is a way to if a member actually clicks on get deal link then that could work for popular deals maybe, am not sure how it works just a option.
Ann1984 TBH I'm not sure what would work , saying "Aw my mother would absolutely love this , Thanks soooo much for sharing " at least takes a few seconds (or is it in the members phone ready to be pasted willy nilly ?
That was a weird one last night , not sure whether they were agreeing or taking the Mick !
I know the founders and indeed all true members are very concerned about what the site has become .
Perhaps take the points away all together and the team could give away weekly vouchers for what they consider the best deals , or best presented ,whatever .
If there weren't points to be gained from posting "non deals" , clicking to "like" etc the site would be a better deals site without doubt .
I realise that numbers are important to the site for negotiating purposes , but do we really need those members who have no respect for the aims of the site (sharing great deals) and indeed pull the whole quality of the site down by just using it as a voucher harvesting site .
Oh the deal on that other site now over 1200 - on here 4 likes ! I think my talents for deal spotting are somewhat wasted on here .
But I wouldn't post a deal on that site if they paid me !
Errr isn't that what they effectively do here ? Good deal or rubbish deal ?
Golfforall it's gonna take a few more years for LD to pick up the pace since the other deals website dominated for the whole of U.K.
LD has been around for four years, not counting Pedlar.
Golfforall not sure on weekly vouchers that’s going to cost too much with the amount of members.
Yes members could be rewarded by popularity drawn at random like a competition, but not giving vouchers but extra bonus points being allowed to follow members I would definitely take that on as I tend to grab deals from very popular members on here. Just throwing ideas
Actual non-deals that I've seen on LD are pretty much stock alerts and retailers' heads up. That's more like publicity than anything else. It for sure ain't deals in the traditional sense or any other.
Whilst I agree this is a good deal, it's not on my Christmas present list. The majority of deals I post are from retailers I regularly buy from. My son is a bit of a geek so my shopping habits reflect that
If I am looking for something specific I use the search bar which has saved me £ as sometimes there are deals/vouchers I wasn't aware of.
Initially I only looked at the deals now I like the chat and news sections. I think the majority of people on this site are genuine.
My point is that a hefty majority of members just Click to "like" the first 5 deals they see (obviously) on the first deals pages , New and Popular - and they do it purely for the points .
Just follow a few new deals and you will see what I mean . If they luckily get 6 or 7 likes in the first 30 mins they go onto the popular list and then get more "sheep likes " from other likers for points ad infinitum .
To be fair this applies to good deals and bad but does lead to good deals disappearing beyond the first "New" page into the abyss never to be seen again .
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