Every once in a while, I buy something that should serve me for years. Whether it’s a kettle, a TV or a smartphone, picking a specific model is hard.
My goal is to find the best product I can afford. How do I find it?
One way is to google for reviews. However, I find these are often biased or very superficial.
Another way is to stick to brands I trust. Sadly, it seems to me no brands are consistent enough to trust blindly.
That leaves me with my preferred option. I compare specs. For smartphones I usually use GSMArena. They have a great tool for comparisons. For other product types, it usually takes a bit more work.
Once I am down to a couple of options, I look for online reviews. Whether it’s on Google or Amazon, you can usually see what other people’s experience is like.
So, if you want to borrow my strategy, follow these steps:
- Find a handful of potential models, potentially by different brands.
- Try to find a good comparison site that had all your candidates.
- If you can’t find such a site, list all important features in a spreadsheet or on paper. Write down the appropriate information for each model.
- Pick a couple of models that look best to you.
- Find customer reviews for your top models.
You should be able to end up with the best possible model.
Oh, just one last thing. Avoid the gimmicks. You don’t really needs a toaster that plays music (yes, it’s a thing).
Optimising My Life 