3 ms·

I would love to hear any sites that people still trust and rely on when choosing products to buy (or reviews in general).

malfist 3y ago
Consumer reports is still pretty good
- wil421 3y ago
  Consumer reports is ok but I’ve found it’s better for the I’m lookin for “any” car in x segment type person. If you research your purchases deeper than the average person it’s not worth it IMHO. I agree for average buyers it’s better than anything else. Especially for the uniformed.
  - kstrauser 3y ago
    I’ve gotten a lot of value from reading their rating rationale. Sometimes they bring up good points I wouldn’t have thought about. Other times I’ve gotten good values from suggestions like “this electric toothbrush is $40 cheaper than the high-end model from the same manufacturer, but its timer only vibrates and doesn’t make beeping sounds, so you can save $40 if you can live without a beeper”.
albertgoeswoof 3y ago
What I like to do is just not buy stuff
- koolba 3y ago
  It’s like war games, only way to win is not to play.
PaulHoule 3y ago
dpreviews for photography stuff
- warkdarrior 3y ago
  That's just Amazon.
  - PaulHoule 3y ago
    Used to be. Amazon threatened to shut it down and then spun it off. I think the official reviews by professionals (very trusted) have affiliate links to AMZN but it is not hard to look up gear at B&H or Adorama. People have asked "whatever happened to forums?" and they are alive and well at dpreview. It's a community of photographers that inspire me and help me out in a pinch. I went to a volleyball game that was a total loss for me, asked for help, and got exactly the crystalized knowledge and perspectives that I can't get from books at the library and I'm going to back with the right gear and the right tactics and turn it around. Between the pro reviews and the contact with photographers at and beyond my level I get a clear picture of the gear and the people who are reviewing it. On AMZN or Best Buy on the other hand I have to process reviews through this lens: you get people who leave bad reviews who just don't know what are doing or don't have the correct expectations, there was the guy who put the paper in a photo paper upside down, got an inksplosion, blamed the printer and returned. Well, I put the paper in upside down and got the same results, the difference is I knew it was my fault. There's also the strange problem that a certain fraction of certain products just aren't up to spec, circa 2008 it seemed that Sigma lenses for Canon were usually good but maybe 20% of people got a bad one. I don't see a problem with dishonest reviews on AMZN for that kind of stuff but I find dpreview easy to parse.
LeoPanthera 3y ago
I find that Wirecutter is still fine, despite its weird new reputation. Rtings.com for electronics. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?reviews/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?reviews/ for high-end audio products.

malfist 3y ago

Consumer reports is still pretty good

wil421 3y ago
Consumer reports is ok but I’ve found it’s better for the I’m lookin for “any” car in x segment type person. If you research your purchases deeper than the average person it’s not worth it IMHO. I agree for average buyers it’s better than anything else. Especially for the uniformed.
- kstrauser 3y ago
  I’ve gotten a lot of value from reading their rating rationale. Sometimes they bring up good points I wouldn’t have thought about. Other times I’ve gotten good values from suggestions like “this electric toothbrush is $40 cheaper than the high-end model from the same manufacturer, but its timer only vibrates and doesn’t make beeping sounds, so you can save $40 if you can live without a beeper”.

albertgoeswoof 3y ago

What I like to do is just not buy stuff

koolba 3y ago
It’s like war games, only way to win is not to play.

PaulHoule 3y ago

dpreviews for photography stuff

warkdarrior 3y ago
That's just Amazon.
- PaulHoule 3y ago
  Used to be. Amazon threatened to shut it down and then spun it off. I think the official reviews by professionals (very trusted) have affiliate links to AMZN but it is not hard to look up gear at B&H or Adorama. People have asked "whatever happened to forums?" and they are alive and well at dpreview. It's a community of photographers that inspire me and help me out in a pinch. I went to a volleyball game that was a total loss for me, asked for help, and got exactly the crystalized knowledge and perspectives that I can't get from books at the library and I'm going to back with the right gear and the right tactics and turn it around. Between the pro reviews and the contact with photographers at and beyond my level I get a clear picture of the gear and the people who are reviewing it. On AMZN or Best Buy on the other hand I have to process reviews through this lens: you get people who leave bad reviews who just don't know what are doing or don't have the correct expectations, there was the guy who put the paper in a photo paper upside down, got an inksplosion, blamed the printer and returned. Well, I put the paper in upside down and got the same results, the difference is I knew it was my fault. There's also the strange problem that a certain fraction of certain products just aren't up to spec, circa 2008 it seemed that Sigma lenses for Canon were usually good but maybe 20% of people got a bad one. I don't see a problem with dishonest reviews on AMZN for that kind of stuff but I find dpreview easy to parse.

LeoPanthera 3y ago

I find that Wirecutter is still fine, despite its weird new reputation. Rtings.com for electronics. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?reviews/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?reviews/ for high-end audio products.