4 ms·

Haven't consumers learned the game as well? It seems pretty obvious that if LG sells a bad microwave then I probably shouldn't trust that their other microwaves

by xmprt 5y ago

Haven't consumers learned the game as well? It seems pretty obvious that if LG sells a bad microwave then I probably shouldn't trust that their other microwaves would be any good either. And why would I buy a microwave with no review over a microwave with a positive review? There's got to be at least one good microwave on their site.

WheatM 5y ago
pixl97 5y ago
The manufacturer/seller commonly games the reviews so even new products tend to have a few glowing reviews right off the bat. And if you use the scale that if a manufacturer produces one bad microwave that all their microwaves are bad, I suggest cooking over a fire as no manufacturer is going to meet your judgement scale.
- thechao 5y ago
  I know I'm five-gajillion comments in, so this is like spitting in the ocean: call a local repair place (unaffiliated) and ask them what to get. The local fridge/appliance repair (group) -- any of the five of them -- will happily chat for an hour about any major appliance in your house. They'll also gossip like fishmongers about who's good at what services, etc. In general, for very large appliances (large fridges; double-stoves; double ovens) you can just ask them to keep an eye out at the local restaurant auctions. My house came with a 48" prosumer fridge. When my fridge died I got a 10-year-old exact replica from a warehouse for 3500$, rather than 18000$. It's worked flawlessly for 8 years, now.
  - semireg 5y ago
    +1 for restaurant auctions. I browse them like a child walking past puppies in a window.
    - HWR_14 5y ago
      Restaurant auctions are great if you have the space. Less good if you have a small kitchen.
  - ddingus 5y ago
    I just wrote a couple commments here talking about actually talking to people. It's how I still prefer to buy many things. Reviews? Have pretty much ignored them for many things. It has been hard to see the value, frankly. There are always a lot of them, and the information quality has been high noise and dubious in many cases.
antisthenes 5y ago
Manufacturers have 100% control over their website. They can delete reviews, they can keep the reviews and start shipping a slightly different product instead, they can ask certain customers to write positive reviews for incentives. The list goes on and on. It's asymmetric warfare and manufacturers hold all the cards. That's why there generally are consumer protection laws, and not the other way around, e.g. protecting manufacturers from consumers (lol). The semi-good news is that for most consumer goods like microwaves, it doesn't really matter, because they are all "good enough".
ddingus 5y ago
When I am able to shop in an actual store, like for appliances, I've always had great luck talking to the service techs. I just ask them which models are coming back to the store, and or for a recommendation. My last washer, dryer, dishwasher and stove were all purchased this way and have ran for a long time now. Needed a new element for my dryer and stove a while back and both were available, easy to install. And that's the last question: Service. What's available and can I get parts, etc...?

by xmprt 5y ago

WheatM 5y ago

pixl97 5y ago

The manufacturer/seller commonly games the reviews so even new products tend to have a few glowing reviews right off the bat. And if you use the scale that if a manufacturer produces one bad microwave that all their microwaves are bad, I suggest cooking over a fire as no manufacturer is going to meet your judgement scale.

thechao 5y ago
I know I'm five-gajillion comments in, so this is like spitting in the ocean: call a local repair place (unaffiliated) and ask them what to get. The local fridge/appliance repair (group) -- any of the five of them -- will happily chat for an hour about any major appliance in your house. They'll also gossip like fishmongers about who's good at what services, etc. In general, for very large appliances (large fridges; double-stoves; double ovens) you can just ask them to keep an eye out at the local restaurant auctions. My house came with a 48" prosumer fridge. When my fridge died I got a 10-year-old exact replica from a warehouse for 3500$, rather than 18000$. It's worked flawlessly for 8 years, now.
- semireg 5y ago
  +1 for restaurant auctions. I browse them like a child walking past puppies in a window.
  - HWR_14 5y ago
    Restaurant auctions are great if you have the space. Less good if you have a small kitchen.
- ddingus 5y ago
  I just wrote a couple commments here talking about actually talking to people. It's how I still prefer to buy many things. Reviews? Have pretty much ignored them for many things. It has been hard to see the value, frankly. There are always a lot of them, and the information quality has been high noise and dubious in many cases.

antisthenes 5y ago

Manufacturers have 100% control over their website. They can delete reviews, they can keep the reviews and start shipping a slightly different product instead, they can ask certain customers to write positive reviews for incentives. The list goes on and on. It's asymmetric warfare and manufacturers hold all the cards. That's why there generally are consumer protection laws, and not the other way around, e.g. protecting manufacturers from consumers (lol). The semi-good news is that for most consumer goods like microwaves, it doesn't really matter, because they are all "good enough".

ddingus 5y ago

When I am able to shop in an actual store, like for appliances, I've always had great luck talking to the service techs. I just ask them which models are coming back to the store, and or for a recommendation. My last washer, dryer, dishwasher and stove were all purchased this way and have ran for a long time now. Needed a new element for my dryer and stove a while back and both were available, easy to install. And that's the last question: Service. What's available and can I get parts, etc...?