Show HN: I built a Rotten Tomatoes-style platform for durable products • Hacker News Board

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

#231

Post by GloriousKoji » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 5:35 PM UTC

mikepurvis wrote: post #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.

The more recent problem with wirecutter is a lack of discovery on their part. They select most of the products they review based on amazon reviews, which have gotten highly unreliable in recent years with all the fake reviews.

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

#232

Post by robocat » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 5:38 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #78

aidos wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Yes. Sometimes a manufacturer will switch battery types but I've seen this more with real consumer grade products than prosumer/pro ones. (Have a couple Black and Decker products I've had to throw out because batteries died and couldn't get replacements even online.) But it's pretty much a given that anything like a cordless drill will have the batteries give out long before (and even multiple times) before you need…

> because batteries died and couldn't get replacements

Search for “battery repack”. The batteries inside are always a standard size, and can be replaced by cracking the case. There are specialist companies that do it, but you have to find them.

You can do it yourself if the tool is worth spending the time on - basic soldering skills, and glue the case back together after you break it open to replace the cells (ugly, but works).

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

#233

Post by mtnGoat » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 5:39 PM UTC

Great idea, but it needs more data, currently it almost comes off as biased. For instance this product: https://www.buyforlifeproducts.com/products/18 why were only a handful of glowing 5 star reviews pulled in? Sure, most of the reviews on Amazon are positive, but a fair mix would be nice.

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

#234

Post by TT3351 » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 5:39 PM UTC

0xffff2 wrote: post #79

msluyter wrote: post #62

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…

Positive reviews are noise for me on any product. For products I don't care enough about to do independent research, I evaluate them exclusively by reading 1 and 2 star reviews, ignoring the additional noise of "the product didn't ship on time" type reviews, and deciding if the specific complaints made in the rest are things I care about.

Are you open to the possibility of competing brands bombarding decent products with negative reviews?

FWIW, almost every [negative, because I'm trying to warn others about wasting money] Amazon review I leave is removed for arbitrary reasons set out by Amazon. They seem uninterested in contributions like "this mouse was $30 not 6 months ago, and the current $90 price tag is unconscionable. [LG G602 mouse]" The few times I've complained about shipping problems (as you suggest you've seen) they also removed those.

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

#235

Post by K2h » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 5:42 PM UTC

By definition, if a product has a lifetime warrenty wouldn't it get ranked very high? as long as the company reputation is not too bad.

I went to buyforlifeproducts.com to submit a few suggestions but was disappointed to see I couldn't make any submissions without an account. I understand accounts help keep out the rif raf, but for me, too high of a barrier to contribute at this time.

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

#236

Post by hh3k0 » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 5:42 PM UTC

dymax78 wrote: post #206

driverdan wrote: post #112

I like the concept but since it's open to the public it will suffer from ignorance. For example, take the Salomon Quest boots that are listed. I own a pair of them. While they're good boots for the price they do not deserve an A- score. They are not BIFL. The soles are glued making them not resoleable. The sole on one of mine has started coming unglued too. The same can be said for the Victorinox Fibrox knife that ha…

"BIFL" footwear; genuinely curious, does such a product even exist?

Older Dr Martens were said to be virtually indestructible (at least according to some older friends of mine).

Dr Martens also had, at some point, sold a "for life" line that came with an extensive guarantee:

> The guarantee covers the failure of any component, such as upper leather, stitched seams, eyelets, soles, welts, linings and reinforcements which has been subjected to normal wear and tear from non-industrial abuse and not unreasonably abused. The guarantee will be active from the day on which the original owner activates their guarantee, to the end of that person's natural life.

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

#237

Post by floatrock » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 5:47 PM UTC

noxToken wrote: post #211

driverdan wrote: post #112

I like the concept but since it's open to the public it will suffer from ignorance. For example, take the Salomon Quest boots that are listed. I own a pair of them. While they're good boots for the price they do not deserve an A- score. They are not BIFL. The soles are glued making them not resoleable. The sole on one of mine has started coming unglued too. The same can be said for the Victorinox Fibrox knife that ha…

Another thing is product revisions. Version 1 might be an actual BIFL product. Version 2 might have a small yet significant revision impacting quality. Even process revisions like offloading part of the manufacturing process or a different part supplier can impact the longevity of a product.

...or be bought by a private equity firm with a spreadsheet that says the craft-built premium reputation can be gutted and slapped onto cheaply-made versions for x years before the market notices the shift but by then enough profit will have been extracted that acquiring and gutting the brand will have made net positive financial returns.

There's a famous story that I believe Henry Ford scavenged junk yards for broken Model T's. Every time he found one, he recorded what was broken. After finding enough of them, he figured out the part that was never broken was something like the front axle assembly. So he went to his axle engineers, told them they built it too strong, and find ways to cut costs.

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

#238

Post by ryanSrich » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 5:47 PM UTC

Curious how you would handle brands that build multiple lines. Some durable, others not. For example, I love my stitched sole made in America Danner boots. However, the glued sole boots made in China style will break apart after a few hundred hikes, and unfortunately they aren'r repairable.

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

#239

Post by COGlory » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 5:51 PM UTC

dymax78 wrote: post #206

driverdan wrote: post #112

I like the concept but since it's open to the public it will suffer from ignorance. For example, take the Salomon Quest boots that are listed. I own a pair of them. While they're good boots for the price they do not deserve an A- score. They are not BIFL. The soles are glued making them not resoleable. The sole on one of mine has started coming unglued too. The same can be said for the Victorinox Fibrox knife that ha…

"BIFL" footwear; genuinely curious, does such a product even exist?

I have had Red Wings last for a decade+ without showing any signs of letting up, beyond re-soling from time to time. And I wear them every day.

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

#240

Post by tumblerz » Wed, Oct 07, 2020, 5:52 PM UTC

hedora wrote: post #132

tumblerz wrote: post #116

I quite like this because we all need reliable reviews/ratings. But, how do we deal with product model or component changes? A couple examples: "Earthquake" impact wrench from Harbor Freight. Purchased ten years ago, used a lot--for an amateur (maybe a couple thousand high torque automotive bolts, sunk some cement anchors). This product is currently sold by HF, but is much changed. The site's example of Lodge cast ir…

Maybe rating by brand would be better. Harbor Freight is known for high variance. If they added a “no really, not destined for a landfill” brand line that was 99% unbreakable, then that would bubble up to the top. The problem with trusting brands is that manufacturers (like whirlpool and frigidaire) intentionally rotate which of their sub brands is garbage every few years to prevent people from avoiding planned obsol…

I agree that by-brand ratings are too complicated--even if my lizard brain operates that way.

Maybe now I'm yelling at clouds, but it feels like I have to do deep research on everything, now. Everything I read, everything I need to buy, everything. It's tiresome and terrible and is why a site like this could be...really, so helpful.