6 ms·

Right, as long as they can profit off it. How is that not biased?

LeoPanthera 10y ago
Yes, they make money from affiliate links, but they also provide accurate reviews, so why should you care? Do you honestly think it's only possible to write an accurate review if you're not being paid? It's not like they're being paid by the makers of the products, so there's no reason for them to be biased.
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  No I dont think it's impossible, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be skeptical. The Incentives to be dishonest are pretty obvious
  - madeofpalk 10y ago
    Skeptical doesn't mean distrust though. Is there any evidence to suggest Wirecutter has refused to rate an item due to lack of affiliate links?
    - wtallis 10y ago
      > Is there any evidence to suggest Wirecutter has refused to rate an item due to lack of affiliate links? If a product isn't on Amazon where affiliate links can point at it, then is it even mainstream enough for The Wirecutter's intended audience?
      - madeofpalk 10y ago
        Yes, this. With programs like skimlinks providing affiliate links for pretty much every single retailer, I'm not even sure how they would review a product that they don't get a kickback from.
    - CaptSpify 10y ago
      I guess I'm just generically distrustful of reviews in general. Companies can give bad reviews just like normal users give terrible reviews. I don't think I've ever seen a review system that you didn't have to take with a big grain of salt.
sgarman 10y ago
I'm not sure how you would create something like the wirecutter with out making money somewhere so I'm all ears for ideas on that. With that in mind I like the affiliate link model because arguably they can choose any product (in their case the 'best' one) instead of cutting deals with the companies directly (i.e. introducing competition in who pays the most).
Nimsical 10y ago
They don't always recommend products they make money off of. Plenty of their products (especially in the Sweethome version) are recommendations they won't make money off of. They're probably the least biased reviewers out there at the moment and take it very seriously.
toast0 10y ago
I see this as win-win-win. For wirecutter, they make money. For the manufacturer and retailer, they make sales. For me, I can get a short list of probably good products in crowded fields to make a decision and price compare, from a site that doesn't take days to load because of tons of ads. Maybe I wont get the best USB power adapter for my car, but I'll be able to choose from a small menu of them, and will probably get something good. And I can skip reading through hundreds of amazon reviews, many of which are totally irrelevant.

Yes, they make money from affiliate links, but they also provide accurate reviews, so why should you care? Do you honestly think it's only possible to write an accurate review if you're not being paid? It's not like they're being paid by the makers of the products, so there's no reason for them to be biased.

CaptSpify 10y ago
No I dont think it's impossible, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be skeptical. The Incentives to be dishonest are pretty obvious
- madeofpalk 10y ago
  Skeptical doesn't mean distrust though. Is there any evidence to suggest Wirecutter has refused to rate an item due to lack of affiliate links?
  - wtallis 10y ago
    > Is there any evidence to suggest Wirecutter has refused to rate an item due to lack of affiliate links? If a product isn't on Amazon where affiliate links can point at it, then is it even mainstream enough for The Wirecutter's intended audience?
    - madeofpalk 10y ago
      Yes, this. With programs like skimlinks providing affiliate links for pretty much every single retailer, I'm not even sure how they would review a product that they don't get a kickback from.
  - CaptSpify 10y ago
    I guess I'm just generically distrustful of reviews in general. Companies can give bad reviews just like normal users give terrible reviews. I don't think I've ever seen a review system that you didn't have to take with a big grain of salt.

sgarman 10y ago

I'm not sure how you would create something like the wirecutter with out making money somewhere so I'm all ears for ideas on that. With that in mind I like the affiliate link model because arguably they can choose any product (in their case the 'best' one) instead of cutting deals with the companies directly (i.e. introducing competition in who pays the most).

Nimsical 10y ago

They don't always recommend products they make money off of. Plenty of their products (especially in the Sweethome version) are recommendations they won't make money off of. They're probably the least biased reviewers out there at the moment and take it very seriously.

toast0 10y ago

I see this as win-win-win. For wirecutter, they make money. For the manufacturer and retailer, they make sales. For me, I can get a short list of probably good products in crowded fields to make a decision and price compare, from a site that doesn't take days to load because of tons of ads. Maybe I wont get the best USB power adapter for my car, but I'll be able to choose from a small menu of them, and will probably get something good. And I can skip reading through hundreds of amazon reviews, many of which are totally irrelevant.