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The Internet of course!

I've noticed increasing numbers of people who now seem happy to ask for the advice of others before parting with their cash and it's a great way to avoid being duped or finding yourself lumbered with a bad product.

The Net has always been a great resource for shoppers, not only from the perspective that you can quickly compare the prices being charged by a number of different online merchants but also because you can often find a number of reviews relating to the items you're planning to buy.

But reviews can only go so far and should always be treated with a little caution.

As someone who has reviewed a fair number of different products in his time, I can tell you that there's only so much you can determine from a few days or maybe a week or two's use of a product. The obvious flaws and problems are usually identified and reported but if the thing erupts in a ball of flames after six months of use, a reviewer is unlikely to discover this.

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That point became clear to me many, many years ago when I was the service manager of a TV repair workshop. At the time, The Consumers' Institute had just reviewed the rather limited range of colour TVs available in NZ and I was gobsmacked to see that the machine they rated most highly was the same one that virtually every repair technician hated with a vengeance -- being unreliable, difficult to work on and producing a comparatively poor picture.

Anyone who bought that brand and model of set based on the reviewer's comments was likely to be sorely disappointed.

And this is why the Net is such a great resource for would-be consumers.

By posting a query to one of the many tens of thousands of usenet newsgroups, you can tap into the wealth of product experience that the Internet population represents -- getting feedback from "real people" who have probably already been using the very products you're thinking of buying.

These people are not likely to be biased by the need to retain advertising dollars or keep review costs to a minimum. It's far more likely that they'll give you an honest appraisal, warts and all. Just think about it -- when was the last time you saw a review that included the summary "don't buy this product"?

Right now I'm looking to buy a new digital camcorder so I requested some feedback from other Kiwis who'd recently bought such a device and here's what I got, information you won't find any "reviewers" offering to share.

But this type of helpful input isn't restricted just to products, you can also get some pretty interesting insight into the various services on offer by a range of companies. Take banking for example. This discussion on the ANZ bank and its services is extremely enlightening and is well worth reading if you plan to open an account there.

Or maybe you'd like to see what people are saying about Kiwibank.

So remember -- when it comes to shopping, the Internet is a lot more than just an array of merchants waiting to take your money. It's probably one of the best places to get "the real story" about the services and products you might be planning to buy.

Lighten Up
Time for more mirth and mayhem from the worst and wierdest recesses of the world wide web.

A year or so ago, Prime TV underwent a facelift, swapping a long list of UK-based programmes for a far more Australian lineup. If Stuff.co.nz is to believed, they've changed again, although somehow I doubt it.

In these hot sticky days of summer, do you sometimes not feel as fresh and sweet-smelling as you should? Then this is the site for you. Yes, a raft of different ways to reduce the levels of all those "nasty" BO bacteria on your skin and hints to "make germ's life harder"

And if you're wondering about G.W. Bush's sensibilities as he pushes on towards a war with Iraq, well this previously classified picture explains a lot.

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