The last few years I’ve been feeling more and more like researching anything to buy is becoming harder. I’m curious how others approach buying things. So how do you research online purchases these days?
I generally trust NYT’s Wirecutter’s reviews, but that can’t be the only good site left, right? Googling for reviews on any product seems to bring nothing but scam websites with lists that I have no idea how to tell if they are legit or not. I used to use sites like Cnet for tech reviews, but they seem overrun with ads and are hard to navigate. Every review on Amazon feels fake, and even buying from the “official brand” stores on Amazon doesn’t guarantee you won’t get a bootleg item. I used to subscribe to Consumer Reports, but they seem off lately too (for a Consumer-focused brand, they have non-existent customer service).
Is this just me getting old and grumpy? What do most people do?
I use Fakespot to check Amazon reviews. On a desktop you can install an add-on to your browser that shows Fakespot info right in the product’s listing. On mobile devices, install the app and use the share feature, or C&P the URL into the Fakespot site.
It’s not perfect, but it gives you a sense of how many of the reviews are real vs fake.
A lot of people feel Wirecuttter went downhill when the NYT bought it. Atlantic did an article about it recently. I don’t know if this is paywalled (we subscribe) but here it is. (Apparently, Atlantic doesn’t offer gift links.)
Although I liked Wirecutter’s methodology, there were several times – even pre-NYT – that their report clashed significantly with my first-hand experience, which made me dubious of their reviews. I haven’t checked them out lately.
For tech stuff, I still check out Cnet and PC Mag.
But you’re right that the enshittification of the Web makes it hard.
Would second the negative take on Wirecutter; they seem more slipshod and less discerning, in the sense of “we really like the lights on this product even though the motor fell off when we turned it on for the first time.”
For cookware, kitchen appliances, and stuff like that – America’s Test Kitchen and Serious Eats. America’s test Kitchen requires a subscription, but I have noticed you can read the first paragraph before you hit the paywall, and often they mention the winners in the first paragraph.
I find myself using youtube more and more for finding reviews on things I’m looking to purchase. Plenty of amateur channels out there of people showing and using the stuff while opining at the same time.
I tend to look on Reddit, believe it or not. There are subreddits for a lot of consumer products, especially computer components, and you get the crowdsourced opinions without the enshittification aspects.
That doesn’t work so well for washing machines or refrigerators though. What I try and do there is to find ones with a LOT of reviews- thousands if I can, and then find ones that are very skewed high. Then I read some of those, and as many of the bad reviews as I can stand. I usually get a pretty good idea of how the product compares from that.
For my own research I tend to read a bunch of the negative / neutral reviews. Unlike positive reviews, they (some of them) reveal important information for my purchase decisions.
Thanks everyone, this is really helpful! Somehow I have never even heard of Tom’s Guide. I already spend too much time on Reddit so at least I can justify it as reasearch, heh.