2026, Business, Food, Uncategorized

Product Reviews

38 Comments

Husband and I quite regularly purchase specialty foods from a Spanish and an Italian importer, as well as things now and then from Amazon. We also order quite a bit from King Arthur Baking Company. I usually ignore the pleas from these entities for reviews of our purchases.

I mostly have better things to do, and I would hope my continued ordering would let them know we are happy with their products. I know the reviews are all in the aid of marketing.

The other day, though, the King Arthur Baking Company hooked me with an offer of a possible $100 if I reviewed our recent purchase of all-purpose flour. I really do like their flour. I told them it is the only all-purpose flour we use. It was impossible to submit the review, however, and I finally gave up in frustration.

What products do you order on-line? Ever submitted a review? What products would you like to honestly review?

38 thoughts on “Product Reviews”

  2. What I hate is the email with one question on it making you think it will be quick and easy. But when you click on that question it opens a website with more questions.
    I don’t mind doing surveys and I do them fairly often, but if it takes more than a minute, I’m out. I’ve left several in the middle and quit.

    I’ve done a few reviews. I recently bought a blanket on Etsy. We had a blanket on our bed that I really liked the weight and fabric, eventually I found out it was called “Leno weave“. But if you Google that you’ll still get random things. A lot of people call it “grandma’s blanket!” Anyway found a blanket on Etsy and I did send a review for that and thank her for the quick shipping and that I was pleased to find the blanket.

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  4. Apologies to anyone who had difficulty getting on the Trail today. I inadvertently pushed a button that only allowed “subscribers” access. How dumb!

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  6. From the Spanish importer we order Spanish chorizo/sausage, olive oil, and bake and serve bread from Spain, as well as white Asturian beans and dark purple Tolosa beans for soup. From the Italian importer we get wonderful, very thin Sardinian crackers, parmesan cheese, and specialty pasta that we can’t find in the store. We also order beans and lentils from Rancho Gordo. Nuts.com gets our orders for dried fruits. I also order very fresh pecans from an orchard in Georgia

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  7. Those requests to do reviews are extremely annoying. They can be persistent about it. I usually avoid them. Sometimes I will review something I bought on Etsy, especially if I know it was hand made and it came to me on time. I dislike giving negative reviews (if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all).

    I like to shop on Etsy. There is such a wide variety of products. I usually only buy knitting or crocheting patterns, but I have bought some unique items. I bought glasses frames that came from London once. I bought a lovely Italian leather purse from Italy once too. I like hand made or artisan made things.

    I’m in a state today. I checked my finances and found that one of my annuities has been drained. The balance says $0.00. That particular investment is all of the money that I saved while working for the State of Minnesota. It was not inherited – it was earned. I have checked with my investment advisor and he is on it right now, but I’m still in a state.

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      1. I think I might have gotten hacked. I still don’t know. It’s not the stock market. It’s two accounts – an IRA and an annuity – that suddenly have a 0 balance. My advisor said it is easy for them to trace, but I still haven’t heard back.

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    3. My advisor got back to me and said that the funds are still there. He wasn’t sure why they aren’t showing up on my accounts. He had me log in to the company that actually holds the funds and I saw that they were indeed there – they just don’t show up in my accounts as they normally do. He’s going to do some more checking and get back to me. I will be checking these accounts more often now!

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  8. I buy almost nothing online, though I may have done one online review of something – maybe a service rather than a product.

    I have a relative who regularly does the Influencer thing on FB, she must get credit when she buys those products now…

    The thing I hate are all the surveys after you’ve been to visit any kind of health care professional, or car dealership repair place, or…

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  9. I review medical events sometimes, never negatively. Anyone can have a bad day. I on occasion wrote a bad review for a product I ordered when it was not as described or pictured.

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  11. This letter to Proctor & Gamble came to mind:

    An Open Letter to Mr. James Thatcher, Brand Manager, Procter & Gamble by Wendi Aarons

    “Dear Mr. Thatcher,

    I have been a loyal user of your Always maxi pads for over 20 years, and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core™ or Dri-Weave™ absorbency, I’d probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I’d certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can’t tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there’s a little F-16 in my pants.

    Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from “the curse”? I’m guessing you haven’t. Well, my “time of the month” is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I’ll be transformed into what my husband likes to call “an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.” Isn’t the human body amazing?

    As brand manager in the feminine-hygiene division, you’ve no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customers’ monthly visits from Aunt Flo. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it’s a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend’s testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey’s Anatomy was written by drunken chimps. Crazy! The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in capri pants. Which brings me to the reason for my letter.

    Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: “Have a Happy Period.”

    Are you f*cking kidding me?

    What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness—actual smiling, laughing happiness—is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you’re some kind of sick S&M freak girl, there will never be anything “happy” about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlúa and lock yourself in your house just so you don’t march down to the local Walgreens armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory. For the love of God, pull your head out, man. If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn’t it make more sense to say something that’s actually pertinent, like “Put Down the Hammer” or “Vehicular Manslaughter Is Wrong”? Or are you just picking on us?

    Sir, please inform your accounting department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flexi-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that’s a promise I will keep. Always.

    Best,

    Wendi Aarons
    Austin, TX”

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  12. Whenever I find myself behind a vehicle with the sign “How am I Driving? followed by a phone number I think to myself “How indeed?” The operation of a motor vehicle ought never be a source of wonder.

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      1. Good Evening,

        I do not write reviews. The closest I came to doing one, was in Oslo 11 years ago when we rented an Air B and B unit that was very dirty and without a working elevator ON THE 11TH FLOOR. I complained to the owner and told him if he refunded some of our money I would NOT write a review describing the conditions. We got 2 days of our fee back and left early. What a productive threat that was.

        I agree, as well, with the irritating nature of the constant requests to rate things. I have come to believe if I do that it just encourages this practice.

        OT: Today I was in Northern Iowa for a funeral. My sister-in-law’s 94 year old mother had died. Given the day’s topic, I was considering writing a review of that for you, but that is just too tacky. What was not tacky was that I got to meet a new family member, baby Ryland, age 7 weeks. Another baby who I had already met, McKenna, was present as well, and she, at 10 months was engaging and adorable. She also dumped lemonade on me and all over the guy sitting next to me. (I did have a wonderful conversation with some people from my home town who were incredibly curious about the conditions here given the Federal presence. I gave them an earful. They told me that when our president felon visited Iowa several weeks ago, there were more people protesting outside the arena than there were attending within. This apparently was not reflected in the news reporting about which they were plenty angry. I also discovered the lemonade-covered guy sitting next to me was a farmer who cannot understand why other Iowa farmers are voting against their own interests. I felt like it was a conversation that made sense. Is something changing?)

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  13. I would love to review a number of high ranking officials in our government and a few Supreme Court justices, but, of course, they are not interested.

    I did get an e-mail from someone this week who is contacting me about doing tax preparation. She asked if I had any online reviews. I had to confess to a dismal lack of any Google/Yelp/Facebook endorsements. Among younger people, the world revolves around such things. She seems to be following up despite my not having anything to offer in the way of reviews.

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      1. Let me know when would be a good time for us to get together. Usually Monday afternoons, after my volunteer shifts, are open. Thursdays are usually good, too.

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