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Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

buyforlifeproducts.com

101–110 of 413 posts

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was the first question that occurred to me. Just a couple of days ago I needed to buy another iphone USB-lightning cable. If you want to get a sense of just how broken Amazon reviews are, try searching for one of these. It's a nightmare minefield of 4.7+ rated products that have these highly dubious 5 star ratings, but with a telltale sizeable chunk of recent 1 star reviews.[1] So I ended up having to also check…

I've taken to running all my amazon purchases through fakespot dot com first. It's highly discouraging.

They have a chrome extension FYI that shows their data/status on a product page on Amazon.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#102
The Wirecutter and The Sweethome used to be this for me, though at this point I think they've mostly succumbed to paid placement. But I'm very pleased with the Bosch dishwasher I bought some years ago on their recommendation, and my Archer C7 wireless router (now on OpenWRT) that I bought in 2015 has been a beast.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#103
I love finding more BIFL products, and used to go to the subreddit for inspiration. However, it became mostly one person saying that X product lasted them a really long time with little corroboration. Hopefully this takes off and can get some group consensus on products. I wrote an article about when BIFL is worth it and when it isn't here: https://medium.com/the-minimalist/thesearchfortheoneproduct-...

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#104
You might want to replace the image of the old style Nalgene bottle with a newer Nalgene because the old ones with the whiteish color had BPA whereas the newer ones do not. A lot of people, including myself, replaced the old ones when the media pointed out the BPA danger.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#105
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love this idea. I own a couple of items on the list now (Le Creuset Dutch Oven, and Kitchenaid Mixer) and I can attest to their durability. I think your idea of cost per month is good for things you use often. One thing I've been thinking about lately as I've undertaken a medium-sized kitchen renovation is the cost of ownership of tools. Since I'm not a professional I can't take a cost per month approach since I ma…

The batteries absolutely fail before the tools do. As long as you stick to a range (for me, Makita Lxt) you’ll just need a few working batteries between all your tools as a diyer. At least that’s what I’ve found. They slowly fall apart, but you still get fairly good value from them. I started “collecting” tools a year ago and my first batteries are starting to go now. They’re actually still plenty good enough good en…

I mostly stick with corded tools. Over the past 17 years I've managed to collect:

- A Milwaukee right angle drill. I don't use it much, but when I need it, it's invaluable

- A Porter Cable circular saw. I get a bit more use out of this. Circular saws are so versatile.

- A hand-held power planer. I used this a lot fitting doors to irregular door jams. I've loaned it out quite a bit too. Like the right angle drill, I don't reach for it often now, but when I need it, I'm damn glad to have it.

- Just purchased a Makita track saw. I'm anticipating a lot of long rip cuts in the next few months. I could do this with a circular saw, but I really like the simplicity of the track saw.

- Power drill. I've had it forever. I rarely reach for it, but it's nice to know it's there.

For battery powered tools I have:

- Power drill. This is a must-have for battery. The convenience is worth having to get a new one every so often. I'm on my second one now. I started with a Craftsman a long time ago. I replaced the batteries once and now I can't get new ones.

- I'm considering a jig saw. I'm not sure. It feels like this would be more convenient w/o a cord, and they're cheap enough that I wouldn't worry about replacing it. Still undecided.

For yard tools, I can totally see going with battery powered as well. I'm considering an edger. I hate dealing with two-stroke engines, and a cord would be a huge PITA. I'll probably get a battery powered one and try to stay in the same brand for leaf blower and chainsaw.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#107

A few months ago, I began developing the Buy For Life platform. It started as a simple list where people could add brands that manufacture durable products. It now evolved into a full platform with aggregated product reviews from all over the web, discussions, and various metrics to calculate a score for each brand and product. I want to help people finding the most durable and sustainable products in the world. It s…

Add patreon so people can support/fund it!

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#108

The Wirecutter and The Sweethome used to be this for me, though at this point I think they've mostly succumbed to paid placement. But I'm very pleased with the Bosch dishwasher I bought some years ago on their recommendation, and my Archer C7 wireless router (now on OpenWRT) that I bought in 2015 has been a beast.

Most of the stuff listed on Wirecutter isn't tested for longevity or real quality. For example, they recommended headphones that sound great but have plastic bands that crack and break from normal use.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#109
post #28

A few months ago, I began developing the Buy For Life platform. It started as a simple list where people could add brands that manufacture durable products. It now evolved into a full platform with aggregated product reviews from all over the web, discussions, and various metrics to calculate a score for each brand and product. I want to help people finding the most durable and sustainable products in the world. It s…

Good idea. Thanks for making that site. I am an asshole. I copy&pasted a fake 5 star review from Amazon, using a fake account. Do you have a plan to stop brands from doing this to you?

I think the ship has sailed on the trustworthiness of online reviews from rando people. Pretty much every store or review site that aggregates user-submitted content has done a poor job of removing spam and fake reviews, and people are finally starting to realize how worthless the ratings are. Even if someone does crack this nut and figures it out, they won't be believed because of how fake everything has been for the last 20 years.

I think the best thing online stores can do at this point is just nuke all user-submitted ratings and reviews. They're 99% garbage.

Re: Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products

#110

A few months ago, I began developing the Buy For Life platform. It started as a simple list where people could add brands that manufacture durable products. It now evolved into a full platform with aggregated product reviews from all over the web, discussions, and various metrics to calculate a score for each brand and product. I want to help people finding the most durable and sustainable products in the world. It s…

attempted to add an item. Here's my thoughts: first, adding an item is a LOT of labor to enter data that's freely available from amazon's APIs for most products you're going to encounter. not only would this be _much_ easier if you just allowed me to paste in an amazon link, or name that you searched for on amazon, you could also easily generate affiliate links and make money. I used _my_ affiliate link for the produ…

Man, I want people like you reviewing and qaing everything I release. Quality feedback.
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