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Show HN: I talked to 917 ecommerce software users. Here's what I found.

pc86 10y ago
Maybe I am too critical or just hyper-sensitive to this, but it's an affiliate site submitted by the creator almost identical to another affiliate site in his profile following a very similar formula - "social proof" reviews with ratings, and an affiliate link (if the company offers one). I get trying to make money online, I'm doing it too, but putting up a bunch of quotes (with no attribution) and screenshots and then trying to get an affiliate commission off of Shopify just seems... too low-effort? I don't know. I'd be much more impressed with one person's in-depth review of the pros and cons of each platform, with an affiliate link to whichever one they felt was the best, than from something like this.
- steve-benjamins 10y ago
  Did you look closeley at SiteBuilderReport.com? It's exactly what you've described- I take an in-depth look at every website builder...
  - pc86 10y ago
    Yes, and it's certainly more work on your part that your submission here, but you also clearly have no problem taking an affiliate commission for a product you don't believe in (or gave a poor review to). That's what makes people despise affiliate marketing, and have a visceral negative reaction to it. It's not about "hey, I really love _________, please take a look at them because I know you'll love them too," it's about "hey ______ offers an affiliate link so I'll throw them up on this site and try to pump as much traffic there as I can."
    - steve-benjamins 10y ago
      Fair enough. Though I think websites like Site Builder Report and The Wirecutter can retain their integrity. I get emails every week from people who've found Site Builder Report helpful (https://www.sitebuilderreport.com/p/testimonials https://www.sitebuilderreport.com/p/testimonials). It wouldn't look great to have affiliate links only for highly-rated products— that would signal to readers that I only give good reviews to products with an affiliate program. (Which is certainly not true— websitebuilder.com pays twice as much as any affiliate program and I'm very critical of them: https://www.sitebuilderreport.com/website-builders/review/websitebuildercom https://www.sitebuilderreport.com/website-builders/review/we...)
anilgulecha 10y ago
I don't see the reason for the critical review of this. It's a helpful site that runs through data and pulls out useful/actionable information. As someone who has also considered creating a static site builder, my (hypothetical) service would benefit from such a lookup. IMO, An affiliate link is not an AD, not tracking me, and is probably the least intrusive way of monetizing a useful service.

pc86 10y ago

Maybe I am too critical or just hyper-sensitive to this, but it's an affiliate site submitted by the creator almost identical to another affiliate site in his profile following a very similar formula - "social proof" reviews with ratings, and an affiliate link (if the company offers one). I get trying to make money online, I'm doing it too, but putting up a bunch of quotes (with no attribution) and screenshots and then trying to get an affiliate commission off of Shopify just seems... too low-effort? I don't know. I'd be much more impressed with one person's in-depth review of the pros and cons of each platform, with an affiliate link to whichever one they felt was the best, than from something like this.

steve-benjamins 10y ago
Did you look closeley at SiteBuilderReport.com? It's exactly what you've described- I take an in-depth look at every website builder...
- pc86 10y ago
  Yes, and it's certainly more work on your part that your submission here, but you also clearly have no problem taking an affiliate commission for a product you don't believe in (or gave a poor review to). That's what makes people despise affiliate marketing, and have a visceral negative reaction to it. It's not about "hey, I really love _________, please take a look at them because I know you'll love them too," it's about "hey ______ offers an affiliate link so I'll throw them up on this site and try to pump as much traffic there as I can."
  - steve-benjamins 10y ago
    Fair enough. Though I think websites like Site Builder Report and The Wirecutter can retain their integrity. I get emails every week from people who've found Site Builder Report helpful (https://www.sitebuilderreport.com/p/testimonials https://www.sitebuilderreport.com/p/testimonials). It wouldn't look great to have affiliate links only for highly-rated products— that would signal to readers that I only give good reviews to products with an affiliate program. (Which is certainly not true— websitebuilder.com pays twice as much as any affiliate program and I'm very critical of them: https://www.sitebuilderreport.com/website-builders/review/websitebuildercom https://www.sitebuilderreport.com/website-builders/review/we...)

anilgulecha 10y ago

I don't see the reason for the critical review of this. It's a helpful site that runs through data and pulls out useful/actionable information. As someone who has also considered creating a static site builder, my (hypothetical) service would benefit from such a lookup. IMO, An affiliate link is not an AD, not tracking me, and is probably the least intrusive way of monetizing a useful service.