I just subscribed to Stiftung Warentest which is Germany’s equivalent to Consumer Reports. It seems to me those institutions provide a vital service to allow producer in various categories to compete based on quality when they would otherwise compete based on marketing promises.
Intuitively, it feels easier to pay for physical goods then to pay for information like those reports. I think the information did allow me to buy better soap for washing my hands and I think there’s a public good to be done by supporting those institutions and increasing their budgets to do unbiased tests (the Wirecutter is payed by affiliate money in a way that influences their editoral decisions).
I just subscribed to Stiftung Warentest which is Germany’s equivalent to Consumer Reports. It seems to me those institutions provide a vital service to allow producer in various categories to compete based on quality when they would otherwise compete based on marketing promises.
Intuitively, it feels easier to pay for physical goods then to pay for information like those reports. I think the information did allow me to buy better soap for washing my hands and I think there’s a public good to be done by supporting those institutions and increasing their budgets to do unbiased tests (the Wirecutter is payed by affiliate money in a way that influences their editoral decisions).