OLD REVEALS AND NEW FINDS Thread

[anovice]

Feb 28, 2024 14:10:06 GMT FD1000 said:

Feb 28, 2024 11:23:22 GMT anovice said:

FD1000: "As I already said, I don't use or like many of their rating because they are not good IMO"

FD, I will try one last time. Consumer Reports did not rate the eyeglass purchases. They only conducted the survey. 11,450 CR members rated their eyeglass purchases.

I will also try once more. I have a direct quote from CR.  "Consumer Reports’ product ratings are unique in that they combine product performance, measured through expert lab testing, with predicted reliability and owner satisfaction data gathered through surveys of product owners. The latter two measures are based on consumers’ real-world experiences with products they have purchased and reflect consumers’ use of products over time. By combining lab performance testing with data based on the experiences of hundreds of thousands of real consumers, Consumer Reports ratings give consumers the most complete information on what they can expect from each product."

Regardless if it's only customers and/or CR testing, I don't think CR ratings are good for many items. I gave several examples, customers + CR disregard prices or availability. I looked at Costco and I can't find any frame I like regardless of the price while I found 3 at Zenni, at this point ratings don't matter.
I ordered my first pair 3 years ago and now have 3. Usually I would have only one but the first 2 costs me $20 each. All my kids have glasses and sometimes they broke them. If Zenni was available, I would buy each kid 2-3 pairs.
He is a site that rates all the online sites for glasses (www.cnet.com/health/personal-care/best-places-to-buy-glasses-online/) Zenni is highly rated.

The "direct quote" from CR has NOTHING to do with this survey of 11,450 CR members who rated their eyeglass purchases. CR tested NOTHING, inside or outside of a lab! What part of a survey do you not understand?

[FD1000]

You are correct about the survey, but customers may not care about it...why?
1) If I want to spend only $12, I can't use Costco.
2) I could not find any frames I like at Costco. It's a no go.
3) Costco can be far from where I live and/or I don't want to pay for a membership.

The above is very similar to Publix vs Kroger. Again, it is only based on a survey, no labs.  Publix is at the top, Kroger is far below. I have both very close to my house, I still prefer Kroger.

Basically, a survey is a good start, but I have my own preferences.

[richardsok]

LIBBY or GUTENBERG-- a library in your cell phone.

I am still just getting used to libby.com and am enjoying using their audible books. I find my walking regimen much more pleasant if I am simultaneously listening to a good book as I pound along, which is almost daily. I have down-loaded the libby app, which is linked to my local library, I simply "borrow" a book to listen to, generally for two or three weeks.
If I am in my car alone for more than a half hour, libby helps the time pass pleasurably, if not profitably.
One downside, libby's index makes it hard to isolate a list of non-fiction authors that potentially interest me. Very cumbersome to scroll through a lot of garbage lit. (Maybe I'm doing it wrong.)

For another reading resource, I have also like gutenberg.org (either pc or android) which allows you to download thousands of important, non-copyright books. Most are for reading, but some are in audio format also. The majority of books they offer are pre-1900. In the past, gutenberg has given me a chance to preview a book's opening pages before I commit to a hard copy.
At my age, and given the size of my private library, I really hesitate before buying anything new. I only ever read the "best of the best" for a second time, and usually years (or decades) later.

I wasn't even 21 when I read "Catch-22" -- and it's still on my shelves 50+ yrs later.

[chang]

“I only ever read the "best of the best" for a second time, and usually years (or decades) later.”

I have read some P. G. Wodehouse novels over and over many times (usually with a few years in between) - and I always laugh heartily.

[richardsok]

I never owned a pair of what I understand to be "travel pants" until my wife bought me two pairs of Tommy Bahamas "Chip Shot" trousers a couple of weeks ago. Maybe you think of them as golf pants; true wash & wear. Whatever, I think they're great. Maybe you know what I'm referring to; ultra light-weight trousers, wrinkle-free, just a little bit stretchy, super comfortable. They are fantastic for travel, as they pack down to practically zero volume in luggage. I also bought myself a pair of ultra-light Ben Hogan brand (cheap) as well as a pair of MagcoMsen trousers (on Amazon -- also cheap) with the extra zippered pockets for pure travel.

If you've never tried these, you really should. I think you'll be pleased.

[yogibearbull]

This audio of LBJ ordering comfortable pants has been heard zillion times. Somebody added graphics to it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR_myjOr0OU

[chang]

I’ve got six or seven pairs of pants from Uniqlo. The most comfortable and practical pants I’ve ever worn. Highly recommended.

[saratoga]

I just joined Merrill Edge. Will put an investment asset (etf) there worth over $100K.
This gives me Platinum honor status in their Preferred Rewards program.
Some notable benefits (for me) are:

1. Convenience to have B of A and Merrill on the same website, also their physical offices are nearby.
BoA is competent in foreign transactions where local banks are very weak.
2. Get 75% more from their Preferred Rewards Program. Gray credit card has a cash back rate of 2.625% unlimited.
Blue card has no foreign transactions fee. You can have more than one card.
3. Most bank services are free.
4. I no longer need to keep relatively large amount of cash at BoA to keep my perks of the Preferred Rewards program.

Together, the benefits are meaningful considering there is no cost to me.