when shopping, do you care how popular something is?

[pcake]

i was browsing basses on sweetwater, and as is common on a lot of sites, their sorting defaults to most popular.

i've never cared about the popularity of an item or whether it's trending, so this baffles me. today or this week's most popular item could be based on a short-term marketing campaign, a press release, a single large influencer, an article that appeared one time on CNN or in rolling stone, or the manufacturer could make a deal with a group of influencers. it has nothing to do with quality, features, value, whether audiences will find it compelling, or anything i consider when it comes to buying... well, anything. i don't buy basses, paper towels, cameras or decide what to watch based on popularity or trending.

sometimes an overall product/show rating or user reviews can be useful to me, depending on a number of factors. but even then, quality, price, features, weight (when it comes to basses, cameras and lenses), and lack of animal products or toxic chemicals (particularly in art supplies) are what i focus on. quality of customer support from a manufacturer or retailer is a huge plus.

do people actually buy things, consider buying things or watching things based on popularity or because they're trending? is there something to this beyond herd mentality that i'm completely missing? inquiring minds want to know!

 

[hrodbert696]

Not at all. It always seemed weird to me that makers of any product advertise them as "best-selling." I guess the logic is supposed to be that lots of other people are buying it so you should too. Kind of circular. Personally, I usually look for items that are a little distinctive. I don't own a Fender anything, for instance, except a Frankenbass with some Fender parts.

 

[Jefenator]

I'd be lying if I said I was 100% immune to peer pressure.
OTOH I do wind up deploying a lot of stuff that the herd steers well clear of. (Like a 50W tube amp - or a full size 5-string double bass.)

 

[Killing Floor]

Not really but I also don’t dismiss something that is popular. It might be popular for a good reason.

 

[SoonerBill]

Not one tiny bit. I'm me. I want what I want. In my younger days to the point it made me a bit of an outcast because I would be looked at as a little weird.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

No.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Yes and no. I don’t follow trends in the slightest, but I do care about quality, appearance (not logos), and, at least for music gear, the ability to resell and either cut even or profit. I’m definitely aware of popularity and there is some consideration towards it, but I’m not someone who buys something just because it’s popular. I despise clutter and tend to be minimalistic, but whatever I do have is a quality product that likely is popular with people who prioritize similar preferences.

 

[Hot Rats]

It depends how stupid the popular thing is. If it's very stupid, I will care in the direction of making sure I do not buy it. But mostly I don't pay attention to those sorts of things like popularity.

 

[gln1955]

For music stuff, no. I research things out completely, decide what I want and go buy it. I won't buy a tort P-bass, no matter how popular they may be.

For more mundane things, if I'm shopping online, I'll look at the best sellers. Usually they are quality products with good reviews and a decent price. There's a reason they are best sellers and it's not bad to follow the herd on that.

 

[WG Plum]

Popular or well-reviewed?

Popular, not all.

 

[Winslow]

is there something to this beyond herd mentality that i'm completely missing?

Nope. Too many people seem to have forgotten that herds generate a lot of manure.

 

[pcake]

I'd be lying if I said I was 100% immune to peer pressure.
OTOH I do wind up deploying a lot of stuff that the herd steers well clear of. (Like a 50W tube amp - or a full size 5-string double bass.)

in person or on TB peer pressure i might give in to a bit. most popular on guitar center could be 100 15-year old boys whose parents let them pick a bass or guitar. or a bunch of people who never really use a thing after they buy it. i see some products on amazon with lots of reviews from people who use their purchase rarely or say they haven't used it at all yet but it seems good...

Yes and no. I don’t follow trends in the slightest, but I do care about quality, appearance (not logos), and, at least for music gear, the ability to resell and either cut even or profit. I’m definitely aware of popularity and there is some consideration towards it, but I’m not someone who buys something just because it’s popular. I despise clutter and tend to be minimalistic, but whatever I do have is a quality product that likely is popular with people who prioritize similar preferences.

your point about reselling is a good one, and most popular can help reflect how quickly an item will sell and what percentage of new you can probably get for it.

i don't like clutter, but alas, we're very good at it. just ask the 17 guitars and basses sitting in racks behind me, the leg machine, and the barbells and dumbbells, mostly also behind me...

Popular or well-reviewed?

Popular, not all.

popular.

no, me, neither...

Nope. Too many people seem to have forgotten that herds generate a lot of manure.

LOLOL

 

[Zooberwerx]

No. I drive a Ford Transit, wear Dickies slack, Rockport ProWalkers, and buy my shirts used from E-bay.

…and remain a chick-magnet at 66.

Riis

 

[bass12]

Popular? No. Well-regarded by people I trust? Oftentimes yes.

 

[C Stone]

Depends, If a sellers product has great reviews and lots of sales I tend to go that way, example: outdoor furniture, a seller that has has 67 sales vs. a seller that has 1,167 sales I will usually lean toward the business that has higher sales volume.

 

[40Hz]

Short answer: no. I really don’t think much at all about what other people are playing when I’m out shopping for music gear.

A lot of what I own is off the beaten path except for a few PBs and JBs.

 

[bwildt]

I generally never buy anything that uses a celebrity in their advertising. In fact, I figure that if the company needs a celebrity spokesperson, the product must be junk and can't stand on its own merits. They are trying to sell to gullible people who fawn over celebrities.

 

[And I]

i don't, but i could see why a retailer's algorithm might want to show me the stuff that they have sold the most of...

 

[somatose]

No, but I’m notorious for going against the grain.

I like my Nikon D3300 and take great pictures with it, I don’t care that people slam it as a beginner camera. I like my TMB 30 and modded it, don’t care about the “Don’t Buy It!!!” videos that are out there. I love my EHB1005sms - SBL’s bashing of it this week means nothing to me. The Stanley tumbler craze had me laughing… but then I did get one as a gift and love it

Right there with you on not caring what the masses think.

 

[darwin-bass]

For basses, I'm very selective. I know what I want right down and have strong preferences in just about every parameter related to a bass guitar.

1. Price
2. Scale length
3. Overall weight
4. Balance on the strap
5. Body shape
6. Neck shape (width, thickness)
7. Headstock type (flat vs angled)
8. Tuners
9. Tuner arrangement
10. Fret sizes
11. Pickup types
12. Pickup locations
13. Bridges
14. Controls
15. Strap buttons
16. Body color
17. Neck color / finish
18. Fretboard material
19. Truss rod access
20. Control cavity access.

Yes, I really do have preferences, often strong, in every one of these categories. To get what I want, I pretty much have to build it myself or buy custom. If I guy COTS I end up upgrading various parts that were not up to my standards.

You'll notice "popularity" is NOT on the list.