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Google engineer writing Amazon reviews on USB-C cables that don't work

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Re: Google engineer writing Amazon reviews on USB-C cables that don't work

#361

Post by Hello71 »

IE6 wrote: post #304
mathewpeterson wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just keep in mind that all these products are mass produced and are subject to imperfections. Really, the only thing that matters is how good their customer support is and Anker is probably better than most but they still have a long way to go. I say this because I had one of their USB power ports that my children use to charge their iPads (2x 4th gen) that overheated and burnt up[1]. I completed the contact form on…

IMHO there is no reason to ever be loyal to a brand anymore. Brand names are sold, the same two products are built or assembled by different subcontractors, the same two products contain bits and pieces manufactured by different companies at different times... There really is no reliable way to choose the best product without doing some research and often times you have to rely on enthusiasts or experts since frankly…

Their point is not that the product was low quality (although it was), but that the brand's resolution of the problem was of low quality.

Although it may not be possible to control an entire production chain, it is entirely possible to control the customer service department or at least the refund policy.

Re: Google engineer writing Amazon reviews on USB-C cables that don't work

#363

Post by 54mf »

ColinDabritz wrote: post #273
keithrl wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lawyer here. Pure speculation/not legal advice: Theoretically, people who purchased complain to their state attorney general or report the manufacturers to the FTC. There might be some recompense under consumer fraud laws. If enough people had bought them, there might be enough people to form a class action (doubtful though). The problem is that amount of $ involved here is just not something anyone is likely to get…

It's $5 for the cable, but you could potentially damage the USB C port on a laptop, and some rather expensive fruit branded laptops now charge solely via the USB C port, which you could argue destroyed the value of the laptop. That sounds like it might make a small-claims-court case sensible to me. (I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice.)

"some rather expensive fruit branded laptops"

So do some rather expensive shiny-metal-branded laptops.

Re: Google engineer writing Amazon reviews on USB-C cables that don't work

#364

Post by umsm »

IE6 wrote: post #304
mathewpeterson wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just keep in mind that all these products are mass produced and are subject to imperfections. Really, the only thing that matters is how good their customer support is and Anker is probably better than most but they still have a long way to go. I say this because I had one of their USB power ports that my children use to charge their iPads (2x 4th gen) that overheated and burnt up[1]. I completed the contact form on…

IMHO there is no reason to ever be loyal to a brand anymore. Brand names are sold, the same two products are built or assembled by different subcontractors, the same two products contain bits and pieces manufactured by different companies at different times... There really is no reliable way to choose the best product without doing some research and often times you have to rely on enthusiasts or experts since frankly…

This may be true, but you still want someplace to start when you buy or recommend products. With certain brands / companies, you can become familiar with quality, cost, design, etc. You don't want to waste hours upon hours researching when you need something.

Even though Anker may not provide perfect products + service every time, they may be a good place to start looking for an accessory.

Re: Google engineer writing Amazon reviews on USB-C cables that don't work

#365

Post by throwaway7767 »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #66

I see no reason why to buy anything but Anker. I once tried to purposely destroy an Anker MicroUSB cable (bought a 5 pack that had three 3ft, one 6ft, one 1ft, didn't need the 1ft), by grabbing the head of it with clamping pliers and yanking the fuck out of it with the cable wrapped around my hand, and bending it to near 180 degrees repeatedly for about 5 minutes. I could not kill it without straight up taking wire c…

Keep in mind that if the cable is stronger, a strong yank will be more likely to break the next weak thing, which might be the USB port of whatever device you are using. I've seen phones where the micro-USB port was just held on by the solder pads, with no special strengthening or through-hole mounting.

Since the device is likely more expensive than the cable, this might not be desireable.

Re: Google engineer writing Amazon reviews on USB-C cables that don't work

#367

Post by sk5t »

atourgates wrote: post #205
asddubs wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

another really common thing is people rating the shipping instead of the product in their negative reviews

Though with some products this is helpful. I was just looking at air compressors on Amazon, and there were a few models that seemed to arrive damaged in the vast majority of reviews. Given that feedback, I might pay a bit of a premium to buy one locally.

Very interesting--I noticed the same thing when shopping Amazon for air compressors specifically. Decided to roll the dice and received an undamaged Makita... and did not circle back to write a review.

Re: Google engineer writing Amazon reviews on USB-C cables that don't work

#368

Post by AnthonyMouse »

x0x0 wrote: post #339
gleenn wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Manufacturers got to lengths to squeeze pennies out of the Bill of Materials (BOM) in products like these. I remember listening to some conversations and being blown away at the tiny savings here and there, and our product was over $100.

But so what? Why is google selling phones -- to promote android and google as a brand, or to make money? If it's to make money, fine, then eek every penny out of that BOM. But they claim it's the former, and cheap cables are apparently a brand image problem, so they should solve it by not cheaping out on the large investment they've already made.

Google promotes Android by selling the device near cost. Even if they're not making money, they aren't going to sell devices at a loss (-$5 times a hundred million devices is real money), which means the only way to increase the manufacturing cost is to increase the sale price.

When it's only a dollar or so you might expect the customer to want to pay the extra dollar in exchange for the benefit, but in practice the device is going to be priced at a threshold like $499 and the psychological difference between $499 and $500 would measurably drive down sales.

But the bigger problem is that this is hardly the only facet of a device you could improve by making it cost a tiny bit more. Add them up and it would add $100 or more to the price of the device. So you can't have them all, but decide against any one in particular and everyone wants to know why you're cheaping out over a buck.

Re: Google engineer writing Amazon reviews on USB-C cables that don't work

#369

Post by vxNsr »

noinput wrote: post #329
DiabloD3 wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anker Type C to USB 2.0 Type A: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y0K51PU/ Anker Type C to USB 3.0 Type A: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0119EIHTG/ Both are currently out of stock, which might be why you didn't find them. I was told by someone I know that asked Anker that they should be back in stock before the end of November.

Nicely done spreading the word about Smile.

Do you know of any tool/extension/thing that will auto-redirect me to smile instead of the regular one, I always forget to go there myself.

Re: Google engineer writing Amazon reviews on USB-C cables that don't work

#370

Post by sowbug »

bkmartin wrote: post #17

The average consumer has no idea if one of these cables will actually do what they proclaim. The only way to really know is when other customers review the product, which we know is barely useful most of the time due to fraudulent reviews. Great job on the part of this Google engineer for writing such clear and technical reviews of the products. Now that an expert has called some of these cables out as not adhering t…

I don't want Amazon being the product police, in the same way I don't want them refusing to sell products that they think compete with them (Chromecast). Amazon should be neutral about the products it sells, instead giving people the tools they need to make buying decisions, like reviews and ratings.
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