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In theory you could be paid by customers for helpful reviews. Consumer Reports, for example. I think this is the Angie's List model but I don't know how that i

In theory you could be paid by customers for helpful reviews. Consumer Reports, for example. I think this is the Angie's List model but I don't know how that is working. I am concerned about the EBSCO model where business are ranked and then pay to be advertised as top offerings. It seems like it might not necessarily choose good businesses. Often their research is based on some kind of survey. User-generated content for free leads to the Yelp/RipOffReport (and TrustPilot?) model.

tailspin2019 4y ago
> Consumer Reports, for example. Not sure if it's comparable but in the UK we have "Which?" magazine which provides reader-funded "supposedly impartial" product/business reviews. (It started as a printed magazine but is now largely an online venture I think). I haven't done much due-diligence on them but they've been going for a long time (edit: wow, since 1957 it seems!) and traditionally have had a decent reputation in the UK. I've personally paid for their print magazine and more recently online subscription for brief periods when wanting some analysis on a couple of important purchases, and found the information to be useful. https://www.which.co.uk https://www.which.co.uk
bombcar 4y ago
Even Consumer Reports has the problem of not necessarily checking/testing for the right things - and very rarely have the ability or time to test over long periods of time. They do some with the cars, but most things you'd buy will last ten+ years, and may exhibit faults later in their lifecyle. An example: https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/can-we-believe-consumer-reports.11844/ https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/can-we-believ...
mbesto 4y ago
> In theory you could be paid by customers for helpful reviews. Nope, this will easily be gamed. I don't think there is a financial model on the planet that would make reviews 100% trustworthy.

tailspin2019 4y ago

> Consumer Reports, for example. Not sure if it's comparable but in the UK we have "Which?" magazine which provides reader-funded "supposedly impartial" product/business reviews. (It started as a printed magazine but is now largely an online venture I think). I haven't done much due-diligence on them but they've been going for a long time (edit: wow, since 1957 it seems!) and traditionally have had a decent reputation in the UK. I've personally paid for their print magazine and more recently online subscription for brief periods when wanting some analysis on a couple of important purchases, and found the information to be useful. https://www.which.co.uk https://www.which.co.uk

bombcar 4y ago

Even Consumer Reports has the problem of not necessarily checking/testing for the right things - and very rarely have the ability or time to test over long periods of time. They do some with the cars, but most things you'd buy will last ten+ years, and may exhibit faults later in their lifecyle. An example: https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/can-we-believe-consumer-reports.11844/ https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/can-we-believ...

mbesto 4y ago

> In theory you could be paid by customers for helpful reviews. Nope, this will easily be gamed. I don't think there is a financial model on the planet that would make reviews 100% trustworthy.