A serious question on Soap/Cream Reviews

grim. Is this guy on YouTube, link please :-)

He is podcast only. https://brushnsoapnblade.wordpress.com  or just subscribe through iTunes. He does one podcast a week on Thursdays. He usually talks about normal everyday stuff everyone can get with - boar brushes, $15 soaps, antique Gillettes, trying different blades, and he does a rant a week about every day life which I find really good. He comes across as a nice guy - from South Carolina. He also shaves with straights and talks about his trials in trying to get them sharp. In other words, he just a normal guy who likes to talk about this stuff, sometimes recording from his truck!

Youtube is just voice only https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ggwaq...0fxGLqWxbQ

andrewjs18   Just watch the video.  Not a big deal really.  More entertaining than anything.  I never heard of the Stallion before, lol.....

He actually reminded me of this Replicant from Blade Runner, lol....

I've seen his videos before and have his channel bookmarked in my shaving videos tab.

I'll have to check out this podcast regarding the large forums...maybe tonight.

Rick DeWeese does an excellent job with his weekly podcast. This was one of his rants, about how he and others were banned and its all about money.

He also makes it clear that whatever works for you is all that matters. Don't worry about anyone else. I think he collects antique razors and seems to consistently love his boar brushes.

what username does Rick DeWeese go by on the forums?

what username does Rick DeWeese go by on the forums?

Sorry, I don't know. That podcast was from 2014 and I think he said he doesn't bother with them since banned. he does Twitter https://twitter.com/BrushnBlade?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/brushnblade/

what username does Rick DeWeese go by on the forums?

Sorry, I don't know. That podcast was from 2014 and I think he said he doesn't bother with them since banned. he does Twitter https://twitter.com/BrushnBlade?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw and  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/brushnblade/

thanks for the links.

BadDad   I never, unlike some douchebags that I know, will pass judgement on anybody, specially over something as trivial as shaving gear :-). My sense of loyalty and friendship is way above that.

I have favorite gear that would be considered substandard by some.  Guess what?  I don't care, lol...,

I know, Hector. This is why I use you as an example. I know that you and I are on the same page regarding this, even though we are at opposite ends of the collection spectrum. You are a stand-up guy that treats everyone with the respect they deserve based on their treatment of you and others, so I know that you will read what I'm writing and take it in the vein with which it is written...respectfully, and as a positive example of how one SHOULD treat the folks they interact with.

CHSeifert  and NeoXerxes are 2 more fine gentleman with expensive taste and collections, that do not allow the cost of their gear to interfere with the quality of their character...a trait I admire and respect greatly, that is proliferate on this forum, and unfortunately very lacking in many other places.

Thanks much for your kind words BadDad, you are most generous .

I have my personal preferences, but I think it's important to recognize how subjective wet shaving can be. What works for me might not work for others, and that's an essential fact we all must recognize. I'm not suggesting that it's happening here, but I can't stand it when people insult others over what gear they use. Not only is it pointless, but it's rude and insensitive. I'm glad that on this forum, people treat others with respect and in a gentlemanly fashion regardless of what gear they use. And incidentally, I'm especially grateful that andrewjs18 isn't a ban-happy maniac with shady financial interests to protect . Lol.

In my initial post here, I asked:

"... the one thing I noticed over and over again, is that frankly NOBODY say anything negative, or much negative, about anything.  It’s rare. Almost every product is highly rated, highly regarded, etc. etc. etc.  That is not real life. If everything you encounter is perfect or near perfect, then chances are you haven’t tried enough products or your bar is set low. I've tried some products that were pretty bad. I've bought small appliances that were bad. I've bought lots of consumer products that fell apart or were junk. If only I had known.   LOTS for stuff I have bought in my life have been junk (sad to say). Soaps/Creams are not different. I've had some actually start to dry on one side of my face while working the other or they literally stunk (to me). Or stuff where there was about little residual glide (and I'm too lazy to relather constantly). I know there were complaints about difficulty in lathering some products but that's a hard water issue (I think).

So what is going on here?"

I was listening to a podcast where there was a discussion about reviewing products received free for review.  

I guess this answers my question. I heard it as If something is lousy, they tell the originator and won't post it if asked not to. IMO, this results in a hidden binary system.   I presume this means that if something is OK, you see a review. But if you don't see the review of the things that fail, that doesn't mean it wasn't tested, but could be the originator asked for it not to be published.

I find this fundamentally flawed. Although individuals are not Consumer Reports or independent companies trying to protect consumers, I believe they DO have an obligation to tell the public the bad with the good. At the moment, you are only seeing "the good". If everything is "good" or "passes", that I can't have faith in the recommendation and I guess reject all the reviews.

Of course individuals are free to do as they choose, but at least this answers my question. Poor reviews are rare because of this hidden binary pass/fail approach.

A second podcast has verified that bad reviews do not get aired on youtube. Whether it be because the product was free or because if paid, "artisans" got upset with a bad review, so they feel guilty.

This system is flawed and leaves the consumers holding the bag. The fact is everything is NOT perfect. I've bought lots of "bad" stuff from appliances to cars to shaving soap. If  you read amazon reviews, feed the URL into  http://fakespot.com/ to see if the review is legit as some are gaming the system. But there are other places where you can get legitimate reviews. If you buy tires, look at the reviews for you tire at tirerack.com. Its likely the reviews are legit due to the cost of the items. But this system is flawed because the lack of poor reviews is deceptive to the consumer.

grim

Who has two thumbs and is the only reviwer I trust?












This guy! (It's me, just in case anyone was wondering)

Every time I consider reading user reviews, I think of this article and how reviews and rankings can be manipulated. In fact, before the conversion of HTGAM to PAA, this is how I imagined Doug working the shave forums. (No, really, I did) But now, I think he found this process backfired and is a better person as a result.

http://www.businessinsider.com/photo-sho...ade-2015-2

I don't see how it really matters whether we believe reviews are good, bad, honest, or dishonest. Everyone seems to have their favorites and many will claim those favorites are superior to everything else. The same is true for some who despise, dislike, or strongly dislike certain soaps or other products. The only way to find out whether you will truly enjoy a product is to try it yourself.

Every time I consider reading user reviews, I think of this article and how reviews and rankings can be manipulated. In fact, before the conversion of HTGAM to PAA, this is how I imagined Doug working the shave forums. (No, really, I did)  But now, I think he found this process backfired and is a better person as a result.

http://www.businessinsider.com/photo-sho...ade-2015-2

that's a good one

And Amazon is going after fake reviews by suing its own merchants http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/amazon-fake-reviews-2/

I don't think any review is "fake". I do believe that whatever people say, theybelieve. Its the fact that they do not discuss "bad" products that I find irritating. Its not fake, but deceptive to the people who might believe in what they say and doing them a disservice.