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>> Why are companies driving away people who make multi-thousand dollar purchases with scummy behaviour that nets them spare change? I think the problem is you

>> Why are companies driving away people who make multi-thousand dollar purchases with scummy behaviour that nets them spare change? I think the problem is you have a VP of this and VP of that, each of whom are tasked to squeeze pennies today via this vertical or that gizmo or else find a new job tomorrow. It's endemic, becoming an entrenched feature of big (U.S.) business. The people in those positions are incentivized to not give two hoots about a $2,000 lost sale eight years from now; they are employed literally to squeeze the extra $20 from replacement filters now. That's it.

Gravityloss 6y ago
Reviewers need to pay attention to these new "features". Builtin ads or DRM should be a major point in any review or feature comparison matrix.
- joncrane 6y ago
  I understand that the vast majority of reviewers on the internet, and certainly the sites that come up first in search engine results, are compensated by the manufacturers via kickbacks. I believe it's colloquially known as a "racket."
  - hunter2_ 6y ago
    Is there any good work being done on solving this problem? "Verified buyer" exists on larger sites but it doesn't solve for kickbacks. Looking only at reviews written by people closer to you socially also doesn't work since at that critical proximity there aren't enough reviews.
    - prepend 6y ago
      Consumerreports is still independent and really useful, I think.
- softawre 6y ago
  They do. I was well aware of the ad stuff on my last Samsung TV before I bought it, since most review sites mentioned it.
- Nursie 6y ago
  Some do, IIRC Rtings list and score points for "Ad Free" as one of their many review categories.
- ryukafalz 6y ago
  The Verge has been doing this for the EULAs of the products that they review, which I'm a huge fan of. Search for "agree to continue" on this page for example: https://www.theverge.com/21286687/motorola-moto-e-2020-g-fast-review-price-specs-features https://www.theverge.com/21286687/motorola-moto-e-2020-g-fas... But yeah, I wish more reviewers would do this, especially now that DRM and EULAs are finding their way into what were previously dumb appliances.

Gravityloss 6y ago

Reviewers need to pay attention to these new "features". Builtin ads or DRM should be a major point in any review or feature comparison matrix.

joncrane 6y ago
I understand that the vast majority of reviewers on the internet, and certainly the sites that come up first in search engine results, are compensated by the manufacturers via kickbacks. I believe it's colloquially known as a "racket."
- hunter2_ 6y ago
  Is there any good work being done on solving this problem? "Verified buyer" exists on larger sites but it doesn't solve for kickbacks. Looking only at reviews written by people closer to you socially also doesn't work since at that critical proximity there aren't enough reviews.
  - prepend 6y ago
    Consumerreports is still independent and really useful, I think.
softawre 6y ago
They do. I was well aware of the ad stuff on my last Samsung TV before I bought it, since most review sites mentioned it.
Nursie 6y ago
Some do, IIRC Rtings list and score points for "Ad Free" as one of their many review categories.
ryukafalz 6y ago
The Verge has been doing this for the EULAs of the products that they review, which I'm a huge fan of. Search for "agree to continue" on this page for example: https://www.theverge.com/21286687/motorola-moto-e-2020-g-fast-review-price-specs-features https://www.theverge.com/21286687/motorola-moto-e-2020-g-fas... But yeah, I wish more reviewers would do this, especially now that DRM and EULAs are finding their way into what were previously dumb appliances.