The edumacated consumer

[mrtristan]

How often do you use the internet for consumer research?

I pretty much research anything I'm going to buy or interested in buying. I tend to have bad luck, so I try to choose something that's not likely to break easily or be broken out of the box.

I particularly like reviews of power tools. Most places don't let you try their tools, so it's a gamble when you purchase something. Although I work in a trade, I'm not on the jobsite from day to day. I'm in my shop cutting wood most of the day, so I don't have the opportunity to talk tools with the other guys. Anyway, I burn through my tools pretty quickly, if they can't handle me. I don't mind losing the investment in terms of price, but I hate to be in the middle of something and have to either fix my tool or buy a new one.

The last thing I researched was compound miter saws. Judging from various people's reviews online, I narrowed it down to a Makita and Dewalt. I've had good experiences with both brands, so I was kind of indecisive. Eventually, I went with the Makita, because the Dewalt had a belt drive, which is an added point of failure.

And who said that the internet is only good for porn?

[Cobra]

I am currently looking into buying an AMD Athlon64 XP3500 Winchester. Reviews help greatly when I'm going to blow almost £200 on a tiny little chip.

[sacajaweeda]

How much is £200 in USD?

[Cobra]

Currently $378.64 (10:50 GMT, 28-11-04).

[redwudz]

I use the internet and reviews all the time before shopping for big ticket items, even if I end up buying them locally. (And, yes the internet is good for porn.)

[sacajaweeda]

I think I'm gonna hang out in the 32 bit realm for a little while longer.

[SLICK RICK]

I try to read reviews pretty much on everything I buy.

[sacajaweeda]

Me too. Sometimes I'm even smart enough to do it before I actually run out and buy the ******* thing.

[jimmalenko]

Always. The web has been a great "invention" in this regard IMO, mainly just for the ability to search for almost any product, and you're almost guaranteed to find consumer reviews or opinions on it. Although a lot of what you read is utter crap, as long you can sift through the opinions and get decent factual info, it is invaluable to me and an integral part of any purchase.

[richdvd]

Always. The web has been a great "invention" in this regard IMO, mainly just for the ability to search for almost any product, and you're almost guaranteed to find consumer reviews or opinions on it. Although a lot of what you read is utter crap, as long you can sift through the opinions and get decent factual info, it is invaluable to me and an integral part of any purchase.

Exactly my thoughts.
Good post.

[mrtristan]

I hear you. I filter our the reviews that read something like this:

"Don't buy this piece of sh!t. It's a pile of crap and hard to use. It broke, when I tried to force the circle part into the square hole. They should label these things."

I do take into consideration the negative reviews that are informative, though. Likewise, the positive reviews are great, to see what everyone likes about the product.

Always. The web has been a great "invention" in this regard IMO, mainly just for the ability to search for almost any product, and you're almost guaranteed to find consumer reviews or opinions on it. Although a lot of what you read is utter crap, as long you can sift through the opinions and get decent factual info, it is invaluable to me and an integral part of any purchase.

[ViRaL1]

I love the internet, even if it does also end up being the greatest (and fastest traveling) source of misinformation around. :P

[northcat_8]

If I'm going to buy it, then I do quite a bit of research. But I typically will go find a forum on that particular item and talk to end users, rather than people who just "tested it" or people like TechTV's Leo who may have tested it but aren't using it for the type of applications that I use it for or didn't test it under video encoding or 3D rendering loads.

Hell for 90% of adults, if the computer can play solitaire and do some word processing that's good enough...my calculator will do those things

I check things out pretty thoroughly. But if my friend has it, and is going to give it to me, I take it and then check it out later..I do have a trash can too.

[mats.hogberg]

Bought a new car the other day, and went to Pricerunner to shop for a new insurance - filled in a form, and 30 secs later, someone calls me up, asking for more details, and tells me he'll look around. Comes back within an hour. Unfortunately only 5% below what I already had from my old insurance company, and only if I paid 1 yr in advance, so in the end, I didn't take his offer, but the service was super.
I always check with Pricerunner when it's something >$100, and I don't need it today (most best prices are from small mail order companies, it seems).

/Mats

[pbhalerao]

I made the mistake of purchasing Dazzle Hoolywood DV Bridge before reviewing...

[zzyzzx]

I hear you. I filter our the reviews that read something like this:

"Don't buy this piece of sh!t. It's a pile of crap and hard to use. It broke, when I tried to force the circle part into the square hole. They should label these things."

I do take into consideration the negative reviews that are informative, though. Likewise, the positive reviews are great, to see what everyone likes about the product.

The classic negative review on a product that I bought (an expensive Rowenta iron) was one where they complained about it breaking because they dropped it. Duh.