Top Online Consumer Review Guides
Epinions
Epinions is one of the leading international consumer guide websites
which features reviews from actual users of the products and services
listed in its extensive directory. You can find a wide range of categories
that range from consumer electronics (camcorders, digital cameras,
laptops) to media products (books, DVD movies, music CDs, computer
software), food (restaurants, wines, beers) and even travel services
(airlines, hotels, holiday packages).
Reviews on Epinions are based on a system know as “The Web
of Trust”. This is a network of reviewers whose reviews and
ratings you found to be consistently useful and reliable. In a way,
The Web of Trust is a way of translating the everyday practice of
sharing word-of-mouth advice to an efficient online experience. It
is based on the principle that if you have a friend who consistently
gives you good advice, you are likely to find advice from them in
the future useful. Another real-life principle that The Web of Trust
tries to emulate is how you are likely to share a similar taste and
preference in certain things with some of your friends, therefore
you can trust their recommendations regarding those types of products
and services you have in common.
All in all, a very comprehensive consumer review site with an extensive
range of products and services being discussed by actual people that
use them. Just as with other consumer review sites, you are encouraged
to also contribute your own experiences and help out your fellow online
shoppers.
Consumer
Guide
From the publishers of the popular Consumer Guide books and magazine,
the Consumer Guide website is a great resource for information to
help you make buying decisions with confidence. Consumer Guides have
been in publication for over 30 years, written by experts in the fields
they cover. Millions of people have found the guides to be very useful
in identifying important features to look for and find out the actual
prices.
The website classifies the (positive) ratings they give to products
in one of three categories: (taken from the Consumer
Guide website)
Best Buy - Products that achieve a Best Buy rating
by Consumer Guide are considered by our team of experts to be the
highest quality available at a reasonable price.
Budget Buy - For consumer products we use this third
rating. Products that receive this designation are well-constructed
and perform well, but they may have fewer standard features than top-of-the-line
models. They are also available at a lower price.
Recommended - Products rated Recommended are good
products that, for one reason or another, have not measured up to
our Best Buy standard for excellence. These products or vehicles might
have a high price or limited appeal. Or they may be so new on the
market that we haven't yet been able to test their performance and
durability sufficiently.
Besides reviews, the website offers product pricing information and
buyer guides as well. They also have feature articles about different
product categories to give a useful overview of what’s available
on the market.
ConsumerREVIEW
ConsumerREVIEW is one of the leading sources of buying advice from
actual users. The website mostly focuses on consumer electronics and
outdoor sporting goods, with information such as product descriptions
(from the manufacturer) and user reviews, plus community discussion
boards, photo galleries and product news articles. There are also
price comparison guides that compare different online merchants and
links to online shopping sites.
Another useful feature of site is the classified marketplace for
users to buy and sell products directly with each other. Conveniently,
the marketplace is linked across the ConsumerREVIEW network.
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