3 ms·

For a lot of fields the answer is much simpler. The buyer is simply not equipped to evaluate it at all. eg I bet north of 50% of people judge their tax account

by Havoc 2y ago

For a lot of fields the answer is much simpler. The buyer is simply not equipped to evaluate it at all. eg I bet north of 50% of people judge their tax accountants by the size of refund not technical and legal accuracy. But they’re still liable so accuracy is an important measure of „good“ Same with say dentist. If he says he needs to do procedure x what am I going to do except ask some layman questions. Or doctor. Even trades often seem simple but have significant accumulated practical learnings that are not obvious to laymen. It’s tempting to boil everything down to an optimization question & just finding the right metrics, especially for those STEM minded but often that’s not how reality works

ksec 2y ago
Exactly this. Even for something that is more relevant to HN, say Computer Hardware. You will already find most people are still doing very high level Spec Comparing without deep understanding within or besides it. As long as you drill deep enough about anything that is when people start calling you nerd. SSD ( Type of NAND ), DRAM, CPU Core, uArch, Board Layout, PSU, Fan etc. There are just insane amount of small variables. And unless you take interest in something. Most people are easily swayed by Marketing or Ads.
constantcrying 2y ago
Not only is the buyer not able to evaluate the product. The company, doesn't really understand what the buyer wants from the product and why he buys it over other products.
myroon5 2y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attribute_substitution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attribute_substitution
markus_zhang 2y ago
Yeah, We don't really have the knowledge to ask intelligent questions. I did take some accounting classes so I can have some intelligent discussion with my accountant, but the regulation changes every year so it's difficult to keep up. Even if the accountant misses something, that's quite possible. I mean, two of my previous companies messed up with payroll and many thousands were impacted.
BeefWellington 2y ago
This is where the value of a second or third opinion can become apparent.
causal 2y ago
Particularly interesting that quality seems to be dropping in an age where reviews are easier to find than ever. But there has always been an inherent conflict of interest in the place selling the wares (e.g. Amazon) also being the place hosting the reviews. Similarly for AirBNB - it cannot tolerate all of its own hosts being 2 stars.
- zanellato19 2y ago
  > Particularly interesting that quality seems to be dropping in an age where reviews are easier to find than ever. I disagree, the world has decided that everyone is able to give out a review when it clearly isn't the case. We are distrustful of experts now, because they can be bought (which is true), and are relying on laymen that are much, much worse. The old days of buying a magazine with experts reviewing something are gone, sadly.
- robocat 2y ago
  I'm often pressured to give incorrect quality ratings for unobvious reasons: I give Uber drivers either 5stars or no rating (after speaking with Uber drivers on the effects of ratings). AirBnB in particular I noticed has little incentives for me to rate truthfully and a variety of incentives for me to lie (e.g. I wanted to downvote the management but I didn't want the staff member to be affected). Enough so that I bought booking.com shares because the AirBnB experience was too often hideous.
- spicybbq 2y ago
  Even when you find a good review, there are complexities of manufacturing (and some intentional obfuscation) that make it hard to compare products or know that you are buying the exact same thing that was reviewed. If you buy the same item a year after the review, it may have changed. This could change performance but be something totally innocent, like the factory changing suppliers for a key component. Another pattern is this: Large retailers buying in volume are able to customize what they buy, so the "same" product can differ depending on where you buy it. Differences can range from harmless things like "exclusive" colors all the up to changes in functionality, cheaper internal components, and so on. Sometimes the model numbers are not changed. Another approach manufacturers use is to use slightly different model numbers everywhere which makes it hard to make exact comparisons. This is common with mattresses and appliances.
danielmarkbruce 2y ago
The world has become a very complex place. Every single thing from houses to cars to medical services is provided by a team of people with years of training in some esoteric field. Buyers are going to have a difficult time, and it can only continue to get worse.
carlosjobim 2y ago
> Same with say dentist. Now you're dealing with a person, not a product. And in that case you have to follow your intuition, your gut feeling, regarding whether this individual is somebody to trust. There is no way around this.
Traubenfuchs 2y ago
Many dentists are money hungry psychopaths and some of them are highly incompetent. This is probably true for all doctors, but I don't think there is any other essential specialty that can pull as much money out of your pockets via personal persuasion, besides hair transplant and plastic surgeons. https://www.rd.com/article/how-honest-are-dentists/ https://www.rd.com/article/how-honest-are-dentists/

by Havoc 2y ago

ksec 2y ago

Exactly this. Even for something that is more relevant to HN, say Computer Hardware. You will already find most people are still doing very high level Spec Comparing without deep understanding within or besides it. As long as you drill deep enough about anything that is when people start calling you nerd. SSD ( Type of NAND ), DRAM, CPU Core, uArch, Board Layout, PSU, Fan etc. There are just insane amount of small variables. And unless you take interest in something. Most people are easily swayed by Marketing or Ads.

constantcrying 2y ago

Not only is the buyer not able to evaluate the product. The company, doesn't really understand what the buyer wants from the product and why he buys it over other products.

myroon5 2y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attribute_substitution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attribute_substitution

markus_zhang 2y ago

Yeah, We don't really have the knowledge to ask intelligent questions. I did take some accounting classes so I can have some intelligent discussion with my accountant, but the regulation changes every year so it's difficult to keep up. Even if the accountant misses something, that's quite possible. I mean, two of my previous companies messed up with payroll and many thousands were impacted.

BeefWellington 2y ago

This is where the value of a second or third opinion can become apparent.

causal 2y ago

Particularly interesting that quality seems to be dropping in an age where reviews are easier to find than ever. But there has always been an inherent conflict of interest in the place selling the wares (e.g. Amazon) also being the place hosting the reviews. Similarly for AirBNB - it cannot tolerate all of its own hosts being 2 stars.

zanellato19 2y ago
> Particularly interesting that quality seems to be dropping in an age where reviews are easier to find than ever. I disagree, the world has decided that everyone is able to give out a review when it clearly isn't the case. We are distrustful of experts now, because they can be bought (which is true), and are relying on laymen that are much, much worse. The old days of buying a magazine with experts reviewing something are gone, sadly.
robocat 2y ago
I'm often pressured to give incorrect quality ratings for unobvious reasons: I give Uber drivers either 5stars or no rating (after speaking with Uber drivers on the effects of ratings). AirBnB in particular I noticed has little incentives for me to rate truthfully and a variety of incentives for me to lie (e.g. I wanted to downvote the management but I didn't want the staff member to be affected). Enough so that I bought booking.com shares because the AirBnB experience was too often hideous.
spicybbq 2y ago
Even when you find a good review, there are complexities of manufacturing (and some intentional obfuscation) that make it hard to compare products or know that you are buying the exact same thing that was reviewed. If you buy the same item a year after the review, it may have changed. This could change performance but be something totally innocent, like the factory changing suppliers for a key component. Another pattern is this: Large retailers buying in volume are able to customize what they buy, so the "same" product can differ depending on where you buy it. Differences can range from harmless things like "exclusive" colors all the up to changes in functionality, cheaper internal components, and so on. Sometimes the model numbers are not changed. Another approach manufacturers use is to use slightly different model numbers everywhere which makes it hard to make exact comparisons. This is common with mattresses and appliances.

danielmarkbruce 2y ago

The world has become a very complex place. Every single thing from houses to cars to medical services is provided by a team of people with years of training in some esoteric field. Buyers are going to have a difficult time, and it can only continue to get worse.

carlosjobim 2y ago

> Same with say dentist. Now you're dealing with a person, not a product. And in that case you have to follow your intuition, your gut feeling, regarding whether this individual is somebody to trust. There is no way around this.

Traubenfuchs 2y ago

Many dentists are money hungry psychopaths and some of them are highly incompetent. This is probably true for all doctors, but I don't think there is any other essential specialty that can pull as much money out of your pockets via personal persuasion, besides hair transplant and plastic surgeons. https://www.rd.com/article/how-honest-are-dentists/ https://www.rd.com/article/how-honest-are-dentists/