
Just Tell Me What To Buy - kjhughes
http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/12/just-tell-me-what-to-buy/
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habosa
That's what The Wirecutter[1] does and I find its a great way to buy. For a
phone or computer I want to do some research but for most other devices I can
buy what they say is "the best for $x" and move on. Has saved me a lot of time
and by not doing extra research I reduce buyer's remorse.

[1] - thewirecutter.com

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forrestthewoods
I came to the comments to say how much I like Wirecutter. It's one of my
favorite sites. Exceptional research for behind every recommendation and they
always have a small range of choices to fit your exact needs or budget.
Absolutely top notch stuff.

~~~
Are-Em_Star
I used to think the same thing until I read a review for LED lightbulbs on one
of their sister sites, The Sweethome [[http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-
led-lightbulb/](http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-led-lightbulb/)]. The
review in question sounds like an infomercial for Cree and
DesigningwithLEDs.com. It definitely made me question how impartial The
Wirecutter and it's sister sites really is.

~~~
tptacek
I don't understand. What about this review sounds suspicious to you? They like
a specific brand of LED bulb. Isn't that the whole point of the site?

~~~
Are-Em_Star
It's been a couple of months since I read it, but I remember that the tone
just felt off to me. I think there's a couple of comments on the site that
mention it sound like an infomercial. I think the frequent references to
DesigningwithLEDs.com also put me off, kind of felt like the author was really
trying to drive traffic to their own site.

~~~
tptacek
The author runs DesigningWithLEDs.com. Presumably, that's why they chose her
to write this review. If Sweethome is happy with the cross-promotion (to
another website, of course, not to a reviewed product), I'm not sure I see
what the problem is for the reader.

~~~
shiven
The question is, as in security, trustworthiness. Trust and/but/then Verify
you say? If I have to verify, what's the point of trusting, might as well read
amazon reviews and do my own research via google, fb, twitter etc. For a
completely new user, a site that even 'smells' of shenanigans is hard to
trust. First impressions and all that. If a site invites guest writers, who
then shill for their own site, _in the main copy_ of their post, rather than,
say, the footnote or sub-title, it starts smelling fishy pretty fast.

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chiph
I think the revelations that product makers are changing their components (to
cheaper ones -- decontenting their devices) after they get solid reviews,
throws all tech reviews into question. After all, it's a matter of trust - you
trust that the review is honest and unbiased, and you trust that the device
you subsequently buy is the same as what was reviewed. And when either
condition isn't true, you feel like a chump for being burned.

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steele
Does this mean we've hit peak prosumer? Maybe reading these in-depth reviews
have become more superficial hobby than valuable information. The comments on
reviews are just awful to read. There is always petty factioning, squabbling
about inconsistencies of numeric rating systems, and "Let's keep this
discussion civil" is now the contemporary version of "first post".

I rely greatly on in-depth reviews when I'm seeking information about high
consideration items like computer parts, cameras, etc. Hopefully the distilled
reviews aren't interpreted as "best in class" but are understood as "best for
the average person's priorities given they can afford this item"

~~~
mjolk
>Does this mean we've hit peak prosumer?

Opposed to what, professional? Maybe it's different for people that use their
cell phones and LED light bulbs professionally, but when buying something like
headphones, I'm usually looking to be told by someone with lots of experience
"select one of these three" because it's not that important to me.

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higherpurpose
> Pierce, who came to The Verge from PC Magazine, is familiar with granular,
> spec-driven reviews, but says that they’ve been thinking about doing reviews
> differently for a while.

Pierce is the most "touchy-feely" reviewer on that site. I've always thought
his reviews were of very poor quality, and he was making up numbers out of
thin air, and then made it so the sub-ratings match his overall rating for the
phone.

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troymc
The "best thing to buy" depends on who you are, what you need and want,
obviously.

Wasn't there a website where you could 1) say what you're looking to get, 2)
answer a few questions, and 3) get one or two solid recommendations?

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vammok
It's a shame Measy was shut down.

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adamzerner
I think that there is a huge opportunity to apply "just tell me what to buy"
to all products and services (not just tech ones).

I go to buy a chair, see hundreds of brands and types... just tell me what to
buy! I want a resource that has researched all the options, and that I could
trust to make good recommendations.

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mcv
Too bad the listed prices are useless. No doubt the $0.01 phones come with an
unspecified contract that's not been taken into account. If you can't get the
pure prices, you'd better just leave them out. This is useless and misleading.

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miguelrochefort
Getting _exactly_ what you need is not so important when you can easily
trade/swap it for something that better fits your needs.

It's time to get away from the "you better make the right choice, because
you'll be stuck with it for X years".

