Looking for the .eu version of thesweethome.com

October 30, 2015 2:20 AM

What are the European equivalents of thesweethome.com and thewirecutter.com?

I love the reviews on their sites but most of the time, the recommended items aren't available over here in EULandia. I'd love reccomendations for similar European sites that go into heavy detail on their review methodology.

This post brought to you by the brand new weird noise my washing machine has started making

posted by romakimmy to Shopping (9 answers total)

Are those review sites for home appliances? I don't think there are Europe-wide equivalents, try looking for sites located in and focused on your specific country.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:41 AM on October 30, 2015

Wow, that is a REALLY cool website / service! I didnt know it before - thank you for sharing!

To answer your question: at least in Germany, I don't think there is a comparable service. If you find one, please share.
posted by Fallbala at 4:26 AM on October 30, 2015

There isn't one. Basically, you can do this for the US or for Canada because using the US as an example, you have a market of 318 million people all of whom can buy the same recommended washing machine from Amazon (which is how they make their money.)

This single massive marketplace does not exist in Europe. We have disparate Amazons which don't stock the same products; while we can pretty much all buy a Bosch washer, not all of us can buy a Hotpoint. And, a Bosh will cost radically more in Ireland or the Netherlands than it will in the UK or France (at which point, is it really the best bet for an Irish consumer the way it is for an English consumer?) We also have EU countries with no Amazons at all (waves).

So: fractured marketplaces is basically why we cannot have nice things. You can probably successfully ask for a site for a single marketplace like the UK, however.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:06 AM on October 30, 2015 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Ok, let's amend the question: what's your trusted review site in your country, that is of a similar vein to the sweethome/wirecutter sites?
posted by romakimmy at 7:37 AM on October 30, 2015

Good Housekeeping is well-trusted in the UK.
posted by ellieBOA at 8:02 AM on October 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Which? in the UK does everything from coffee makers to mortgages. It is also used in Ireland as we have no local comparison because we are a tiny market.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:47 AM on October 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

In Germany people just read the Amazon reviews ourselves :P

Or, we go to Stiftung-Warentest, a "consumer organisation and foundation involved in investigating and comparing goods and services in an unbiased way". But you have to pay for the full content.
posted by Fallbala at 9:45 AM on October 30, 2015 [2 favorites]

You could look for consumer advocacy groups. Australia has Choice, New Zealand has Consumer. These groups put out magazines with reviews and tests of various products and also an online section where you can access all the tests although it is subscription based. New Zealand and Australia sometimes share their results as well.
posted by poxandplague at 2:04 PM on October 30, 2015

Just been through exactly that mangle, romakimmy, and the sad news is: there ain't no such thing. Hard to believe as it is, here in Italy people just don't do this sort of comparison due diligence; even altroconsumo is considered for ultranerds, folks just buy either the brand they've always bought, or the cheapest their local store currently has on offer. Beyond this, conventional wisdom holds pretty much true: either spend double for a Miele (which will last, but has costly spare parts, should you need them), otherwise everything else is now built for obsolescence after an average life span of 5, maximum 6 years. (If my painstaking research spreadsheet from a month ago could be of use to you, memail me.)
posted by progosk at 3:22 PM on October 30, 2015 [1 favorite]