Buy For Life
Web and SaaS
product review platform
SHOW HN2020
1,392points
398comments
#2of 3,028 in 2020
Top 1%of 2020 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
44 positive, 90 neutral or asking, 15 mixed, 63 critical, out of 212 comments about the project. Thread score -0.08.
Idea: 30 for, 23 againstExecution: 4 for, 29 againstDesign: 2 for, 4 againstPrivacy: 1 for, 4 againstPricing: 1 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Good concept with a clear need for reliable durability reviews
From 3 comments
I've thought about building something like this for a while. There is definitely a need. I've found a huge problem with products is that their quality changes over time. So, a…
ndavis on HNI quite like this because we all need reliable reviews/ratings. But, how do we deal with product model or component changes? A couple examples: "Earthquake" impact wrench from…
tumblerz on HNI have been meaning to develop the exact same thing (I was going to call it lastsforever.store), but just never found the time. Thanks for putting this out there. I'd say it's…
creimers on HN
Technically works well
From 1 comment
Nice idea, technically it works great!
christianB1212 on HN
Objections
Search does not work or returns nothing for non-matches
From 4 comments
The search doesn't work.
ksd482 on HNSearch doesn't work, it autocompletes but doesn't search
skratlo on HNGreat idea! Search bar at the top isn't working for me (Chrome on macOS). When I hit return, nothing happens.
cloogshicer on HNCool idea. Really cool. Quick suggestion: the search could maybe return a results not found message when it can't find anything instead of doing nothing. Otherwise people may…
racl101 on HN
Fake or paid reviews could distort ratings
From 4 comments
How do you plan on keeping out fake reviews?
CabSauce on HNAny plan for handling fake/compensated reviews?
MattGaiser on HNInteresting, I hope you are onto something! How would you prevent me from taking some $ from Corporate to write a genuine sounding but heavily biased review? I am not trying to…
blackbrokkoli on HNLove the site but I feel like this could be exploited the same way as Amazon reviews, e.g. paying people in fivrr to 5-star review your shitty product. Wondering if there's…
hiidrew on HN
Ratings can be skewed by uninformed reviewers and lack of durability knowledge
From 2 comments
I like the concept but since it's open to the public it will suffer from ignorance. For example, take the Salomon Quest boots that are listed. I own a pair of them. While they're…
driverdan on HNCool project. How do you intend to keep ratings aligned with durability rather than “I bought this a few weeks ago and really like it so I’ll give it 5 stars!”?
loughnane on HN
Sign-up and review submission issues, and Firefox compatibility
From 4 comments
Great idea. I just left a review. Was asked to register after reviewing. I registered and was brought back to the product page with no review on the page. I expected the review…
kareemm on HNI attempted to signup with my google account. Firefox pops up a window briefly which then closes. I'm running on ubuntu, firefox with umatrix & ublock origin.
Super_Jambo on HNIt does not work on firefox with disabled ads, trackers etc. I got white screen without content. I dont know if the reason is that site isn't compatible with firefox or some…
stiray on HNInteresting concept! I left a review, tried to click the stars on the right side but it wouldn't let me do so.
WhompingWindows on HN
Missing terms of service and privacy policy, and Google tracking
From 2 comments
Looks great. This is probably on your TODO list, but I wanted to make sure you were aware in case it isn't. Your terms of service and privacy policy are: a) Not linked to…
rapind on HNI have been meaning to develop the exact same thing (I was going to call it lastsforever.store), but just never found the time. Thanks for putting this out there. I'd say it's…
creimers on HN
Requests
Track product changes and quality over time across revisions
From 3 comments
I've thought about building something like this for a while. There is definitely a need. I've found a huge problem with products is that their quality changes over time. So, a…
ndavis on HNI quite like this because we all need reliable reviews/ratings. But, how do we deal with product model or component changes? A couple examples: "Earthquake" impact wrench from…
tumblerz on HNCurious how you would handle brands that build multiple lines. Some durable, others not. For example, I love my stitched sole made in America Danner boots. However, the glued…
ryanSrich on HN
Add more data and a fairer mix of reviews
From 1 comment
Great idea, but it needs more data, currently it almost comes off as biased. For instance this product: https://www.buyforlifeproducts.com/products/18 why were only a handful of…
mtnGoat on HN
Improve UI for products with many reviews
From 1 comment
Excited to see this! Comment: looking at the Lodge Skillet, I can easily see how this is not going to scale well for products with many, many reviews. The page is already…
SoSoRoCoCo on HN
Sort by number of reviews and availability by country
From 2 comments
I want to be able to sort by number of reviews
Otek on HNI would change shipping to "Availability" which is a list of country tags. Great idea, bookmarking it
akerro on HN
Add a tip button
From 1 comment
May i suggest you to add a tip button ? It's a very useful project and i will not be against tip you for this.
bussiere on HN
Questions
How will fake or compensated reviews be prevented
From 3 comments
How do you plan on keeping out fake reviews?
CabSauce on HNAny plan for handling fake/compensated reviews?
MattGaiser on HNInteresting, I hope you are onto something! How would you prevent me from taking some $ from Corporate to write a genuine sounding but heavily biased review? I am not trying to…
blackbrokkoli on HN
How will ratings handle differing personal scales and product model changes
From 2 comments
How did you handle difference in personal scale. An A- from two people are not always on same scale. If a person looking at these reviews has an internal scale different from the…
tomcat27 on HNI quite like this because we all need reliable reviews/ratings. But, how do we deal with product model or component changes? A couple examples: "Earthquake" impact wrench from…
tumblerz on HN
Will it be monetized
From 1 comment
It says this site is 100% free. Is your plan to run it as a public service like Wikipedia or something?
umvi on HN
Alternatives named
Wirecutter and The Sweethome
From 2 comments
The Wirecutter and The Sweethome used to be this for me, though at this point I think they've mostly succumbed to paid placement. But I'm very pleased with the Bosch dishwasher I…
mikepurvis on HNAs mentioned below, I'm indeed aggregating professional reviews from different sources like Wirecutter or Gearlabs, there is just not that much data yet. However, this should not…
hubraumhugo on HN
Reddit r/BuyItForLife subreddit
From 2 comments
That's one of the issues I try to solve with this platform. I want to find durable products that are still on the market with a similar quality for years. Have you ever looked at…
hubraumhugo on HNPrevious: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23030451 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22804573 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22717494…
0goel0 on HN
Amazon reviews
From 2 comments
Great idea, but it needs more data, currently it almost comes off as biased. For instance this product: https://www.buyforlifeproducts.com/products/18 why were only a handful of…
mtnGoat on HNLove the site but I feel like this could be exploited the same way as Amazon reviews, e.g. paying people in fivrr to 5-star review your shitty product. Wondering if there's…
hiidrew on HN