Two women check dresses on a best buy promo.

What do you have to do to get nice things at discount prices? Some of us may drive from one shopping center to another, stroll every corridor and check every price tag. Others may sign in to websites or turn every page of a newspaper or a magazine to fi nd the best buy.

That’s time-consuming. Shopping enthusiasts in Jakarta have found an easier way to search for
good things at bargain prices via adadiskon.com.

A petite woman in a fl owery sack dress, thick yellow sunglasses and a big straw hat strutted her way along the red carpet at the atrium of Centro department store at Plaza Semanggi shopping mall in South Jakarta.

A price tag was hanging off the temple of her sunglasses.
She was followed by two women and two men in similar outfits.
One woman had a shocking ensemble — pink leggings and blue top — while the other woman was dressed in a nauticallooking black-and-white striped top and waist-high red tulip skirt.

The men were also fashionable. One of them looked like a rock star while the other sported a relaxed safari look with knee-length khaki shorts, khaki jacket and yellow polo shirt.

Dozens of people dressed in red stood around the runway and the stage, cheering and wolf-whistling while watching the models.

They were not professional models.
They were members of the adadiskon.com community who volunteered to become faux models in a competition during the community’s fi rst gathering, which was in collaboration with Centro.

Adadiskon is a website that provides information about hot shopping deals and other offers for bargain hunters in town.

During the gathering, attendees were randomly divided into five groups. Each group was given a budget of Rp 500,000 (US$55) to be spent on clothes to dress up one member according to a theme, such as fl ower power, color-blocking, nautical, safari or fashion rock.

They only had 20 minutes to complete their mission. Group that failed to fi nish on time was disqualifi ed. The winners would receive a Rp 500,000 shopping voucher.

As soon as the game started, participants wandered around the store, sorting and digging through piles of clothes to fi nd just the right piece to complete their outfits.

Through this shopping game, participants could really prove that they were both shophaholics and talented fashion stylists!

The winners were the group which dressed its member with in a nautical theme. The losers were not feeling down since they had the chance to meet other members and even spent time shopping
after the event.

The person behind this activity was Aswin Utomo, 27, who had the idea for adadiskon.com more than year ago.

“I like shopping and hunting for hot deals and promos. Later, I found out that there was no local website that provided this kind of information. I usually learned about the latest promotions from my
friends or newspapers,” he told The Jakarta Post recently.

“That’s where the idea of adadiskon.com came from. I want to give people information on the latest deals, discounts, and promos — as well as updates on the latest fairs and events for shoppers in town — with just one click,” he said.

He added that he had been working with a number of merchants to update promotional information.

The website has turned out to be the best friend of many shoppers, providing information from food and apparel promotions to fashion bazaars and fl ea markets. Adadiskon.com already has more than 29,000 followers on Twitter.

“It’s also a place to meet other shoppers, as well as share stories, post product reviews and give shopping tips and tricks,” Aswin added.

He said that fellow members of the “deal hunting” community would not drool over typical promotions that claimed to offer “discounts up to 70 percent”.

Many people are excited and have high expectations when they hear of a 70-percent discount. However, such expectations frequently ends in a disappointment as the offer is only applied to very few items.

“It is not tempting enough for [the deal hunters]. They will be more interested in ‘further reductions’ or ‘buy one, get two’ offers,” Aswin said.

One shopper, Agustina Diah Trianti, is an example of a person who has taken advantage of the site. The 30-something woman said she spent about Rp 500,000 per month on buying new clothes or shoes.

“I like shopping and when it comes to great sale event, I’ve never missed it. The presence of the website is really helpful.

It’s like a guide for us shoppers,” she said, adding that she used to learn about promotions from her friends or text messages from merchants.

The thing that interests her is “buy one, get two” promotions.
“In some cases, the stuff offered during a promotion are often out-of-season pieces, but it’s not a big deal for me. It’s important to carefully check the quality of the items before you buy,” Tanti said.

Many people say that it is women who like shopping, but the truth is men also like this activity. During the adadiskon.com gathering, there were a lot of men who were dressed as stylishly as the women.

Derris Agimaran, 23, was one of them.
The man, who works as a personal assistant, said he liked hunting for hot bargains.

“I’m not brand-minded. Take a look at my sneakers. They only cost Rp 7,000.
It’s a real bargain! I bought them at Pasar Baru. The quality? So far, so good,” said Derris, who was dressed in a black T-shirt over a maroon shirt, black jeans and red sneakers.

“Don’t be afraid of exploring traditional shopping centers like Pasar Baru. Once you get there, you will be surprised because you will fi nd good stuff and great deals.”

So, what’s the best hint to be a smart shopper?

The bargain hunters gave the same answer: “Just wait until the hot deals come to town!”

— Photos by JP/Triwik Kurniasari

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