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Anyone else think at least part of this survey feels off? Specifically, the big red flag to me is: > Researchers also put together a list of the top ten things

Anyone else think at least part of this survey feels off? Specifically, the big red flag to me is: > Researchers also put together a list of the top ten things Americans plan to buy with their tax refunds. > 1. Motorcycle tires > 2. Playstation 4 > 3. Trip to casino > 4. Niagara Falls trip > 5. A party Intuitively I find it hard to believe the number one thing Americans want is... motorcycle tires. Or a Playstation 4. Or a casino trip. Or a trip to Niagara Falls. A party, maybe. I really don't buy the "4 hour 26 minute" narrative either. I know plenty of super busy people and everyone has far more than 4 hours of free time. They're really saying that the average person has barely more than 30 minutes of free time a day, including weekends? I'm inclined to believe that this article is either inaccurately reporting the actual results or the study was poorly done.

rightbyte 8y ago
Car tires should be far more common than MC tires, atleast. Niagara Falls? It's seems really specific. "Freedom from credit card companies" nr.7 seems like a one off comment. I would guess they messed up the list generation if they have actual data at all. The number 4,5h seems bogus too. I can't find any source of the study so I assume it's bogus SEO click-bait spam to increase the rank of H&R. Searching for the quotes reveal some spammy articles with convenient url-links to H&R.
- tzs 8y ago
  > Car tires should be far more common than MC tires, atleast. Remember, though, it was a purported list of what people buy with their tax refunds. A lot of people treat their tax refund as a windfall to spend on something fun rather than on something necessary. I'd expect that for most people, if their car needs new tires they fall under the "necessary" category and they get them soon after realizing they need them. A motorcycle is often for recreational use, and new tires might fall into the "for fun" category, to be put off until some extra money is available.
readingnews 8y ago
I agree this seems bizzare at best. "According to a study conducted by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), the number of American households with at least one motorcycle in their garage has reached 8.02 percent in 2018." [1] "The total of motorcycles owned by US families has now reached 13.1M—12.2M or 93 % of which are active on the road, a decrease in percentage over 2014 (96.1%)." [1] While these numbers do not say "and they plan to purchase tires" (tyres?), I can not imagine that the number of those planning to purchase tires would be greater than the number of people with cars who plan to purchase tires. There are roughly 276.1 Million cars registered. [2] That does not mean anything, but inference would seem to suggest more people would purchase tires for cars. Of course, this article may have given the respondents a multiple choice sheet (with just those choices :) I sill lay claim, I can not imagine asking 100 people what they want to do with the tax refund, and their answers even remotely aligning with those. I might live in a strange part of the US, but I know the answers here would look much more like: Fishing rods. Fishing reel. Tackle. Parts for the boat and motor. That #$@%^ thing I have not fixed on the house yet. That other #$^!@# thing I have not fixed on the house yet. BBQ supplies. Pay off debt. [1] https://www.rideapart.com/articles/302630/more-americans-own-bikes-survey/ https://www.rideapart.com/articles/302630/more-americans-own... [2] https://hedgescompany.com/automotive-market-research-statistics/auto-mailing-lists-and-marketing/ https://hedgescompany.com/automotive-market-research-statist...

rightbyte 8y ago

Car tires should be far more common than MC tires, atleast. Niagara Falls? It's seems really specific. "Freedom from credit card companies" nr.7 seems like a one off comment. I would guess they messed up the list generation if they have actual data at all. The number 4,5h seems bogus too. I can't find any source of the study so I assume it's bogus SEO click-bait spam to increase the rank of H&R. Searching for the quotes reveal some spammy articles with convenient url-links to H&R.

tzs 8y ago
> Car tires should be far more common than MC tires, atleast. Remember, though, it was a purported list of what people buy with their tax refunds. A lot of people treat their tax refund as a windfall to spend on something fun rather than on something necessary. I'd expect that for most people, if their car needs new tires they fall under the "necessary" category and they get them soon after realizing they need them. A motorcycle is often for recreational use, and new tires might fall into the "for fun" category, to be put off until some extra money is available.

readingnews 8y ago

I agree this seems bizzare at best. "According to a study conducted by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), the number of American households with at least one motorcycle in their garage has reached 8.02 percent in 2018." [1] "The total of motorcycles owned by US families has now reached 13.1M—12.2M or 93 % of which are active on the road, a decrease in percentage over 2014 (96.1%)." [1] While these numbers do not say "and they plan to purchase tires" (tyres?), I can not imagine that the number of those planning to purchase tires would be greater than the number of people with cars who plan to purchase tires. There are roughly 276.1 Million cars registered. [2] That does not mean anything, but inference would seem to suggest more people would purchase tires for cars. Of course, this article may have given the respondents a multiple choice sheet (with just those choices :) I sill lay claim, I can not imagine asking 100 people what they want to do with the tax refund, and their answers even remotely aligning with those. I might live in a strange part of the US, but I know the answers here would look much more like: Fishing rods. Fishing reel. Tackle. Parts for the boat and motor. That #$@%^ thing I have not fixed on the house yet. That other #$^!@# thing I have not fixed on the house yet. BBQ supplies. Pay off debt. [1] https://www.rideapart.com/articles/302630/more-americans-own-bikes-survey/ https://www.rideapart.com/articles/302630/more-americans-own... [2] https://hedgescompany.com/automotive-market-research-statistics/auto-mailing-lists-and-marketing/ https://hedgescompany.com/automotive-market-research-statist...