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

buyforlifeproducts.com

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

#291

Post by hammock »

donmcronald wrote: post #192
dumbfounder wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the comparison to Rotten Tomatoes makes sense because you aren't aggregating professional reviews of these products. To me it is just another product review site tackling a niche. But the idea of tracking cost per month is very intriguing (a measure of TCO, which you may want to tackle as well, because for some products that may include electricity usage, upkeep, etc). I think it is something that can t…

> because you aren't aggregating professional reviews of these products outdoorgearlab.com looks like a professional review site to me in the context of being an affiliate marketing / review site. IMHO almost all reviews online are affiliate marketing these days, so what I'd really be interested in is a site that hosts reviews and doesn't allow _any_ affiliate marketing or external links. IE: No incentive to game the…

Reddit is the biggest player in this space right now. "[xyz product] reddit" are very popular search terms.

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

#292

Post by j4nt4b »

One of the most interesting things you can ask in a store with high-end clothing is "Which of your items are most likely to last a hundred years?" There's a special joy that arises between you and the shopkeeper as the veil of bullshit disappears and they tell you up front that 95% of the clothes they sell are disposable name-brand garbage made overseas, but THIS item, typically made of denim, or wool, or leather, has been made in the same place in the same way for a century, and they see customers come in wearing their 50-year old article regularly.

Of course it's much easier to buy this year's model of something hyped & shiny without thinking and then post on a site like this to prop up your ego and mislead everybody else. I'd venture to say that if something hasn't been in production for the length of a lifetime, there's no justification in labeling it as "Buy it for life"

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

#293

Post by scollet »

dumbfounder wrote: post #50
hubraumhugo wrote: post #2

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…

I don't think the comparison to Rotten Tomatoes makes sense because you aren't aggregating professional reviews of these products. To me it is just another product review site tackling a niche. But the idea of tracking cost per month is very intriguing (a measure of TCO, which you may want to tackle as well, because for some products that may include electricity usage, upkeep, etc). I think it is something that can t…

> I don't think the comparison to Rotten Tomatoes makes sense...

That went a totally different direction than I was expecting.

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

#294

Post by parliament32 »

godot wrote: post #207
newsclues wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a poor person this is so valuable. Cheap boots are more expensive....

Are they really though? On the topic of boots, let's say we're talking about high-cut hiking boots. I'm not an avid hiker. I do casual hiking sometimes so I just wear regular shoes to those. When I do slightly more strenuous hiking, I wear a specific pair of high-cut hiking boots that I own. I get a chance to do this maybe once a year, or less. I bought a pair of Denali ones from Big5 for $40 for this purpose. It has…

The "boots" analogy comes from a time when boots were a daily-wear item. You're right -- for infrequently used items, daily cost of ownership isn't as relevant of a metric. For for something you actually use daily or almost-daily (laptop, headphones, shoes, cars, etc) it makes sense.

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

#295

Post by DrPhish »

owenversteeg wrote: post #143
DrPhish wrote: post #22

Any thoughts for adding good TCO commercial grade things? As an example, after I got upset throwing away my 5th coffee maker in a row, I found myself a Bunn pourover coffee maker on craigslist. They are made for huge duty cycles and every part is hard wearing, replaceable and easy to get ahold of via commercial coffee distributors. Now every time I have something needing replacement I look at commercial options, but…

Coffee makers are some of the few devices where this makes sense. While commercial things can occasionally save money, they usually don't. Furthermore, the TCO calculation has to take into account what you would have done with the same amount of money. Let's pretend you buy a $2000 commercial grade widget instead of the $500 consumer grade widget. Over ten years of use, your commercial grade widget cost $100 in parts…

To throw a confounding variable into your equation, I purchased the Bunn unit for $250CDN as a refurb unit from a commercial coffee dealer on my way through Vancouver and have needed to replace one switch (generic, which I had in a parts box) and one thermal sensor which was about $10 with shipping.

Commercial items are often available in classifieds, auctions and going out of business sales.

There is an element of luck in finding something worth buying (and some opportunity cost for the time I guess?), but being patient and relentless with a few well set up search filters has let me get a lot of things for pennies on the dollar.

I really want to do this with another item I seem to always be replacing, the microwave, but have found that a much more difficult thing to get ahold of at a reasonable price.

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

#296

Post by hubraumhugo »

_fxm1 wrote: post #82
hubraumhugo wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It currently doesn't show results if there is no match. I.e. if you start typing "Pata" it will suggest "Patagonia". But I must admit that this is a bad user experience, will improve it soon :)

Heya, just thought I'd let you know that this isn't the case for me either. I'm using Firefox and no outgoing requests are being made; nothing whatsoever happens.

Could you try again? I made some changes and tested it on Firefox.

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

#297

Post by aSockPuppeteer »

morsch wrote: post #197
dumbfounder wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the comparison to Rotten Tomatoes makes sense because you aren't aggregating professional reviews of these products. To me it is just another product review site tackling a niche. But the idea of tracking cost per month is very intriguing (a measure of TCO, which you may want to tackle as well, because for some products that may include electricity usage, upkeep, etc). I think it is something that can t…

> you aren't aggregating professional reviews of these products They are: https://www.buyforlifeproducts.com/products/9 Wirecutter, Good Housekeeping, GearLab

Wirecutter is a pay to play setup. Give them a referral code or your product is not the top pick anymore after careful consideration.

I think it really depends on: (disposable income * time to evaluate reviews - fakespot review adjustment)

Reddit has been a good resource lately as someone else mentioned. They have a buy it for life subreddit. Camelcamelcamel for price history.

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

#298

Post by hubraumhugo »

topsycatt wrote: post #98
hubraumhugo wrote: post #2

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…

I love the idea, but the site needs some more work. For example, on an iPhone with chrome I’m unable to actually search for anything (there is no “search” button on the keyboard on the search bar. I can enter text but it just sits there. Possibly incorrect annotations on the widget?).

Could you try again? I made some changes and tested it on Chrome and Firefox.

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

#299

Post by ufmace »

redshirtrob wrote: post #37
hubraumhugo wrote: post #2

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…

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…

I never liked battery powered tools, because I tend to use them rarely. The battery is almost always dead when I want to use one. Then I have to delay whatever I want to work on to charge one. Assuming that they still hold a charge, which they may not.

A corded tool, I can leave in a box for 3 years, then pick up, plug in, and run it all day if I need to, then put it away for another few years, and never have to worry about it.

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

#300

Post by jonlucc »

aSockPuppeteer wrote: post #297
morsch wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you aren't aggregating professional reviews of these products They are: https://www.buyforlifeproducts.com/products/9 Wirecutter, Good Housekeeping, GearLab

Wirecutter is a pay to play setup. Give them a referral code or your product is not the top pick anymore after careful consideration. I think it really depends on: (disposable income * time to evaluate reviews - fakespot review adjustment) Reddit has been a good resource lately as someone else mentioned. They have a buy it for life subreddit. Camelcamelcamel for price history.

I haven't heard that about Wirecutter, and I think that would devastate their brand (and maybe hurt NYT's) if true.
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