The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Here you can post stuff that is not related to Christopher Ward
User avatar
Amor Vincit Omnia
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 33795
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 7:34 pm
CW-watches: 4
Location: Norfolk, UK

The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

I just posted this in Curmudgeons Corner. As no one is supposed to reply on there, I thought I would start this thread.
Perfectly good YouTube watch reviews ruined by presenters/reviewers/influencers with whining voices, who haven’t bothered to learn to pronounce the names of the watches they are reviewing properly. :explode:

“You-liss Nardeen”…I’m looking at you! :evil:
Sometimes I read/watch online reviews that are really good, well presented or well written, factual and informative.

Others I think are badly presented, written in a semi-literate fashion, often containing dubious information or gross opinionated hyperbole. Or, as above, presented by people with whiny voices who can’t pronounce the names of globally fêted Swiss watch brands.

I’ve written watch reviews myself, simply for the forum. I’ve never tried to film one and I don’t think I’ll bother. I’ve also read some fantastic reviews on here, and I’m looking forward to another one which has been promised.

So – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? What are your thoughts? Are there any review sites, reviewers or YouTube channels that you particularly like or dislike? If so, why?
Steve
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time


Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
User avatar
Richard D
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 3448
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:59 pm
CW-watches: 0

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by Richard D »

I don’t have the knowledge or the skill to attempt an online review, kudos to those that do irrespective of being judged the good, bad or ugly.
Richard


‘A gas station owned by Harland Sanders was the site of the first KFC in 1930. Motorists were served fried chicken at his own dining-room table.’
User avatar
tikkathree
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 7363
Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2014 12:21 am
CW-watches: 1
Location: East Anglia - arr 'aas right buh

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by tikkathree »

What's worse for you, the content or the presentation? I think for me it's the presentation 'cos with the whiney (or whatever) voice, I'm not hanging around to get into the quality of the content. Here's my current list:

I enjoy Jody at Just One More Watch but I fast forward past his roaring HALLOOOOO!.

Watchfinder I have enjoyed over the years but I'm turned off by his insistent imploring to please like and subscribe. If he doesn't shaddup he's going to lose me.

Jenni Elle/L/'ell hasn't featured in my feed for a while and, frankly, I don't miss her. Her content level is quite low.

I want to enjoy Paul Thorpe for his knowledge of Rolex but I struggle with what the young people call "ink".

Teddy Baldasacoot doesn't do it for me.

Ben's watch Club makes me laugh.

Do youtubers really make a living from their content? Or are they just kidding themselves? There seem to be an endless stream of them so I guess that they do receive a worthwhile income.
C60 MKI, MKII, MKIII: "some",
C6 & C60 Kingfishers,
C600 Tritechs,
C63 "some",
C65 "some",
C4, C40, C8, C9, C3, C5, C20 & 23FLE
Some other brands
User avatar
Noush
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1331
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2020 12:30 am
CW-watches: 2
Location: Blue Mountains Australia

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by Noush »

If there is a watch I have some interest in, whether for myself or just out of general interest, then I look at a range of reviews, whether video or text.
That gives me a sense of the piece. One person's deal-breaker is another's hallelujah.
No matter how much I might enjoy a reviewer's style or whatever, no-one speaks the Gospel of Watches quite like I do for myself or can put the piece on my wrist.

For pure entertainment, Jody at JOMW, but over time I am less interested in the actual content. I love the Hallooo :)
Tim at Caseback Watches is consistently interesting albeit not full of detail. Handy guitarist too.
ID Guy for a designer's take.
Teddy Baldasarre is go-go fast but he is up-front about what he is doing and there's a lot of variety. You can make of it what you will.
Random Rob is just plain sloppy and does no research. Bruce Williams spends too much time showing off.

There are a number of channels that I look at regularly but just if they have something on a piece of some sort of interest.
There are far too many reviewers who think the world revolves around Rolex. Reviewers I like, Jenni Elle, Adrian at Bark & Jack et al, but for goodness' sake.
Chris
"Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans" : John Lennon.
User avatar
H0rati0
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 2314
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2018 7:49 am
CW-watches: 4
Location: Alpenvorland

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by H0rati0 »

In general, I loath online reviews - 5-10 times longer (with skipping) to get the meat compared to (skim) reading the same content and I have much better uses for that time.
"There is no beginning to enlightenment and no end to training" - Dogen Zenji (1200-1253)
User avatar
nbg
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 13151
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 6:43 pm
CW-watches: 14
Location: UK

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by nbg »

To me there is light and day between the majority of the YouTube wannabes who are just spouting their version of nonsense and the handful who concentrate on the watch and tell you information that may be useful to you if you are interested in buying that particular model.

The former are just generally a form of vacuous entertainment for those with nothing better to do.

Neil
Other watch forums of interest:
TZ-UK
exHowfener
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1018
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 6:26 pm
CW-watches: 1

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by exHowfener »

Jody at JOMW, but over time I am less interested in the actual content. I love the Hallooo :)
If you like the intro ... next time you are on YouTube, look up "AAR On Air" and watch the intro. It's not watch content (Airguns), but they could be related :lol:
I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left
User avatar
jkbarnes
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 7852
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 8:39 pm
CW-watches: 3
Location: Virginia, USA

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by jkbarnes »

Generally, I like the content created by the channels that have been mentioned, the major players if you will.

My beef with a great many of the other reviews I find online, whether YouTube videos or blogs, is that they’re hardly useful reviews at all. They all seem like like promo materials for the watch makers, spouting all the same info to be found on the maker’s website with very little meaningful insight.

While I haven’t watched in quite awhile, I always liked TGV’s reviews of watches. I get why some find him grating, but I quite liked his content and the production value of his videos.

Circling back to AVO’s initial content, there is definitely a generation of young people who simply don’t know how to communicate effectively, whether it be what they’ve written or how it’s delivered. Whether it’s the vocal fry to the voice or the cadence, rhythm, and inflection to the delivery, I definitely have a hard time listening to the younger generations speak! And it’s not just YouTube content creators. I have much younger coworkers that make me want to cut my ears off at the thought of being a student in their classroom based on delivery alone!
Drew
User avatar
strapline
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 2328
Joined: Tue May 07, 2019 3:00 pm
CW-watches: 0
Location: SW Ireland

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by strapline »

Noush wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 9:48 am If there is a watch I have some interest in, whether for myself or just out of general interest, then I look at a range of reviews, whether video or text.
That gives me a sense of the piece. One person's deal-breaker is another's hallelujah.
No matter how much I might enjoy a reviewer's style or whatever, no-one speaks the Gospel of Watches quite like I do for myself or can put the piece on my wrist.
This is pretty much my approach too. I seem to be looking at much the same review sites as everyone else. I generally prefer a well written piece because that's the format my mind is most comfortable with. These watch review sites are just extensions of the dreaded social media thing, with their hosts just trying to gain traction, subscriptions, likes or a free watch. Lots of them just plough the same field over and over again. In truth, I've probably found this forum as reliable a source of watch related info as any other outlet.

Des
Does melancholy count as two of your five daily servings?
0uatiOW
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 1329
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:46 pm
CW-watches: 4
Location: Cambridgeshire

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by 0uatiOW »

I like video reviews because my eyes see things moving rather than absolutely still. Further, a lot of written reviews contain stock photos only. If you haven’t had the watch in your hand, then your review is worthless, or if you have, but can’t be bothered to take real photos, then your review is lazy.

Some reviewers mispronounce brand names or basic terms (Audemars Piaget, ell-a-bore (elaboré please), and Jay-gerr Le-Coolchoor are my current bug bears), get the models wrong or misrepresent prices. Do your research properly or don’t bother.

One more thing- get some decent lighting and please, please make sure the watch is in focus….
My name is 0uatiOW, but before you ask, no I don’t.
“Exquisitely minging” MissF, 19 July 2022
Just call me Diderot
User avatar
rkovars
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 3258
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 7:56 pm
CW-watches: 5
Location: New England, US

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by rkovars »

jkbarnes wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 1:03 pm Circling back to AVO’s initial content, there is definitely a generation of young people who simply don’t know how to communicate effectively, whether it be what they’ve written or how it’s delivered. Whether it’s the vocal fry to the voice or the cadence, rhythm, and inflection to the delivery, I definitely have a hard time listening to the younger generations speak! And it’s not just YouTube content creators. I have much younger coworkers that make me want to cut my ears off at the thought of being a student in their classroom based on delivery alone!
I think this is the Achilles heel of the vast majority. They don't bother to script the videos and they become wandering and repetitive.
Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.
Jack London
JAFO
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 4490
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by JAFO »

Well sorry to generalise but it's surely an American issue (and maybe UK) in the main. As an ex president pointed, the French don't have a word for entrepreneur. I doubt Canadians have any difficulty with French pronunciation.
JAFO
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 4490
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2020 3:59 pm

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by JAFO »

To come back to the reviews, I really like Jody. (JOMW) Accurate dimensions, a timegrapher, wrist shots, lume and so on. Not just vague opinions. I wish he would go upmarket occasionally though.

Another shout out for David Schwartz. It's a great day to wear a watch. He puts a lot of work in for not so many subscribers. Again, I think he could include a higher grade of watch. Having said that, the last one I saw of his was a really good review of a Maurice Lacroix Aikon ( that's LaKwoh). Made me seriously investigate it.

https://youtu.be/-AMIP775B9o
what-time-is-it
Trusted Seller
Trusted Seller
Posts: 3854
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2016 11:53 am
CW-watches: 1

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by what-time-is-it »

Appreciate this isn't about a video review, or about watches but this is a funny review about a hotel we walked past last week, which looked awful. So when we got back to the house we were renting, sat on the patio drinking a bottle of something, SWMBO had a quick look to see if it was as bad as it looked and she found this nugget titled House of Horrors.
Without doubt the worst hotel I have ever stayed at. Where do I start, firstly your in the middle of stunning scenery in Scotland and on entry to the newly refurbished hotel you are greeted with oriental style furnishings which are very garish and totally out of place. There is even a big picture in reception of the owner of the hotel which was also very tacky. The first room we were given which was sold as a superior room was a double and very tiny, but the worse thing one side of the bed was against a wall, so you could only get out one side. Spoke to the lady on reception who sorted the situation efficiently and gave us a new room. New room all seemed ok apart from the garish oriental furnishings. Decided to make a cup of tea from the welcome tray and went to fill the kettle up. That’s when I got the shock of my life 😬 opened the lid and was greeted with a kettle full of langoustines 🤮🤮🤮 not something you expect to see. Obviously it was some previous guest that had done it, but it should have been checked by housekeeping, but wasn’t. That was the end of the line for us, we took the kettle downstairs and showed the lady on reception who was clearly shocked too. Her response was do you want me to clean it for you 😬😬 we said no thanks we would like a full refund. She spoke to her manager and sorted quickly for us. I have to say the lady on reception dealt with the situation very well and professionally. That was the only positive experience of staying at the hotel.
Current collection incl Citizen, G-Shock, Rolex, Seiko, Sinn & Tag.

Chris
exHowfener
Senior Forumgod
Senior Forumgod
Posts: 1018
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 6:26 pm
CW-watches: 1

Re: The quality (or otherwise) of online reviews.

Post by exHowfener »

Coming back onto watch reviews, JOMW is the only one I view every one. He generally pitches around my price point, which is good but always well produced and informative. I enjoy "The Time Teller" more now I've learned to turn the volume down - a lot. Paul Thorpe holds little interest as he mainly rambles on about Rolex (now HE could tell a tale about fake watches!) - all his tales seem just a bit 'samey', perhaps because of the lack of relevance? Jenni Elle, viewed after seeing on the forum but all a bit 'meh'. I know this is a minority view but the "Urban Gentry" can be entertaining.
I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post