Here is a nice story about how sometimes what we do not know we have stored in our attic might just someday save our hind ends! (hint to wife..take note there is a reason for me to save the things I have stocked away-besides just avoiding trips to the store late at night to finish a school project!).
I hope in this economy this works out for this family. Notice they have not actually auctioned off the comic but I am assuming they stopped packing?
Review sites like Yelp.com are getting a bad rap these days for possibly providing better visibility for good company reviews of their premium subscribers. I generally have been an advocate of free markets. So, the idea of review sites seems pretty darn American to me.
I have been a member of Angies List for years and like the way their system works for allowing users of services to post on their experiences and rate vendors. At the same time their service allows a dispute process for vendors to be allowed a chance to settle or have their side of a rant told.
Yelp and Google Reviews are a different story. I find it disturbing that anybody who has a beef with a company can set up an account with these two companies and totally trash a company with no accountability. I just finished reading about a business owner who manages rental properties. A tenant failed to pay rent for two months and the property manager evicted them. Pretty normal stuff. The tenant caused damages when moving out..stuff like ripped out a bathroom sink! The former tenant has posted on Google and Yelp reviews of the property manager that are short of incendiary. Falsehoods…with no way the accussed can respond.
So, what is the accused left to do? He is soliciting other property managers to make up reviews of his company that are positive in return for him doing the same for the positive review. So, you can see what this strategy does for the value of the reviews. They are all false and not fair and or inpartial.
Keep this in mind the next time you take a look at one of these review sites. I suspect this is a pretty common practice. I know it has been an issue on Amazon for years. Don’t be lazy and just use these easy to find reviews. Look for some real users and find out what they say.
Even today with so much available on the internet, a little good old detective work will continue to have more value.
