Just Tell Me What To Buy | Hacker News Reader

Just Tell Me What To Buy

techcrunch.com

34 pointskjhughes17 comments

That's what The Wirecutter[1] does and I find its a great way to buy. For a phone or computer I want to do some research but for most other devices I can buy what they say is "the best for $x" and move on. Has saved me a lot of time and by not doing extra research I reduce buyer's remorse.

[1] - thewirecutter.com

This is a big reason why my last three laptops have been Apple. I've learned that the hardware is good and so is the service, and knowing this is valuable enough to me that the premium price (whether it's overpriced or not) is entirely worth it. (my opinions on the quality of late are very slightly diminished, but still positive)

As far as I can tell few or no other consumer technology company have built up this reputation of universal good quality, and that's actually very disappointing.

I came to the comments to say how much I like Wirecutter. It's one of my favorite sites. Exceptional research for behind every recommendation and they always have a small range of choices to fit your exact needs or budget. Absolutely top notch stuff.

I used to think the same thing until I read a review for LED lightbulbs on one of their sister sites, The Sweethome [http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-led-lightbulb/]. The review in question sounds like an infomercial for Cree and DesigningwithLEDs.com. It definitely made me question how impartial The Wirecutter and it's sister sites really is.

I don't understand. What about this review sounds suspicious to you? They like a specific brand of LED bulb. Isn't that the whole point of the site?

It's been a couple of months since I read it, but I remember that the tone just felt off to me. I think there's a couple of comments on the site that mention it sound like an infomercial. I think the frequent references to DesigningwithLEDs.com also put me off, kind of felt like the author was really trying to drive traffic to their own site.

The author runs DesigningWithLEDs.com. Presumably, that's why they chose her to write this review. If Sweethome is happy with the cross-promotion (to another website, of course, not to a reviewed product), I'm not sure I see what the problem is for the reader.

The question is, as in security, trustworthiness. Trust and/but/then Verify you say? If I have to verify, what's the point of trusting, might as well read amazon reviews and do my own research via google, fb, twitter etc. For a completely new user, a site that even 'smells' of shenanigans is hard to trust. First impressions and all that. If a site invites guest writers, who then shill for their own site, in the main copy of their post, rather than, say, the footnote or sub-title, it starts smelling fishy pretty fast.

I think the revelations that product makers are changing their components (to cheaper ones -- decontenting their devices) after they get solid reviews, throws all tech reviews into question. After all, it's a matter of trust - you trust that the review is honest and unbiased, and you trust that the device you subsequently buy is the same as what was reviewed. And when either condition isn't true, you feel like a chump for being burned.

Does this mean we've hit peak prosumer? Maybe reading these in-depth reviews have become more superficial hobby than valuable information. The comments on reviews are just awful to read. There is always petty factioning, squabbling about inconsistencies of numeric rating systems, and "Let's keep this discussion civil" is now the contemporary version of "first post".

I rely greatly on in-depth reviews when I'm seeking information about high consideration items like computer parts, cameras, etc. Hopefully the distilled reviews aren't interpreted as "best in class" but are understood as "best for the average person's priorities given they can afford this item"

>Does this mean we've hit peak prosumer?

Opposed to what, professional? Maybe it's different for people that use their cell phones and LED light bulbs professionally, but when buying something like headphones, I'm usually looking to be told by someone with lots of experience "select one of these three" because it's not that important to me.

> Pierce, who came to The Verge from PC Magazine, is familiar with granular, spec-driven reviews, but says that they’ve been thinking about doing reviews differently for a while.

Pierce is the most "touchy-feely" reviewer on that site. I've always thought his reviews were of very poor quality, and he was making up numbers out of thin air, and then made it so the sub-ratings match his overall rating for the phone.

The "best thing to buy" depends on who you are, what you need and want, obviously.

Wasn't there a website where you could 1) say what you're looking to get, 2) answer a few questions, and 3) get one or two solid recommendations?

It's a shame Measy was shut down.

I think that there is a huge opportunity to apply "just tell me what to buy" to all products and services (not just tech ones).

I go to buy a chair, see hundreds of brands and types... just tell me what to buy! I want a resource that has researched all the options, and that I could trust to make good recommendations.

Too bad the listed prices are useless. No doubt the $0.01 phones come with an unspecified contract that's not been taken into account. If you can't get the pure prices, you'd better just leave them out. This is useless and misleading.

Getting _exactly_ what you need is not so important when you can easily trade/swap it for something that better fits your needs.

It's time to get away from the "you better make the right choice, because you'll be stuck with it for X years".

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