On 2015-09-12 00:15:16 +0000, Tony Cooper said:

On Fri, 11 Sep 2015 16:00:20 -0700, Savageduck
wrote:
On 2015-09-11 22:45:10 +0000, Tony Cooper said:
On Fri, 11 Sep 2015 13:50:56 -0700, Savageduck
wrote:
On 2015-09-11 20:14:23 +0000, Sandman said:


Savageduck thought you were a "knowledgable consumer", he hasn't said anything
about you buying the wrong phone, or proposing a better phone for you. He
probably couldn't care less what phone you use.

He is expressing amazement that you are so ignorant about what you are
purchasing, probably because his image of you was that you were someone that
didn't just buy any old toaster or refrigerator, and that you actually
took some time to do some research into what you spend your money on.
That's what
he "can't understand". You have adequately proven him wrong.

You have stated my position clearly.

You research toasters, too?

Actually, yes.
...and coffee makers, microwave ovens, cameras, lenses, equipment bags,
software, my Wacom Intuos tablet, and so much more, but that is me. You
might say that is my defense against impulse buying.

All it sounds like you're doing is delaying a decision to stop the
impulse buying factor. Actually, that's not a bad strategy.

Product research is the bit I champ at when reining in that impulse
buying mustang.

I don't see how researching all products is productive.

It isn't. It is time consuming and sometimes brings disappointment with
the rejection of an item I had my heart set on. Sometimes it leads me
to a product I had not originally thought of.

I agree on most of the above, though. I just bought a new LowePro
sling bag. I
did research it, but not the way it seems like you would. I didn't
research it online. I don't care what other reviewers say, it has to
work with what I carry around.

I went to Colonial Photo* with all the kit I want to carry around and
put it into each bag that I thought would work for me to make sure it
fit. I'm using my 55/300 Nikon lens most of the time now, and I
wanted to make sure it fit in the bag on the body.

That was sensible, always follow up online research with bricks &
mortar investigation.

The only internet research was a quick peek at B&H and Adorama for
price. Both were lower than Colonial, but not enough to make me want
to be a jerk and not buy from the store where I tried all of the bags.

If it is possible, it is always good to support local vendors.

I'm not sure what research you'd do on a Wacom. There's no real
competition except some Chinese products that places like
Linkdelight.com list. As far as I was concerned, it was Wacom or
nothing. I'd already worked with a Bamboo, so I knew what size I
wanted. If reading Wacom's site is research, then I did research.
What else is there to look up?

Online is always a good place to start, and some local vendors have
demo models. My current Intuos is my second Wacom tablet.

I get the impression that your idea of research is web-based.

A fair amount of my initial research is online, that is a sensible and
cost saving way to go about the task. If a local vendor has the item I
will take myself to their establishment.

I'm more into hands-on. I'd handled iPhones before, so I really couldn't
gain much knowledge on the web.

Actually you could.

I bought a new flash unit a while back, but it was one that another
member of my camera club uses and I
tried his on my camera. He let me borrow it for a weekend. It was much
less than a Nikon flash, and I've never had any regrets. Belonging to
two camera clubs gives me a lot of opportunity for hands-on
examination for products in this area.

Nothing wrong with that, though I have had no regrets for buying my
Nikon SB-800.

The last time I researched a product online it was a coffee maker and
I got stuck with pooch. The damn thing got all top reviews by other
owners, but I don't like the design in actual use. I should have
found one in a store for hands-on evaluation.

Oh well. Perhaps that next step in product research was needed. With
coffee makers I have always found that simple is better. My current
favorite is the Bodum "Pour Over" Very simple and makes great coffee. I
got mine at Target.
http://www.bodum.com/us/en-us/shop/detail/11571-01/

As you well know, I delayed going the Adobe Subscription route until I
had enough input to feel comfortable. My input was more from personal
contact and conversations with other users. I don't know internet
input would have helped.

For me I was at the point that CS6 was going to be the end of the road
for Photoshop and the upgrade treadmill. I bought the CS5-CS6 upgrade
and I was going to buy the Lightroom 5 upgrade when Adobe announced the
limited subscription plan for owners of PS3-PS6. That was a bargain. I
didn't have to buy the LR update and the subscription cost is lower
than the annual cost for updates to PS and LR together. I have no
regrets for having done that.

I still explore PS alternatives for the Mac such as Pixelmator, and
Affinity Photo and I am happy to recommend either of those to Mac users
who do not want to go down the Adobe subscription road.

Having a wife means I don't get all that involved with small appliance
purchasing decisions. She wanted a Dyson, so we bought a Dyson. Most
purchases in this area are done deals before I know about them. If
she's not researching, I have no complaints because she's doing fine.

That is a very different issue, one I have not had to deal with since
December 2007.

The next online research I'll do will be about finding motel rooms for
our next trip whenever that is. That's an area where I feel personal
reviews by other customers is helpful.

Good luck with that.

I'm not real keen on saving pennies. I suppose I could do some
research on something like a CF card for my Nikon and find a better
price, but I'll stick with SanDisks. Not that I need one. Mine seem
to last forever. But, it's an example.

SanDisk and Lexar CF and SDHC are all I use, and I have yet to
experience a card failure.

*Colonial Photo is the store that failed to impress Popinjay. Not the
B&H store in Kissimmee he says he found. The real camera store.

Well we all knew that the only presence B&H had in Florida was an online one.

--
Regards,

Savageduck