Bad tool reviews
#21
(06-23-2019, 03:44 PM)TGW Wrote: On the other hand the world is full of people with advanced skills whick they prefere not to teach as they lack formal training.
They make wonders in their workshop but nobody will ever notice.
What a waste of skill........

They notice.
Reply
#22
Amazon starts pinging me for a review within 48 hours of delivery of the item.  I ignore all of those requests.

There was one review on Amazon that locked a sale for an item to me.  I was looking for a new bearing to replace a bad bearing on my Carter bandsaw guides.  I had measured the existing bearing and was searching for the correct size.  Was looking at one particular item on the site, and the first review I saw was from somebody who had purchased the pack of bearings to replace a bad bearing on his Carter bandsaw guides.  The review said they were a perfect fit.  Ding, ding, ding...we have a winner.  Now that was helpful review to me.   

Yesterday I received an e-mail from another e-commerce site (etrailer.com) about some items I bought a year ago.  They expressed their thanks for the business, and then asked me to fill out a survey for their page.  I'll do that one.
Reply
#23
You can avoid certain terms in a youtube search:
site:youtube.com woodworking -unboxing -mind-blowing -amazing -incredible
But I wish youtube would allow me to set keywords to always avoid.
Reply
#24
Review:  The widget I bought is great. Got to go now, so I can finish putting it together!

Got to remember it's on the internet. Could be right. Could be wrong.
I long for the days when Coke was a soft drink, and Black and Decker was a quality tool.
Happiness is a snipe free planer
Reply
#25
Review: 5 stars for the new (fill in the blank), because some socialite woodworker shows it on his (or her) instagram or blogs about it. Celebrities can't be wrong.

Simon
Reply
#26
(06-24-2019, 08:05 AM)Handplanesandmore Wrote: Hand tool reviews in magazines are particularly bad because editors feel the need or compassion to support the "advertisers" or the hand tool maker community. When was the last time that we saw a bad review on any fancy, high price hand tool?
Rolleyes

Reviews on books aren't much better as almost any books that can get published are worth gold, whether by mainstream publishers or by ones that are more like printers than publishers. These days, you and I can write a book, as all we need is to get "well-known" on social media. The publishing standards, even when excluding self-publishing, have gone downhill in the last 10 - 15 years.

Simon

FWIW, In my time at a magazine, that was not entirely true. What is true is that we did not print bad tool reviews; we tried plenty of tools we wouldn't recommend, so we simply didn't write about them. But every word I published about a given tool was my honest reaction – and it had zero to do with advertising.
Reply
#27
(07-13-2019, 07:16 AM)elinourrumming Wrote: FWIW, In my time at a magazine, that was not entirely true. What is true is that we did not print bad tool reviews; we tried plenty of tools we wouldn't recommend, so we simply didn't write about them. But every word I published about a given tool was my honest reaction – and it had zero to do with advertising.

No bad reviews, interesting, but logical for a magazine.  Fact is, from my perspective I'd be more interested in seeing both good and bad reviews in the same tool category....
Credo Elvem ipsum etiam vivere
Non impediti ratione cogitationis
Reply
#28
From a vendor's or manufacturer's point of view, bad reviews are unwelcomed. I seriously doubt that any advertisers would like to see a bad review on their products in the same publication that receives revenue from their marketing budgets

When I buy something (Amazon or Home Depot, etc.), the first reviews I look at are the negative ones. I am an intelligent user and I can tell trivial and ignorant comments from genuine user's experience. Bad reviews don't necessarily alter my purchase decisions. If the bad reviews are consistently about bad customer service and it is the only place where I can get the product, I will avoid it no matter how good the product itself is. I don't encourage bad customer service, and one way to do it is stop or minimize doing business with whoever delivers bad customer service. I know some consumers shop around for the lowest price; nothing wrong but I am not one of them.

Simon
Reply
#29
I also love the recipe reviews that generally read like:
"I love this, it was delicious!   I didn't have any pork loin so I used chicken.  And I don't really like rosemary so I substituted thyme and oregano.   And I cooked it my crock pot instead of roasting in the oven.   But it was great!"
Reply
#30
The only thing an unboxing review tells me is how packaged it is. Any useful review should include some real life and preferably long term use of the tool. A year ago, I would have praised my Dewalt cordless trimmer (yard tool). After using it for a year, my opinion has dramatically changed. You live and learn.
Still Learning,

Allan Hill
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)

Product Recommendations

Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.