I've actually held off on buying a number of things because they lacked documentation of the specs.
What i wish i would have known: The write speed for my kingston USB flash drive. it takes FOR-FUCKING-EVER to write 2-3 gigs, while the read time is an order of magnitude faster.
Well, the more specs you publish, the more informed about the product you are. Unless the marketing is bullshit, which does occasionally happen. Would I buy $6.99 towels, or $6.99 towels made from the finest egyptian cotton?
Kind of like sheets. Would you buy $30.99 sheets, or $30.99 300 thread count sateen sheets? (I purchase neither, and will stick with my 1200 thread count sheets.)
@Lite: Worryingly for a Gizmodo reader (or perhaps tellingly) you have missed the point of this... They're not saying that something with more features or specs is better - they're saying that people are wrongly putting too much weight on the size of the feature-list on the side of the box.
Although, I have a feeling most technically savvy people do this too... They think they're somehow different from the average joe because they *understand* the specs, but ultimately they still jump for the one with the longest list. I know plenty of people who would never even consider saving money by buying a tv that wasn't 1080p native, but I also know they have no idea if they can tell the difference or not.
The flaw here, is not that you are actually more informed. It's the assumption or impression of being more informed. The long spec sheet leads you to feel that you are making an informed decision (even though you haven't even read each line in the spec sheet) and that you are more comfortable with your purchase because you think you are getting more for your money.
If you actually look at some of these spec sheets, you'll see that a lot of the items listed are really just filler copy or common features. Retailers, marketers and manufacturers are on to this and try to list everything they can think of.
@F_munk: "Retailers, marketers and manufacturers are on to this and try to list everything they can think of. "
Yeah, but as we have learned from school, that's exactly how we were taught to write. I mean, sure I could have turned in my book report with just a couple lines of summary but I knew I wouldn't get a good grade unless you fill it to a 10-page full of cra.. i mean, informative text.
@scuba_steve: I'm not saying that the other less described product is actually in fact, inferior. Merely that you're led to assume the other is inferior due to lack of information.
There's an important point between too much/too little information. In many cases it isn't quite like say picking up a couple of hammers at Home Despot and feeling the difference in weight, balance, and build quality.
@scuba_steve: In some cases perhaps. I know not to spend above a certain amount on speakers, because I am honestly incapable of hearing the difference. I KNOW that I have hearing damage, and that some supposed subtleties are lost on me. I have no clue if they actually exists. I just know that if I cannot hear them, then I shouldn't worry about a higher-end speaker being able to reproduce it in the first place.
It's that law of diminishing returns. You have base price for junk, a moderate increase for a good increase in quality, and then after that the returns drop off sharply vs what you pay.
A good number of people don't know this, but what I was posting is a good example of how people shop. That non-labeled sheet set may be 400 thread count, and Egyptian cotton. It's just not on the label, and not immediately ascertainable from looking at packaging.
Does a consumer know that Egyptian cotton is better than Himalayan cotton? Is more threads better than less threads? They're not talking about them writing down pertinent details about the product, they're saying that consumers go for a longer list. So they'll go for:
Each of our potato chips is hand crafted in small batches from Yukon Gold potatoes that are only harvested from the south side of very gently sloping hills, between August and September. We quickly fry them in the oil of tender Ligurian olives, first pressed then stored for a year in mesquite barrels to impart a touch of smokey flavor. Next we lightly top them with coarse sea salt granules from a tidal flat in Baja that we have negotiated sole access to.
@jedimaster0103: I know. It's just quicker to type an underscore and I was being lazy. You obviously know it means the same thing though, so it doesn't matter too much. ;c)
@HBOC: Meh. It's BB $2.38 Belkin USB 1Meter cables marked up to $24.95 that lead me to the intertubes to purchase ALL my electronics. Yeah, I'm with ya on Monoprice...
It all evens out in the end. The board members will rightfully get their hard-earned million dollar bonuses for driving the company into the ground. Hey, nobody said it was easy to execute horrible strategies.
12/15/08
12/15/08
What i wish i would have known: The write speed for my kingston USB flash drive. it takes FOR-FUCKING-EVER to write 2-3 gigs, while the read time is an order of magnitude faster.
12/15/08
12/15/08
I just tell people It's cheaper than a Mac, but has just as much software available to it.
12/15/08
Kind of like sheets. Would you buy $30.99 sheets, or $30.99 300 thread count sateen sheets? (I purchase neither, and will stick with my 1200 thread count sheets.)
12/15/08
Although, I have a feeling most technically savvy people do this too... They think they're somehow different from the average joe because they *understand* the specs, but ultimately they still jump for the one with the longest list. I know plenty of people who would never even consider saving money by buying a tv that wasn't 1080p native, but I also know they have no idea if they can tell the difference or not.
12/15/08
The flaw here, is not that you are actually more informed. It's the assumption or impression of being more informed. The long spec sheet leads you to feel that you are making an informed decision (even though you haven't even read each line in the spec sheet) and that you are more comfortable with your purchase because you think you are getting more for your money.
If you actually look at some of these spec sheets, you'll see that a lot of the items listed are really just filler copy or common features. Retailers, marketers and manufacturers are on to this and try to list everything they can think of.
12/15/08
Yeah, but as we have learned from school, that's exactly how we were taught to write. I mean, sure I could have turned in my book report with just a couple lines of summary but I knew I wouldn't get a good grade unless you fill it to a 10-page full of cra.. i mean, informative text.
12/15/08
There's an important point between too much/too little information. In many cases it isn't quite like say picking up a couple of hammers at Home Despot and feeling the difference in weight, balance, and build quality.
12/15/08
It's that law of diminishing returns. You have base price for junk, a moderate increase for a good increase in quality, and then after that the returns drop off sharply vs what you pay.
A good number of people don't know this, but what I was posting is a good example of how people shop. That non-labeled sheet set may be 400 thread count, and Egyptian cotton. It's just not on the label, and not immediately ascertainable from looking at packaging.
12/15/08
Does a consumer know that Egyptian cotton is better than Himalayan cotton? Is more threads better than less threads? They're not talking about them writing down pertinent details about the product, they're saying that consumers go for a longer list. So they'll go for:
500 thread count
Dutch cotton
Soaked in cats piss
Too small for your bed
instead of choosing:
1200 thread count
Egyptian cotton
12/15/08
12/15/08
Yeah, I totally see this.
12/15/08
Damn. I want some of _those_ chips. *puts down bag of mesquite ruffles"
12/15/08
12/16/08
11/05/08
11/05/08
I also love how they try to sell you the stupid waranties. NO i DONT want a warranty on my XBOX 360 game.
11/05/08
11/05/08