The implication here was that we used to have good reviews before this. I disagree. I'd gladly dump all of cnet and engadget down the drain for half of The Wirecutter.
Their win was realizing that I don't give a shit about reading about the latest tech news on new product X. I just need an in-depth review for each product category that is done by an expert, exposes the best products I can get for each part of the tradeoff spectrum, and is kept up to date as time passes by. That's all I need. So many times I've done my own research for days and came up with the same 2-3 results that they have, so I don't even bother anymore. I'll be very sad if The Wirecutter dies.
We already had a publication for that called Consumer Reports. CR goes the extra mile of not running ads in the first place. Wirecutter simply tried to eat their cake and have it too, and that cake just got a lot slimmer.
Nope nope nope. Consumer reports just doesn't get it. They're great from the consumer advocacy perspective, but again they fill their site with stuff I don't care about.
The pleasure of the wirecutter is that the decisions are made. I look for their top choice of wifi routers, then I read about why. In the off chance I disagree, I read the other entries. It explains by what aspects each other product is better or worse than their pick. Perhaps I want a cheaper one? A specific brand? More range? Done in under ten minutes.
I realize everyone is different, but what I love about the Wirecutter is that I don't want to waste my free time reading expert product reviews and comparing specs, and CR encourages exactly that. Any minor benefit from having that information exposed really gets drowned out by my frustration.
I'd never heard of wirecutter before. Every 6-12 months I (or a family member) will want to make some kind of largeish purchase, and I go hunting for reviews and try to figure it out on my own. I think this site is going to save me a lot of time and headaches.
Consumer Reports is really a different sweet spot though. I haven't subscribed for a long time and use them very little but I was always a lot less impressed with them for many types of consumer electronics than I was for large household appliances or cars.
CR is great but there are whole categories of products they do not address at all. Also, since they have no ads, it's a relatively expensive subscription.
Their win was realizing that I don't give a shit about reading about the latest tech news on new product X. I just need an in-depth review for each product category that is done by an expert, exposes the best products I can get for each part of the tradeoff spectrum, and is kept up to date as time passes by. That's all I need. So many times I've done my own research for days and came up with the same 2-3 results that they have, so I don't even bother anymore. I'll be very sad if The Wirecutter dies.