Brothers In Blog

Before Al Gore created the Internet (now there’s some hot air), I would scour my library of Consumer Reports magazines to check their reviews on a product I was getting ready to buy. My wife can attest that I wouldn’t make any major purchase until I consulted this consumer Bible. Unfortunately, by the time the magazine was delivered to my mailbox some manufacturers had already changed a model I was considering or even worse…discontinued it. This all changed with online consumer review websites and reviews solicited by online retailers of their customers.

In my daytime job, I am responsible for making IT hardware/software purchases in our corporate office and remote retail sites. When a user needs a replacement printer or wants to upgrade their optical drive I’m the one they call. Now, I could just run down to my local Best Buy or Circuit City and pick up what’s on sale, but that would be much too easy and could prove costly in the long run. No, I’m on a mission to get the best fit for the user because my goal in the long run is an office of happy campers.

One consumer review website I frequent is Epinions.com. The success of this site depends on the voluntary product review submissions by its reader base. Reviewers receive compensation for their input based on votes from other registered readers. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “How can you trust a paid review?” When I say “receive compensation”, I’m talking pennies per vote. You’d have to write a review on everything in your house and maybe your neighbor’s too to make enough money to gas up a Toyota Prius.

Another good resource for product feedback are online retailers. Many such retailers like Buy.com, Amazon and Circuit City post comments from their customers after they have bought one of their products. One of my personal favorites is NewEgg.com. They seem to have a lot of user comments no matter what product I’m shopping for.

Now, with any review you need to check the date that the review was posted. A perfect example was a toilet I purchased as part of a bathroom renovation. I consulted the latest CR article on the subject and bought one of the top rated commodes. I was very disappointed in its performance after installing it and then extremely agitated when CR did a follow-up article citing that the manufacturer of my toilet had redesigned this particular model resulting in sub-standard performance. Guess which design I got.

For those who prefer to quickly scan a product’s score from a list of users, a word of caution. Read the latest reviews and see if how those users application of a product matches your plans. A poor review of a personal ink jet printer from a user in a corporate setting may be skewed due to the high duty cycle placed upon the printer. The same printer may be an excellent choice for a low volume home consumer. There are also those who go off the deep end whether they love or hate their purchase. Take everything with a grain of salt.

To date, I’ve made some excellent choices by drawing on the experiences of others. The process does take some time, but it beats listening to an employee bust my chops over the piece of junk I bought them.

Bret’s 2-Cents:

At one time I thought customer reviews found at various web sites were legit. Now, however, I’ve become very suspect of any “glowing” product review. Manufactures have quickly learned the “ways of the web” and have hired people to surf the web and plant positive reviews wherever possible. Check out a recent post over at The Instigator blog for a perfect example.

As for Consumer Reports, I’ve always suspected that publication of being bias if not completely controlled by big money. At the very least their reviews are only slightly helpful since they try to objectify that which is purely subjective. The magazine has tremendous influence, and that type of power does not go unnoticed. Bottom line, everyone has their price.

Call me cynic or call me a realist; however, when it comes to reviews and recommendations, I prefer to rely on the advice and experiences of friends and family. Everything else is nothing more than unqualified garbage.

Technorati Tags: Consumer Reports, Epinions.com