The Value of Reviews

[MoparTrucks]

I have been following the HF Utility Cart Modification thread and have kind of been thinking of making the drive to HF myself to check them out (its about 65 miles from here) but I was in Lowes the other day and saw the new Kobalt utility cart and it looked pretty good...but....

I dont have the money until I get paid for a job or two so I looked up the reviews and it wasnt good. I think I was enticed by the shiny blue paint and the gas struts for the top because when I went back today to further check it out I noticed a lot of quality control issues similar to what were identified in the reviews.

It was on sale for $159 but I think I will wait and look at the HF one.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_460636-5573...ct_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=#BVRRWidgetID

 

[jd_1138]

In this case, there are only 7 reviews. It's hardly very statistically accurate especially when people are more apt to post a review when they are dissatisfied, so there might be thousands of people who bought the cart and like it.

But if you checked it out, and the quality seems bad, that's probably a good reason to stay away from it.

 

[MoparTrucks]

Yes that is my point (I just dont write very good). I never pay all that much attention to glowing or totally negative reviews for the reason you state, i.e., its only someone with a gripe who usually posts or the glowing reviews are like the woman who bought one for her husband and he liked it...so not very useful.

But in this case there were reviews with specific points that allowed me to go back and look at those specifically. I think I would have missed a lot of things because the unit itself looks pretty nice in the store. The welds were sketchy, the fasteners were really cheap and of poor quality, the casters seemed sub par and once I gave it a good look the powder coat/paint had a lot of flaws.

I find I have to be careful in hardware stores because I am like a moth to a flame sometimes but I have learned to step back before making a big purchase (and $160 is a big purchase for me) and check out what others say about an item good or bad as long as they have specifics because it focuses my attention. I know lots of people dont value the reviews but I have found them useful for the reasons stated.

 

[AmericanPreferred]

I think you will get a lot more drawer space with the HF unit. I have the 4 drawer black one and its been good for a few years so far. They didnt yet have the 5 drawer when I got mine, but from my brief once overs at the store it appears to be a pretty good upgrade from the 4 drawer. I have been let down by good reviews way more than bad one's.

 

[treimers]

I would trust the reviews on a forum site like this one
LONG LONG LONG before I would trust the reviews from a website
that sold the products or claimed to provide 'real' reviews.

Let me explain why-

I work in IT, and have for 25 years or more.
I'm a network engineer, not a software developer, but I've worked
with dozens (or more) people who write websites like the ones you see today.

Believe it or not, in the last 4-5 years, it has become nearly trivial to write a script for a webserver that can quite LITERALLY "write" a review!

Using a long list of canned phrases and sentences, 'seed' words, a dictionary of first names, place names, and so on, one of these PHP or python scripts
can quite literally generate a paragraph of text from a "real reviewer",
once the script is fed certain key terms like the name of the product, whether it's to be a positive review or a neutral review, or negative review.
Grammer checking is easy enough to do, once the phrase dictionary
is set up right so as to not have impossible combinations of phrases that wouldn't be grammatically correct.

What the website folks do is sit down an intern or two with good English grades and have them run the review generating script, feeding it various phrases that match up to the product line.

So the intern picks the phrase dictionary for the product (say kitchen appliance), feeds in the product name and model, and has at it.

Bingo -- 25-30 "good" reviews, and 5-10 not good ones, for the website...


Here's one of those fake reviews on a Black and Decker toaster:

The Black and Decker Toaster - 2 Slice - T1900B is a great toater. It has a retro styling that will look attractive in almost any kitchen. I purchased the Black and Decker toaster several months ago. I am impressed with how evenly and quickly it toasts. You can set the darkness you desire and it toasts perfectly every time. The toaster is deep enough to cover an entire slice of bread. It is also great for toasting english muffins, bagels and Pop Tarts. The Black and Decker toaster Is easy to clean. It has a removable cleaning tray at the bottom that slides out for easy cleaning. Although finger prints show on this toaster, they can be quickly wiped away. The best thing about the Black and Decker toaster is the price. You really get your money' worth with this toaster

Look familiar??


The WashPro mop is a great mop. It has a retro styling that will look attractive in almost any kitchen. I purchased the WashPro mop several months ago. I am impressed with how evenly and quickly it cleans. You can set the cleaning level you desire and it cleans perfectly every time. The mop is large enough to clean an entire kitchen. It is also great for cleaning floors, tile and bathrooms. The WashPro mop Is easy to clean. It has a removable cleaning head at the bottom that slides out for easy cleaning. Although finger prints show on this mop, they can be quickly wiped away. The best thing about the WashPro mop is the price. You really get your money' worth with this mop.


It's why I only trust forum reviews and Consumer Reports...

 

[MoparTrucks]

Wow, that kind of illustrated it didnt it? I have always wondered who writes so generically like that.

The value of GJ only increases to me the more I use it.

 

[kams1973]

Thank-you for that post treimers.

 

[zoomieport]

I would trust the reviews on a forum site like this one
LONG LONG LONG before I would trust the reviews from a website
that sold the products or claimed to provide 'real' reviews.

Let me explain why-

I work in IT, and have for 25 years or more.
I'm a network engineer, not a software developer, but I've worked
with dozens (or more) people who write websites like the ones you see today.

Believe it or not, in the last 4-5 years, it has become nearly trivial to write a script for a webserver that can quite LITERALLY "write" a review!

Using a long list of canned phrases and sentences, 'seed' words, a dictionary of first names, place names, and so on, one of these PHP or python scripts
can quite literally generate a paragraph of text from a "real reviewer",
once the script is fed certain key terms like the name of the product, whether it's to be a positive review or a neutral review, or negative review.
Grammer checking is easy enough to do, once the phrase dictionary
is set up right so as to not have impossible combinations of phrases that wouldn't be grammatically correct.

What the website folks do is sit down an intern or two with good English grades and have them run the review generating script, feeding it various phrases that match up to the product line.

So the intern picks the phrase dictionary for the product (say kitchen appliance), feeds in the product name and model, and has at it.

Bingo -- 25-30 "good" reviews, and 5-10 not good ones, for the website...


Here's one of those fake reviews on a Black and Decker toaster:

The Black and Decker Toaster - 2 Slice - T1900B is a great toater. It has a retro styling that will look attractive in almost any kitchen. I purchased the Black and Decker toaster several months ago. I am impressed with how evenly and quickly it toasts. You can set the darkness you desire and it toasts perfectly every time. The toaster is deep enough to cover an entire slice of bread. It is also great for toasting english muffins, bagels and Pop Tarts. The Black and Decker toaster Is easy to clean. It has a removable cleaning tray at the bottom that slides out for easy cleaning. Although finger prints show on this toaster, they can be quickly wiped away. The best thing about the Black and Decker toaster is the price. You really get your money' worth with this toaster

Look familiar??


The WashPro mop is a great mop. It has a retro styling that will look attractive in almost any kitchen. I purchased the WashPro mop several months ago. I am impressed with how evenly and quickly it cleans. You can set the cleaning level you desire and it cleans perfectly every time. The mop is large enough to clean an entire kitchen. It is also great for cleaning floors, tile and bathrooms. The WashPro mop Is easy to clean. It has a removable cleaning head at the bottom that slides out for easy cleaning. Although finger prints show on this mop, they can be quickly wiped away. The best thing about the WashPro mop is the price. You really get your money' worth with this mop.


It's why I only trust forum reviews and Consumer Reports...

Thank you!

 

[Canoe50]

Thank-you for that post treimers.

I'll second that.....great post. I always wondered about some reviews I read & how legit they actually are.

 

[briandrex]

Thanks for the information. I will look more closely at the reviews not and take them with a grain of salt whether positive or negative. GJ is where I come for all of my tool reviews.

 

[Roverbo]

Thanks for the information. I will look more closely at the reviews not and take them with a grain of salt whether positive or negative. GJ is where I come for all of my tool reviews.

+1 to this...

Let me tell you a story, a little different, but same same...
I was once a feature writer on a danish electronics magazine, DIY and Hifi-stuff. I wrote all the readers inputs & questions! The editor told me "Well, people are always to specific in their questions...will a Sansui AU-919 amplifier match a pair of JBL Centurys? - but nobody but the op has any interest in the answer - frankly, what we need is questions like "How do I connect my VHS to my stereo - and with some good illustrations.." Since then, i´ve been suspicious to most magazines...

 

[jjjrmx5]

I have been following the HF Utility Cart Modification thread and have kind of been thinking of making the drive to HF myself to check them out (its about 65 miles from here) but I was in Lowes the other day and saw the new Kobalt utility cart and it looked pretty good...but....

My advise, don't just go to check it out, just buy the damn HF 5 dwr cart.

I've got a $164 HF coupon I'd be happy to drop in the mail to ya.

Well built, and use it and keep in mind the Snap-On hinge replacement I did once the shocks on the HF **** out.

I've had one (HF 5 dwr in crnkle coat) I picked up from a co-worker since 2006 that is a tank.

As for Kobalt boxes, I have one of those too.
Again picked up from a co-worker used, and he bought it scratch and dent for pennies.
It's the stainless 26" roll cab. Bearing slides. Good for light to medium use and it was used on a production floor mfg. setting 6 days a week for years. It's a gem.

Well built but getting parts or replacing anything is really a no-go since 5 years old. Co-workers taking a pry bar to break into it was another joy, but that is another story.

Kobalt cart is lacking in dwrs and the end tables do not make up for it to me.

Go HF 5 dwr cart for $164 and be done.

BTDT. Last decade.

 

[Rico.]

The Harbor Freight 5 drawer cart is a great cart. It has a retro styling that will look attractive in
almost any Garage. I purchased the Harbor Freight cart several months ago. I am impressed
with how evenly and quickly it rolls. You can set the tools in the drawers you desire and they
open perfectly every time. The cart is large enough to hold an entire tools set. It is also great
for welders, air tools and use as a temporary work bench. The Harbor Freight cart Is easy to
clean. It has a nice even and tough finish for easy cleaning. Although finger prints show on this
cart, they can be quickly wiped away. The best thing about the Harbor Freight cart is the price.
You really get your money's worth with this cart.

 

[dieseler]

The Harbor Freight 5 drawer cart is a great cart. It has a retro styling that will look attractive in
almost any Garage. I purchased the Harbor Freight cart several months ago. I am impressed
with how evenly and quickly it rolls. You can set the tools in the drawers you desire and they
open perfectly every time. The cart is large enough to hold an entire tools set. It is also great
for welders, air tools and use as a temporary work bench. The Harbor Freight cart Is easy to
clean. It has a nice even and tough finish for easy cleaning. Although finger prints show on this
cart, they can be quickly wiped away. The best thing about the Harbor Freight cart is the price.
You really get your money's worth with this cart.

lmao

 

[cheechi]

I buy a lot of items from Amazon & Newegg. Yes there is some SEO going on (canned reviews) but I have a kind of system. I read the 2 star, 3, then 4 reviews, in that order. You can usually learn more useful information from these, either in just an educational sense or how the device is used to cause problems, from 2 star than any other kind of review.

Any 5 star review should be treated with some skepticism, same with a 1 star, for almost every product I have bought. Nothing is perfect, and few things are really that bad without it being obvious. Combine with trying things out in the store either before or after reading reviews (or during, with the amazon price check app) can help but a lot of items aren't sold locally to do that.

I have also found this to be largely true with HF's website, though many stores websites are really not to be trusted (best buy, sears).

 

[Stuey]

I've seen a lot of 4-star reviews these days that seem to be manufacturer-generated. Almost as if they know people will look at the middle reviews instead of 1/5 and 5/5 ones.

 

[cheechi]

you are probably correct, that's why I start at the bottom. There may be intentional saboteurs that start invading the 2 stars also, but basically, the system can work for a thinking man better than nothing at all.

 

[jakemac]

The Harbor Freight 5 drawer cart is a great cart. It has a retro styling that will look attractive in
almost any Garage. I purchased the Harbor Freight cart several months ago. I am impressed
with how evenly and quickly it rolls. You can set the tools in the drawers you desire and they
open perfectly every time. The cart is large enough to hold an entire tools set. It is also great
for welders, air tools and use as a temporary work bench. The Harbor Freight cart Is easy to
clean. It has a nice even and tough finish for easy cleaning. Although finger prints show on this
cart, they can be quickly wiped away. The best thing about the Harbor Freight cart is the price.
You really get your money's worth with this cart.

AHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!! Too funny !!

 

[aka Larry]

I trust you guys more than any place else for reviews. I bought the 44" HF box just because even the Snap-On fanbois here have admitted it a good value.

As for Amazon, I've read many bad reviews about some products and wondered why they even leave those posted. Kind of like a guy at Lowes telling you to go buy a tool cart from HF.

AFAIK, the people here have no reason to lie to me, so until I see otherwise I'll still trust GJ reviews.

 

[zkling]

In this case, there are only 7 reviews. It's hardly very statistically accurate especially when people are more apt to post a review when they are dissatisfied, so there might be thousands of people who bought the cart and like it.

^This. What is the saying "Bad review tell 10 people, good review, tell 5".

It seems alot of reviews I see are due to ignorance of the purchaser. "Item didn't wash my car", well item was a ratchet.

Agree with whom ever said sites like this and people that are knowledgeable about similar products are much more valuable for reviews.

If 5 people on a store's website site said an item was complete junk, then 5 people on here said it was a great value, I would be inclined to purchase the item.

 

[jjjrmx5]

AFAIK, the people here have no reason to lie to me, so until I see otherwise I'll still trust GJ reviews.

Oh....................we will lie to ya.

You just have to ask really, really, really nicely though.

Hahahahahahahahahaha.


LOL

 

[Packard V8]

Even good friends will lie to you if they spent enough money on the purchase.

Packard used this nearly a hundred years ago, "Ask the man who owns one." They figured a guy who had just spent the equivalent of today's $100,000 on a car has to justify his purchase. What's he gonna say? "It's a POS and I was really a dumb *** for buying one." Not likely. He's gonna say, "Wonderful motor car, old bean. You really should get a roadster to keep at your cottage in the Hamptons."

Same here. What tech who's in hock to the Snap-on truck is ever going to knock the price or quality? Not me, and I bought all mine used.

jack vines