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By Andrew Goodman - November 21, 1999
A lot of shoppers would agree: there is no shortage
of places to buy stuff on the Internet, but there are comparatively few
resources to discuss the quality of products or to read product reviews written
by professionals. Undoubtedly this state of affairs is going to
improve. But some major players on the online shopping scene could be
helping us a lot more than they currently are.
This month, wedding present money was burning a hole in
our pockets. In particular, the cool fall winds were chanting (to me, at
least): "Buy a nice new TV so you can enjoy those football games in style
..."
So I undertook what nervous Nellies everywhere will
recognize as "the major purchase over-analysis". That's when you're
planning to lay out a big wad of your (or someone else's) hard-earned dough on
something you're pretty sure is pretty nice. But you want to make sure, so
you keep shopping and learning about all the available options, endlessly
comparing models and features, and reading product reviews.
Deja.com: Been There, Done
That
Off the top of my head, it occurred to be that a good
place to "read up" on the purchase of a snazzy new TV might be at
Deja.com. Wrong. Instead, I confirmed for myself that I'd rather
read professionally-written product reviews than look at the impressions of
whole bunch of 'ordinary shoppers'. That's the kind of thing that seems to
dominate shopping-related Internet content right now, at Deja and
elsewhere. What's more, Deja was generally irksome and cumbersome to
use.
The front page of Deja is disconcerting, for
starters. A camera review, movie reviews, all of this consumerism is
tossed around willy-nilly by the former Usenet service. Did I say before
that they might alienate their old audience with this stuff? Scratch
"might". The question is, just what kind of new audience is going to put
up with all this materialistic mayhem?
Eagerly seeking the certainty that might be
found in clearly defined categories, I moved my mouse over to the left.
Undoubtedly mousing over the wrong category for my search, Arts and
Entertainment, I triggered pop-up boxes which offered sub-categories.
Even though I sensed I was wandering down a blind alley, I noticed
a category for "TV". Desperate for the simplicity implied in those
two little letters, I clicked on it. But alas, no. This led me to
reviews of TV shows! Aaaauggggh!!!! No thanks. I
already have my opinions on each and every Seinfeld episode, I already gave the
thumbs-down to last week's Ally McBeal.
Typing "television" into the search box produced better
results. Just don't leave the "discussions" option clicked. You have
to change that to "products" or you'll be off to Usenet-land. Here, I
quickly found the users' ratings of the 27" Sony television I was looking
for. This was where I was trying to go, but when I got there, it was no
great thing. First, it's just luck that 121 people have rated this
particular product. In many other categories, you'll have insufficient
data. Second, the scores are really subjective. If something gets
4.2, is that good or bad? The Sony got 4.2. But then again, that
told me next to nothing, other than that it was close to the most expensive
model in its category.
The reviews themselves? Be careful! Here's a
typical one:
"Even thought it draws only 180 watts while "turned on"
and only 9 watts when off (i.e. pluged into the wall recepital and is on "stand
by") the TV takes too much time to warm up. Don't think you can called it
"instant on". Picture is not as crisp and clear as a Magnovox. I think the 27"
Sony TV is highly overated, but you can obtain a higer volume of sound
compared to an RCA tv of similar size and price."
Now come on. For a sophisticated piece of
equipment, I found the Sony TV to warm up darned fast. Slower than
some, but virtually no difference. We're talking about tenths of seconds
here. Unless you plan to turn it on and off like you're auditioning for
The Shining II, this is inconsequential. And I don't suppose that the
person who believes a louder TV is a better TV is going to win any professional
engineering prizes any time soon. I imagine they all get pretty "loud" if
you crank them up.
The second example is another trap.
"Our most recent TV purchase was a Sony 27" TV. We enjoy
it,, but it does not have as many features as our RCA 27" TV which cost
less!!"
This may not even be true. Quantify "number of
features" and maybe we could have an argument. More to the point, my whole
theory before embarking on an actual trip to a store was precisely this.
The RCA is better value. Maybe, but the quality of picture, sound, and
construction in the RCA is significantly lower, as are most non-Sony models
with the exception of a few higher-end sets. The better Sony models come
with better picture-in-picture, better sound quality, far better picture with a
flatter display, etc. Of course, we're not all made of money, but the RCA
is definitely not better. If you buy the RCA (or the Samsung, or the
Toshiba), you'll be saving a couple hundred bucks, and be looking at that
inferior screen, and listening to that crummy sound, for the next 15
years.
No, for my money, I don't think I want people's dumb
opinions about such an important purchase. I'll read a professional
reviewer's opinion.
The Deja logo says Deja.com - Before You Buy. I
tried Deja. Before and after I bought. Maybe the logo should read
"Reader Beware".
MSN eShops: Intelligent Commerce
Luckily, I stumbled on MSN's eShops. What a
relief!
I thought I'd see if finding a product review would be any
easier here than it is on other portals. It was. TVs were easy to
find, and all the major manufacturers were listed. Highly professional
product reviews were available for many models, through an MSN partner called
Consumer Guide. It looks as if additional professional reviews from other
sources could simply be tacked onto the existing offerings. The interface
is bright and easy to follow, which bodes well for the
future.
In addition, background information was provided on
various technical aspects of different TVs, including a recommendation not to
worry about buying a High Definition TV right now. I was able to get ahold
of all this information in record time. What's more, I know I could return
to eShops and do the same thing again for a wide range of products. This
is a far cry from the usual e-commerce experience, where you're besieged
with a "marketplace" where you're expected to "buy flowers at
EZ800Flowers2Go4uSureisaniceday.com," the nation's 159th most popular flower
retailer.
Of course, MSN, like every other major portal, is
desperate to have us buy online with them. There's no shortage of
opportunities to do that. But maybe they're starting to get it.
Before we buy with them, they need to offer us something first.
Easy-to-find professional product reviews are a great place to start. Why
don't all the e-commerce sites offer the same?
In general, the new MSN is a pleasant
surprise. Our full review of Microsoft's relaunched portal is just
around the corner!
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