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How to plot a course toward purchase

Bill Husted
Contributor for the Ventura County Star

So who do you trust for buying advice on an HDTV or a new computer?

The problem is real for buyers. If you do extensive research about any given product, you'll find conflicting opinions, all of them from people who claim to be real experts.

Any fisherman will understand that confusion. On any given day, on any lake, one expert will tell you to use blue crank bait lures around rocky points, while another says to fish in shallow water with a top water lure.

So even true experts in a field can disagree. That can be unsettling when you rely on them for advice for an expensive high-tech purchase.

That leaves us with the million dollar question: Who do you trust?

I suggest Ferdinand Magellan. You may think of him as the Portuguese explorer who led the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. But I think of him as the great navigator.

Skilled navigation offers the best solution to finding your way through conflicting opinions on a device you are researching.

Old-time navigators found the true course using triangulation. Checking the position of just one star gives you a rough notion of where you are. When you use two stars, you get a lot closer to your true position. And with three stars — triangulation — you can sail an accurate course that avoids the reefs and dangers beneath the surface.

OK. What the heck does that mean when we're talking about buying a computer or a TV?

It means that when you find agreement from several reputable sources, chances improve that the advice is good. That's triangulation.

Let's take this navigation problem step by step.

It's important to use reliable stars when navigating the commercial waters. I give little weight to websites I've never heard of, or to magazines that seem to mostly tout the products that they also advertise.

I lean hard on sources such as:

You'll find your own sites and, over time, learn which ones you can trust. But keep in mind that, especially when it comes to consumer electronics, there are many sites and publications that give good reviews to those who spend advertising money with them. So they are, in effect, buying a good review. Great for them, bad for you.

Now it's time for the triangulation. Check several sites and look for a consensus, good or bad.

How do you find reviews or discussions of specific products?

Type the exact product name into Google. You'll almost certainly get pages and pages of results, often from relatively unknown sites. You'll also probably find comments from users.

Take individual comments with a grain of salt. Don't ignore them, but don't put a lot of weight in a single opinion from someone you've never met.

What you're looking for is common ground. Filter out the general comments like 'I loved the Acme electronic back scratcher' or 'that back scratcher is horrible.'

That sort of comment isn't helpful. It's possible to get a lemon, or to hear from an idiot, so scattered general remarks shouldn't be given much weight.

Instead, look for specific comments on features. Pay attention if, for instance, several comments say the company doesn't honor its warranty, or that the back scratcher tends to short out. If a lot of people experience the same thing, we can start believing there's a real problem. On the other hand, if almost everyone loved the way it worked, you're beginning to plot a course toward a purchase.

Try some navigating the next time you're tech shopping. If you do it right, you'll be safe from falling off the edges of the Earth into shopper's purgatory.

Bill Husted writes about technology. Contact him at