Savigamer... something fishy?

[Leopig]

Just wondering how all the link through that site always go through a different website before going to the destination website. Like when you hover over the link and it shows up at the bottom, many times it shows awin1.com but when you click it it goes to zavvi or jdoqocy.com and it goes to gamefly.

I decided to visit these site and they have nothing to do with gaming what so ever, so I ask myself why? Are they data mining and getting our ip's to spam us with crap or installing spyware or keyloggers? I find this very fishy and underhanded you are not warned before you click on a link that you are being directed vie a 3rd party site.

[SeanybabeS]

Having done zero investigatory work on this, I would plump for Referral monies?

If Zavvi makes a sale because he sent you there, he may take a eency weency percentage from that sale.

[Leopig]

may explain why they never show Origin deals. I was amazed I never seen anything when they put up a load of decent games for a fiver, i just assumed they were anti origin hipsters.

[LTK]

Savygamer uses those links to track how many people click on them so he can put together his Savycharts articles.

If you're not convinced, just go and ask Lewie.

[trjp]

Those sites are affiliate trackers - they keep track of who's linking to the deals because they get a kickback for any sales.

If this bothers you - just goto the site with the deal direct.

As to why some deals are missing - I think there are multiple reasons for this. The main reason is that Lewie is trying to forge a career as a games journalist and international playboy (mutually incompatible concepts) and he needs to pick just one of those. The other reason is hubris...

[Mac]

You will not see GreenManGaming deals on Lewie's site - they obviously do not offer decent kickbacks, so he treats them with the same contempt as Origin, et al. It's a strange decision, as I now don't bother using savygamer to find deals as I know it is incomplete.

His site and his rules and all that - but very short sighted and petty in my opinion

[Theblazeuk]

may explain why they never show Origin deals. I was amazed I never seen anything when they put up a load of decent games for a fiver, i just assumed they were anti origin hipsters.

A lot of SavyGamer is from reader recommendations and tips. If no one does the legwork for Origin I doubt it'll get up there.

Have to admit though I haven't seen anything particularly competitively priced on Origin, ever. After the whole "we will not be reducing games because it devalues intellectual property, so really we're doing you a favour by charging you more" schtick I figured it wasn't worth looking.

[applecup]

Actually, I am sure Lewie has featured Origin deals in the past, on the rare occasion that Origin have actually had a good offer. Also he does link to sites that don't provide a kickback, such as directly to developers - or to Steam. I know he has some beef with GMG, but I have no idea what that's all about.

[Kiril]

I was amazed I never seen anything when they put up a load of decent games for a fiver,

You mean nearly a month ago when he had

http://savygamer.co.uk/2012/06/18/shank-2-pc-5/

http://savygamer.co.uk/2012/06/18/al...-returns-pc-5/

http://savygamer.co.uk/2012/06/18/dead-space-2-pc-5-3/

That EA fiver sale?

I think he missed it :/

The awin1 stuff is affiliate tracking things and all that, I think he explained it somewhere on his site.

[djbriandamage]

For a real shocker try using the NoScript addon for Firefox. It turns off all website scripts by default until you enable them manually. I promise you'll be amazed by the number of unrelated scripts the average website runs. Web advertisers know you better than you know yourself.

[deano2099]

For a real shocker try using the NoScript addon for Firefox. It turns off all website scripts by default until you enable them manually. I promise you'll be amazed by the number of unrelated scripts the average website runs. Web advertisers know you better than you know yourself.

I wish they'd use that knowledge instead of constantly advertising me stuff I'll never click in a million years.

[Nalano]

I wish they'd use that knowledge instead of constantly advertising me stuff I'll never click in a million years.

Not every ad can be for porn, deano. :P

[Coccyx]

Pfft, I spoke to Lewie (the guy who runs the site) just 4 days ago. It was great - I thanked him for savygamer, a site I've used for months and has expanded my games collection considerably. You've nothing to fear, OP :)

[Revisor]

awin1.com and jdoqocy.com are both (just two of many) affiliate tracking servers, services helping track visitors and purchases in order to pay a commission to the right affiliate.

awin1.com belongs to AffiliateWindow.com
jdoqocy.com belongs to CJ.com (Commission Junction).

Why do they use different domains?
That has a funny reason - because affiliate networks are deemed unethical / dangerous by antiviri and ad-blockers and are blocked and their cookies deleted (thus a tracking information lost).

As for SavyGamer itself - I don't like the Geocities-like design nor the concept - a one man show, where the one man deems what's worthy, excluding whole outlets on a whim.

I think either track deals automatically a la http://isthereanydeal.com/
Or peruse some of the fine online communities (more fun IMO) like the local PC Bargains
GOG's Gaming Deals
or Reddit's GameDeals.

[Theblazeuk]

As for SavyGamer itself - I don't like the Geocities-like design nor the concept - a one man show, where the one man deems what's worthy, excluding whole outlets on a whim.

I really like it but then, I'm not *really* on much of a hunt for bargain games. I'll take Lewie over the effort required by the other means or the soulless aggregator

[Cooper]

SavyGamer uses affiliate tracking so that lewie gets kickbacks on Amazon / Zavvi and other purchases from the website.

Steam do not offer this kickback, but he still posts them.

If you don't like it, subscribe: http://savygamer.co.uk/subscribe/
And go direct to retailers websites.

@Revisor:
Or maybe excluding outlets / deals because he's one guy and there are shit loads of ways to get games?

[deano2099]

Not every ad can be for porn, deano. :P

It's not even for the sort of porn I like...

[Lewie Procter]

From the SavyGamer about page:

Where applicable, I will post referral links. These links will lead to me getting commission from the retailers, often varying between 1 and 10%. There is no change in price for you, but if you prefer not to use referral links then you only need to browse the homepage of the retailer and search for the item.

I'm totally open about the revenue model for SavyGamer. The site is totally ad free, and affiliate commission is how I pay the bills and cover the cost of SavyGamer's hosting.