Everyone wants to make an informed purchase decision.
Before your next big buy, why not seek the advice of other Internet shoppers?
Thousands of shoppers are ready to
share their opinions on a wide variety of consumer goods.
With over 100,000 reviews and lots of extras, Epinions is a must-see site.
There are
Epinions on everything from consumer products to restaurants and travel.
Reviewers earn money on a per-page-view basis. One unique feature is the personalized Web of Trust. When
you like a person's review, add that individual to your Web of
Trust. When you visit the site again, the opinions you see will be
weighted toward reviewers you trust. People in their Web of Trust carry the
second degree of weight, and so on.
Deja.com's goal is to help the buyer through the
entire purchase process. After finding a product, users can access average
rating and consumer comments, detailed product information and a list of
retailers, with prices. Shoppers can also access Deja's extensive Usenet
discussion network for more opinions.
ConsumerREVIEW.com develops and manages Web
communities around common product interests. The site's 18 communities include
areas for video gamers, skiers and gardeners. Product reviews
are written by consumers. The site also offers links to discussion groups,
buyer's guides and published reviews.
RateItAll.com is a small, well-designed site
that offers consumers a simple way to rate everything -- and they mean
everything. Categories range from traditional products and services to
celebrities and travel destinations. At times, the reviews read like a
public opinion poll (e.g. rate the best boxer of all time in the sports
category). Results are nicely-sorted, with graphs and the ability to see
what other people your age and gender think about a topic.
PlanetFeedback doesn't offer
product reviews, but it does give consumers a unique way to offer their
opinions on products. Anyone can fire off a letter, positive or negative, to
PlanetFeedback and they will forward it to the appropriate parties. The young site also features
consumer news and industry statistics.
--- J. Johnson
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