Thread: !Achtung!

Well got your attention didn't I?

As you all know we have a reviews section now and as part of a tweaking process it occurred to me that we should have some standardized means of evaluating what we are reviewing. So to that end I am proposing some standards and invite everyone's comments and thoughts on this. I decided to post this on the general forum since it would get more exposure. So here are my thoughts and nothing is written in stone at this point.

1-Presentation-weight 10%
example-I just got this custom razor from Joe baggadonuts and it arrived
wrapped in an oily burlap rag then wrapped in newspaper
The idea here is when you opened the product what was the gut feeling you got about it. Does the maker or manufacturer think enough about it to do a decent job packaging it?

2-Fit and Finish-20%
example-My razor from Joe Baggadonuts has crooked pins and the inside of the balsa wood scales isn't finished at all and there are already cracks in the finish and it wasn't shave ready as promised and I had to spend two weeks honing on and off and it still ain't ready. In addition the balance is all wrong and its the ugliest razor I've ever seen. The spine is warped and the gold wash is already washed off.

3-performance-50%
example-I shaved with my razor today and it wouldn't shave worth a damn, even after honing. So I sent it to lynn and he sent it back and said it was a piece of junk made in Pakistan. Now I use it as a butter knife but it won't even slice the butter good.
example-I just got this new shave soap made from elephant dung and it lathers like crazy and moisturizes and leaves my face silky smooth. The razor just glides over my face like its on ball bearings. It don't smell bad either.
example-I just used this new aftershave and it burnt so bad I had to go to the emergency room with 2nd degree burns all over my face.

4-Value for the Dollar-20%
example-I bought a badger hair brush and it only cost me twenty bucks and it does a great job.Its one of the greatest bushes I ever had. Lathers up storm and isn't floppy or coarse. Just Right. It has a plastic handle but it just feels great in my hand and its quite attractive to boot. It hasn't lost a single hair in use.
example-I just got my custom razor made of talonite. It cost me 2 grand but I can't get it to stay sharp. I have to hone every other shave and I had to buy a special hone which cost me $500 and now I notice the metal is corroding and I have to send it back for a special surface treatment 2x a year which costs $150 each time.
example-this guy sold me a shaving brush made from the hair of bigfoot. He told me it was the greatest brush in the world and it cost 2 grand but my boar brush I bought in wallgreens for 5 bucks does a better job.

5-Comments-no score or a bonus up to 10% either + or- depending on your exprience
example-I'd stay away from this product, I think there are better choices out there
example-I would heartily recomend this product its really great and the seller who is the manufacturer is really great to deal with.
example-The strop I bought had some cuts in it and didn't work well but I contacted the seller and he immediately sent me a new one plus some bonus items and the new one is fine. I recommend this seller.
example-the strop I bought was badly cut and was useless, when I contacted the manufacturer and told him he told me "you see the impression of the fox on the bottom of the strop? When you catch the fox put him in a box with the strop and send it to me and I'll replace it. Man, what a rat. Don't buy from him.

The idea is to do an overall evaluation so your comments should match your experience and this is strictly your opinion and should not be based on what others have said or someone else has told you.

So then you would decide how many points you gave each category and award the product a score based upon your evalution and the weights in each area. Keep in mind we need to have a system that is general enough to cover everything from razors to brushes to soaps and we don't want to make things too complicated.

So give me your ideas on this and then I'll set up a system to post on the reviews forum for guidance to everyone.

I like it, but getting everyone to agree on it is the hard part - seeing as most of the reviews are very subjective and speculative to begin with. Good guide lines, though.

Good Idea, but all this is subjective, and speculative. but adding up the totals from that experience is a good place to start. Are you going to limit the size of the review? How much will people really read?

Phil

I like it.

It's good but maybe consider combining into fewer groups? I think groups #2 and 4 would go well together.

Also I think "Ease of purchasing" would be good to put in item #1 instead of the comments. then maybe bump that up an additional 5% and take that percentage from... oh, this is too much like work and I'm nitpicking. It's actually really good just the way you have it.

I like the general idea. Even if we can't all agree on a rating I think having specific datapoints to review is helpful. Ease of ordering, packing/shipping/delivery (well packed, reasonable time between ordering and shipping), initial presentation/impression, functionality, customer service (either in inital product selection/ordering or if return/adjustment is needed).

I love getting a nice product, I love it even more if the whole experience goes well, nice website, nice vendor, questions answered, etc....

BTW, where can I buy those Joe Bagadonut razors? <g>

Tony

I like the idea of guidelines, but to give them "weight" is something that would be really hard to do. However, to go down that list and address each area is a fantastic idea and would keep things organized and thorough.

I've got a joe baggadonut razor with powdered scales. Its a real creampuff!

How we gonna remember the guidelines?

Bruce

I like the concept but I can see a problem with the subjectiveness of it. Kind of like hanging with a group of guys and a woman walks by some look and say wow shes a 9 other say are you kidding no more than a 5 etc. To me razors are like women its only the performance that counts...