This is an interesting question to me. I was doing car stereo installs professionally in the late '90s while I was also getting into computers and cell phones, the ‘World Wide Web’, etc. I then got into home stereo / theaters and would work as a sales person selling both home and automotive electronics. We were a small business and we had to be honest with our customers for their repeating business. I learned a lot about electronics and manufacturing and sales and brand reputation in those years. Dealing with sales reps and repair facilities, taking cars apart, installing and programming automated home systems, having to deal with ecstatic and aggravated customers (in my early 20s) gives you a certain perspective.

Later, the software industry turned on its side and proved (to me) that big and small developers often can not be trusted to not break something. In the past couple years I’ve decided to reduce my reliance on tech because so much of it can break or fundamentally change with a software update.

As far as reviews are concerned, I learned as a Yelp and Google Places reviewer, frequent eater-outer, and as a friend of people who own restaurants and small businesses that reviews are bullshit. Look at Amazon review and you’ll find mostly people who LOVE or HATE a product. And who hasn’t received a special offer for leaving a positive review on Amazon? Objective reviews, across the board, are scarce.

You are 100% correct in your assessment. So, how does one find a good product or service you can trust? There is no one answer and it largely depends on the product category - for me, it’s a feel.

I buy less “crap” and more “quality”. Meaning: I’ll reject the temptation to buy something I can afford now and save and research to buy something “better”. For something brand new, I generally look at where it’s coming from and what the warranty covers. This can be tougher now that East Asian countries are occupying most of production and are getting great at it. I’ll buy direct from a small business if possible (sometimes it’s even cheaper buying direct). Sometimes I consider buying a decades-old product that’s proven it can stand the test of time - but this really depends on the product. I might do some research to see if there are certain years a product was more reliable or when it became less reliable. It’s worth pointing out that reading the owner’s manual and using a product within its intended use can extend its life.

I have years (geesh, decades!) of experience informing me about the quality of a product. But parts and manufacturing techniques and consumer demand have changed a lot. For something like a stereo receiver, a heavier product meant it had a more robust power supply. But now with increasingly shrinking integrated circuits, my judgement isn’t as valid as it used to be. It might also mean that stuff should just last a lot longer because they aren’t as strained with heat dissipation requirements - or maybe they are.

The last time I bought a TV was 2015 - a dumb 55" Sharp LCD. I’m in the market for a new one because it’s finally getting some dark spots in the backlighting. I am freaking out over this decision because all the TVs on the market are both gorgeous technological marvels and absolute trash.

The last two things that broke on me, about a year - year and a half ago, were my Apple TV and Apple HomePod Mini. Both apparently had bad power supplies and neither were within warranty. Since then, I’ve had far more issues with devices or applications or operating systems getting updated by “the cloud” causing more frustration than I care to express. The Apple TV is one of my most used devices so I was fine buying another. The HomePod sounded like crap from the get go and Siri is trash anyway. I’ve resorted to a 25+ year old stereo receiver, an old iPhone SE, and an updated iPod for my music.

A big part of the problem is how cheap and accessible things are now. It’s fostered an increased consumer mindset. So much that, I think, a lot of people use consumerism to make themselves feel better. Just look at the Temu ads - “shop like a billionaire”. Increased demand for cheap at-your-doorstep-tomorrow consumer goods drives manufacturing quality down and puts a strain on the economy and the environment.

Additionally, brands are no longer valued by their reputation but their profits. There’s always someone willing to invest in a product or brand and dump billions of dollars into your shit on wheels electric car or your social media platform with the intent not on making something good but making something profitable - because people like you and I who care about quality shit are becoming scarce. Is a Stanley cup the best cup? Maybe, but is it worth $100 on the black market? It is if people need it to feel good about themselves.

So, that’s all to say I don’t have an answer for you but I can promise you that shit is going to get worse so you should just stop buying anything.